Credit: Instagram/Screen capture
If you’ve been on Instagram or TikTok in the past few weeks, you’ve almost certainly heard the “Puerto Rico” song from Saxboy Billy.
“First time in San Juan, mi hijo … Capital of Puerto Rico … Immediately was enchanted … The whole plane clapped when we landed,” as the song goes.
The viral hit is the work of Bill Stiteler, a Pittsburgh resident who uses the artificial intelligence music platform Suno to pair campy tracks with his travel snapshots, according to ABC News.
The song’s viral popularity since its April debut has caught the attention of celebrities like Charlie Puth and Jennifer Love Hewitt, who have shared it online. Other artists have even begun recording live performances of the track.
Despite the sudden fame of the track, Stiteler is clear about his artistic credentials.
“I’m not a musician, baby. I’m a slob,” Stiteler said in an interview with TMZ. “I don’t claim this to be music.”
Stiteler’s path to internet fame started well before his hop to Puerto Rico.
After working as a comedian in New York City, he took what he described to Yahoo as a “nine-year break to do nothing but drink alcohol.”
After getting sober in late 2023, Stiteler moved back to Pittsburgh to live with his dad and reset his life.
Stiteler purchased a season pass for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024 and began uploading videos of his visits to the ballpark.
“I remember, like, a day after I made my first video, someone came up to me and was like, ‘Yeah, I saw your video,’ and I was like, ‘What? That’s crazy.’ That happened very fast,” Stiteler told Yahoo Entertainment.
Stiteler made the decision to follow the Pirates on the road and visited 18 cities in 2024.
Yahoo Entertainment reported that during Stiteler’s first road trip to Altoona, Pennsylvania, he discovered the Suno AI platform and began creating music to accompany his travel posts on TikTok and Instagram.
Stiteler has been up front with his followers about his use of AI tools to generate his soundtracks.
According to Fox 28 in Columbus, Ohio, Stiteler typically spends two to three days in each location and travels by foot or by bus. He stays in low-cost Airbnb rentals and logs his observations of the places he visits.
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Stiteler told the TV station earlier this year that his idea is to share funny, authentic perspectives. He added his goal isn’t to roast the locations he visits.
Thanks to the viral popularity of “Puerto Rico,” Stiteler is now fielding unexpected career opportunities, including meetings and discussions regarding future plans with Puerto Rico’s tourism marketing agency, according to reports.
