Grupo Firme Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Grupo Firme is hoping to take Regional Mexican music to the global stage…

The Mexican band has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for worldwide representation in all areas.

The L.A.-based agency also signed the regional Mexican group’s indie label, Music VIP.

News of the signing comes on the heels of Grupo Firme’s stadium tour across the U.S. with stops at L.A.’s Sofi Stadium, Metlife Stadium in New York, Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium and a final stop at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Mexican Independence Day weekend in September.

Grupo Firme — founded in Tijuana, Mexico, in 2013 — straddles the genres of banda and norteño and comprises brothers Eduin and Jhonny Caz, Abraham Hernández, Joaquín Ruiz, Christian Gutiérrez, José Rubio and Dylan Camacho.

Initially known for performing corridos, the group was catapulted into the mainstream in 2017 after signing a label and management deal with Music VIP.

Since then, the band — who won their first Latin Grammy last year with their album Nos Divertimos Logrando Lo Imposible — has achieved unprecedented success with many firsts under their belt, including making history by becoming the first banda ensemble to ever play at Coachella.

Additionally, on Billboard’s 2021 year-end Boxscore Charts, Grupo Firme landed at No. 23 in the Top 40 Tours chart after grossing $18 million from 19 shows thanks to their historic run at the Crypto.com Arena last year, when they helped relaunch the venue (then Staples Center) by playing its first concert in 513 days.

It also marked the beginning of the supergroup’s historic run at the arena with their first (of seven) full-capacity, sold-out show — making history as the Latin act to perform the most shows in a single calendar year at Staples (the only other artist who has done more is Adele, with eight in one calendar year).

Grupo Firme is managed by Isael Gutiérrez, founder of Music VIP. Management will continue to broker certain tour deals directly on their own.

Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti” Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny’s summer glow up continues…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar’s latest album Un Verano Sin Ti has returned to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated June 18 for a second week on top (rising from No. 2), following its debut at No. 1 on the May 21-dated chart.

After its chart-topping opening, the album sat in the No. 2 slot for the next three weeks. The set earned 137,000 equivalent album units (down 3%) in the U.S. in the week ending June 9, according to Luminate.

Un Verano Sin Ti is the first album released in 2022 to exceed 100,000 equivalent album units earned in each of its first five weeks. (The last title to do so was Adele’s late 2021 release 30, on the December 4, 2021-January 1, 2022 charts.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

Of Un Verano Sin Ti’s 137,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 135,500 (down 3%; equaling 189.47 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 1,000 (down 9%) and TEA units comprise 500 (up 4%).

Notably, Un Verano Sin Ti marks the first all-Spanish-language album to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard 200’s 66-year history. Only one other such set has led for even one week: Bad Bunny’s last album, El Último Tour del Mundo, which arrived atop the December 12, 2020 tally.

Bruno Mars’ Silk Sonic Beats Out BTS for International Group Prize at Brit Awards

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

The Brit (Awards) is back for Bruno Mars…

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer/songwriter has earned his first Brit Awards trophy as a member of a group.

Mars, who’d previously won three Brit Awards as a solo artist, and Anderson .Paak’s acclaimed Silk Sonic duo took home the award for international group.

Silk Sonic beat out BTS for the award.

Adele was the big winner at the 2022 Brit Awards, which were presented at the 02 arena in London on Tuesday. She won artist of the year, album of the year for 30 and song of the year for “Easy on Me.” She lost in just one category, the fan-voted best pop/rock act, which went to Dua Lipa.

British comedian Mo Gilligan hosted the Brit Awards, which are presented by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Here’s the complete list of winners.

Artist of the year
Adele, Columbia, Sony Music

Group
Wolf Alice, Dirty Hit

Brits Rising Star
Holly Humberstone, Polydor, Universal Music

Song of the year
Adele, “Easy on Me,” Columbia, Sony Music

Best new artist
Little Simz, Age 101/Awal

Album of the year
Adele,, 30, Columbia, Sony Music

Alternative/rock act
Sam Fender, Polydor, Universal Music

Hip-hop/rap/grime act
Dave, Dave Neighbourhood, Universal Music

Dance act
Becky Hill, Polydor, Universal Music

Pop/R&B act
Dua Lipa, Warner Records, Warner Music

International artist
Billie Eilish, Polydor/Interscope. Universal Music

International group
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars/Anderson. Paak), Atlantic, Warner Music

International song of the year
Olivia Rodrigo, “Good 4 U,” Polydor/Geffen, Universal Music

Songwriter of the year (only winner announced)
Ed Sheeran

Producer of the year (only winner announced)
Inflo

Stephanie Beatriz & Her “Encanto” Cast Members Could Earn Their First No.1 on the U.K. Singles Charts

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Stephanie Beatriz and several of her fellow Encanto cast members could soon be chart-toppers across the pond…

The 40-year-old Colombian-Bolivian Argentine actress, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz and Mauro Castillo’s song from the hit animated Disney film, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” is on track to become the next No. 1 single in the U.K.

Based on 48 hours of sales and streaming activity, the Walt Disney track is in the pole position for the chart crown.

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” leads the Official Chart Update, which ranks the most popular singles after the first weekend in the cycle, and would be the first-ever U.K. leader for each of the cast members credited on the track.

As “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” lifts 3-1 on the chart blast, Gayle’s “Abcdefu” (Atlantic) is set to slip from the summit, 1-2, with Adele’s former leader “Easy On Me” (Columbia) down 2-3.

According to the OCC, two more songs from the Encanto soundtrack are set for the U.K. Top 20.

“Surface Pressure” by Jessica Darrow could lift to a new peak of No. 6, and “The Family Madrigal” is poised to crack the Top 20 for the first time, at No. 19.

The Top 20 will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday, local time.

Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak to Release Silk Sonic’s Debut Album in November

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is preparing for a (Silk) Sonic boom…

In a surprise move, Silk Sonic — the duo comprised of the 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer and Anderson .Paak — will release their debut studio album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, on November 12.

The highly anticipated project will include their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Leave the Door Open” and top 20 follow-up single “Skate.”

Fans were initially expecting the album to drop early next year.

The two Grammy-winners announced their new album release date on Friday (Oct. 8), which happens to be Mars’ 36th birthday. “ALBUM DROPS NOVEMBER 12!!” Paak wrote in his Twitter announcement. “Now spam the comments with happy birthday wishes to my brother @BrunoMars.”

The new release date for An Evening With Silk Sonic now coincides with Taylor Swift‘s next release, Red (Taylor’s Version). “Got some news that I think you’re gonna like – My version of Red will be out a week earlier than scheduled (including the 4 disc vinyl) on November 12th !” she wrote on Twitter last week. “Can’t wait to celebrate the 13th with you and our new/old autumn heartbreak album.”

Swift moved her release date up from Nov. 19, when many fans believe Adele will drop her highly anticipated fourth album.

Camila Cabello Tops the Billboard Artist 100 Chart for the First Time

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is the artist of the moment in another special first…

The 20-year-old Cuban and Mexican singer and former Fifth Harmony member jumps from No. 12 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated January 27) to become the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time.

Camila Cabello

But that’s not all…

Cabello becomes the first female artist to triple up atop the Artist 100, Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums chart simultaneously since Adele just over two years ago. And she’s the first Latino to do sho.

She’s the first artist overall to earn the honor since Kendrick Lamar last May.

The Artist 100, which launched in July 2014, measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Cabello’s Artist 100 coronation is powered by her debut album Camila, which arrives atop the Billboard 200 with 119,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, and its single “Havana,” featuring Young Thug, which rises 2-1 on the Hot 100 in its 23rd chart week.

“Havana” gains 34 percent to 44.9 million U.S. streams in the week ending Jan. 18 and takes over at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart. The track also surges by 52 percent to 80,000 downloads sold and sports 131 million in all-format airplay audience. Album sales contribute the majority of Cabello’s Artist 100 points (52 percent), followed by digital song sales (20 percent).

Lamar last led the Artist 100, Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in the same week on charts dated May 6, topping the latter two tallies with “Humble.” and DAMN., respectively.

Before Cabello, Adele was the last such female triple threat, leading the Hot 100 with “Hello” and the Billboard 200 with 25 on Jan. 16, 2016.

Since the Artist 100’s inception, seven acts have ruled all three Billboard charts simultaneously:

Artists to Top the Hot 100, Billboard 200 & Artist 100 Simultaneously
Artist, Weeks
Drake, 10
Taylor Swift, 7
Adele, 6
Ed Sheeran, 2
The Weeknd, 2
Camila Cabello, 1
Kendrick Lamar, 1

Karen Rodriguez to Perform at Jay Z’s Made in America Festival

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Karen Rodriguez is ready to take (Made in) America by storm…

The Peruvian and Dominican American singer and American Idol finalist will perform at Jay Z’s Made in America festival.

Rodriguez, who earned kudos for her bilingual cover of Adele’s “Hello,” joins a lineup that includes J. Cole, The Chainsmokers, Migos and Solange.

The Made in America festival will take place on September 2-3 in Philadelphia.

Fonsi Earns First Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 with “Despacito” Remix, Featuring Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Fonsi is making history with an assist from the Biebs…

For the first time in more than 20 years, a mostly Spanish-language song ranks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, as the 39-year-old Puerto Rican singer and Daddy Yankee‘s smash “Despacito” vaults 48-9 (on the May 6-dated chart), driven by a new remix featuring Justin Bieber.

The last time such a song hit the top 10 was in 1996, when Los Del Rio‘s “Macarena,” powered by its Bayside Boys remix, spent 14 weeks at No. 1.

While Bieber notches his 12th Hot 100 top 10, Fonsi and Daddy Yankee each earn their first.

It’s “such an incredible honor to have a Spanish song in the top 10 of the Hot 100 chart. It’s been an incredible ride since the very first day we released the song, seeing how the world just connected to it,” said Fonsi to Billboard after learning about the song’s race to the top 10.

“Despacito” isalready a huge success on Billboard‘s Latin charts, and this week it spends a 12th week atop Hot Latin Songs. The release of the remix (on April 17) spurs a 129 percent surge in U.S. streams, to 24.1 million (in the tracking week ending April 20, according to Nielsen Music), more than doubling its own record for the most weekly streams for a core Spanish song. The original version of “Despacito” earned 10.9 million streams on the April 15-dated chart.

Digital sales for “Despacito” soar 510 percent to 60,000, as the track re-enters at No. 8 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart (where it had previously peaked at No. 48). It tallies a 10th week atop the Latin Digital Song Sales chart, where it logs the highest sales frame for a mostly Spanish-language song (with no accompanying primarily English version) in the chart’s seven-year history. Enrique Iglesias‘ “Bailando,” featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, peaked with a prior-best 76,000 downloads (Aug. 16, 2014); notably, those sales also included Iglesias’ mostly English version of the song.

Globally, “Despacito” has forged record-breaking feats. According to Spotify, it’s the first Spanish-language song to reach No. 1 on the streaming service’s Global Chart and is that chart’s highest-ranking Spanish-language record to date.

Further, upon the release of the official remix audio clip on YouTube, it became the top music debut of 2017, accumulating more than 20 million views in its first 24 hours, according to the platform. It has reached 76 million worldwide views so far.

Meanwhile, the song’s original music video surpassed 1 billion global views on April 20, becoming the second-fastest music clip to reach the milestone across all genres (following its Jan. 12 release). Only Adele‘s “Hello” made a quicker ascent to the 1 billion mark.

Of its worldwide accolades, Fonsi adds that “the billion views in four months, No. 1 on Spotify Global and Justin Bieber jumping on-board with the remix have taken the song to another level. This is great for Latin music!”

Lovato to Help Celebrate the Music of the Bee Gees at This Year’s Grammy Awards

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato is about to experience a little Night Fever…

The 24-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress is set to make a special appearance at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Lovato, a first-time Grammy nominee this year (for her album Confident In the Best Pop Vocal Album category), will join Andra Day, Tori Kelly and Little Big Town for a collaborative performance celebrating the music of the Bee Gees and the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever.

They join a growing list of performers that includes Beyonce, Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Daft Punk, Adele, Metallica with Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Bruno Mars, Keith Urban, Anderson .Paak, A Tribe Called Quest and many others.

The Grammy Awards will take place February 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with host James Corden. It will be broadcast live at 8:00 pm EST on CBS.

Mars Performing at This Year’s Grammy Awards

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Mars is set to take the Grammy stage…

The 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter will perform at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy has announced.

This will be the four-time Grammy winner’s fifth Grammy performance and his first in four years.

He’s also nominated in this year’s album of the year category for his work on Adele‘s 25. While working together, Adele and Mars initially looked to create an uptempo song. But they ended up coming up with the “dramatic ballad,” “All I Ask,” which earned him an iHeart Music Award nomination for Best Cover Song.

Mars joins previously announced performers Adele, John Legend, Metallica, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.