Anitta will be bringing the heat to the Latin AMAs…
Telemundo has announced the second wave of performers to take center stage at the 2021 Latin American Music Awards next month, with the 27-year-old Brazilian singer/songwriter making the list.
Anitta joins a roster of new additions to the lineup that includes Carrie Underwood, Juanes, Manuel Turizo, Pitbull, Ricky Martin, Wisin, Yandel, Ziggy Marley, Alaina Castillo, Cami, Carlos Rivera, Juhn, Mariah Angeliq, Natanael Cano, Sofía Reyesand Yendry.
Underwood will join David Bisbal for their first-ever television performance of “Tears of Gold,” Ricky and Carlos Vives, as well as Ziggy and Maluma, will present their upcoming collaborations, Juanes will serenade fans with a new song from his soon-to-be-released album, and Karol G will take the stage with Mariah Angeliq for an exclusive TV premiere, to name a few.
They join the first wave of performers, which included Ana Bárbara, Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga, Camilo, Carlos Vives, Bisbal, Eslabon Armado, Gerardo Ortiz, Joss Favela, Karol G, Los Dos Carnales, Maluma, Myke Towers, Nicky Jam, Piso 21 and a special tribute to the late Regional Mexican singer-songwriter Joan “El Poeta del Pueblo” Sebastian.
Following safety protocols to protect the health and safety of all involved, the 2021 awards show will honor some of the most influential Latin artists of today, as voted by fans in 25 categories including pop, urban, tropical, regional Mexican, and the newly added favorite virtual concert.
The 2021 Latin AMAs, hosted by actress Jacqueline Bracamontes, will air at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, April 15, from the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, via Telemundo and will broadcast simultaneously on Universo and throughout the Americas on Telemundo Internacional.
The Puerto Rican urbano singer, who was raised in the U.S., has released his 14-track sophomore album Monarca.
The album opens with a confession-style intro, where he raps about feeling like he has the world in his hands.
The album features J Balvin, Cazzu, Yandel, Natanael Cano, among others, who join the Puerto Rican rapper on explosive, hard-hitting tracks.
From trap to reggaeton and hip-hop, Carrion delivers most trap bangers on his own.
Of the standout tracks, two are duets. On “Todo O Nada” with rising Venezuela singer Corina Smith, Carrion switches gears and slows things down for the R&B-infused seductive tune.
On the other end of the spectrum, trap-influenced hip-hop beat “Tata” finds Carrion and Balvin spitting fire rap verses.
Billboard has released its 2020 year-end Top Latin Artists chart, with the 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer-songwriter coming in at No. 1 for the second consecutive year.
Bad Bunny notched a field-dominating 41 charting songs on the airplay-, streaming- and digital sales-blended Hot Latin Songs chart during the tracking year (five of them spent time at No. 1, seeding a booming closing year for the artist whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio). Plus, on the Top Latin Albums chart, he spent 45 weeks at No. 1 during the chart year with three different No. 1 albums.
J Balvin is the runner-up on the year-end Top Latin Artists chart, Ozuna comes in third place, while Anuel AA, Sech and Maluma are Nos. 4-6, respectively. The male reggaetón brigade in the top 10 is closed by Myke Towers at No. 10.
Karol G leads the female flock closing as the Top Female Artistfor a second year in a row (and the only woman in the year-end top 10).
The 29-year-old Colombian singer and songwriter comes in as the No. 8 artist; she was No. 9 in 2019. (Shakira was the lone woman in the top 10 in 2018 and 2017.)
Karol G was the only female act who mostly records in Spanish to reach No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart during the 2020 chart year. She topped the list with “Tusa,” a collaboration with hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj, which led the list for four weeks.
Newcomer Natanael Cano earns the No. 7 spot on the Top Latin Artists chart (he’s also the Top New Artist).
The 19-year-old Mexican musician’s year-end finish was aided by his seven charting hits on the Hot Latin Songs chart during the chart year, along with his album Corridos Tumbadosspending half of the year locked in the weekly top 10 of the Top Latin Albums chart, placing him as one of the trailblazers of the corridos tumbadossquad.
The Mexican group’s debut album Tu Veneno Mortalarrived in the top 10 on the weekly Top Latin Albums chart dated May 16 (peaking at No. 7 in July), and then, just a few months later, the teenage trio’s second album, Vibras de Noche, bowed at No. 1 (Aug. 1). It was the second title by a regional Mexican act to open at No. 1 in 2020, and earned the year’s biggest week — at that point — for a regional Mexican album in terms of equivalent album units. The Pedro Tovar-led ensemble leads the year-end Top Latin Artists – Duo/Group ranking.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts dated November 23, 2019, through November 14, 2020. The rankings for Nielsen Music/MRC Data-based year-end recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-November time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
Lunay isn’t old enough to drink in the United States, but he’s already making his mark in the music world.
The 20-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton and Latin trap singer has been named to Billboard’s 21 Under 21 list.
Billboard‘s annual ranking of powerful young voices includes arena headliners and promising new talent, familiar names and new musicians quickly rising toward the mainstream. For groups, if most members are under 21, they were considered eligible.
Lunay is recognized for having total streams of 524.5 million.
After posting videos of himself freestyling on Facebook in 2017, Lunay got a call from producers Chris Jedi and Gaby Music. Two years later, Lunay was collaborating with reggaetón superstars Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny on “Soltera (Remix),” his first top 10 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, peaking at No. 3 and raking in 343.2 million U.S. streams, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
Signed to indie label Star Island, the rising artist, who has since scored collaborations with Ozuna and Anuel AA, credits his success to two things: “humility and hard work.”
But Lunay isn’t the only Latino artist to make the list…
Manuel Turizo earned a spot for having total streams of 328.1 million.
Back in 2017, the 20-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer, then only 16, scored a viral hit with debut single “Una Lady Como Tú.” Since then, he has topped the Mexico Airplay chart with “Quiéreme Mientras Se Pueda” and the Latin Airplaylist with his Sebastián Yatra–Rauw Alejandro collaboration “TBT.”
Turizo says his second album, Dopamina, will “dominate” 2021. “I hope that by the time I’m 60, people will still be consuming my music and going to my concerts,” he says. “It’s not about being at the top. It’s about acquiring an audience [that will be] by your side throughout your career.”
Natanael Cano has also made the grade…
The 19-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter has earned a total of 905.3 million streams in his short career.
Six months into 2020, Cano — who only launched his career in 2019 — became the third-most-consumed Latin artist in the United States, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data’s midyear report, ranking just behind Bad Bunny and Ozuna.
Since partnering with Bad Bunny on “Soy El Diablo (Remix)” in October 2019, Cano has released four projects, including Trap Tumbadoin June, cementing his place as a leading force in trap corridos. And as his career continues to grow in the United States, by 2021, he says, “I’d love to reach every corner of Mexico.”
A committee of Billboard editors and reporters weighed a variety of factors in determining the 2020 21 Under 21 list, including, but not limited to, impact on consumer behavior, as measured by such metrics as album and track sales, streaming volume, social media impressions, and radio and TV audiences reached; career trajectory; reputation among peers; and overall impact in the industry, specifically during the past 12 months. Where required, record-label market share was consulted using Nielsen Music/MRC Data market share for album plus track-equivalent and stream-equivalent album consumption units. Unless otherwise noted, Billboard Boxscore and Nielsen Music/MRC Data are the sources for tour grosses and sales/streaming data, respectively.
YouTube Music‘s first-ever #FoundryFestwill feature 20 performances, premieres, videos and discussions with YouTube Foundry artists, including the 23-year-old Mexican American bilingual singer-songwriter.
The “So Good”singer will be joined by Dua Lipa, Beabadoobee and Rina Sawayama as part of the festival, which launches at 9:00 am ET on Friday, October 23.
Fans will be able to scroll through the offerings in the on-demand video series by searching #Foundryfest on YouTube, with new treats popping up throughout the day on the artist’s official You Tube channels.
“YouTube Music Foundry was a great resource to me early in my career, and I’m happy to be an alum of a program that helps support emerging artists from all over the world,” said 2015 Foundry alumni Lipa in a statement.
Other past and current Foundry artists from the service’s artist development program slated to participate in the event include: Arlo Parks, Joesef, Rauw Alejandro. Gabriel Garzon-Montano, Natanael Cano, Guapdad 4000, Lost Stories,Tessa Violet, Baby Rose, Michael Brun, Eladio Carrion, Novelbright, Lime Cordiale, Rei Ami, Adam Melchor, TESSÆ and Isabella Lovestory.
As with last week’s #SOSFEST, which collected funds for the National Independent Venue Association, #FoundryFest will raise money to support the nearly 3,000 U.S. venues, festivals and promoters who’ve been severely impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown.
“YouTube created Foundry in 2015, to celebrate developing artists from around the world and help them build a global fanbase, which holds true today. Artists are always ingenious, creative problem solvers, but I’m especially impressed by how they’ve navigated change this year,” said Naomi Zeichner, YouTube’s Artist Partnerships Lead in a statement. “#FoundryFest is a testament to the resiliency of the artist community, and I’m excited for fans to explore what these artists are creating right now, and hear more about their experiences this year.”
Amazon Music is putting a big focus on Latin music with the launch of “Amazon Music LAT!N,” featuring the 19-year-old Mexican singer in a new editorial video series, Género101,
The Latin music brand features a broad umbrella that includes over 100 new and revamped playlists, an emerging artist program, merchandise, video and multiple catalog programs among many other initiatives.
Using the tagline “La Musica que nos conecta” — a reference to the fact that Latinos come from many countries and cultures but are connected by music and language — the LAT!N hub, which includes music in Spanish and Portuguese, will live within Amazon at amazon.com/latinmusic.
It seeks to establish Amazon as a major player in Latin music streaming and content, as well as retail.
“The big differentiator [with other streaming services] is the ability to work cross functionally with the other Amazon verticals and services like Twitch and Prime Video,” explains Rocío Guerrero, who assumed the newly created position of global head of Latin music at Amazon in January.
“We can do things 360. It’s unparalleled and it will live within the Amazon.com ecosystem.”
Prior to Guerrero’s arrival, Amazon Music had been relatively perfunctory with its approach to Latin music, offering playlists and a big catalog but little else. Latin content was hardly ever marketed The launch of LAT!N marks a major investment and commitment to the music.
“What they want is to expand with even more audiences and fans and engage them with Latin music,” Guerrero says. A major thrust is positioning Amazon as a destination that focuses not only on reggaetón and urban music, which dominate the major Latin playlists around the world, but on all genres of Latin music, aiming for Amazon’s “broader” — as Guerrero calls it — audience, including older listeners.
“For instance, genres like bachata, salsa and Regional Mexican are big in Amazon Music,” she says. “We have a spotlight now. And we can shine a light on all the genres of Latin music.”
Guerrero came to Amazon from Warner Music Latin, but previously spent years overseeing U.S. Latin content in Spotify. Since joining Amazon in late 2019 she has expanded the Latin music global team, hiring Ana Martinez as label relations and Cristina Martin to head marketing for Latin music global and retaining Amaya Mendizabal as senior music curator.
After planning for the first half of the year, the official LAT!N kickoff features an original, acoustic version of Maluma’s global hit “Hawái.” It will be followed by exclusive weekly releases of new renditions by Karol G, Christian Nodal and Romeo Santos during Hispanic Heritage Month, with more planned moving forward.
At the same time, a catalog program called “Raices” will kick off with a spotlight on Marc Anthony that includes a mini documentary shot in his home, and will highlight Latin catalog content on a monthly basis. Likewise, an emerging artist program, “Rompe,” which is similar to Amazon’s “Breakthrough” program in the U.K., will highlight a local emerging artist every month, beginning with Colombia’s Las Villa and Interscope artist Nobeat.
New content will go beyond music to include five new editorial video series, available in English and Spanish. The first, Género101, will highlight different sub-genres of Latin music, beginning with an episode on corridos tumbaos explained by Natanael Cano. An Alexa component is also in development that will allow listeners to ask their virtual assistant questions and get replies in different artists’ voices.
The core of LAT!N, of course, will continue to be playlists — now expanded to 100 — including Latin global hits playlist Platino (formerly titled Fuego Latino), new music playlist Hoy, and a Clásicos playlist that features classics for each genre. Says Guerrero: “We cannot commit to just one audience only.”
Lenny Tavarez is using his voice to take a stand against domestic violence.
The Puerto Rican Latin trap singer is offering listeners a taste of his sensitive side in his latest single, “La Mujer Traiciona,” which features 17-year-old upcoming artist Beéle.
“La Mujer Traiciona” narrates the story of a woman who is unfaithful as a result of physical, mental and emotional abuse from her partner.
“If a woman doesn’t feel protected and doesn’t feel loved, she will most probably betray her partner,” Tavarez tells Billboard. “This song was born with the need to give women a weapon to say ‘yes, I failed you but it was your fault.’”
Recent statistics by the National Domestic Violence Hotline show that “on average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States,” which is why Tavarez decided to bring up the important social issue.
“Not only do we want to raise awareness but we want to make it clear that domestic violence is a problem,” he says. “Above all, we want to empower women not to give up and to seek help if this is happening to them.”
Directed by Laura Castellanos, the music video shows the heartbreaking storyline of a woman who is a victim of abuse but in the end, leaves her toxic relationship. The closing frame shares the phone number to National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
“It was incredible to film this video during the pandemic,” Tavarez says, explaining that Beéle filmed his part in Bogota, the actors were filmed in Medellin, and he filmed in Miami.
For his new track, which is a tropical dancehall with Afrobeat melodies, Tavarez teamed up with Beéle because he admires his incredible voice and clarity on his sound. “I’m really happy to have him on this song. I like to vouch for the newer talents.”
As for the best advice he can offer to men and women in this situation? “It all starts with self-love,” he says. “If you give your partner an environment of love, your partner will respond with the same. Men, don’t ever lay a hand on a woman for any reason and women, be smart! Many times men give the wrong signals from the beginning.”
“La Mujer Traiciona,” which was produced by Dimelo Flow and King Swifft, forms part of Tavarez’s upcoming studio album Krack, which includes collaborations with Nicky Jam, Rauw Alejandro, Cazzu, Anitta and Natanael Cano, among others.
This year’s Premios Juventud will include a special segment, honoring 25 years of Selena Quintanilla’s music and legacy, with the 33-year-old Dominican singer-songwriter among the artists set to take part.
In addition to Natasha, Selena’s brother and producer of her biggest hits, A.B. Quintanilla III, will participate in the special dedicated to la Reina de la Musica Tejana.
The other artists participating in the Selena tribute include Karol G, Danna Paola, Ally Brooke and Greeicy.
“For me being part of this special was a real honor. She is a woman that after all these years, and everything that has happened, is a legend. I never hard the chance to meet her while she was here but she is an icon, an icon that lasts a lifetime,” Greeicy tells Billboard.
“How amazing is it that she has inspired so many with her music. It was very challenging for me to create the energy and portray her flavors of cumbia. It was a beautifully difficult challenge and it was very special because I learned from her music and I’m going to keep enjoying it with respect and I hope to honor her. To have the privilege to prepare this special with her brother, who knew her, lived with her, and spent her life with her, is very special. It was a hard challenge for me because I felt like I was speaking directly to her. The special is going to be really great, it was beautiful to be able to create it with him, he was wonderful to work with,” she adds.
With 12 nominations, J Balvin leads the 2020 Premios Juventud, followed by Karol G, Bad Bunny and Anuel AA.
Confirmed performers include CNCO, Ozuna, Natanael Cano, Pitbull and Gloria Trevi, to name a few.
Following all the safety guidelines, PJ 2020, broadcasting live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, will feature artists performing at the venue, a virtual audience, an innovative integration of the latest state-of-the-art, augmented and virtual reality technologies for award presentations, intros and musical performances.
Ally Brooke is gearing up for the Premios Juventud…
Univisionhas unveiled the second wave of talent confirmed to perform at this year’s Premios Juventudawards show, with the 27-year-old Mexican American singer and former Fifth Harmony making the list.
Ally Brooke, who finished in third place on the last installment of Dancing With the Stars, recently released the Spanish single “500 Veces,” featuring Messiah. No word if she’ll perform that song.
In addition to Ally Brooke, the star-studded lineup includesJ Balvin, Natanael Cano, Pedro Capo,CNCO, Karol G, Kany Garcia, Greeicy, Mau & Ricky, Ozuna, Rafa Pabon, Pitbull, Alex Rose, Sebastian Yatra, Caly y El Dandee, Danna Paola, The Wailersand Zion & Lennox, who will bless fans with a special musical number from Puerto Rico in celebration of their 20th anniversary.
They join previously announced performers Anuel AA, Rauw Alejandro,Neto Bernal, Camilo, Natti Natasha, Gloria Trevi, Manuel Turizo and Jay Wheeler.
In a first ever, PJ-only version, The Wailers will be joined on stage by Cedellaand Skip Marley,Pedro Capo, Rauw Alejandro, Camiloand Kany Garcia to send a message of love, justice and inclusion.
Pitbull will surprise fans with his first ever television performance of his single “I Believe That We will Win.”
The program will feature artists performing at the venue, a virtual audience, and an innovative integration of the latest state-of-the-art, augmented and virtual reality technologies for award presentations, intros and musical performances.
Bad Bunny’s leading Latin music’s charge in consumption…
Latin music has posted a healthy increase in audio consumption album equivalents in the U.S. in the first six months of 2020, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data‘s midyear report, with the 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggeaton singer earning top artist honors.
Overall, audio consumption of Latin music grew to 14.56 million units in the first six months of 2020, up 15.9% from the 12.6 million units registered for 2019’s midyear total. That number helped the overall growth of the genre.
Following R&B/Hip-Hop, Latin was the greatest percentage point gainer among the large genres, now comprising 4.09% market share of the total U.S. music market. That’s up from 3.86% at midyear 2019.
Latin’s market share growth comes despite the fact that, like other genres, it has suffered a decline in its weekly streaming average since the economic shutdown beginning the week of March 13. Latin saw its average weekly on-demand count drop from 1.182 billion prior to the advent of the pandemic to 1.143 billion average weekly streams from the pandemic period onward through July 2, a 3.3% drop.
Like other genres, Latin’s physical sales was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with physical album sales dropping 48.7% to 212,000 copies from 414,000 in the first half of 2019. As with other genres, Latin enjoyed a digital sales bump with download albums growing 11.7% to 248,000 copies from 222,000 the year before.
That means overall, album sales fell 27.6% to 461,000 from 636,000 copies, and digital track sales fell 32.6% to 3.35 million copies, versus 4.83 million in the six-month year earlier period.
It’s also the sixth-most-consumed album of the year and the lone Latin title in the top 10. Interesting fact: When Bad Bunny’s Las Que No Iban a Salir debuted on the May 14 Top Latin Albums chart at No. 1, Bad Bunny also held the No. 2 (YHLQMDLG) and No. 3 (X100PRE) slots.
Following Bad Bunny in consumption for the first six months of the year is Ozuna, and in third place, newcomer Natanael Cano.
In terms of songs, the most-consumed track for the first six months of the year was Karol G and Nicki Minaj’s “Tusa,” followed by Bad Bunny’s “Yo Perreo Sola.”
At the midyear mark, Bad Bunny gets an artist credit, either as a solo or in collaboration, in seven of the top 10 most streamed Latin songs.
