J Balvin’s ‘Ginza’ Makes History on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs Chart

J Balvin makes Billboard chart history…

The 30-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer spends a 21st consecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart with “Ginza.”

J Balvin

With its latest frame at the top of the charts, the song makes history as the longest-leading No. 1 by a single act, unaccompanied by another.

“It’s amazing how dreams are limitless, and how discipline, along with good music, can bring you to live the unimaginable,” said Balvin in an interview with Billboard.

“Ginza” passes three other 20-week No. 1s by acts unaccompanied by other artists: Flex‘s “Te Quiero” (2008), Juanes‘ “Me Enamora” (2007-08) and Son by Four‘s “A Puro Dolor” (2000).

Overall, “Ginza” is the fourth-longest-leading No. 1 in Hot Latin Songs history (which dates to 1986) but rules as the only non-collaborative track to spend as many as 21 weeks atop the tally (which shifted from solely airplay audience measurement to a blend of airplay, sales, and streaming in October 2012). Enrique Iglesias leads with 41 weeks at No. 1 with “Bailando,” featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona (2014-15), followed by Nicky Jam and Iglesias’ “El Perdon” (31 weeks, 2015) and Shakira‘s “La Tortura,” featuring Alejandro Sanz (25 weeks, 2005).

Sustained streaming has helped to keep “Ginza” atop Hot Latin Songs, with 1.9 million U.S. streams logged in the week ending Feb. 18, according to Nielsen Music (an 8 percent hike), lifting it to No. 1 on Latin Streaming Songs for the first time. YouTube and Vevo on YouTube views account for 58 percent of overall clicks, including views stemming from the official music video (which has amassed more than 420 million worldwide streams since its July 2015 premiere). At its height, “Ginza” was streamed 2.4 million times in the U.S. during a single tracking week (reflected in the Oct. 31, 2015 chart week).

The reign of “Ginza” is also propelled by continued airplay on Latin stations, as it steps 3-2 on Latin Airplay with 12 million audience impressions in the tracking week. It previously dominated for 12 weeks on the airplay chart, peaking in September. Meanwhile, downloads of the song are up 14 percent to 3,000 downloads, earning it the No. 3 spot on Latin Digital Songs (following its No. 2 peak on the chart). The track has sold 153,000 downloads to date.

Balvin debuted the reggaeton track via a live performance on Univision‘s Premios Juventud awards show July 17, 2015, and it rose to No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs (in its 11th chart week) Oct. 17. “Ginza” is his second No. 1 on the chart, following a week atop the ranking with “Ay Vamos” earlier in the year (March 7).

Rubio Releases New Single “Si Te Vas” in Pop & Reggaeton Versions

Paulina Rubio isn’t going anywhere…

The 44-year-old Mexican singer has released her brand new single, “Si Te Vas.” As part of the global launch Rubio debuted the track in two versions – pop and a reggaeton version backed up by Puerto Rican duo Alexis & Fido.

Paulina Rubio

In the videos for both versions, which premiered on Rubio’s Vevo channel, La Chica Dorada plays an artist who dedicates the song to the portrait of a man she painted.

Rubio, who is pregnant, presented her new single for the first time at the Latin American Music Awards ceremony in Los Angeles last October.

Several weeks ago Rubio kicked off a campaign on social networks to promote the launch of “Si Te Vas,” in which she shared clips of the track and video along with other images.

Rubio’s new track follows the single she recorded with the Colombian band Morat and launched in February 2015, “Mi Nuevo Vicio,” which went double platinum in Spain and got 30 million plays on Spotify in Mexico.

Last December, Rubio confirmed her second pregnancy to ¡Hola! magazine.

The singer, 44, had her son Andrea Nicolas with Spaniard Nicolas Vallejo, from whom she split in 2012, and currently shares her life with Gerardo Bazua, her boyfriend since 2013, when he, also a singer, was a contestant on La Voz Mexico and she was his mentor.

Sofia Receives Vevo Lift Nomination

It’s a special is Lift off for Raquel Sofia

The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s Latin Grammys, has received a nomination in Vevo’s artist development program, Lift.

Raquel Sofia

Launched in 2011, the program lends promotional support to a handful of emerging artists per year, giving them a special landing page on Vevo with exclusive content including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, video premieres and more to expose their music to a broader audience.

Jessie J, Sam Smith, Lorde, and Tori Kelly are among the famous artists who make up part of the Vevo Lift alumni.

In this current round, Sofia is up for the Vevo Lift slot with Canadian R&B singer/songwriter Alessia Cara and Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson.

Online fan voting determines the winner, but if Sofia — who herself has a love affair with jazz, blues, folk, rock and pop — does anywhere near as well as she’s done on Spotify (17 million total streams and counting), she stands a good chance.

And then there’s the fact that she’s learned from the best, having performed backing vocals for Shakira and Juanes, among others.

“They’re so professional and so talented and they’ve worked so hard, so you get to see why they are at the top,” she recently told Billboard of working with major artists. “So I guess more than advice I learned just from being around them, like osmosis, just absorbing everything that they did, watching them perform. It’s just incredible.”

“I just remember listening to a lot of Bob Marley, the Beatles, Juan Luis Guerra and Shakira. Wanting to do that, especially the songwriting part,” she told us when discussing her childhood in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and the influences around her debut album, Te Quiero Los Domingos.

Fans can vote for Sofia here until October 19.

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

It looks like J Balvin likes it the view from the top…

The 30-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer has earned his third No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as his latest single “Ginza” rises 2-1.

J Balvin

The song is up 18 percent in airplay, with 13.7 million audience impressions.

“Ginza” likewise steps 6-5 on Billboard’s Latin Streaming Songs chart, reaching a new peak, logging 1.3 million domestic streams during the tracking week ending Sept. 3.

The music video for J Balvin’s dancetastic track, which was uploaded to Vevo on July 21, has racked up more than 75 million global views since its release.

Upon its debut, Vevo announced that “Ginza” collected more first-day views than any other Spanish-language music video when it logged 2.5 million streams in its first 24 hours.

Lovato Releases Steamy “Cool for the Summer” Music Video

Demi Lovato is steaming up the summer with her latest music video.

The 22-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress has released the official video for her scorching hot single “Cool for the Summer.”

Demi Lovato

The highly anticipated clip for Lovato’s dark dancefloor jam is a neon-drenched ode to sizzling fun in the summer — with an emphasis on what happens after dark.

Lovato hits the club, rages at a foam party and rocks a revealing top while hanging out with her sweat-covered friends on the dancefloor.

Since its release the video has garnered more than 5.5 million views on Vevo.

Mars Earns Five MTV Video Music Awards Nominations

Bruno Mars is this year’s (Moon)man…

The 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter earned five 2015 MTV Video Music Awards nominations for his collaboration with Mark Ronson on “Uptown Funk.”

Bruno Mars in Uptown Funk

Mars and Ronson’s video for “Uptown Funk” earned nods in the Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Pop Video and Best Collaboration categories.

Additionally, Mars is nominated alongside Cameron Duddy in the Best Direction category for the work behind the scenes on the video, which has garnered more than 865 million page views on Vevo.

Mars previously collected Moonmen in 2013 for Best Male Video for “Locked Out of Heaven” and Best Choreography for “Treasure.”

Beginning immediately, fans can vote for their favorites in a handful of categories, including Video of the year, best male video and best female video.

This year, voting for the MTV artist to watch award will run through the celebration’s pre-show coverage, at which time the top two artists will be revealed and compete over a live hashtag vote. Voting is available here.

Nominees for the socially voted category, best song of summer, will be announced at a later date.

The 2015 VMAs will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on August 30 at 9:00 pm. Miley Cyrus will serve as the show’s host.

Here’s a look at the full list of nominees:

Video of the Year:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”

Best Male Video:
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
The Weeknd – “Earned It”
Nick Jonas – “Chains”

Best Female Video:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Sia – “Elastic Heart”
Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”

Best Hip Hop Video:
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Big Sean ft. E-40 – “IDFWU”

Best Pop Video:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Maroon 5 – “Sugar”

Best Rock Video:
Hozier – “Take Me To Church”
Fall Out Boy – “Uma Thurman”
Florence + the Machine – “Ship To Wreck”
Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
Arctic Monkeys – “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”

Artist to Watch:
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Vance Joy – “Riptide”
George Ezra – “Budapest”
James Bay – “Hold Back The River”
FKA Twigs – “Pendulum”

Best Collaboration:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”

Video With a Social Message:
Jennifer Hudson – “I Still Love You”
Colbie Caillat – “Try”
Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend – “One Man Can Change the World”
Rihanna – “American Oxygen”
Wale – “The White Shoes”

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES

Best Art Direction:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Charles Infante)
Snoop Dogg – “So Many Pros” (Jason Fijal)
Jack White – “Would You Fight For My Love” (Jeff Peterson)
The Chemical Brothers – “Go” (Michel Gondry)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)

Best Choreography:
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Chris Grant, Additional choreography: Gabriel Valenciano)
OK Go – “I Won’t Let You Down” (OK Go, air:man and Mori Harano)
Chet Faker – “Gold” (Ryan Heffington)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Nappy Tabs)
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Keone and Mari Madrid)

Best Cinematography:
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Larkin Sieple)
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” (Daniel Pearl)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Christopher Probst)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Justin Brown)
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free” (Mike Simpson)

Best Direction:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Joseph Kahn)
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars and Cameron Duddy)
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” (Colin Tilley & The Little Homies)
Hozier – “Take Me To Church” (Brendan Canty, Conal Thomson)
Childish Gambino – “Sober” (Hiro Murai)

Best Editing:
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Ed Burke, Jonathan Wing)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Jacquelyn London)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Chancler Haynes at Cosmo Street)
A$AP Rocky – “L$D” (Dexter Navy)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)

Best Visual Effects:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Ingenuity Studios)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Gloria FX, Tomash Kuzmytskyi, and Max Chyzhevskyy)
Childish Gambino – “Telegraph Ave.” (Gloria FX)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Tyler, The Creator – “F****** Young/Death Camp” (Gloria FX)

Gomez’s “Good For You” Earns Highest Debut & Greatest Gainer Honors on Billboard’s Pop Songs Chart

Good goes the good for Selena Gomez

The 22-year-old half-Mexican American singer’s latest track “Good For You,” featuring A$AP Rocky, has earned Greatest Gainer and top debut honors on this week’s Billboard Pop Songs chart.

Selena Gomez

It’s the first single from Gomez’s latest album, her debut Interscope Records release and the follow-up to her highly successful album Stars Dance.

The steamy video for Gomez’s “Good For You” has already garnered nearly 12 million views on Vevo since it was released on June 26.

For the yet-untitled album, Gomez is diving into some mature themes.

“I think I am turning into a young woman, so this is the next phase in my life, and I think it is important for me to take control over it,” she tells iHeartRadio. “[Fans] can expect a lot of insight on my perception of things. I think it shows a lot, not just about love.”

It’s more about perception on retaliation or friendships or pain in different ways,” she adds. “Faith. Having a spiritual connection. It kind of covers all bases.”

Gomez Releases Sultry Video for Her New Single “Good For You”

It’s looking good for Selena Gomez

The 22-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress has released the music video for her new single “Good For You,” her collaboration with A$AP Rocky.

Selena Gomez

In this “stripped down version of the song,” which Gomez shared with her Twitter followers, the New York rapper — or anyone else other than the former Disney Channel star is present.

Gomez appears lying around in various positions, seemingly waiting for her special someone, as she coos “Make you never wanna leave/So don’t… so don’t.”

Later, Gomez appears in the shower, then a warehouse where she towers over the camera, and then to a few other sequences where Gomez writhes around.

The “Good For You” video, directed by Sophie Muller, has already garnered 9.4 million views on Vevo.

“Good For You” was released last week, and is the debut single for Gomez’s follow-up album to 2013’s Stars Dance.

In February, Gomez’s Zedd collaboration “I Want You To Know” was released, and the single became a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Santos’ “Propuesta Indecente” Makes Billboard Chart History

Romeo Santos has an indecent claim to fame…

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American Bachata singer has made history, yet again, as his single “Propuesta Indecente” spends a 100th consecutive week on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart (dated July 4).

Romeo Santos

It’s the first track to ever reach the triple-digit milestone on the chart and extends its lead for the most charted weeks by 38 weeks.

The second-longest-running song on the survey is Prince Royce‘s “Incondicional” at 62 weeks in 2012-13.

“Propuesta Indecente” holds at No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs chart. Since debuting at No. 44 on Aug. 10, 2013, it’s spent 99 of its 100 weeks in the top 10 (having bounded to No. 3 in its second frame) and, even more impressively, 98 weeks in the top five.

The song has been a top five mainstay, in fact, dating back to the May 17, 2014 chart. It spent a total of four weeks at No. 1 beginning Sept. 28, 2013.

Santos, meanwhile, has been a chart force since his solo arrival in 2011 after he became dubbed the “King of Bachata” fronting Aventura. He’s scored seven Hot Latin Songs No. 1s on his own after tallying two with Aventura.

Consistent airplay, digital sales, and streaming have prevented “Propuesta Indecente” from falling out of the top five after 52 weeks, allowing it to remain on the chart, per recurrent rules (which dictate when songs are removed from the chart). Streaming is the main driver for the song’s extended chart life: of points contributing to its current rank, 89 percent are from streaming outlets.

During the latest tracking week (ending June 21), the song logged 1.7 million clicks across platforms, according to Nielsen Music, with YouTube and Vevo on YouTube accounting for 81 percent of domestic plays.

Online, “Propuesta Indecente” is Santos’ biggest hit, with its official video having amassed more than 715 million global views on Vevo on YouTube (since being released in September 2013), making it the most popular clip on his account by nearly 500 million plays.

Pitbull Releases Miami-Hot Music Video for His Latest Single “Fun”

Pitbull is having Fun in the sun…

The 34-year-old Cuban American rap superstar has released the official video for his latest single “Fun,” a non-stop collaboration with Chris Brown.

Pitbull & Chris Brown

In the clip, Pitbull and Brown drive expensive sports cars and party on a yacht, all while enjoying the company of some bootylicious babes.

During the Miami Vice-like video, Mr. Worldwide, donning a white suit, and Breezy deliver fist-pumping beats that will make you move.

The video for “Fun,” the latest track from Pitbull’s Globalization album, has already garnered more than 2.7 million views on Vevo.