Yahritza y Su Esencia Perform as Part of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert

Yahritza Martinez and her siblings are celebrating a tiny accomplishmen.

Yahritza y Su Esencia, made up of the16-year-old Mexican American singer and her two brothers Armando (Mando) Martínez and Jairo Martínez, is the latest act to perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.

Yahritza y Su EsenciaThe Regional Mexican band serenaded fans with their ultra-emotional songs on love and heartbreak. Singing with such pathos, as ever, Yahritza first belts out the melancholic “Soy El Único,” the group’s debut single released last year.

“Thank you,” Yahritza says with a chuckle at the end of the song and quickly introduces the next one on the setlist. “This next song, ‘Déjalo Ir,’ I also wrote when I was 13 so let’s get it.”

Backed by her older brothers, who show off their killer guitar skills, Yahritza also sang “Inseparables,” “No Se Puede Decir Adiós” and “Frágil.”

Hailing from the Yakima Valley in the state of Washington, Yahritza y Su Esencia had a breakout year in 2022.

The first song they ever released, “Soy El Único,” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 20 and made Yahritza the youngest Latin performer to debut on the chart at just 15 years old.

The act subsequently notched its first No. 1 on Regional Mexican Albums with its Obsessed EP, scored a Latin Grammy Award nod for best new artist and, by July, signed with Columbia Records in a partnership with Lumbre Music and Sony Music Latin.

The three siblings are currently on their first-ever U.S. tour visiting West Coast cities such as Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Phoenix, among others.

Other Latin stars that have recorded Tiny Desk Concerts include Kany García, Karol G, Carla Morrison, Carin Leon, Farruko and Tokischa, among others.

Peso Pluma & Eslabon Armado Make Billboard Hot 100 Chart History with “Ella Baila Sola”

Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado are making Billboard Hot 100 history…

The 23-year-old Mexican singer and the American Regional Mexican group have each logged their first Top 10 on the Hot 100 with “Ella Baila Sola” on the chart dated April 22, 2023.

Peso Pluma & Eslabon ArmadoEslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” soars 17-10, led by 24.4 million streams, up 30%, as it wins the Hot 100’s top Streaming Gainer trophy, and jumps 6-3 on Streaming Songs.

Quartet Eslabon Armado, from California, and Peso Pluma, from Mexico, each reach the Hot 100’s top for the first time – as “Ella Baila Sola” makes history as the first regional Mexican song ever to hit the Hot 100’s top 10.

The genre has surged this decade, due in part to exposure on TikTok and other social media, with Gera MX and Christian Nodal’s “Botella Tras Botella” having become the first regional Mexican Hot 100 hit in May 2021, peaking at No. 60.

After “Ella Baila Sola,” Peso Pluma also has the second-highest-charting regional Mexican Hot 100 hit: “La Bebe,” with Yng Lvcas, rises to a new No. 17 best on the latest, April 22-dated chart.

The next-highest-peaking such hits: Yahritza y Su Esencia’s “Soy El Unico” (No. 20, April 2022 – it debuted at that rank, the highest entrance for a regional Mexican song) and Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera’s “Bebe Dame” (No. 25, this January).

Among Latin genres, regional Mexican’s arrival in the Hot 100’s top 10 follows that of Latin pop, which, after English-language hits by Gloria Estefan in the 1980s (plus Los Lobos’ “La Bamba,” in Spanish) surged in the late ‘90s and beyond thanks to songs (in varying degrees of English and Spanish) by Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, among other stars.

At the same time, Marc Anthony helped tropical break through on the chart. In more recent years, Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi’s pop-centered, mostly-Spanish-language “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, spent a then-record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 in 2017, while, this decade, Bad Bunny, with Spanish-language songs, has carried the torch for Latin rhythm in the top 10.

As for Latin music overall, Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma earn the Hot 100’s third Spanish-language top 10 this year, following two Latin pop hits: Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” (No. 9, January) and Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” (No. 7, March).

“Ella Baila Sola” was released on Prajin Parlay/DEL Records, both of which likewise appear in the Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time.

The collaboration concurrently achieves a second week at No. 1 on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, where it became the first leader for both Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma.

“We didn’t expect for the song to make so much noise!” Pedro Tovar, lead singer for the former act, and the song’s sole author, told Billboard upon its coronation. “I really liked the song when I first wrote it, but I didn’t really expect it to be such a big hit. I previewed it on my stories on Instagram and, two days after, it went viral on TikTok, and that’s when I knew that the song was going to do big numbers.”

“Normally I don’t expect to chart with songs,” Peso Pluma marveled. “We just enjoyed the process of doing it.”

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data.

Karol G Rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Songwriters Chart

Karol G has the write stuff…

The 32-year-old Colombian singer/songwriter soars to No. 1 on Billboards Latin Songwriters chart dated March 11, becoming just the second woman to rule the ranking.

Karol GKarol G leads for the first time due to an impressive 16 songwriting credits on the latest Hot Latin Songs chart, all via songs on her new LP Mañana Será Bonito.

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making history as the first all-Spanish-language leader by a woman. The only other all-Spanish-language No. 1 albums are Bad Bunny’s El Último Tour del Mundo and Un Verano Sin Ti.

The only other woman to have hit No. 1 on Latin Songwriters is Regional Mexican teen sensation Yahritza Martinez, who tallied four weeks on top in April 2022 due to Yahritza y Su Esencia’s breakthrough single, “Soy El Unico.”

Here’s a recap of Karol G’s entries on the latest Hot Latin Songs chart:

Rank, Title
No. 1, “TQG,” with Shakira
No. 4, “X Si Volvemos,” with Romeo Santos
No. 8, “Mientras Me Curo del Cora”
No. 9, “Gucci Los Paños”
No. 10, “Tus Gafitas”
No. 11, “Gatúbela,” with Maldy
No. 13, “Cairo,” with Ovy on the Drums
No. 14, “Pero Tú,” with Quevedo
No. 16, “Ojos Ferrari,” with Justin Quiles & Ángel Dior
No. 17, “Besties”
No. 19, “Mañana Será Bonita,” with Carla Morrison
No. 24, “Amargura”
No. 25, “Karmika,” with Bad Gyal & Sean Paul
No. 26, “Mercurio”
No. 29, “Danamos Los Amistad”
No. 33, “Carolina”

In the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart, only Bad Bunny and Ozuna have charted at least 16 songs simultaneously. Bad Bunny holds the record for the most in one week: 24, on May 21, 2022, concurrent with the chart start for Un Verano Sin Ti.

Yahritza y Su Esencia Sign Label Deal with Columbia Records

Yahritza y Su Esencia has a new deal…

The Mexican American group, comprised of 15-year singer-songwriter Yahritza Martinez and her brothers Armando (guitar) and Jairo (bass), has signed a label deal with Columbia Records.

Yahritza Martinez, Yahritza y Su Esencia,The deal is a partnership between Columbia, Sony Music Latin and the trio’s regional Mexican indie label Lumbre Music, who first signed the band in February.

The sierreño band is currently managed by their older sister, Adriana Martinez.

In April, Yahritza y Su Esencia made chart history with their heartbreak track “Soy El Unico” as the youngest Latin performer to enter the Billboard Hot 100 debuting at No. 20. Since then, major Latin and mainstream record labels had expressed interest in signing the regional Mexican act.

“Lumbre is really happy to partner with Columbia Records for Yaritza y Su Esencia. It speaks volumes for an American-Mexican indie label like us to work hand in hand with a major label,” says Ramon Ruiz, CEO of Lumbre Music. “We have been working hard to develop and really get the kids’ music out to the masses and we have done some great work with them, including their first diamond certification, but are so excited to take them to the next level. We are all so passionate about this project it was important that whoever came into the project felt that same passion, and both the artists and Lumbre felt that with Columbia from the get-go. It felt like the right choice. Great things are coming for Yahritza Y Su Esencia!”

Yahritza y Su Esencia, up for best new artist at the 2022 Latin Grammys, broke out on TikTok earlier this year after they uploaded covers and quickly created a zealous fan base.

In March, after being discovered by Lumbre Music on the platform’s For You Page, they released their first single, “Soy El Único,” which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart.

Since, they scored their first No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart with their debut album, Obsessed, released in May.

Elsewhere, the five-track set debuted at No. 7 on Top Latin Albums, and it also entered the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 173.

Yahritza y Su Esencia added in a statement: “We are so excited to be working now with not only Lumbre but also a big label like Columbia! For us it’s just another step forward in accomplishing our dreams. We still have to go to school, but we are working hard on recording new music for our fans that we love so much and who helped get us to where we are today. We are very grateful to our entire team for all their support, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

Grupo Frontera Appears on Billboard Hot 100 for First Time with Cover of Morat’s “No Se Va”

Grupo Frontera has joined an elite club…

Five weeks ago, the Latino group appeared on a Billboard chart for the first time, Now the act is officially a Billboard Hot 100 hitmaker with its cover of Morat’s “No Se Va.”

Grupo FronteraThe song, which the group released independently, debuts at No. 99 with 4.8 million U.S. streams (up 43%) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 278%) in the September 23-29 tracking week, according to Luminate.

It concurrently jumps 28-15 on Hot Latin Songs and 18-3 on Latin Digital Song Sales and debuts at No. 15 on Latin Streaming Songs.

Helping the song’s surge in popularity, a snippet of it has been used in more than 130,000 clips on TikTok.

Colombian folk-pop group Morat released its initial recording of the song in 2019, although the track has not appeared on any Billboard charts. The group has earned one Hot Latin Songs hit: “Sé Que Te Duele,” with Alejandro Fernandez (No. 49 peak, 2017).

“No Se Va” became Grupo Frontera’s first Billboard chart entry when it debuted at No. 12 on the Regional Mexican Digital Song Sales survey dated September 3; the song spends a second week at No. 1 on the latest list.

The song also helps the group rise 49-24 on the Emerging Artists chart.

Notably, “No Se Va” is just the fifth Regional Mexican song to reach the Hot 100 in the chart’s 64-year history, a distinction that began with Christian Nodal and Gera MX’s “Botella Tras Botella” in May 2021 (peaking at No. 60). Ivan Cornejo’s “Está Dañada” became the second regional Mexican song to reach the Hot 100 last October (No. 61), followed by Grupo Firme’s “Ya Superame (En Vivo Desde Culiacan, Sinaloa)” in November (No. 91) and Yahritza y Su Esencia’s “Soy El Unico” this April (No. 20).

 

Grupo Frontera comprises six members: Beto, Juan Javier Cantu, Carlos Frontera, Payo, Julian Pena Jr. and Carlos Zamora.

Yahritza y Su Esencia Sign Worldwide Deal with SESAC Latina

Yahritza Martinez and her brothers are taking their music career to greater heights…

The 15-year-old Mexican singer and her siblings Jairo and Armando Martinez, best known by their group name Yahritza y Su Esencia, have signed a worldwide deal with SESAC Latina.

Yahritza Martinez, Yahritza y Su Esencia,The Martinez siblings have now joined a roster that includes chart-topping artists like Nicky Jam, Edén Muñoz, Christian Nodal, Erika Ender, Manuel Turizo, among others.

“We are very excited to welcome Yahritza y Su Esencia to the SESAC Latina family,” Celeste Zendejas, vice president, SESAC Latina, said in a statement. “Their debut single premiered at number one on the Hot Latin Songs Billboard chart, and they are growing into a cultural phenomenon in the Mexican genre. We are honored to be part of their continued success.”

To mark the beginning of their new deal with the performance-rights organization, Yahritza Y Su Esencia — who are signed to indie label Lumbre Music — took the stage to perform “Enamorado” and “Soy El Único” during the 2022 SESAC Latina Music ceremony on June 29.

Yahritza y Su EsenciaTheir partnership with SESAC Latina comes on the heels of the trio’s unprecedented success, which has catapulted them to the top of the Billboard charts.

Earlier this year, the self-taught musicians made history with the sad sierreño anthem “Soy El Unico” as the track scored a No. 20 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, making lead singer Yahritza the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre tally.

Additionally, “Soy El Único,” penned by Yahritza at age 13, debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart dated April 9.

“I don’t write my songs specifically for anyone. I just observe what’s going on around me and I get ideas from it,” she previously told Billboard.

In April, the group — which hails from Yakima, Wash. — dropped their five-track EP, Obsessed, which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Regional Mexican Albums chart. According to a press release, Yahritza Y Su Esencia is currently working on a full album, set to drop “later this year.”

Yahritza y Su Esencia Among the Latinx Acts Named to Billboard’s 21 Under 21 List

Yahritza Martinez has proven she is one to watch…

The 15-year-old Mexican American singer and her brothers, who make up the act Yahritza y Su Esencia, have been named to Billboard’s 21 Under 21 list, Billboard’s annual celebration of some of the most exciting and successful young artists in the music industry including Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and more.

Last month, Yahritza became the youngest Latin performer to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Soy El Unico.”

To date, Yahritza and her brothers have notched 52.9 million streams.

But Yahritza y Su Esencia aren’t the only Latinx act to make this year’s list.

Eslabon Armado, consisting of Brian Tovar, Pedro Tovar, Ulises Gonzalez and Damian Fidel Pacheco, have released four consecutive chart-topping albums over the past two years — all of which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart.

The band took a longer-than-usual break before releasing its latest album, Nostalgia, on May 5. During that time, the group added new members Gonzalez and Pacheco.

“Releasing back-to-back albums was good for our career, but we decided to take a break writing new music so that we could come back stronger,” the Mexican-American sierreño group says. “Our biggest challenge as young artists is staying relevant and creating music that connects with our fans.”

Ángela Aguilar is being heralded for logging 240.1 million streams in her young career.

The 18-year-old Mexican American singer, the daughter of Pepe Aguilar, says she “had been working with my parents’ record label all my life,” having signed to Machín Récords herself in 2012.

Nearly a decade later, in 2020, she scored her first No. 1 on Billboard’Regional Mexican Airplay chart with the Christian Nodal-assisted single “Dime Cómo Quieres.”

Aguilar says the biggest benefit of being a young artist is “the ability to DM someone about a collaboration.”

Earlier this year, she scored her second No. 1 on the chart with “Ahí Donde Me Ven.”

The Latin Grammy nominee is eager to explore acting, like her father has, and says some of his best career advice includes being “respectful of your craft and the public — to keep your roots well-embedded in your heart.”

Tiago PZK has notched 7.1 million streams.

The 20-year-old Argentine singer and rapper was only 6 years old when he discovered his passion for music, thanks to Daddy Yankee’s 2007 song “Impacto (Remix)” (featuring Fergie).

Tiago PZK (who also cites Justin Bieber as inspiration) has since created his own fusion of R&B, reggaetón and alternative rock, best heard on his five Billboard Global 200 hits: “Además de Mi,” “No Me Conocen,” “Entre Nosotros,” “Salimo de Noche” and “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 48.

In 2021, the artist born Tiago Uriel Pacheco signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Sony Music Publishing U.S. Latin and, this year, a record deal with Warner Music Latina (through a partnership with indie Grand Move Records). Looking ahead, he says he’s most excited to tour: “It will make me travel the world and strengthen me mentally.”

DannyLux has garnered 4.8 million streams.

The 18-year-old Chicano alt-rocker is a self-taught musician who hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Songwriters chart at just 17 years old thanks to his work on Eslabon Armado’s “Jugaste y Sufrí” (off the band’s third album, Corta Venas).

The sierreño artist has since signed a record deal with Warner Music Latina (in partnership with his indie label, VSP Music) and released his ultra-melancholic album, Perdido Sin Ti. He’s already working on new music because, as he says, consistency is key. “Since I’m young, I have so much time to grow up to be the best artist I can be,” he says, citing Bad Bunny’s career as an inspiration because “he never gave up.”

The Linda Lindas, comprised of Mila de la Garza, Eloise Wong, Lucia de la Garza and Bela Salazar, have logged 6.9 million streams.

The all-girl group broke out onto the scene with their viral hit “Racist, Sexist Boy,” which they performed live from the L.A. Public Library.

Yahritza y Su Esencia Release Second Single “Esta Noche”

It’s a big night for Yahritza Martinez

The 15-year-old Mexican-American singer and her band have released their second single “Esta Noche” via Lumbre Music.

Yahritza y Su Esencia, Esta NocheSimilar to their debut hit “Soy El Unico,” the new Yahritza y Su Esencia track is a somber sierreño single with simple-yet-captivating requintos backing Yahritza’s mature power vocals.

“Esta Noche,” which forms part of the group’s upcoming Obsessed EP, tells the story of a person who just met someone and is already infatuated.

“I know we just met, my love, but I want to spend tonight with you/ I know I’m not in my six senses right now/ You took one of them and they were my feelings,” Yahritza sings to kick off the sincere track.

The music video was filmed by Jaime Aquino in Florida, and marks the first part of a five-part production (the “Soy El Unico” video was part three).

Following its release, “Esta Noche” appeared on YouTube’s trending music page.

Yahritza Martinez Becomes Youngest Latin Performer to Enter Billboard Hot 100 Chart with “Soy El Unico”

Yahritza Martinez has earned a place in Billboard history…

The 15-year-old Mexican American singer has earned her first No. 1 on Billboard’Hot Latin Songs chart with her band Yahritza y Su Esencia’s first single “Soy El Único” in its debut week.

Yahritza Martinez, Yahritza y Su Esencia,The band, which was featured on Billboard.com as this month’s Latin Artist on the Rise, also earns its first Billboard Hot 100 entry as the Spanish-language single debuts at No. 20.

In the process, Yahritza has become the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre tally.

“It is one of the greatest achievements in my young age and more than that, it is a reminder that we can all achieve our dreams.” Yahritza tells Billboard.

Yahritza has 733.6k followers on TikTok, and her following keeps growing.

She formed her band, Yahritza y Su Esencia, with her two older brothers, Jairo and Armando Martinez. Originally from Yakima, Washington — a city known for its fruit and apple orchards — the siblings grew up around Mexican music, waking up to hits from bands like Los Temerarios and Los Canarios playing throughout their house.

After Ramón Ruiz of the independent record label Lumbre Music found Martinez’s videos on TikTok, he flew out to Washington and signed her. Since then, the sibling trio has produced and shot the music video for “Soy El Único,” which is part of a four-part love story.

With her debut single, Martinez has established herself in Regional Mexican music, a genre that has been male-dominated for years.

In “Soy El Único,” Martinez writes about how heart-breaking it can be to love someone who doesn’t value you. It’s a single that goes well beyond Yahritza’s 15 years.