Latin
No ‘Useless Girl,’ Cazzu Talks Dinner With Alfonsina Storni & Feminism
The Argentine Singer released Una Niña Inutil today Rising trap artist Cazzu is in her home in Argentina, surrounded by her paintings and three cats: Mu, Elvira and Gary, a black-and-white kitty who likes to leap on her lap unannounced. Her hair is dyed red, a color that –coincidentally—matches the color scheme of the cover art of her new album, Una Niña Inútil (Useless Girl), which shows her wearing a checkered red schoolgirl skirt, with roses and masking tape covering her breasts. The album title and its contents were inspired by Diario de una niña inútil (Diary of a Useless Girl), a “diary” penned 100 years ago by Argentine feminist poet Alfonsina Storni in a subversive effort to defy the norms that dictated what women could write at the time. Cazzu, who at 26 years old has ...
CNCO Dishes on New Single ‘Beso’ & Their ‘Cool’ 2020 VMAs Performance
CNCO is days away from making their first-ever mainstage performance at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards but first, they have released new music for their beloved CNCOwners. On Friday (Aug. 28), the Latin boy band dropped their latest single “Beso,” flaunting their musical growth and maturity in the lyrics and infectious rhythms. “We had this song recorded about two years ago,” Christopher Velez tells Billboard. “Time passed, we recorded it, changed the beat, and fixed the little things that we didn’t like. It was a cool and very long process but we really loved the end result. It is a giant step for CNCO.” On Sunday (Aug. 31), the group, composed by Velez, Richard Camacho, Joel Pimentel, Erick Brian Colon, and Joel Pimentel, will debut the song at the VMAs, marking the first tim...
The 13 Best Things That Happened in Music This Week (August 28)
If you’re just waking up on this glorious Friday, you’re about to discover what much of Twitter already knows: Selena Gomez and Blackpink’s epic new collaboration “Ice Cream” has arrived. We know what we’ll be doing for the next few days: “Ice cream chillin’, chillin’, ice cream chillin’!” Plus, we’re heading into VMAs weekend, and you can brush up on your music video history ahead of the big night by checking out our list of the 100 greatest music video artists of all time. Take a look at all of that — and more of the week’s biggest music happenings — below. Taylor Swift’s Folklore ruled for a fourth week Swift’s latest set topped the Billboard 200 chart once again, with 101,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 20. Billboard’s...
RBD’s Catalog Coming Soon to All Streaming Platforms
When RBD performed their last concert on Dec. 22, 2008 in Madrid, the world said goodbye to a Mexican band that became an unstoppable force, thanks to their hit telenovela Rebelde and a series of coming-of-age pop anthems featuring members Anahí, Alfonso Herrera, Dulce María, Christian Chavez, Maite Perroni and Christopher von Uckermann. The group’s music has been hard to find as well, given its absence on streaming services. You could consider yourself lucky if you had a physical copy of one of their chart-topping albums or had attended one of their sold-out concerts around the world. But 12 years later, RBD’s catalog is set to be made available across all digital streaming platforms as of midnight Sept. 4. Why the catalog wasn’t available before is a complex story ...
Mexican Singer-Songwriter Silvana Estrada Becomes First Latin Artist Signed to Glassnote Records: Exclusive
Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada has become the first Latin artist signed to Glassnote Records, Billboard can confirm. Joining the indie label’s roster, which includes award-winning artists like Phoenix and Mumford & Sons, the artist-to-watch signed with Glassnote following a quick visit to New York back in February. “After meeting the team, and a spontaneous performance, both parties left mesmerized,” according to a statement issued by Glassnote. “She officially joined the Glassnote family shortly after.” Born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico and inspired by artists like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, Estrada began her musical career at a young age experimenting with different instruments — both her parents were luthiers. “My music i...
Yomil Reflects on Life After El Dany & The Duo’s New Album ‘Los Champions’: Watch
Yomil, of Cuban duo Yomil y El Dany, has been living the toughest and most challenging days of his life after the passing of his colleague El Dany on July 18 in Havana, Cuba. “It was the worst day of my life and I’m never going to recuperate,” he tells Billboard during an Instagram Live. With a positive attitude and much-needed strength, Yomil presents the duo’s new album Los Champions, out August 26, recorded before the singer’s death and released on what would’ve marked their fifth-year anniversary as Yomil y El Dany. “This was Dany’s dream and we’re making it come true,” he says. Produced by DJ Jungl, Los Champions is home to 26 new tracks and 32 collaborations with some of the biggest names in the Cuban music scene, such as Lenier, El Micha, and El Chacal, to name a few. “He...
Vote for Your Favorite Song on Maluma’s New Album ‘Papi Juancho’
Maluma surprised fans by dropping a 22-track album titled Papi Juancho on Aug. 21., which includes his chart-topping single “ADMV” and collaborations with Yandel, Ñengo Flow, and Myke Towers, among others. Name after the Colombian singer-songwriter’s nickname of “Juancho” (short for Juan Luis), Maluma recorded the majority of the songs during quarantine with longtime producers The Rude Boyz (Kevin ADG and Chan “El Genio”). “All I could do during lockdown in Medellin was work alone in my studio,” Maluma told Billboard in an exclusive interview. “That’s why this album has so much of my true essence; because I did so much of it alone.” Following the release, Billboard spoke to Maluma about the album and broke dow...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (August 22)
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week: Jessie Reyez’s peaceful protest Wearing a scarf with Breonna Taylor’s name written on it and taking a kneel, Jessie Reyez bravely sang the Canadian and U.S. national anthems at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto. “I don’t want to say much except a quote that’s reverberated with me throughout the years: ‘do what you can, with what you have, wherever you are,’” Reyez expressed after her performance that kicked off the first game of the NBA Playoffs between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. A new milestone for Pedro Capo’s “Calma” This week, Pedro Capo sur...
First Stream Latin: New Music From Sebastian Yatra, Reik, ChocQuibTown & 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. Sebastian Yatra, Alvaro Diaz, “A Donde Van” (Universal Music Latino) Sebastian Yatra and Alvaro Diaz have so many questions in their first-ever collaboration coined “A Donde Van.” The Colombian and Puerto Rican artists teamed up to sing solely about unrequited love. “Where do the kisses go? / The ones you didn’t know how to accept / And the stares that you never returned / I want to recuperate them,” says the chorus. Fusing their both worlds, “A Donde Van” is a seductive mix of Latin pop, Hip-Hop, and hints of Flamenco. — JESSICA ROIZ [embedded content] Reik, 20—21 (Sony Music México) Ref...
Maluma Talks Stories Behind 5 Essential Tracks from ‘Papi Juancho’: Exclusive
On Aug. 19, in the thick of the second day of the Democratic National Convention, Maluma became a trending topic on Twitter. His Instagram, a formidable instrument with over 50 million followers, had gone dark. Was it because ex Natalia Barulich was dating footballer Neymar? Or because Neymar dissed Maluma by posting a video of his team singing his new single “Hawái” –a breakup song—on Instagram? Turns out Maluma was simply gathering steam prior to the surprise release of his new album, Papi Juancho, which dropped at midnight Aug. 21. Maluma recorded most of the set during the Covid-imposed lockdown with his longtime producer collaborators and co-writers The Rude Boyz (Kevin ADG and Chan “El Genio”). “All I could do during lockdown in Medellin was work alone in my studio,” Malu...
Brytiago Drops Mysterious & Seductive ‘Condena’ Video Featuring Farruko: Exclusive
After keeping fans intrigued with the mesmerizing instrumental for “Condena,” Brytiago and Farruko officially dropped the full track and video, premiering exclusively on Billboard today (Aug. 20). Produced by Cromo X and Lanalizer, “Condena” forms part of Bry’s debut studio album Organico, a project that was long overdue for loyal fans and is home to 16 songs including the previously-released “Cositas,” “Te Falle” and “Borracho,” to name a few. To the beat of sultry R&B melodies, “Condena,” which translates to a prison sentence, narrates the story of a man who wants to spend time with his love interest one last time, in case tomorrow’s not guaranteed. “Don’t forget about me the day I’m not here,” the artists chant. The mysterious cinematographic video, directed by Abez Medina with prod...
J Balvin’s New Doll Is Ready For Action
Fans of J Balvin can now literally play with him — sort of. The singer has again partnered with Guess and now, with pop culture e-commerce platform NTWRK, to launch a 12-inch, fully posable J Balvin action figure doll. The muscular mini-Balvin has short-cropped blonde hair and arrives shirtless, the better to show off his buff body and tattoos, faithful replicas of what the real Balvin has. He’s wearing yellow shorts, white sneakers, a Guess necklace and arrives with an additional Guess outfit that includes a matching yellow hoodie. The doll was inspired by Balvin’s Guess collection and was designed by Balvin together with Guess and NTWRK, with Balvin giving input through the process and developing the look of the packaging. The caveat? It’s a very limited edition. Only 500 figures w...
