Willy Fauade William (born 27 June 1981) is a French DJ, record producer and singer famous for his club remixes and vocal collaborations with a number of dance music artists. He is most famous for his French hit "Ego" and his Latin hit "Mi Gente", the latter with J Balvin.
Willy Fauade William was born on 27 June 1981 in Fréjus, Var,[4] to a Guadeloupean father and an Ethiopian mother from Eritrea.[5] He was raised in Champagné, a commune in the department of Sarthe.
William came to prominence in 2003 with his work with DJ Flex in the dancefloor hit "B Boyz Shake da Body" and in 2004 as producer of "Tragedie" using the pseudonym "Lord William".[6] He later joined the French music collective Collectif Métissé,[7] also continuing to produce his own materials.
He collaborated with a great number of artists producing their songs and taking part in vocals as featured artists. He charted with collaborative songs with DJ Assad with "Li tourner", Les Jumo with "C Show" and "L'Italienne", and with Keen'V in "On s'endort?", Ridsa in "Je n'ai pas eu le temps" that also featured Ryan Stevenson on drums and many others.[8]
In 2016, William got his major French hit with "Ego" which was produced and sung by himself. It was the main single from his 2016 album Une seule vie and his biggest French hit as a solo artist. "Ego" charted in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Poland amongst many others.[8]
In 2017, he became an international sensation after the release of "Mi Gente" a collaboration with the superstar Colombian artist J Balvin. The huge international success of the song led to a version that also featured Beyoncé in a new remix. The song received a Latin Billboard Music Award and the music video amassed over 2 billion views and received in 2018 an MTV Video Music Award for Best Latin Video, maintained #1 Spotify Global for 12 consecutive weeks, while topping charts across the world as #1 in a great number of countries.
In 2018, William produced and released a dance track called "La La La" and he appeared on "Goodbye", a David Guetta and Jason Derulo song that featured William and Nicki Minaj.
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Track listing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [9] |
BEL (Wa) | |||
| Une seule vie | 2016 | 12 | 20 |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [9] |
AUS [10] |
BEL (Wa) [11] |
GER [12] |
ITA [13] |
NL [14] |
SPA [15] |
SWE [16] |
SWI [17] |
UK [18] |
US [19] | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Te quiero" | 2015 | 24 | — | 20* (Ultratip) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Une seule vie | ||||||||||||||||
| "Ego" | 12 | — | 3 | 39 | 18 | 4 | — | — | 75 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "On s'endort?" (feat. Keen'V) |
2016 | 36 | — | 10* (Ultratip) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Mi Gente" (with J Balvin) |
2017 | 6 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 1 [24] |
1 | 1 [25] |
4 [26] |
4 | 5 | 19 | Vibras (J Balvin album) | ||||||||||||||||
| "Mi Gente (Remix)" (with J Balvin feat. Beyoncé) |
— | 111 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 32 | 16 | 51 | 31 [32] |
Non-album singles | |||||||||||||||||
| "La La La" | 2018 | — | — | Tip** | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Mambo"[35] (with Steve Aoki featuring El Alfa, Sean Paul, Sfera Ebbasta and Play-N-Skillz) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Trompeta" | 2022 | 27 [36] |
— | 14 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Solo" (with will.i.am and Lali) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom" (with The Vengaboys) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Cuentale" (with David Guetta and Nicky Jam) |
2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||||
Notes
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
**Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Tipparade charts.
Internationally
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [9] |
AUS |
BEL (Fl) |
BEL (Wa) |
GER |
ITA |
NED |
SPA |
SWE |
SWI | ||||||
| 2018 | "Goodbye" (Jason Derulo and David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William) |
93 | 33 | 20 | 15 | 47 | 92 | 16 | 33 | 16 | 50 | David Guetta album 7 | |||
| 2019 | "Highway"[38] (Cheat Codes featuring Sofía Reyes and Willy William) |
— | — | — | Tip** | — | — | — | — | —[A] | — | Non-album singles | |||
| 2020 | "Loco" (SWACQ featuring Willy William) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
Francophone markets
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [9] |
BEL (Wa) | |||
| 2010 | "C'Show" (Les Jumo feat. Willy William) |
— | — | |
| 2013 | "Je n'ai pas eu le temps" (Ridsa feat. Willy William & Ryan Stevenson) |
76 | — | Ridsa EP Es tu fiesta (EP) |
| "Es tu fiesta" (Ridsa feat. Willy William) |
12 | 2* (Ultratip) | ||
| "Li tourner" (DJ Assad feat. Alain Ramanisum & Willy William) |
12 | 2* (Ultratip) |
||
| 2014 | "Alalila (Le Sega)" (DJ Assad feat. Denis Azor, Mario Ramsamy & Willy William) |
76 | 14* (Ultratip) |
|
| "A l'Italienne" (Les Jumo featuring Willy William & Frédéric François) |
— | — | ||
| "Me Gusta" (Dj R'AN featuring José de Rico, Willy William & Anna Torres) |
— | — | ||
| "La demoiselle" (Miky Uno featuring Willy William) |
— | — | ||
| 2015 | "Englishman in New York" (Cris Cab feat. Tefa & Moox, Willy William) |
16 | 26 | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | "Keep My Cool" (Madcon feat. Willy William) |
— | 8* (Ultratip) | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | ||||
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
**Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Tipparade charts.
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [9] |
BEL (Wa) | |||
| 2016 | "Tes mots" | — | — | Une seule vie |
| "Paris" (feat. Cris Cab) |
106 | — | ||
| "R.Q.T" | — | — | ||
| "Qui tu es" | — | Tip** | ||
| 2017 | "Voodoo Song" (remake based on "Ego") |
— | 13* (Ultratip) |
|
| 2020 | "Bollywood" (with Sandro Silva) |
— | — | |
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
**Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Tipparade charts.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
