It’s a swing and a hit for Alexis & Fido…
The Latin Grammy-nominated Puerto Rican reggaeton duo have partnered with ESPN to release a Spanish version of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” for the sports channel’s Major League Baseball coverage.
Dubbed “Si No Tiene El Swing,” the new version was recorded by Alexis & Fido, and features vocals by up-and-coming singer Eli Jas.
It was produced exclusively for ESPN and will be incorporated into ESPN’s cross-platform MLB game and studio coverage, including bumpers, teases and montages across all of ESPN’s baseball programming on all platforms worldwide.
It will include programs in Spanish, like ESPN Deportes, as well as in English, like Baseball Tonight.
This isn’t the first time ESPN tapped a Latin act to use Spanish music, but it’s the first time it’s been done on such a wide scale, according to ESPN music director Kevin Wilson.
“We do a good job of choosing music whether in English or Spanish that lyrically connects to the network and to the sport,” says Wilson. “As long as people know the message of the lyrics [it] works.”
In fact, the use of Latin music at ESPN has increased exponentially in the last couple of years. “Reaching our Hispanic fans became much more of a priority for the network,” says Wilson.
The use reflects the reality of the market. According to Major League Baseball’s site for last season, reggaeton is the third most-used genre for walk-up songs (only behind hip hop and rock). Additionally, Pitbull, Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam are among the top 10 most-used artists by players.
Alexis & Fido, who perform an uptempo brand of reggaeton, have already seen their music used in cross-cultural campaigns.
In 2014, they were part of a TV spot for Sol Replic Deck for Radio Shack that also featured Lil’ Jon and Steve Aoki.
“It’s been a wonderful process,” says Wilson. “We had the idea to create a reggaeton version of the classic record ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing.’ We contacted the guys and they were totally down to do it since they are big MLB fans.”
“Si no tiene el swing” is available via Alexis & Fido’s app.
