Houston Astros Rookie Jeremy Peña Named American League Championship Series MVP

He may have just missed out on the American League Rookie of the Year Award, but Jeremy Peña is celebrating another title.

The 25-year-old Dominican professional baseball player and shortstop is returning to Houston as the American League Championship Series MVP.

Jeremy Peña,Peña punctuated his epic four-game run in the Houston Astros’ sweep of the New York Yankees with his third homer of the postseason during the third inning of a 6-5 win in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

The big blast spoiled an early Yanks’ lead, took the ticketed crowd of 46,545 out of it and served as the proverbial turning point in the final game of a series that was never really close.

“It’s surreal,” Peña said. “You dream about this stuff when you’re a kid, and shout-out to my teammates. We show up every single day. We stayed true to ourselves all year. We’re a step away from the ultimate goal.”

Peña finished the ALCS 6-for-17 with two homers and two doubles, good for a .353/.353/.824 (1.176 OPS) slash line.

The finishing touch featured the shortstop pummeling a middle-in slider from Nestor Cortes after the Yanks’ lefty led off the inning with walks to Martín Maldonado and Jose Altuve for a massive blast down the left-field line.

Statcast measured the homer a projected 408 feet and 104.8 mph off the bat.

With one epic swing — hands in, hips torqued — Peña tied the game at 3 after the Yankees took an early lead against Lance McCullers Jr., the first time that Houston had trailed New York at the end of an in-game inning in 11 meetings this season. The only other times they trailed were via walk-offs from Aaron Judge during a series in June.

It was an impressive sequence of making a mid-at-bat adjustment. Cortes, who exited immediately after the homer with a left groin injury, wouldn’t throw Peña a fastball, instead attempting to jam cutters and sliders inside, with one changeup way off the plate. So, on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Peña went hunting for offspeed ahead 3-1 in a hitter’s count — and he feasted when he saw the hanging breaking ball.

Peña knew he got all of it, transferring the barrel to his right hand as he paced out of the batter’s box, watching the ball sail before pinwheeling the lumber down the first-base line and breaking into a stride. As he rounded third base and glanced to the visiting dugout, he smiled toward his teammates and broke into a shrug, akin to the one that Michael Jordan made famous during the 1992 NBA Finals.

It was also another moment illustrating how well Houston has thrived with Peña hitting behind the leadoff man Jose Altuve. When Peña hit in the No. 2 hole during the regular season, the Astros went 42-7, and they entered Sunday undefeated this postseason with Peña hitting in that spot in every game.

“Jeremy has done a lot of good things,” Altuve said. “If I start talking about him, we might be here two hours. He’s a great player and I love the way he’s handling everything.”

Altuve and Carlos Correa had a relationship that Astros manager Dusty Baker likened to Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, so the words from Altuve — the 2019 ALCS MVP — carried weight.

“I think it’s important that Carlos passed the torch to him because I’ve seen some players don’t pass the torch,” Baker said. “They pass some dynamite. But Carlos passed the torch and he was a mentor to him. This is what baseball and life is all about, rooting for somebody else, because there’s a lot of jobs out there. We wanted to keep Carlos. Carlos wanted to stay but [we] couldn’t get things together. But the organization also felt that Peña was the right guy for the job, and he’s exceeded expectations.”

Aside from Sunday, Peña also put the Astros squarely on his shoulders with a solo homer in the 18th inning of their marathon ALDS Game 3 win in Seattle, the only run of what’s easily been Houston’s most tense game in these playoffs.

Peña’s 22 homers in the regular season were tied for sixth among shortstops and ranked second among first-year players to only Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez, who was named the AL Rookie of the Year Award winner. But Peña, who is good friends with fellow Dominican Rodríguez, will probably be fine with that given that his team is headed to the World Series.

Bad Bunny’s “World’s Hottest Tour” Named Top-Grossing Tour of August

Bad Bunny continues making history on the road…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar has conquered stadiums this summer with the top-grossing tour of August.

Bad BunnyWorld’s Hottest Tour – Bad Bunny’s second chart-topping trek of 2022 – grossed $91.1 million and sold 404,000 tickets during the month, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

Bad Bunny had previously mounted the biggest Latin tour in Billboard Boxscore history with $117 million on El Ultimo Tour del Mundo. Billboard began compiling Boxscore data in the late 1980s.

The total for Bad Bunny’s new tour, World’s Hottest Tour, is the second-highest one-month gross since the launch of Billboard’s monthly charts in February 2019.

Only The Rolling Stones have surpassed it in that time, grossing $95 million in August 2019.

Bunny had already claimed the all-time runner-up spot with his $65 million haul in March, though Coldplay snuck by with a $66.7 million take just last month. Now, he re-secures his standing with the highest one-month Boxscore gross for a solo act in the three years Billboard has been compiling monthly charts.

Bad Bunny only played nine shows in August, averaging a blistering $10.1 million and 45,000 tickets per show. While other artists near the top of the touring pack also played to massive crowds in stadiums around the U.S., their grosses are more reasonably head-spinning, between $5 million and $7 million each night.

World’s Hottest Tour, on the other hand, went stratospheric, pushing eight figures per show on the back of Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny’s summer-defining album that has logged 11 weeks (so far) atop the Billboard 200. Released on May 6, it impacted after the tour was sold out, though the added momentum of new music may have further affected resale demand.

There’s a saying that goes “your biggest competition is yourself.” If that’s true, Bad Bunny continues to win. He hit seven U.S. markets in August, improving upon the gross and attendance in each city from his Spring tour. That might sound obvious to the point of insignificance considering his upgrade to stadiums, but his arena tour played two or three shows in several markets and ultimately broke many local records.

Still, the Bad Bunny of February and March is no match for Bad Bunny of August. His $22.1 million run at Yankee Stadium August 27-28 nearly doubled the already-massive $11.1 million take in Brooklyn and Newark, N.J., combined. Grosses doubled, and then some, in Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. His one show at Chicago’s Soldier Field earned $13.8 million and sold 51,791 tickets, besting a three-show run at the Allstate Arena ($11.2 million, 51,430 tickets) March 10-12.

August is Bad Bunny’s third month leading the Top Tours chart, following his gold medals in February and March. That ties him with The Rolling Stones for the second-most time atop the ranking, bested only by Elton John, who crowned four months in 2019-20.

Including a pair of September reports, World’s Hottest Tour has already grossed $122.5 million, eclipsing his previous run to become the highest grossing Latin tour in Boxscore history. It also makes him the first artist, in any genre, to mount two separate $100-million tours in the same year.

All seven plays on Bad Bunny’s August haul make the 30-position Top Boxscores chart, four of which crack the top 10. His shows help lift Soldier Field, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium to the top five of Top Stadiums. And alongside Daddy Yankee, he helped push Cardenas Marketing Network to No. 3 on Top Promoters, earning $122.4 million, a record high for the Chicago-based company.

Bad Bunny Makes History with Artist of the Year Win at the MTV Video Music Awards

Bad Bunny continues etching his name in the music history books…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar was named Artist of the Year during Sunday’s Video Music Awards, becoming the first non-English-language performer to win the prize.

Bad BunnyBad Bunny was nominated for the honor alongside Drake, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X and Lizzo. His hit song “Tití Me Preguntó” also received an MTV VMAs nomination this year for the Best Latin Award.

During the MTV telecast, Bad Bunny performed live from Yankee Stadium in New York as part of his World’s Hottest Tour. Other acts in the VMA performance lineup this year included Harlow, Nicki Minaj, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blackpink, Panic! at the Disco, Anitta, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Lizzo.

In May, Bad Bunny released his fourth studio album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” which was the second all-Spanish-language record to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, according to MTV. When it came out, Bad Bunny’s latest LP was also Spotify‘s most-streamed album of 2022.

Meanwhile, Anitta also made history at this year’s VMAs as she picked up her first American Moon Person.

The 29-year-old Brazilian singer-songwriter, whose won several MTV Europe Music Awards, won Best Latin for her viral hit song “Envolver,” becoming the first-ever Brazilian artist to take home an MTV Video Music Awards.

It was a highly competitive category, with Anitta competing against Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Becky G and Karol G.

Here’s a look at the night’s big winners:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) – Republic Records

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment

BEST ALBUM
Harry Styles – “Harry’s House”

SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever” – Darkroom / Interscope Records

BEST NEW ARTIST
Dove Cameron – Disruptor Records / Columbia Records

PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
December 2021: SEVENTEEN – “Rock With You” – PLEDIS Entertainment / Geffen Records

BEST COLLABORATION
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “INDUSTRY BABY” – Columbia Records

BEST POP
Harry Styles – “As It Was” – Columbia Records

BEST HIP-HOP
Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Baby – “Do We Have A Problem?” – Young Money / Cash Money / Republic Records

BEST ROCK
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Black Summer” – Warner Records

BEST ALTERNATIVE
Måneskin – “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” – Arista Records

BEST LATIN
Anitta – “Envolver” – Warner Records

BEST R&B
The Weeknd – “Out Of Time” – XO / Republic Records

BEST K-POP
LISA – “LALISA” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records

VIDEO FOR GOOD
Lizzo – “About Damn Time” – Atlantic Records

BEST METAVERSE PERFORMANCE
BLACKPINK The Virtual | PUBG – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records

BEST LONGFORM VIDEO
Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) – Republic Records

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Harry Styles – “As It Was” – Columbia Records

BEST DIRECTION
Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) – Republic Records

BEST ART DIRECTION
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “INDUSTRY BABY” – Columbia Records

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “INDUSTRY BABY” – Columbia Records

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Doja Cat – “Woman” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records

BEST EDITING
ROSALÍA – “SAOKO” – Columbia Records

Bad Bunny to Perform on the MTV Video Music Awards from Yankee Stadium

Bad Bunny will be pulling double duty this weekend… 

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican superstar will perform on the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards live from his tour stop at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, August 28.

Bad BunnyThe tour stop is part of Bad Bunny: World’s Hottest Tour.

The 2022 VMAs are set to air from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. at 8:00 pm ET/PT.

This will mark Bad Bunny’s second VMAs appearance. His first, three years ago, was a joint performance with J Balvin of “Que Pretendes.”

The VMAs have a long history of remote performances, dating back to the very first show in 1984 when David Bowie performed his hit “Blue Jean” live from London.

There have even been performances from stadiums before, such as Guns N’ Roses performing their hit cover of Wings’ “Live and Let Die” live from Wembley Stadium in London on the 1991 VMAs and Michael Jackson performing “Black or White” from his “Dangerous World Tour” stop at Wembley on the 1992 VMAs.

Bad Bunny is nominated for four VMAs this year, including artist of the year and album of the year. He would be the first non-English-language artist to win in either of those marquee categories.

His other nominations this year are for best Latin (“Tití Me Preguntó”) and song of the summer (“Me Porto Bonito,” his collaboration with Chencho Corleone).

Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti has topped the Billboard 200 for eight non-consecutive weeks. This year’s other nominees for album of the year are Adele’s 30, Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy and Harry Styles’ Harry’s House.

Last week, Bad Bunny received 23 nominations for the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards. That put him with a tie with Ozuna for the most nods in the show’s history. Ozuna hit that mark three years ago.

Other artists set to perform on the show are Lizzo, BLACKPINK,  Måneskin, Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid, Panic! At The Disco and Kane Brown.

Bad Bunny Announces Ambitious 29-Date Summer Stadium Tour for 2022

He hasn’t even launched his highly anticipated tour, but Bad Bunny’s already thinking bigger…

After selling out his 36-date El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo arena tour in record time, the 27-year-old Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter and actor has announced an ambitious 29-date stadium tour for 2022.

Bad Bunny

Promoted by Live Nation and CMN, Bad Bunny: World’s Hottest Tour will kick off on August 5 at Campus Stadium in Orlando, and will make 15 U.S. stops, including Yankee Stadium in New York, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and Fenway Park in Boston.\

Bad Bunny announced the stadium tour before even playing a single show from his upcoming El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo tour, which kicks off on February 9.

It’s great news for the thousands of fans who weren’t able to score tickets for El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, which sold out in days.

The World’s Hottest Tour also comes with a bonus: In the U.S., Bunny will feature DJ Alesso as a guest for 11 dates, and Diplo as a guest at two dates, including the final show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles September 30.

The tour then continues to Latin America for 14 stops in October, including Estadio Velez in Buenos Aires and Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

Tickets will go on pre-sale Wednesday (Jan. 26) at 12 p.m. via worldshottesttour.com, and goes on sale to the general public on Friday, January 28, also at 12 p.m.

The tour announcement was followed very quickly by a new album announcement, which Bad Bunny made via a video on Instagram reels.

Bad Bunny’s tour may be the most ambitious for a Latin artist ever in the U.S. But then again, he’s been on a record-breaking streak for the past three years.

Bad Bunny (real name Benito Martínez Ocasio) was the top selling Latin artist of 2021 for the third consecutive year, according to MRC Data, and the most streamed artist globally on Spotify for the second consecutive year.

He is also the first artist to place an all-Spanish album at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

On the live front, in 2021 Bad Bunny sold 480,000 tickets and grossed $84 million in a single day when his 2022 El Último Tour del Mundo tour went on sale. It became Ticketmaster’s top-selling tour for a first day since Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s On the Run II Tour in 2018.

In December 2021, Bad Bunny played back-to-back shows at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico, staging a festival-like performance that included multiple stages and environments. Whether this will serve as the template for Bunny’s upcoming stadium tour remains to be seen.

Here are the tour dates:

Bad Bunny World’s Hottest Tour Dates
Aug. 5 – Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
Aug. 9 – Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park (with Alesso)
Aug. 12 – Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium (with Alesso)
Aug. 18 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park (with Alesso)
Aug. 20 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
Aug. 23 – Washington, DC @ Nationals Park (with Alesso)
Aug. 27 – New York, NY @ Yankee Stadium (with Diplo)
Sept. 1 – Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park (with Alesso)
Sept. 7 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome (with Alesso)
Sept. 9 – Dallas, TX @ AT&T Stadium (with Alesso)
Sept. 14 – Oakland, CA @ RingCentral Coliseum (with Alesso)
Sept. 17 – San Diego, CA @ PETCO Park (with Alesso)
Sept. 23 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium (with Alesso)
Sept. 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ Chase Field (with Alesso)
Sept. 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium (with Diplo)

Josef Martinez Leads Atlanta United FC Into the MLS Eastern Conference Final

Josef Martinez is kickin’ it into high gear…

The 25-year-old Venezuelan soccer player has helped put Atlanta United FC through to the MLSEastern Conference final.

Josef Martinez

Martinez scored twice, including on a penalty kick in the 25th minute, and host Atlanta defeated New York City FC 3-1 on Sunday to claim the home-and-home semifinal series by a 4-1 aggregate.

Atlanta held the edge in the tie after winning the first leg 1-0 last weekend at Yankee Stadium.

Martinez, who set an MLS record with 31 goals in the regular season, was awarded the penalty kick after NYCFC defender Ismael Tajouri-Shradi was called for taking down Atlanta’s Franco Escobar in the penalty area. Escobar drove the right wing to the end line and then tried to turn around, bumping into Tajouri-Shradi.

Josef Martinez

Martinez clinched the victory with a goal in the 83rd minute off a pass from Eric Remedi, who lobbed the ball over the NYCFC back line to spring Martinez. His 15-yard shot beat Johnson just inside the right post.

Atlanta will play either the New York Red Bulls or the Columbus Crew in the conference final.

Rodriguez Hits First Home Run of the 2015 Season, First Since 2013

Alex Rodriguez is blasting his way back into the spotlight…

The 39-year-old Dominican American baseball star, nicknamed A-Rod, hit his first home run Thursday night in a 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Alex Rodriguez

It’s Rodriguez’s first homer since returning to Major League Baseball play after serving a yearlong drug suspension.

The three-time New York Yankees MVP connected off Blue Jays rookie Daniel Norris, leading off the sixth inning by launching a high fastball deep into the left-field seats for his 655th career homer.

Rodriguez, moved up to second in the New York Yankees’ lineup against a lefty, tossed his bat aside and rounded the bases without any fanfare, though the drive invigorated a small crowd on a cold night at Yankee Stadium.

It was A-Rod’s first home run since Sept. 20, 2013, against San Francisco Giants reliever George Kontos. The slugger ranks fifth on the career list, five behind Willie Mays.

Santos to Participate in Exclusive Q&A at This Year’s Billboard Latin Music Conference

Romeo Santos is ready to open up about his career successes…

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican/Dominican American singer-songwriter, who ended 2014 as Billboard‘s Latin Artist of the Year thanks to sustained sales, airplay and a strong social presence, will take part in an exclusive question-and-answer session at the 26th annual Billboard Latin Music Conference taking place April 27-29 at the Ritz-Carlton Miami Beach.

Romeo Santos

Santos will sit with Billboard’s Leila Cobo on a session April 28 to discuss the success of his album Formula, Vol. 2, his appearance in the films Furious 7 and Angry Birds, his social strategy, his two sold-out Yankee Stadium shows, his appeal as a bilingual Latino and his upcoming tour, among other subjects.

Santos has redefined the term crossover with his groundbreaking collaborations with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Drake, while performing his contemporary take on bachata, the traditional music of the Dominican Republic.

With more No. 1 chart hits than any other Latin music artist this decade, according to Billboard, Santos closed out 2014 with his 10th No. 1 single as a soloist; this in addition to previous hits as the lead singer of Aventura.

“This has been the year of Romeo Santos,” said Cobo. “He’s an extraordinary songwriter, performer and artist who has carved out his place as one of the most distinctive acts of his generation.”

The Billboard Latin Music Conference is the longest-running event dedicated to Latin music. Every year, the conference draws hundreds of industry executives, top Latin music artists, leading brand marketers, national radio programmers, prominent producers, and many more for four days of provocative presentations and panel discussions, exclusive Q&A’s, compelling case studies, cutting-edge artist showcases, and exclusive networking events.

The Conference culminates with the Billboard Latin Music Awards, a three-hour multi-million dollar production that will broadcast live on Telemundo on Thursday, April 30 at 8:00 pm ET.

Santos joins a growing roster of stellar speakers and artists that also includes J Balvin, Justin Quiles, Plan B, Luis Coronel and Farruko.

Registration information can be found at BillboardLatinConference.com. You can follow the event on Twitter via the hashtag #BBLATIN.

Santos Adds Second Concert Date at New York’s Yankee Stadium

Romeo Santos is preparing for a double-header at Yankee Stadium

The 32-year-old Dominican American singer, one of Latin music’s fastest rising superstars, has announced an additional Yankee Stadium concert date for July 11, after selling out his original July 12th date in 48 hours, according to his reps.

Romeo Santos

No Latin artist has headlined the stadium since Tropical ensemble Fania All Stars performed and recorded Live At Yankee Stadium in 1973.

Santos will be the first Latino to do so in over 40 years and the first to ever top the bill at the Yankees’ new field, following its relocation in 2009.

The additional Bronx date follows a string of recently revealed US shows for his Formula Vol. 2 Tour.

Santos’ latest album Formula, Vol. 2 debuted at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart on March 15, and at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart.  It scored the best sales week of any Latin title in eight years, moving 85,000 copies in its opening week according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Santos’ single Odio” featuring Drake is in its eighth consecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart.

Tickets for the July 11th Yankee Stadium show will go on sale to the public on Thursday, April 3.

Santos Announces 15-City “Formula Vol. 2” Arena Tour in the U.S.

It’s an extra special quinceañera for Romeo Santos

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican/Dominican American singer has announced that the first leg of his Formula Vol. 2 Tour will include 15 U.S. arena dates.

Romeo Santos

The former member of Aventura will open his highly anticipated tour in Los Angeles on May 22.

The 15-date tour includes his previously confirmed Yankee Stadium show on July 12.

He’ll be the first Latin artist to headline the stadium in more than 40 years, since Fania All Stars momentous 1973 concert.

Santos sold out three shows at Madison Square Garden during his Formula Vol. 1 Tour in the summer of 2012, selling more tickets than any other artist at the venue that year. The shows were recorded for a CD/DVD, The King Stays King: Sold Out At Madison Square Garden, which spent two weeks atop the Top Latin Albums chart in November 2012.

Venues and on-sale dates for Santos’ shows haven’t been revealed yet.

Formula Vol. 2 Tour Dates

May 22 —  Los Angeles, CA
May 23 —  San Diego, CA
May 24 —  Oakland, CA
May 25 —  Las Vegas, NV
May 29 —  Atlanta, GA
May 30 —  Orlando, FL
May 31 —  Miami, FL
June 04 —  Houston, TX
June 06 —  San Antonio, TX
June 07 —  Dallas, TX
June 11 —  Washington, D.C.
June 13 —  Chicago, IL
June 14 —  Boston, MA
June 15 —  Philadelphia, PA
July 12 —  New York, NY