From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Karol G at Rock in Rio The “Amargura” singer is set to co-headline Rock in Rio, which will also include performances from Mariah Carey and Ludmilla, among other artists, throughout the festival. Karol G will perform at the Palco Mundo (World Stage) on Sept. 20. Katy Perry, Cyndi Lauper and Ivete Sangalo will also sing at that stage. The Colombian artist is currently on her Mañana Será Bonito Latin America tour, which includes a stop in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 10. Los Tigres del Norte’s London Takeover Trending on Billboard For the first time ever, Los Tigres del Norte performed in London as part of the European trek. The Mexican icons serenaded fans who rushed to the stage to snap a photo with the emblematic norteño band that has for decades soundtracked Latin multigenerational homes. “London, thanks for an unforgettable night,” the band wrote on Instagram. “We continue to be moved by the energy and affection that we received at our first concert in this wonderful city! The energy and dedication of each one of you made this a unique experience. We take in our hearts every moment we lived and we promise to come back soon.” Myriam Hernández’s Heartfelt Moment With Fan Chilean singer-songwriter Myriam Hernández shared a special moment with a fan that she met a few years back. In an Instagram post, Hernández first shared a clip of her surprising a seemingly blind woman who was singing “Herida” on the side of the street while selling CDs. That was in 2018, fast forward six years, Hernández invited the woman to sing with her on stage during her recent show in Osorno, Chile as part of her Invencible Tour. “A story from 2018 that we surprisingly repeat in 2024. Osorno has gifted me this beautiful reunion with my beloved Yasna,” Hernández wrote. Watch the heartfelt moment below: C. Tangana at the Guadalajara International Film Festival Little Spain and C. Tangana will screen ESTA AMBICIÓN DESMEDIDA, a film documenting the Spanish artist’s Sin Cantar Ni Afinar Tour, at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, which kicks off June 7 at the at the Telmex Auditorium. This is the first time the documentary will hit North America. The film, directed by Little Spain, follows C. Tangana for more than four years and reflects on the creation process of his album El Madrileño, as well as the launch of the Sin Cantar Ni Afinar World Tour in Spain and Latin America. ESTA AMBICIÓN DESMEDIDA premiered at the 71st edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival, and became the third highest-grossing documentary in the country in 2023. [embedded content] Shakira Announces Tour The Colombian superstar has announced the first leg of her 2024 Live Nation-promoted North American tour. Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour — named in honor of Shakira’s new album of the same name — will play multiple arena shows across North America, beginning Nov. 2 in Palm Desert, Calif., and ending Dec. 15 in Detroit. The general onsale begins on April 22 at 10 a.m. local time here.

It’s April 20 — the unofficial holiday for lighting up and celebrating cannabis culture — and Billboard Español curated the perfect playlist for the occasion, called Corridos Verdes (or Weed Corridos). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the mid-2010s, this new strain of corridos verdes blossomed, painting […]

Swifties might need at least a fortnight to recover from Taylor Swift‘s new YouTube Shorts video. On Friday night (April 19), after the premiere of her “Fortnight” music video from her just-released Tortured Poets Department album, Swift took to the video-sharing platform to encourage fans to share their “fortnight recap” with the hashtag #ForAFortnightChallenge. A […]

Jake Shane, who has nearly 3 million followers on TikTok thanks to his viral comedy videos under the handle @octopusslover8, is reviewing albums for Billboard with exclusive new essays and videos. Find his latest Billboard album review below, for Taylor Swift’s just-released The Tortured Poets Department album. Taylor Swift, known for her vulnerability, has never been so vulnerable. Trending on Billboard First thing Friday (April 19), Swift welcomed us into The Tortured Poets Department, her earth-shattering 11th studio album. Except, upon arrival, listeners discovered it was more a graveyard than a classroom. The air is cold and filled with tension from ghosts of relationships past — each step inviting the listener  closer and closer into stories frozen in time. The end result is an album that feels like pages ripped from Swift’s diary loosely scattered across a frosty gravesite — each tomb sharing its own story of grief, loss and, in some instances, love. Tortured Poets is undoubtably Swift’s most personal album to date — which, for Swift is a hard feat to beat. Through classic Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner production, Swift’s pen floats on lyrics sharp to the touch. This is especially true on the Dessner-produced track 5, “So  Long, London.” In it, Swift says goodbye to a relationship she gave everything for, but received no ROI. “My spine split from carrying us up the hill,” Swift proclaims; this is Swift at her very best, painting a photo of heartbreak so vivid that it almost feels like our bones are breaking too. Close listeners will notice the beginning of the track sounds similar to Swift’s love song “Call It What You Want” off her sixth studio album Reputation. Perhaps the most cutting lyrics, though, on “So Long, London” come in the second verse, when Swift admits her regret for holding on to the “sinking ship” that the relationship was: “I’m pissed off you let me  give you all that youth for free.”   One of Swift’s defining talents is how she builds a cohesive narrative throughout her albums, and here, that ability has never been more on display. On Tortured Poets, Swift walks the listener through a barren graveyard filled with withered bones and torn memories, only to finally reach sunlight — on the final two tracks of the album (not including the extra 15 songs that dropped at 2 a.m. ET), Swift has once again found love. On “The Alchemy,” Swift sings of a love so undeniable, she is returning to her old, pre-tortured ways: “I haven’t come around in so long. But I’m making a comeback to where I belong.” As always, Swift’s lyricism shines bright (arguably brighter than ever before). This is notable on the absolutely devastating “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” where Swift looks in the rearview of a past relationship with more questions than answers. “You hung me on your wall. Stabbed me with your push pins. In public, showed me off. Then sank in stoned oblivion.” Swift’s pen is pointed, but, then again, when is it not? She doesn’t want to talk to said “man,” but she wants a message delivered: “You didn’t measure up in any measure of a man.”   On “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” Swift is at her most bare, detailing the heartbreak-turned -depression she faced while performing the biggest tour of her career (and perhaps of all time). “She’s having the time of her life there in her glittering prime. The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night. I can show you lies,” Swift croons over a synth beat. Swift calls back to folklore’s “mirrorball” by proving once again that she can be anything we want her to be, even if it’s not true. It is one of the first times Swift has broken the third wall since the start of the record-breaking tour, and it is almost reassuring to listeners and fans alike. Taylor is human, too, even when her stardom questions the laws of physics. One of the greatest tales Swift tells is that of heartbreak to healing; she did it on Reputation, and on Tortured Poets she has done it once more — this time, though, with more maturity and the clarity only age can bring. At the end of the album, Swift has once again found love and  forgiven heartbreak. It might not be her true love, but she’s happy — oh, and she’s Taylor Swift. Who can argue with that? You can find Shane’s review of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter here.

Nearly two weeks after he was arrested for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a Nashville bar, country superstar Morgan Wallen has posted a statement on his X account addressing the incident.   Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a two-part response, the country superstar tweeted, […]