Elvis Crespo: 'I don't need to work another minute'

Elvis Crespo, the singer behind the legendary and seemingly endless hit 'Suavemente', is still generating massive income from the track.

"It's a special song, a song that brings me a lot of money from royalties," Crespo said.

The hit, released in 1998, is still played at parties, featured in commercials, and remains recognizable even to younger audiences. According to the artist, one phone network paid him a quarter of a million dollars just to change the lyrics for a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. "While I sleep, this song plays every day somewhere," the musician noted.

While Crespo did not provide exact figures on the total income from the song, he added: "I am lucky to say this: if I live a minimalist life, I can retire." However, Crespo is firm about his children's future: he does not want them to rely on the income from 'Suavemente'. "Let them not rely on it, let them go to work," he stated.

Industry estimates suggest he has earned close to 3 million dollars from Spotify and YouTube royalties alone. That is without counting the profits he received from clearing samples of his song, from Bad Bunny to the Algerian artist Soolking or 'Suave (Kiss Me)' with Pitbull.

In the same conversation, Crespo also spoke candidly about his spending habits early in his career. When asked what he spent the most on, he replied: "Sony gave me 5 million dollars, and within a month I spent it all." The money went on watches, clothes, and other luxury items, though he struggles to recall the details: "Bad decisions, I was too drunk to remember," he said.

Crespo concluded that money was never an issue throughout his career, noting that he was already a multi-millionaire by the age of 25.