Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” Video Surpasses Two Billion Views on YouTube

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Shakira has another two billion reasons to celebrate…

The 41-year-old Colombian superstar’s “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” music video has surpassed two billion views on YouTube.

Shakira, who is currently crossing the U.S. on her El Dorado Tour, shared the news with her fans on Instagram. “Incredible,” she wrote.

The “Waka Waka” clip is Shak’s second video to reach the milestone, following “Chantaje” with Maluma, which hit the two-billion mark earlier this year.

On the Billboard charts, Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” featuring Freshlyground peaked at No. 38 on the July 3, 2010-dated BillboardHot 100 chart. It spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart.

“Waka Waka” was the official 2010 FIFA World Cup song.

Luis Fonsi’s “Echame La Culpa” with Demi Lovato Debuts at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs Chart

Posted on November 30, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Fonsi is doubling up on the Billboard Latin charts…

Following the smash hit “Despacito,” the 39-year-old Puerto Rican singer and songwriter is back with his follow-up single, “Echame La Culpa,” with Demi Lovato.

The song debuts at No. 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, following his former No. 1 “Despacito,” with Daddy Yankee, featuring Justin Bieber.

The new single opens with 9.7 million streams and 33,000 downloads sold in the week ending November 23, with 2.5 million in audience impressions (week ending Nov. 23), according to Nielsen Music.

Fonsi collects his 31st charted title and becomes the third act in 2017 to have two songs concurrently in the top three.

Previously, Daddy Yankee did it on the February 4 list with “Despacito” and his own “Shaky Shaky” and Maluma notched four weeks in a row in June with “Felices Los 4” and his featured turn on Shakira’s “Chantaje.”

Meanwhile, “Despacito” — which was awarded four Latin Grammy Awards on November 16 and is nominated for three more for the 2018 Grammy Awards — earns the chart’s Greatest Gainer/Streaming award, climbing to 21.7 million. The single holds at No. 2.

Shakira’s “Perro Fiel,” Featuring Nicky Jam, Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Songs Chart

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Shakira is a woman on top…

The 40-year-old Colombian superstar’s latest single “Perro Fiel,” featuring Nicky Jam, crowns Billboard’s Latin Pop Songs airplay chart (dated December 2) as the track jumps 2-1 with a 2 percent rise in detections at the format in the week ending November 19.

The song earns Shakira her 18th No. 1 on the chart and her third in 2017 — she previously topped the list for five consecutive weeks with “Me Enamoré,” and seven weeks with “Chantaje,” featuring Maluma.

The latter track began its rule at No. 1 in December 2016, spending a total of 10 weeks atop the chart. Shakira maintains her lead among women with the most No. 1s on the list.

She’s second overall, trailing only Enrique Iglesias, with 22.

Residente Leads Pack of Latin Grammy Nominees with Nine Nods

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Residente will be the artist to beat at this year’s Latin Grammys…

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican rapper and founding member of Calle 13, whose real name is. René Juan Pérez Joglar, leads the list of nominees this year with nine nods.

Residente, who has won 24 Latin Grammy awards in his career, making him the Latin artist who has won the most gold-plated gramophones, picked up nods in the three main categories. He’s up for album of the year for Residente, his first solo album, and song and record of the year for “Guerra.”

In a departure, particularly for an album that had no radio singles, Residente also has different tracks up for best urban/fusion performance (“Dagombas en tamale”) best urban song (“Somos anormale”) and best tropical song (“Hijos del cañaveral”), while the ethereal music video to “Desencuentro,” a rare love song, is up for best short form music video.

Nipping at Residente’s heels, Maluma, with seven nods…

The 23-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer, who was nominated for Best New Artist in 2013, earned six of his nominations from only two categories.

In what may be a first for the Latin Grammys, Maluma has the same three recordings competing in both record and song of the year. “Felices los 4,” “Chantaje” (where he is featured on Shakira’s track) and “Vente Pa’Ca” (where he is featured on Ricky Martin’s track) are all up for record of the year; because Maluma has co-writing credit in all three tracks, he also garners nods in the song of the year categories, which are given to the songwriters.

“Chantaje” is also up for best urban fusion performance, giving Maluma his seventh nod.

Following Maluma with six nominations is Shakira, a 10-time Latin Grammy winner.

Shakira garnered three of her nods for “Chantaje,” her track with Maluma while her album El Dorado is also up for album of the year and best contemporary pop vocal album.

Juanes, Mon Laferte and producer/engineer/songwriter Kevin Jimenez ADG, who works with Maluma, have five nominations each.

Juanes is nominated for album and best pop/rock album of the year for his “visual” album, Mis planes son amarte, which is also up for best long form video.

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, the artists behind the global phenomenon “Despacito,” are up for four awards each for the track: song of the year (as writers), record of the year, best short form music video and best urban fusion performance, where they’re nominated for the “Despacito” remix that features Justin Bieber.

Of more than 500 submissions for best new artist, an award that has tended to shun big successes, the 10 nominees include at least seven signed to major labels: CNCO, Sebastian Yatra, Sofía Reyes, Martina La Peligrosa, Vicente García, Danay Suárez and Mau y Ricky.

Nominees to the Latin Grammys were chosen in 48 categories from over 10,000 total submissions and are voted upon by members of the Latin Academy who also vote for the winners.

This year’s Latin Grammys will air live on the Univision Network on November 16 and will be produced by a new team that includes Jose Tillan and Terry Lickona, longtime producer of Austin City Limits.

Find key nominations below:

Album Of The Year
Salsa Big Band — Rubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Obras Son Amores — Antonio Carmona
A La Mar — Vicente García
Fénix — Nicky Jam
Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes
La Trenza — Mon Laferte
Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos, Vol. 1) — Natalia Lafourcade
Residente — Residente
El Dorado — Shakira
Palabras Manuales — Danay Suarez

Record Of The Year
“La Flor De La Canela” — Rubén Blades
“El Surco” — Jorge Drexler
“Quiero Que Vuelvas” — Alejandro Fernández
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee
“El Ratico” — Juanes featuring Kali Uchis
“Amárrame” — Mon Laferte featuring Juanes
“Felices Los 4” — Maluma
“Vente Pa’ Ca” — Ricky Martin featuring Maluma
“Guerra” — Residente
“Chantaje” — Shakira featuring Maluma

Song Of The Year (A Songwriter’s Award)
“Amárrame” — Mon Laferte, songwriter (Mon Laferte featuring Juanes)
“Chantaje” — Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño, Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra, Joel Antonio López Castro, Maluma and Shakira, songwriters (Shakira featuring Maluma)
“Desde Que Estamos Juntos” — Descemer Bueno and Melendi, songwriters (Melendi)
“Despacito” — Daddy Yankee, Erika Ender and Luis Fonsi, songwriters (Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee)
“Ella” — Ricardo Arjona, songwriter (Ricardo Arjona)
“Felices Los 4” — Mario Cáceres, Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño, Maluma, Servando Primera, Stiven Rojas and Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra, songwriters (Maluma)
“Guerra” — Residente and Jeff Trooko, songwriters (Residente)
“La Fortuna” — Diana Fuentes and Tommy Torres, songwriters (Diana Fuentes featuring Tommy Torres)
“Tú Sí Sabes Quererme” — Natalia Lafourcade, songwriter (Natalia Lafourcade featuring Los Macorinos)
“Vente Pa’ Ca ” — Nermin Harambasic, Maluma, Ricky Martin, Mauricio Montaner, Ricky Montaner, Lars Pedersen, Carl Ryden, Justin Stein, Ronny Vidar Svendsen and Anne Judith Stokke Wik, songwriters (Ricky Martin featuring Maluma)

Best New Artist
Paula Arenas
CNCO
Vicente García
Martina La Peligrosa
Mau y Ricky
Rawayana
Sofía Reyes
Rosalía
Danay Suarez
Sebastián Yatra

Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album
Hijos Del Mar — David Bisbal
Rompiendo Fronteras — Alejandro Fernández
Flora Y Faῦna — Camila Luna
El Dorado — Shakira
Extended Play Yatra — Sebastián Yatra

Best Urban Fusion / Performance
“Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola” — J. Balvin featuring Bad Bunny
“Despacito” (Remix) — Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
“El Amante” — Nicky Jam
“Dagombas En Tamale” — Residente
“Chantaje” — Shakira featuring Maluma

Best Alternative Music Album
Jei Beibi — Café Tacvba
Apocalipsis Zombi — El Cuarteto de Nos
La Trenza — Mon Laferte
La Promesa De Thamar — Sig Ragga
Palabras Manuales — Danay Suarez

Best Regional Song (A Songwriter’s Award)
“Compromiso Descartado” — Espinoza Paz, songwriter (Leonardo Aguilar)
“Ganas De Volver” — Horacio Palencia, songwriter (Horacio Palencia)
“Sentimiento Emborrachado” — Raúl Jiménez E. and Chucho Rincón, songwriters (Santiago Arroyo)
“Siempre Es Así” — Juan Treviño, songwriter (Juan Treviño featuring AJ Castillo)
“Vale La Pena” — Edgar Barrera, Martín Castro Ortega and Alfonso Lizárraga, songwriters (Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga)

Best MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) Album
Dos Navegantes — Edu Lobo, Romero Lubambo, and Mauro Senise
DNA Musical — Alexandre Pires
Silva Canta Marisa — Silva
Até Pensei Que Fosse Minha — António Zambujo
Zanna — Zanna

For a full list of nominations, go to LatinGrammy.com.

Maluma Logs Fifth Top Five Hit on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs Chart with “Felices Los 4”

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Maluma has a handful of hits…

The 23-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter’s “Felices Los 4” has become his fifth top five hit on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart (dated May 27), as the track jumps 7-5 in its third week on the multi-metric tally (which blends airplay, sales and streams).

The new track previews the singer’s upcoming album, X, due later this year.

Streaming powers the song, with 5 million streams logged in the tracking week ending May 11, according to Nielsen Music (up 26 percent).

Of its total, 47 percent stem from YouTube plays, due in part to its popular music video. Spotify leads on-demand audio streams, with 1.4 million clicks in the most recent week.

Elsewhere, “Felices” vaults 22-13 on the Latin Airplay chart, taking Greatest Gainer honors, hiking 44 percent to 8.4 million audience impressions (in the week ending May 14).

He first reached the top five in 2015 with “Borro Cassette,” his breakout U.S. hit, peaking at No. 3. His top five follow-up came in 2016 when “El Perdedor,” featuring Yandel, got to No. 4 (July 16), shortly thereafter matching the No. 4 peak as a feature on Ricky Martin’s “Vente Pa’ Ca” (October 15).

Maluma concurrently remains in the top five of Hot Latin Songs as a featured guest on Shakira’s “Chantaje” for a 25th consecutive week (it previously crowned the chart for 11 weeks). The two Colombian stars also teamed up on a new song, “Trap,” which will appear on Shakira’s forthcoming album, El Dorado, out May 12.

Mars Earns Three Billboard Music Award Nominations, Including Top R&B Artist

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Magic-filled year for Bruno Mars…

The 2017 Billboard Music Awards nominations have been announced, with the 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer leading the Latino pack of nominees with three.

Mars, who released his third album 24K Magic last November, is nominated in the Top R&B Artist category.

Mars, who picked up a Billboard Music Award in 2011 for “Just The Way You Are,” will also compete in the Top R&B Album and Top R&B Song categories.

But Mars isn’t the only multiple Latino nominee…

Robert Trujillo and his Metallica bandmates have picked up two nods.

The 52-year-old part-Mexican American guitarist and his groupmates are nominated for Top Rock Artist, as well as the Top Rock Album for Hardwired…To Self Destruct.

In the Latin categories, the late Juan Gabriel picked up three nods, including one for Top Latin Artist; J Balvin picked up two, including one for Top Latin Album for his studio effort Energia; Los Plebes Del Rancho De Ariel Camacho earned two nods, including Top Latin Artist; and Nicky Jam and Maluma both received nods in the Top Latin Artist and Top Latin Song categories.

Shakira, a 7-time Billboard Music Award winner, received two nods in the same category, Top Latin Song, for “Chantaje,” her collaboration with Maluma, and “La Bicicleta,” her collaboration with Carlos Vives.

Two-time Grammy winner and 3-time Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda also earned two nominations in the same category, Top Soundtrack/Cast Album.

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer, composer and lyricist is a nominee for his work on the cast album to the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, as well as his Oscar-nominated work on the soundtrack to Disney’s Moana.

Other Latino nominees include CNCO, Daddy Yankee, Enrique Iglesias, Wisin and Camila Cabello.

The Billboard Music Awards will air on May 21 at 8PM on ABC.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Top Artist:
Adele
Beyonce
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top New Artist:
Alessia Cara
Desiigner
Lil Uzi Vert
Lukas Graham
Zayn

Billboard Chart Achievement Award Presented by Xfinity:
Luke Bryan
Nicki Minaj
The Chainsmokers
The Weeknd
Twenty One Pilots

Top Male Artist:
Justin Bieber
Drake
Future
Shawn Mendes
The Weeknd

Top Female Artist:
Adele
Beyonce
Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Sia

Top Duo/Group:
The Chainsmokers
Coldplay
Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots

Top Billboard 200 Artist:
Beyonce
Drake
Prince
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd
Top Hot 100 Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top Song Sales Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Prince
Justin Timberlake
Twenty One Pilots

Top Radio Songs Artist:
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
Top Streaming Songs Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Desiigner
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots

Top Social Artist:
Justin Bieber
BTS
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes

Top Touring Artist:
Justin Bieber
Beyonce
Coldplay
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Top R&B Artist:
Beyonce
Bruno Mars
Frank Ocean
Rihanna
The Weeknd

Top R&B Tour:
Beyonce
Lionel Richie
Rihanna

Top Rap Artist:
J. Cole
Desiigner
Drake
Future
Rae Sremmurd

Top Rap Tour
Drake
Future
Kanye West

Top Country Artist:
Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean

Top Country Tour:
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Dixie Chicks

Top Rock Artist:
Coldplay
The Lumineers
Metallica
Twenty One Pilots
X Ambassadors

Top Rock Tour:
Coldplay
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Top Latin Artist:
J Balvin
Juan Gabriel
Los Plebes Del Rancho De Ariel Camacho
Maluma
Nicky Jam

Top Dance/Electronic Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer
DJ Snake
Lindsey Stirling

Top Christian Artist:
Lauren Daigle
Hillsong Worship
Hillary Scott & the Family
Skillet
Chris Tomlin

Top Gospel Artist:
Jekalyn Carr
Kirk Franklin
Travis Greene
Tamela Mann
Hezekiah Walker

Top Billboard 200 Album:
Beyonce, Lemonade
Drake, Views
Rihanna, Anti
Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
The Weeknd, Starboy

Top Soundtrack/Cast Album:
Hamilton: An American Musical
Moana
Purple Rain
Suicide Squad: The Album
Trolls

Top R&B Album:
Beyonce, Lemonade
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Frank Ocean, Blonde
Rihanna, Anti
The Weeknd, Starboy

Top Rap Album:
J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only
Drake, Views
Kevin Gates, Isla
DJ Khaled, Major Key
A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service

Top Country Album:
Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Keith Urban, Ripcord

Top Rock Album:
The Lumineers, Cleopatra
Metallica, Hardwired…To Self Destruct
Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool
Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway
Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface

Top Latin Album:
J Balvin, Energia
CNCO, Primera Cita
Juan Gabriel, Los Duo 2
Juan Gabriel, Vestido De Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallanes
Los Plebes del Rancho de Ariel Camacho, Recuerden Mi Estilo

Top Dance/Electronic Album:
The Chainsmokers, Bouquet
The Chainsmokers, Collage
Flume, Skin
Kygo, Cloud Nine
Lindsey Stirling, Brave Enough

Top Christian Album:
Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be
Joey + Rory, Hymns
Hillary Scott & The Family, Love Remains
Skillet, Unleashed

Top Gospel Album:
Tamela Mann, One Way
Kirk Franklin, Losing My Religion
Travis Greene, The Hill
Tasha Cobbs, One Place: Live
Hezekiah Walker, Better: Azusa – The Next Generation 2

Top Hot 100 Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”

Top Selling Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring, WizKid & Kyla “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”

Top Radio Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Sia Featuring Sean Paul, “Cheap Thrills”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”

Top Streaming Song (Audio):
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Rihanna, “Needed Me”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top Streaming Song (Video):
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
Desiigner, “Panda”
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”

Top Collaboration:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Sia Featuring Sean Paul, “Cheap Thrills”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top R&B Song:
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”
Rihanna, “Needed Me”
Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top R&B Collaboration:
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
PARTYNEXTDOOR Featuring Drake, “Come And See Me”
Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk “I Feel It Coming”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top Rap Song:
Desiigner, “Panda”
Drake, “Fake Love”
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad And Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”

Top Rap Collaboration:
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)
Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello, “Bad Things”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”

Top Country Song:
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

Top Country Collaboration:
Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King, “Different For Girls”
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill A Word”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Chris Young Featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”

Top Rock Song:
Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons with Logic & Ty Dolla $ign Featuring X Ambassadors, “Sucker For Pain”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”
Twenty One Pilots, “Ride”
Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out”
X Ambassadors, “Unsteady”

Top Latin Song:
Daddy Yankee, “Shaky Shaky”
Enrique Iglesias Featuring Wisin, “Duele El Corazon”
Nicky Jam, “Hasta El Amanecer”
Shakira Featuring Maluma, “Chantaje”
Carlos Vives & Shakira, “La Bicicleta”

Top Dance/Electronic Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Calvin Harris Featuring Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For”
Major Lazer Featuring Justin Bieber & MO, “Cold Water”
DJ Snake Featuring Justin Bieber, “Let Me Love You”

Top Christian Song:
Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”
Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will”
Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
Ryan Stevenson Featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”

Top Gospel Song:
Jekalyn Carr, “You’re Bigger”
Tasha Cobbs, Featuring Kierra Sheard “Put A Praise On It”
Kirk Franklin, “Wanna Be Happy??”
Travis Greene, “Made A Way”
Hezekiah Walker, “Better”

Shakira Releases New Single “Me enamoré”

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Shakira has fallen in love… and, she’s singing about it.

The 40-year-old Colombian superstar has released a new single titled “Me enamoré” after teasing the track on social media just a few hours before and sending a personalized postcard to a few lucky fans to tell them about the song.

“Very happy to share with all of you my new single ‘Me enamoré.’ This song narrates a moment in my life when I was so in love that I was literally climbing trees,” Shak writes in the card with a photo of her hugging a tree. “Let me know when you guys receive the postcard by posting a selfie with the hashtag #MeEnamoré. I really want to see all of you again. Thank you for your love and support, I have the best fans ever. Love you guys.”

The upbeat track talks about falling in love with lyrics like: “I never thought it would be like this, I didn’t think you’d fall for me … With you, I’d have 10 kids, but let’s start with a pair.”

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4m5A5meIueOcDBpbqGvkQB

“Me enamoré” follows Shakira’s hit collaborations, including the Latin Grammy-winning song “La bicicleta” with Carlos Vives, “Chantaje” with Maluma and Prince Royce‘s latest chart-topping bachata tune “Deja Vu.”

Shakira to Open New School, Institución Nuevo Bosque, in Barranquilla

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

School’s in session for Shakira…

The 40-year-old Colombian superstar is opening a new school in her native hometown of Barranquilla.

Shakira’s Pies Descalzos Foundation is joining forces with FC Barcelona Foundation and La Caixa, a banking foundation, to open the Institución Nuevo Bosque — Pies Descalzos’ seventh school in Colombia.

The institute will be built in one of Barranquilla’s most conflict-ridden districts, which is where most of Shakira’s institutions have been built throughout Colombia.

“When we started to build schools in Colombia 20 years ago, we chose remote areas where there was absolutely nothing at all — no infrastructure, roads or even potable water,” the “Chantaje” singer said in a statement.

“We built schools where the government was absent and thousands of children didn’t have access to quality education. The transformation was immediate – jobs were generated, malnutrition plummeted and the students responded well academically.”

In a video shared by FC Barcelona, Shak further expands on the importance of investing in education.

“We live in a globalized world and we need to invest in children if we want to have a prosperous world. Helping children is the most effective way to eradicate poverty.”

Institución Nuevo Bosque will open its doors in two years.

Back in December, Shakira’s Pies Descalzos’ school in Barranquilla was named the No. 1 public school in all of Colombia, according to a study. The ranking was based on the students’ collective Saber 11 test scores.

Medrano to Participate at This Year’s Billboard Latin Music Conference

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Manuel Medrano is representing the next generation of hitmakers…

The 29-year-old Colombian singer and songwriter will speak at the “I Write the Song, the New Generation” panel at this year’s Billboard Latin Music Conference.

Medrano will be joined by fellow hitmakers Joss Favela, Servando, Horacio Palencia, Erika Ender and The Rude Boyz on the panel..

Medrano is a Latin Grammy-winning singer/songwriter known for his romantic ballads like “Una y otra vez“; regional Mexican singer Favela is ASCAP‘s 2016 & 2017 songwriter of the year; while Palencia is a five-time BMI songwriter of the year.

Servando is the songwriter behind Enrique Iglesias‘ Grammy-nominated hit “Duele el corazón“; Ender co-wrote Luis Fonsi‘s chart-topping hit “Despacito“; and to round out the panelists are The Rude Boyz, hitmakers behind Shakira’s “Chantaje” and Maluma’s “Borró cassette.”

The “I Write the Song” panel will take place April 26. Other confirmed panels and panelists include “Socializing Maluma” featuring the Colombian superstar; “The Latin Trap Panel” with artists like Farruko, Ozuna and Bad Bunny; and the memoirs and biopics panel titled “Me, Me, Me” with Ednita Nazario.

The 2017 Billboard Latin Music Conference will kick off on April 24 with more panels and panelists set to be announced in the upcoming weeks leading up the conference.

The conference will take place on April 24-27 at the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach. To register, visit BillboardLatinConference.com.

Maluma to Lead Social Media Panel at 2017 Billboard Latin Music Conference

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Maluma is getting social…

The 23-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter will take center stage at the will take center stage at the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Conference.

Maluma, who recently topped the charts with Shakira on their massive hit “Chantaje,” will be part of the new panel, “Socializing Maluma.”

With more than 24 million followers on Facebook, 20 million on Instagram and 3.5 million on Twitter, Maluma will give the audience an inside look on how he works his social media.

Recently, Maluma became the sixth act — and the youngest ever — to concurrently hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart, with “Sin contrato” and “Chantaje.” At 23-years-old he’s had five No. 1’s so far on the Latin Airplay chart, including “Borró cassette” and “El perdedor.”

The reggaetonero was also announced as a finalist for the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards. He has seven entries including social artist of the year and hot Latin songs artist of the year, male.

The Billboard Latin Music Awards are the culmination of the Billboard Latin Music Conference, taking place on April 24-27 at the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach.

To register, visit www.billboardlatinconference.com.

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