The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment section continues its daily 2016 Year In Review, with people who made an impact during the year.

Having scored major hits locally with songs like Rich This Year, Jamaican and Bubble, deejay Charly Black conquered the overseas market in 2016 with Gyal Yuh A Party Animal.

First released in 2014, the song was a breakout hit in Latin America. Produced by Kurt Riley of Techniques Records on the

Jambe-an rhythm, it was reissued by Universal Music Latin and scaled charts in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Gyal Yuh A Party Animal’s success crossed into America where it got airplay on several crossover radio stations and reached number 18 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart.

In early December, the song was certified for sales of over 600,000 (including streaming). That amount equates to a diamond certification in Latin America, as opposed to 10 million in the United States.

“The song opened many doors for me. Doors that I wanted to open for a long time, they are finally opened. These places that I am going now, are places I’ve always wanted to go. Now I am in Guatemala for the first time,” Charly Black said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer last weekend.

— Kevin Jackson