Latin
Mana’s Sergio Vallin on Enlisting Santana, Alejandro Sanz & More for Instrumental Album ‘Microsinfonias’
In a twist, the album also includes orchestral versions of hits by Alejandro Sanz, Juan Luis Guerra, Marco Antonio Solís and Maná’s lead singer Fher Olvera, but instead of featuring them on vocals, they play instruments: Sanz the flamenco guitar, Guerra the acoustic guitar, Olvera his harmonica and Solís the percussion. As for Vallín, he used 16 guitars for his opus, including that 1965 Fender Stratocaster pre-robbery, along with electric Gibson and Les Paul guitars, acoustic guitars by Conde and Ramirez and even a medieval lute. “Whatever worked best for the moment,” says Vallín, who has long had a partnership with Gibson and this year will release his own Sergio Vallín Les Paul. “More than an homage to the guitar, it’s an homage to musicians and music itself,” says Vallín, who also invit...
Netflix Sets Release Date for ‘Selena: The Series’ Part Two
“[Selena] created a path for herself when it was arguably difficult for Latinas,” Serratos previously told Billboard. “Being a woman in the industry is super tricky, but she managed to be incredibly powerful, strong, and resilient and [to] be a pioneer while being incredibly gracious, and I always thought that was so beautiful.” Other cast members include Ricardo Chavira, who co-stars as Selena’s father Abraham; Gabriel Chavarria as her brother A.B.; Noemi Gonzalez as her sister Suzette; Seidy Lopez as her mother Marcella; and Madison Taylor Baez as young Selena. The two-part series was released 23 years after the Gregory Nava-directed and Oscar-nominated film Selena starring Jennifer Lopez made its debut on the big screen. See Netflix’s announcement belo...
Selena Gomez Drops Highly Anticipated Spanish Single ‘De Una Vez’: Stream It Here
The wait is over: Selena Gomez has released her highly anticipated Spanish-language song “De Una Vez,” a rhythmic pop track that touches on healing and empowerment. “I am incredibly proud of my Latin background,” Gomez said about her new single in a statement. “It felt empowering to sing in Spanish again and ‘De Una Vez’ is such a beautiful love anthem.” The track, produced by Tainy, Albert Hype, Jota Rosa and NEON16, premiered alongside a music video directed by Los Pérez (Tania Verduzco and Adrián Pérez). The visual finds Gomez in a mythical house surrounded by magical visuals, where she steps into rooms representative of her evolution. Toward the end of the video, the words “Baila Conmigo” emerge, hinting at a pote...
Daddy Yankee Breaks Latin Airplay Top 10 Record With ‘De Vuelta Pa’ La Vuelta’
Going down the list of the artists with at least 25 top 10s in the history of Latin Airplay, only one female acts secures a space, let’s take a look: Most Top 10s, Latin Airplay Daddy Yankee, 41Enrique Iglesias, 40J Balvin, 32Shakira, 31Ricky Martin, 27Marc Anthony, 26Marco Antonio Solis, 26Ozuna, 26Cristian Castro, 25Wisin & Yandel, 25 “De Vuelta” has co-written by Yankee and Marc Anthony alongside Edgar ‘Edge’ Barrera, Elena Rosa, Rafael A. Pina Nieves and produced by longtime hit maker, Sergio George. The salsa collab is Yankee’s 41st Latin Airplay top 10, dating back to his first top 10 hit “Lo Que Pasó, Pasó” in 2005. Marc Anthony, meanwhile, has logged 26 top 10s in four decades of chart history, 11 of which have hit No. 1. Elsewhere, “De Vuelta” dips 13-14 on the all-metric Hot ...
Los Legendarios, Wisin & Myke Towers’ ‘Mi Niña’ Hits No. 1 on Latin Airplay Chart: ‘We Were Playing For the Same Team’
It’s the Puerto Rican producers’ first leader as featured artists. The Puerto Rican partnership between producers Los Legendarios with Wisin and Myke Towers flourishes as their collaboration “Mi Niña” jumps 3-1 on the Latin Airplay chart dated Jan. 16. Los Legendarios comprises Marcos Ramírez and Víctor R. Torres, who launched their career as producers in 2008. “Mi Niña” earns them their first No. 1 — and first entry — on any Billboard chart as credited artists. As producers, however, they have scored previous hits. “As producers, this is our seventh No. 1 but as featured artists, this is our first,” Ramirez tells Biilboard. “We are very excited to see that validation from fans. To spend all those hours, all that work with so much passion and to see everybody enjoyin...
Shakira Sells Full Song Catalog to Hipgnosis
“Being a songwriter is an accomplishment that I consider equal to and perhaps even greater than being a singer and an artist,” said Shakira in a statement. “At 8 years old — long before I sang — I wrote to make sense of the world. Each song is a reflection of the person I was at the time that I wrote it, but once a song is out in the world, it belongs not only to me but to those who appreciate it as well.” The amount paid for Shakira’s catalog was not disclosed, but the high-profile sale highlights the potential in international catalogs in general and Latin catalogs in particular. Although there have been few major sales of high-profile Latin catalogs, in November Hipgnosis announced that its acquisition of 42 catalogs from Kobalt included hits by Enrique Iglesias, among them ...
Anitta to Host Her Own ‘Anitta and Friends’ Podcast: Exclusive
Brazilian star Anitta, who has proven to be as amusing in conversation as she is performing, will now have her own podcast. Titled Anitta and Friends, the podcast will launch this quarter and will feature a wide array of guests in discussions that will be rooted in music. The show is part of an exclusive podcast deal Anitta inked with podcast platform PodcastOne, which will also produce the show. The platform, a subsidiary of LiveXLive Media, is also home to Pitbull’s From Negative to Positive podcast and The Adam Carolla Show, among many others. Anitta’s debut season will include 12 episodes featuring “intimate, insightful” conversations with celebrities from around the world. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. I...
Latin Alternative Music Conference Sets Dates for Virtual 2021 Event
The Latin Alternative Music Conference is set to return in virtual form this year with dates scheduled for the week of Cinco de Mayo (May 4-7). Like last year, when it was held online for the first ever due to the novel coronavirus, the 22nd annual LAMC will offer free registration for panels, workshops and showcases. The second edition of the Wonder Women of Latin Music recognitions honoring women making a difference in the Latin music industry is also set to take place this year. Launched in 2020 and presented by Amazon Music, past Wonder Women honorees include Rebeca León (Lionfish Entertainment), Jennifer D’Cunha (Apple Music), Yvonne Drazan (peermusic) and Billboard‘s own Leila Cobo, among others. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are lo...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (Jan. 9)
Manifesting dream bilingual collabs for 2021 To continue the momentum of the Spanglish collabs trend we saw in 2020, Billboard‘s Latin editors came up with 10 dream team ups that we’d like to see happen in 2021. From Rosalía and Billie Eilish teaming up to Karol G and Rihanna collaborating. Or how about a duet between Bad Bunny and Harry Styles? See the Spanglish collabs we’d like to see happen this year and vote for your dream collab here. Chartbreaker: Eslabon Armado Introducing Billboard‘s January chartbreaker, regional Mexican teenage trio Eslabon Armado. After recording music in their home garage in Patterson, Calif., Eslabon Armado officially joined indie label DEL Records’ roster in 2019 and scored three consecutive chart-topping albums in 2020. &#...
Hip-Hop, Latin & Vinyl’s Popularity Grew in 2020 (Rock, Pop & CDs’ Did Not)
Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” (via Atlantic) was the top streaming song in 2020 with 1.3 billion on-demand streams, beating out Future’s “Life Is Good” featuring Drake (via Epic), which had 1 billion on-demand streams. Lil Baby’s My Turn (via Quality Control) was the No. 1 album for the year, generating 2.6 million consumption units, with Taylor Swift’s folklore (via Republic) coming in second at 2.2 million album consumption units — of which 1.3 million were from sales (including 796,000 from downloads), making it the year’s best-selling album. In fact, Swift placed four albums in the year’s top 200 albums, as her Lover album ranked No. 33 with 878,000 album consumption units; evermore was No. 70 with 569,000 units and 1989 was No. 116 with 428,000 units. For the 21st year in a...
First Stream Latin: New Music From Manuel Turizo & Wisin Y Yandel, Maria Becerra & More
First Stream Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums and videos recommended by the Billboard Latin editors. Check out this week’s picks below. Manuel Turizo x Wisin & Yandel “Mala Costumbre” (La Industria Inc.) Manuel Turizo and Wisin & Yandel team up for an explosive reggaetón track that pairs catchy lyrics with an infectious beat making “Mala Costumbre” irresistible and a standout in this week’s releases. Produced by hitmakers Tainy, Lennin Palacios, Ily Wonder, Keytin and JotaRosa, the song kicks off with a slow intro featuring Turizo’s sultry deep voice, who prefaces the heartbreak song with “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve promised myself to not open the door anymore.” Then, as the song picks up, Yandel sings over a guitar tune, “Now I’m he...
Anuel Returns to Social Media, Shares Adorable Photo With His Son
Back in October, Anuel bid “adios” to his Instagram followers, but finally returned to the social media sphere on Monday (Jan. 4). In the adorable photo kicking off 2021, the Puerto Rican trap star is seen on a boat, smiling alongside his son Pablo (rocking his dad’s shades). “LA SANGRE PESA MÁS QUE EL AGUA!!!!!!!!!” he captioned the heart-melting snap. “La vida se acaba, las carreras se acaban pero LA FAMILIA NUNCA MUERE!!!!!” “Blood weighs more than water,” the caption translates to in English. “Life ends, careers end but family never dies.” You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat...
