J Balvin’s “Ay Vamos” Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay Chart

J Balvin is the Latin Airplay king this week…

The 29-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer has reached the top spot on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with his latest single “Ay Vamos.”

J Balvin

Balvin’s single has a sinuous, insistent hooks that has captured global attention. In fact, the official music video for “Ay Vamos” has logged more than 111-million views on VEVO/YouTube.

This year the three-time Latin Grammy nominee went on tour in the U.S. with Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull. He also made an appearance in Romania and teamed up with Inna to make a single, at the MAD Video Music Awards feat. Eleni Foureira, Sofia and Milan.

He previously reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Songs chart earlier this year with “6 AM,” featuring Farruko. The track was the Colombian singer-songwriter’s first leader on the chart and followed his breakout hit “Yo Te Lo Dije,” which peaked at No. 4 in September.

Shakira Expecting Her Second Child with Gerard Piqué

Shakira is expanding her family…

The 37-year-old Colombian superstar is pregnant with her second child.

Shakira

“Yes, we are expecting our second baby!! Thank you for all your well wishes!” she wrote Thursday on her Facebook page.

Shakira and longtime boyfriend and soccer star Gerard Piqué are also parents to 19-month-old son Milan.

“It takes a lot of energy from you — but I love it,” she told People magazine after Milan’s birth. “I’m really enjoying every bit of it. It’s not as idyllic as everybody tells you — but not as horrible as everybody tells you. It comes with a full package.”

Shakira and Piqué met while the former The Voice coach was promoting the 2010 World Cup anthem “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa).”

“If it wasn’t for the World Cup, my son Milan would not be here,” Shakira recently told the AP before performing her new 2014 World Cup single “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the final game on Sunday, July 13.

Both Pique and baby Milan appeared in her soccer-centric music video for the new single. The song’s release comes just after the noted humanitarian’s self-titled tenth studio album was released in March, debuting at no. 2 on the Billboard charts.

Shakira has been very open about her desire to have a big family, telling Latina magazine in April, “If it weren’t because of my music projects, I would be pregnant already. I would love to have eight or nine kids with Gerard — my own futbol team.”

Shakira Performs “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony

World Cup 2014

It’s a red-hot record-setting performance for Shakira in Brazil…

The 37-year-old Colombian singer performed “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the closing ceremony of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Shakira

Banging on a Carnaval drum while sizzling in a red dress made up of sequined straps and a revealing fringe skirt, Shakirae was accompanied by samba dancers, Brazilian percussionists and Brazilian collaborator Carlinhos Brown, wearing a black tie and an Indian headdress.

It was the third consecutive appearance at the World Cup for Shakira, a first for a musical act.

Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” feat. Freshlyground, was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and she also performed “Hips Don’t Lie” at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin.

Shakira was immediately followed by Santana, Wyclef and Alexandre Pires, who gave an inspired live performance of the official World Cup anthem “Dar Um Jeito (We Will Find a Way).”

By the time Brazilian superstar Ivete Sangalo came out to sing, the crowd was jumping in the stands.

A roar went up in the stadium at the end of the 20-minute show, which came before the final match between Argentina and Germany. As a finale, all of the artists danced together on the field, Shakira holding her toddler son, Milan.

The closing ceremony, though brief, was an appropriately celebratory kickoff for the last game of the global tournament. It was a bittersweet sendoff for Brazil, which suffered an embarrassing defeat to Germany and ended up in fourth place after a 3-0 game against the Netherlands.

After the unprecedented success of her 2010 World Cup South Africa anthem “Waka Waka,” Shakira made a bid for this year’s World Cup with the Brazil 2014 version of her single “Dare.” The song was not awarded official FIFA song or anthem status but was included as a cut on the World Cup album.

 

The video posted on Shakira’s Vevo channel has more than 220 million views, besting Pitbull’s “We Are One,” which has almost 189 million.

Shakira to Perform at This Year’s FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony

Shakira is ready to la la la her way to Brazil for a record-setting World Cup performance…

The 37-year-old Colombian singer and former The Voice coach has confirmed that she’ll perform “La La La (Brazil 2014)” featuring Brazilian artist Carlinhos Brown at the closing ceremony of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Shakira

Shakira’s track, which has been billed as this year’s official World Cup anthem, has spent six weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 53.

More traction is expected for “La La La” following Shakira’s performance, which will be her third consecutive appearance at the World Cup, a first for a musical act.

Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” feat. Freshlyground, was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and she also performed “Hips Don’t Lie” at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin.

“I have an intricate relationship with football for obvious reasons,” said Shakira, whose partner is Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique, with whom she has a son, Milan, who is featured kicking a soccer ball on the “La La La” video.

“For me the World Cup carries such a tremendous personal connection as well. This will be my third consecutive FIFA World Cup performance, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup changed my life forever — it’s where I began the love story of my life, and now have my son Milan as a result,” added Shakira. “For all of those reasons I just feel so grateful for the opportunity to come back to perform at the Closing Ceremony of this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, it feels right. The fans have shown the most incredible support for this song and I can’t wait to perform it for them.”

Shakira Releases Steamy Video for Her “Can’t Remember to Forget You” Duet with Rihanna

Shakira isn’t afraid to get up close and personal with her “Can’t Remember to Forget You” collaborator…

In the just-released official music video for their new duet, the 36-year-old Colombian singer and Rihanna are shown in bodysuits and atop bed sheets, cuddling and smoking cigars as they sing of a post-breakup longing.

Rihanna & Shakira

The clip, which also shows Shakira playing an electric guitar and drums, was directed by Joseph Kahn, who also helmed Mariah Carey and Miguel’s “#Beautiful,” as well as “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna.

“Can’t Remember to Forget You” was released on January 13 as the first single from Shakira’s self-titled inaugural album with Sony label RCA Records, which is also her first since 2010’s Sale el Sol.

She has said in an interview that Shakira is dedicated to Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, her partner and the father of her son Milan, reports Billboard.

The singer’s video release comes just weeks before she returns as a coach on NBC’s The Voice, which is back for a sixth season on February 24.

The music video has already registered more than 1.47 million views on VEVO.

Shakira will be released on March 25.

Lovato (Neon) Lights Up Billbooard’s Social Media Chart

Talk about neon hot! Demi Lovato leads the charge of Latinos on social media this week…

Hot on the heels of the video debut for her latest track “Neon Lights,” the 21-year-old part-Mexican singer, actress and The X Factor judge rises 12-8 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart with a 13% rise in overall chart points.

demi-lovato-blue-hair-jay-leno-650-430

Lovato re-enters the top 10 thanks in part to the clip’s bow on November 21.

The Social 50 ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Myspace and Instagram. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views, song plays and reactions as measured by music analytics company Next Big Sound.

The video, with its neon lights-festooned rave scene, helps drive conversation about Lovato on Facebook up 57% over the previous week, helping her to accumulate 225,000 new followers on the platform (up 3.4%). The video helped Lovato accumulate over 15 million plays across all of her videos hosted on Vevo, a 66% increase over the previous week.

Further down the tally, several artists featured on the new charity album Songs for the Philippines see gains. The set, which raises funds for the Philippine Red Cross to benefit victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda), features acts like Enrique Iglesias, Bruno Mars and Jessica Sanchez.

Iglesias ascends 30-23 with 278,000 overall fans added to his audience.

Meanwhile, Shakira moves 16-7 thanks to her usual family and baby-related postings on Facebook. A photo of her, husband Gerard Piqué and their son Milan received a staggering 2 million likes on Facebook since its posting on November 17. Other activity contributes to a 341% increase in conversation about Shakira on the Facebook platform, which helps grow her audience there by 329,000.

Miley Cyrus remains at No. 1 for the fourth week in a row while Eminem and Katy Perry hold at Nos. 2 and 3 respectively.