Los Ángeles Azules to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Billboard Latin Music Awards

Los Ángeles Azules have earned an extra special honor…

The Mexican cumbia group will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards.

 Los Ángeles AzulesThe band, known for songs like “El Listón de Tu Pelo,” “Cómo Te Voy a Olvidar” and “Mi Niña Mujer,” among many other cumbia anthems, will be recognized for their enduring, exceptional career that has expanded the reach of Latin music worldwide.

The award will be presented at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards, where they will also hit the stage with a special performance.

The ceremony will be held Thursday, October 5, and will be broadcast live on Telemundo from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

“We are very honored to receive this award,” the group — led by the Mejía-Avante brothers — said in a statement. “It is a recognition to our music, which we have shared with our audiences throughout all these years.”

With a 40-year musical career, Los Ángeles Azules have achieved great success, including 14 entries on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart, with three songs in the top 10. They also have 16 entries on Latin Airplay, of which six reached the top 10, including “Nunca es Suficiente,” with Natalia Lafourcade, which peaked at No. 3 in 2019. Their 2020 album De Buenos Aires Para El Mundo debuted at No. 8 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart, making it the band’s 12th album to reach the top 10 on the tally.

Past recipients of the Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award include Raphael, Paquita la del Barrio, Armando Manzanero, Miguel Bosé, Los Temerarios, Intocable, José José, Marco Antonio Solís, Ricardo Arjona and Maná, among others.

Besides airing live on Telemundo, the Billboard Latin Music Awards will air simultaneously on the Hispanic entertainment cable channel, Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

Peso Pluma leads the list of finalists with 21 nods across 15 categories including artist of the year, songwriter of the year, Global 200 Latin artist of the year, and Top Latin Album of the year.

Nicolas Cantu to Star in CG-Animated Feature “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”

It’s turtle time for Nicolas Cantu.

The 19-year-old Latino actor will lend his voice to the CG-animated theatrical feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem from Paramount PicturesNickelodeon Movies and Point Grey Productions.

Nicolas CantuSeth Rogen, who voices mutant warthog Bebop, made the announcement at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday night in an appearance alongside lead cast members Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Cantu and Brady Noon.

Abbey will voice Ninja Turtle Donatello, with Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Cantu as Leonardo and Noon as Raphael.

Others lending their voices to the film heading to theaters on August 4 include Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog; Rose Byrne as Leatherhead; John Cena as Rocksteady; Jackie Chan as Splinter; Ice Cube as Superfly; Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut; Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil; Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman; Post Malone as Ray Fillet; Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko; and Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom.

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film is an original story following the crime-fighting Ninja Turtles as they protect the sewers and streets of New York City. After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil (Edibiri) helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines) directed the film, marking Nickelodeon’s first-ever CG-animated theatrical production. Point Grey Productions’ Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver produced, with the company’s Lukas Williams co-producing and its own Josh Fagen overseeing the project. Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation President Ramsey Naito and Jason McConnell have overseen production for Nickelodeon, with Paramount to handle the film’s worldwide distribution.

“We are beyond thrilled by this world-class cast we’ve assembled to bring these iconic, beloved characters to life in a new chapter of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe,” said Naito in a statement. “This really sets a new bar for this globally celebrated franchise, and we can’t wait to show audiences this film.”

An enduring kids’ franchise created in 1984 by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began its life as a comic book series which spurred a hit animated TV show, a live-action series and numerous blockbuster theatrical releases. The property is a global consumer products powerhouse that has generated billions by way of toys, apparel, video games, DVDs and more. Nickelodeon most recently revitalized it with the CG-animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2012, with a 2D animated series titled Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles following in 2019.

Ángela Aguilar to Perform at This Year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards

Ángela Aguilar is preparing for her Billboard moment…

The 18-year-old Mexican-American singer-songwriter will perform at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, set to take place on Thursday, September 29.

Ángela AguilarAguilar is part of a roster of recently added performers that includes Alejandra Guzmán, Calibre 50Elvis CrespoFarrukoLos Ángeles AzulesOzuna and Piso 21.

Billboard and Telemundo announced on Tuesday (Sept. 6) the second round of performers who will take the stage at Miami’s Watsco Center.

The new list of acts join an already star-studded lineup that includes Camilo, Carlos Vives, Chayanne, CNCO, Eslabon Armado, Grupo Firme, Maluma, Pablo López, Pepe Aguilar, Raphael and Tini.

Bad Bunny leads the list of finalists for the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, with 23 nods across 13 categories. He is up for artist of the year, tour of the year, Hot Latin Songs artist of the year, male, and top Latin album of the year for his album Un Verano Sin Ti, which has logged nine nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for album of the year at the recent MTV Video Music Awards. Bad Bunny won artist of the year — the first time a Latin artist has been in a marquee category at that show.

Following Bad Bunny is Colombian star Karol G with 15 entries in 11 categories — a record number of nods for a female artist. Karol’s categories include artist of the year and Hot Latin Songs artist of the year, female, as well as Hot Latin Song of the year, vocal event, for her Becky G collab “MAMIII.”

The 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, the longest-running awards show in Latin music, will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on September 29, preceded by a one-hour red carpet special.

The awards will broadcast simultaneously on Spanish entertainment cable network Universo, throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional, the Telemundo App and on Peacock.

Raphael to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Billboard Latin Music Awards

Raphael is being feted for his extraordinary career…

The 79-year-old Spanish singer and actor will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards, according to Telemundo.

Raphael

Raphael will be recognized for his “exceptional professional career and his artistic and personal contributions” that have influenced the development of Latin music around the world.

The singer will also perform during the awards show, which will take place on Thursday, September 29, at the Watsco Canter in Miami and will be broadcast live on Telemundo beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Billboard Latin Music Awards — where Bad Bunny leads the list of finalists with a whopping 23 nods across 13 categories — will be simulcast on Telemundo, Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

With a musical career that spans more than 60 years, Raphael — known for anthemic songs such as “Yo Soy Aquel,” “En Carne Viva” and “Mi Gran Noche” — has garnered worldwide recognition as a pioneer of Spanish-language romantic ballads.

In 1962, he began his professional career, where he soon earned first, second and third prize at Spain’s Festival Internacional de la Canción in Benidorm. He also performed two consecutive times at the Eurovision Festival, starred in various films and hosted a radio show called The Raphael Show.

To date, he’s recorded more than 60 albums and has sold over 70 million records. Raphael is currently on tour in support of his Raphael 6.0 LP.

He’s slated to release a new album at the end of the year.

Past recipients of the Billboard lifetime achievement award include Paquita la del Barrio, Armando Manzanero, Miguel Bosé, Los Temerarios, Intocable, José José, Marco Antonio Solís, Ricardo Arjona and Maná, among others.

Diego Luna to Receive 2021 Platino Award of Honor

Diego Luna is being celebrated for his platinum career.

This year’s seventh edition of the Ibero-American Platino Awards (Premios Platinos) will honor the 41-year-old Mexican actor, director, producer and festival organizer with the Platino Award of Honor.

Diego Luna

An itinerant award show by design, this year’s Platinos will be held on October 3 in Madrid.

Luna will be the youngest recipient of the career achievement honor, joining previous winners Miguel Rafael Martos Sánchez, often simply referred to as Raphael, one of Spain’s most iconic entertainers of the 20th century; Adriana Barraza, the Oscar nominated Spanish-English-language crossover star of Alejandro Iñárritu’s Babel and Amores Perros; Oscar and three time Primetime Emmy nominee Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver); Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory); and Primetime Emmy (The Burning Season) and BAFTA (“Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos) nominee Sonia Braga.

A child actor who excelled from an early age, Luna’s first film appearance was in Javier Bourges’ 1991 Mexican Academy Award-nominated short The Last New Year.” He appeared in several telenovelas throughout the ‘90s, joined on screen for the first time by his longtime collaborator and close friend Gael García Bernal in El abuelo y yo in 1992. Alternating between film and television over the next decade, his international breakout came with García Bernal and Spain’s Marbel Verdú in Alfonso Cuarón’s seminal coming-of-age road trip film “Y Tu Mamá También.”

Shortly after, Luna began his Hollywood career appearing alongside Bon Jovi in John Carpenter’s Vampires: Los Muertos and in Salma Hayek’s Oscar-winning biopic Frida.

In the decades since, Luna has continued to work on both Latin American and U.S. productions while also taking turns as a producer, writer and director. He also, again with García Bernal, launched the nomadic documentary film festival Ambulante, as well as their own production label, first Canana in 2005 and now La Corriente del Golfo.

Most recently, he created and hosts the Amazon Original conversation series Pan y Circo and is starring in the Disney+’s Andor, a spinoff series following his Rogue One: A Star Wars Story character Cassian Andor.

He was also recently confirmed as a voice actor for Netflix’s upcoming animated series Maya and the Three, where he will team with frequent collaborator Jorge Gutierrez (The Book of Life).

Last year’s ceremony was, like so many, forced online by the COVID-19 pandemic. But this time around, the Platinos are planning an in-person event to celebrate the best offerings from the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American screen industries.

At 11 nominations each, the two standout titles are Fernando Trueba’s Colombian drama Memories of My Father and Jayro Bustamante’s Guatemalan thriller La Llorona.

The Platino Awards are promoted by EGEDA (Spain’s Entity for the Rights Management of Audiovisual Producers) and FIPCA (the Ibero-American Federation of Film and Audiovisual Producers) and have the support of the Ibero-American film academies and institutes as well as numerous sponsors in Europe and Latin America.

Daddy Yankee Wins Big at the Premio Lo Nuestro Awards

Daddy Yankeeis celebrating a massive haul…

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican singer/rapper was the big winner at this year’s Premio Lo Nuestro awards, taking home seven awards, including the top prize Artist of the Year.

Daddy Yankee

Daddy Yankee’s other prizes include Urban Male Artist of the Year, SongSingleUrbanand Crossover Collaboration of the Yearfor his track “Con Calma” featuring Snow and Remix of the Yearfor “Soltera (Remix)” featuring Lunay and Bad Bunny.

J Balvinand Bad Bunny‘s Oasis won Album of the Yearand Rosaliawon New Artist FemaleLunay took home New Artist Male.

J Balvin was also honored with the Icon Awardwhile Raphaelreceived the Excellence Awardand Alejandro Fernandezwas honored with the Legado Mariachi Award.

Karol G won Urban Female Artist of the YearRomeo Santoswon Tropical Artist of the Yearand Los Rivera Destino‘s “Flor” featuring Benito Martinezwon Video of the Year.

ThaliaPitbulland Alejandra Espinosahosted the event, which took place at the AmericanAirlines Arenain Miami.

Here are the winners:

Artista Premio Lo Nuestro del Año: Daddy Yankee
Álbum del Año: Oasis – J Balvin y Bad Bunny
Canción del Año: ‘Con calma’ – Daddy Yankee Ft. Snow
Sencillo del Año: “Con calma’ – Daddy Yankee Ft. Snow
Artista Revelación Femenino: Rosalía
Artista Revelación Masculino: Lunay
Remix del Año: ‘Soltera (Remix)’ – Lunay, Daddy Yankee y Bad Bunny
Canción “Replay” del Año: ‘Yo te amo’ – Los Temerarios
Tour del Año: Bad Bunny: X100PRE Tour
Artista Social del Año: Anuel AA
Colaboración “Crossover” del Año: ‘Con calma’ – Daddy Yankee Ft. Snow
Video del Año: ‘Flor’ – Los Rivera Destino Ft. Benito Martínez (Bad Bunny)
Artista del Año – Pop/Rock: Sebastián Yatra
Canción del Año – Pop/Rock: ‘Un año’ – Sebastián Yatra y Reik
Colaboración del Año – Pop/Rock: ‘Calma (Remix)’ – Pedro Capó y Farruko
Grupo o Dúo del Año – Pop/Rock: CNCO
Artista del Año – Pop/Balada: Luis Fonsi
Artista Femenino del Año – Urbano: Karol G
Artista Masculino del Año – Urbano:Daddy Yankee
Canción del Año – Urbano:‘Con calma’ – Daddy Yankee Ft. Snow
Colaboración del Año – Urbano: ‘Secreto’ – Anuel AA y Karol G
Canción del Año – Urbano/Pop:‘Calma (Remix)’ – Pedro Capó y Farruko
Canción del Año – Urbano/Trap:‘Callaíta’ – Bad Bunny y Tainy
Artista del Año – Tropical:Romeo Santos
Canción del Año – Tropical: ‘Inmortal’ – Aventura
Colaboración del Año – Tropical: ‘Si me das tu amor’ – Carlos Vives y Wisin
Artista del Año – Regional Mexicano: Christian Nodal
Canción del Año – Regional Mexicano: ‘Nada nuevo’ – Christian Nodal
Colaboración del Año – Regional Mexicano: ‘Un año’ – Banda Los Sebastianes Ft. Sebastián Yatra
Grupo o Dúo del Año – Regional Mexicano: Calibre 50
Artista Sierreño del Año – Regional Mexicano: Ulices Chaidez
Canción Sierreña del Año – Regional Mexicano: ‘Cómo no quererte’ – Ulices Chaidez
Canción Banda del Año – Regional Mexicano: ‘Por siempre mi amor’ – Banda Sinaloense Ms de Sergio Lizárraga
Canción Norteña del Año – Regional Mexicano: ‘Simplemente gracias’ – Calibre 50
Canción Mariachi/Ranchera del Año – Regional Mexicano: ‘Nada nuevo’ – Christian Nodal

Juanes to Perform at the Inaugural Universal Music Festival in Madrid

It’s about to get (Teatro) Real for Juanes

The 42-year-old Colombian rockero will perform at Universal Music Spain’s inaugural Universal Music Festival in Madrid.

Juanes

The label, in tandem with Spanish management/entertainment companies LaRock Entertainment and Concert Tour, will host the festival from July 20-27.

In addition to Juanes, the Universal Music Festival will include performances by Elton JohnCaetano Veloso and Gilberto GilRaphaelMiguel Poveda and flamenco act El Barrio.

The fest will take place in Madrid’s Teatro Real, a 1,700 seat venue usually used for opera, ballet or classical music.

In this case, the music leans toward more thoughtful pop, with Elton John opening with his “Solo Piano Show” July 20.

On July 21, Veloso and Gil will share the stage accompanied only by their respective guitars in an evening dubbed “Two Friends, One Century of Music.”  On July 22, it’s flamboyant Spanish singer Raphael with his new project, “Simphonico,” where he performs his greatest hits backed by the RTVE Symphony Orchestra.

Flamenco singer Miguel Poveda will perform his versions of poetry by the likes of Quevedo, Rafael de León, García Lorca, Borges, Miguel Hernández and Pablo Neruda, and on July 24, Juanes will perform as part of his Loco de Amor tour. The fest ends July 27 with a performance by flamenco act El Barrio.

While Universal Music Festival in Madrid is organized by Universal Music Spain, it falls under Universal Music Latin America/Iberian Penninsula’s larger attempt to broaden its scope of action. The company already has a management/booking arm, GTS — whose roster includes David Bisbal and Bustamante, among other Universal acts — which has been booking shows throughout Latin America, Spain and the U.S.