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Banda, Corridos & Covers: Gabito Ballesteros Delivers Eclectic Set at Tecate Pa’l Norte 2024

In a span of thee hours, the Oasis Bacardí stage at Tecate Pa’l Norte 2024 was host to three very different artists on Saturday (March 30): Yng Lvcas (reggaeton), Humbe (pop) and Gabito Ballesteros (corridos tumbados).

Ballesteros, who took the stage at 9:15 p.m., honored the stage’s eclectic taste by delivering a genre-spanning, 50-minute set that included classic banda hits, his corridos-turned-anthems and covers of pop-rock songs, including “Me Voy” by Julieta Venegas and Maná’s “Clavado en un Bar.”

Before taking the stage, a video played on the screen with footage of the 24-year-old singer-songwriter as a kid singing with a mariachi. The video chronicled Ballesteros’ hustle, starting from when he was young and singing in a church choir to today, leading forces in the música mexicana scene alongside artists like Peso Pluma, Natanael Cano and Junior H, all with whom he’s collaborated.

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He kicked off with “El Muchacho Alegre,” a banda gem that got everyone dancing. He also performed another banda classic, “El Sinaloense,” igniting a zapateado showdown with festivalgoers dancing up a storm.

Clad in all black, dark sunglasses and thick silver chains around his neck, Ballesteros was accompanied by a troupe of musicians that played trumpets, clarinets, tubas, requintos, an accordion, a tololoche and drums, which allowed Ballesteros to go from banda to corridos throughout his set. When it came to performing corridos, he delivered the hits, from “Lady Gaga” to “LOU LOU” (a fan favorite that called for an encore), “El Tsurito” and “El Boss,” his latest song with Natanael Cano.

Que chingones son, los amo (you’re amazing, I love you),” he said, acknowledging the massive crowd that gathered to watch him play.

He also performed “A Puro Dolor” — a cover of Son by Four’s hit, which he released as a single last year — and Venegas’ “Me Voy,” revealing that it’s a song that will be included on his upcoming album.

He surprised fans by singing his version of Maná’s “Clavado en un Bar.” “It’s the first time we sing this live,” he shared. “Let’s see how it sounds.” The cover inspired a sing-along among fans who seemed to approve his take on the ’90s song.

Day two of the festival also featured sets by Anitta, Danna Paola, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Louis Tomlinson, and Blink-182, the main stage closing act.

Peso Pluma Surprises Anitta With Birthday Cake & ‘Las Mañanitas’ at Tecate Pa’l Norte

Anitta performing on any stage is enough of a celebration, but on Saturday (March 30), it was double the celebration at the 2024 Tecate Pa’l Norte festival in Monterrey, Nuevo León.

The Brazilian star was celebrating her 31st birthday and, as is Mexican tradition, she was honored with “Las Mañanitas” (the birthday song) by a mariachi — and it came by the way of Mexican superstar Peso Pluma, who surprised her not only by having a mariachi in tow, but a big booty-shaped birthday cake. It was totally unexpected, and the “Envolver” singer was in disbelief when the man in all black carrying the cake onstage was Peso Pluma, who revealed his identity by taking off his balaclava mask. The crowd roared when they realized it was the corridos singer.

“Let’s hear it loud for Anitta. Today is the birthday of the queen of Brazil, the queen of Brazilian funk, and she is in Mexico for the first time with us,” Peso Pluma said in Spanish onstage. “Look at that cake,” Anitta responded. Anitta and Peso Pluma later shared a sweet and innocent kiss on the mouth after the fans chanted, “Beso, beso, beso” (kiss, kiss, kiss). Watch the moment here.

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Although the crowd was hoping that the pair would sing their hit song “Bellakeo” together, Peso Pluma left the stage after the “Mañanitas” and birthday cake surprise. She did sing the song, though alone. Throughout her set, she twerked and performed other hits like “Envolver,” “Mil Veces” and “Funk Rave.”

Day two of the festival featured other sets by artists like Gabito Ballesteros, Danna Paola, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Louis Tomlinson and Blink-182, who was in charge of closing the main stage.

Peso Pluma sorprende a Anitta con pastel y ‘Las mañanitas’ en Tecate Pa’l Norte

Que Anitta actúe en cualquier escenario es motivo suficiente para celebrar, pero el sábado (30 de marzo) el motivo fue doble en el festival Tecate Pa’l Norte en Monterrey, Nuevo León.

La estrella brasileña celebraba su 31 cumpleaños y, como es tradición mexicana, fue honrada con “Las mañanitas” de la mano del superastro mexicano Peso Pluma, quien la sorprendió no solo con un mariachi, sino también con un enorme pastel de cumpleaños en forma de trasero. Fue totalmente inesperado y la cantante de “Envolver” no podía creerlo cuando el hombre vestido de negro que llevaba el pastel al escenario se reveló como Peso Pluma al quitarse su pasamontañas. La multitud rugió cuando se dio cuenta de que era el cantante de corridos.

“Que se escuche fuerte el grito para Anitta, hoy es el cumpleaños de la reina de Brasil, de la reina del funk brasileño, y está por primera vez en México con nosotros”, dijo Peso Pluma en el escenario. “Mira la torta”, respondió Anitta.

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Anitta y Peso Pluma luego compartieron un dulce, aunque inocente beso en la boca luego que los fans corearan “beso, beso, beso”. Mira el momento aquí.

Aunque la multitud esperaba que ambos cantan juntos su éxito “Bellakeo”, Peso Pluma abandonó el escenario después de “Las mañanitas” y la sorpresa del pastel. Ella sí interpretó la canción, aunque sola. Durante su set, hizo twerking y cantó otros éxitos como “Envolver”, “Mil veces” y “Funk Rave”.

El segundo día del festival también contó con las actuaciones de artistas como Gabito Ballesteros, Danna Paola, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Louis Tomlinson, y Blink-182, que estuvo a cargo de cerrar la jornada en el escenario principal.

Beyoncé & Post Malone’s ‘Levii’s Jeans’ Puts Levi’s in ‘Cowboy Carter’ Mode

“Levii’s Jeans,” the Beyoncé and Post Malone duet on Cowboy Carter, has the Levi’s brand joining the BeyHive this weekend.

“Oh to be Levi’s jeans right now,” the denim company posted — along with jeans and cowboy hat emojis — on Instagram and TikTok on Friday (March 29). The caption was made on a post featuring mostly photos of the backside of various Levi’s jean styles, inspired by the content of the song.

Levi’s even changed its Instagram profile logo and display name to “Levii’s” in homage to the playful Cowboy Carter duet.

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“FKA Levi’s,” wrote the brand in an updated account bio, topping it off with a bee emoji — in reference to Beyoncé’s fan group.

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The two artists smoothly share vocal duties on the flirty, radio-ready song.

“You call me pretty little thing/ And I love to turn him on/ Boy, I’ll let you be my Levi’s jeans/ So you can hug that a– all day long,” Beyoncé sings during an earworm of a chorus, with Post Malone picking up at “Come here, you sexy little thing/ Snap a picture, bring it on/ Oh, girl, I wish I was your Levi’s jeans/ The way you poppin’ out my phone/ I love you down to the bone.”

Other features on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter include Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and more.

Next up, music fans will hear Post Malone on a track with Taylor Swift — “Fortnight,” the opener of Swift’s upcoming The Tortured Poets Department album, out on April 19.

Post also collaborated in the studio with Noah Kahan for an updated version of Kahan’s “Dial Drunk” that was released over the summer, with Kahan describing their get-together as “exactly what I wanted an experience with Post Malone to be; he was sitting crossed-legged, drinking Bud Lights [and] smoking cigarettes.”

Listen to Cowboy Carter‘s “Levii’s Jeans” collab between Beyoncé and Post Malone below.



Nancy Sinatra Reacts to Beyoncé’s ‘Ya Ya’ Sampling ‘These Boots Are Made for Walkin”

Nancy Sinatra has shared her thoughts on Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter track “Ya Ya” kicking off with a sample of her own work, the 1966 hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”

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“Ya Ya,” the 20th song on Beyoncé’s new album, reimagines Sinatra’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in its call-and-response intro. On Friday (March 29), Sinatra posted her reaction to hearing “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” on the set, which dropped that day.

“To have a little piece of one of my records in a @Beyonce song is very meaningful to me because I love her,” Sinatra wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “She represents what is great about today’s music and I’m delighted to be a tiny part of it.”

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She added, “This may be the best sample of ‘Boots’ yet! And the beat goes on… #Beyonce.”

“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” was penned by Lee Hazlewood, and Sinatra’s recording was released in December 1965. By February 1966, it had reached the top of the Hot 100.

Beyoncé’s “Ya Ya” also interpolates The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange.” Cowboy Carter works in a number of memorable samples and interpolations, which Billboard has compiled.

“The joy of creating music is that there are no rules,” Beyoncé said in the press release about Cowboy Carter, a project which she’s said took over five years to complete. “The more I see the world evolving the more I felt a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments, and I used very old ones. I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune. I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk. All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, snaps and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature.”

She also noted: “I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects, but it’s the best music I’ve ever made.”

Listen to Beyoncé’s new track “Ya Ya” and revisit Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” below. Billboard ranked all 27 of Cowboy Carter‘s tracks here.





2024 Tecate Pa’l Norte Surprise Performers: Xavi, Angel y Khriz Kick Off Sorpresa Stage (Updating)

If this was your first time at the Tecate Pa’l Norte festival and you weren’t familiar with the surprise stage concept, you probably freaked out when a tornado-like siren began ringing exactly at 7 p.m. It was no tornado. Instead, the sound alerted attendees that the first surprise artist of the night was about to start performing at the Sorpresa stage.

These artists are not previously announced on the lineup, and a total of two surprise acts perform per day. They are short sets — artists typically have around 10-15 minutes to sing. The first surprise artist on Friday (March 29) was the elusive reggaeton duo Angel y Khriz.

The pair started their set shortly after Belanova had wrapped on the main stage. The reggaetoneros started off with their massive 2005 hit “Ven Bailalo.” They quickly followed it with the equally infectious “Na De Na.” And then time was up. They thanked fans and left the stage.

The second act to take the stage, at 8:52 p.m., was latest regional Mexican breakthrough artist Xavi — setting the perfect vibe for upcoming headliner Peso Pluma. The 19-year-old Mexican-American artist, who kicked off his Poco a Poco Tour in Mexico City on March 28, performed a total of five songs, including “La Víctima” and “Corazón de Piedra.”

The Pa’l Norte festival is taking place March 29-31 at the Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in Mexico. Headliners for this year’s edition include Peso Pluma, Blink-182, Maná, Fuerza Regida, Louis Tomlinson and Thirty Seconds to Mars. Kendrick Lamar was set to headline on Friday but canceled his performance because of “unseen circumstances due to logistical issues,” according to a statement by the festival organizers.

Below, see an updating list of all the surprise artists who performed at the Sorpresa stage.

Diddy Spotted In The Wild In Miami

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Diddy x Wes Watson

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Despite dealing with a handful of lawsuits that claim he is a sexual predator and having his homes on both coasts raided by the Feds, Sean “Diddy” Combs is still kicking it in Miami. The disgraced Bad Boy mogul was seen on film out and about, and even producer Stevie J was with him, too.

Wes Watson, an influencer, fitness trainer and “life” coach, shared a clip and photo of Diddy at a cafe. Apparently, Watson was on a coffee run and spotted Diddy at a spot called Pura Vida.

“Came to just GRAB a SHOT of ESPRESSO and I Ran into DIDDY‼️,” was the caption of the pic that showed a smiling Diddy looking at Watson’s phone.

In the clip, Diddy throws up an L with his fingers and say “Love.”

We wouldn’t say the predicament Diddy finds himself in the type of movie anyone would want to be in. Respectfully.

And clearly, Stevie J is still Team Diddy. No wonder he offered up 50 Cent the fade.

Peso Pluma Drips Star Power With Tecate Pa’l Norte Performance: ‘Thank You for Loving Me So Much’

Drawing in a sea of festival-goers, 100,000 people according to organizers, Tecate Pa’l Norte kicked off its 2024 edition on Friday (March 29) at the emblematic Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Nuevo León in Mexico.

Friday’s eclectic lineup included a headlining set by Peso Pluma, who made his debut at the festival. Kendrick Lamar was also set to headline day one, but his performance was canceled just hours before he would took the stage because of “unforeseen circumstances due to logistical issues,” according to an official statement by the organizers.

But Peso’s extended performance made up for Lamar’s last-minute cancelation, delivering a high-energy, corridos-packed set, performing his greatest hits like “Rubicon,” “Lady Gaga,” “AMG” and “PRC.” He also had special guests join him on stage, including Jasiel Nuñez, Yng Lvcas and Luis Vega. “I was really looking forward to being back with my Mexican people,” the 24-year-old hitmaker told a roaring crowd who chanted “Peso, Peso, Peso,” after every song.

Peso’s set at Pa’l Norte follows a string of canceled shows in Latin America earlier this year, including his concerts in Perú, Paraguay and Chile (for Viña del Mar) due to “personal reasons.” The Grammy-winning artist is set to kick off his 2024 Éxodo Tour in the U.S. in May, which will include more than 35 shows with stops in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Dallas and more before wrapping Oct. 11 in Montville, Conn.

His upcoming Éxodo stint will follow a big touring year for Peso. who finished the 2023 landing at No. 47 in the all-genre Top 100 Tours, grossing a total of $48.8 million across 39 shows, according to Billboard‘s year-end Boxscore charts. Peso, who will be performing at Coachella in April, is set to drop a new album this summer, which will follow his breakthrough set, Génesis.

Day one of Pa’l Norte also included performances by other acts like Kevin Kaarl, Belanova, Bomba Estéreo, Aitana, Deorro and Keane. Blink-182 and Louis Tomlinson are set to headline the main stage on Saturday, March 30.

Here are the best moments from Peso Pluma’s headlining set at Tecate Pa’l Norte.

Kendrick Lamar Cancels Tecate Pa’l Norte Set Due to ‘Unforeseen Circumstances’

Kendrick Lamar was a no-show on Friday (March 29) at Tecate Pa’l Norte, where he was set to headline the Tecate Light stage.

Just hours before he was scheduled to take the stage on day one of the festival, which takes place at the Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in Mexico, the event’s organizers announced on an Instagram post that the California-born rapper would not be performing.

“For unforeseen circumstances due to logistical issues out of Tecate Pal Norte’s organization — we’re sorry to announce that Kendrick Lamar won’t be able to perform tonight at the festival,” an official statement said.

Lamar was supposed to follow Peso Pluma, who performed past his scheduled time slot. “We appreciate Peso Pluma for extending his showtime. Deorro will be closing Tecate Light Stage. The programmed shows of the Festival will run as planned,” the statement continued.

Peso took advantage of the extra time to perform more back-to-back corridos, including “Rubicon,” “AMG,” “PRC” and “Lady Gaga.” He also brought out guests Jasiel Nuñez (“Lagunas” and “Rosa Pastel”) and Luis Vega (“Rubicon” and Yng Lvcas (“La Bebe – Remix”) during his set. According to organizers, the festival was at capacity with 100,000 people in attendance, which is the number of people expected per day.

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The three-day festival is taking place March 29-31 with other artists such as Blink-182, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Maná, Anitta, Fuerza Regida and Louis Tomlinson set to perform. Day one included sets by Keane, Belanova, Kevin Kaarl and Aitana.

See the official statement on Kendrick Lamar’s cancellation below:

Daddy Yankee Drops New Song on Good Friday & More Uplifting Moments in Latin Music

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.

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Daddy Yankee Releases Faith-Based Music

Daddy Yankee has not entirely retired from music — in fact, he’s now committed to using his talent and platform to send positive and uplifting messages. On Good Friday (March 29), the King of Reggaeton released “Donante de Sangre” (“Blood Donor”), a song dedicated to his faith and how Jesus transformed his life. “I was healed by his blood/ I walk free by his blood/ I am different from what I was before,” sings the Puerto Rican artist born Raymond Ayala.  

Yankee talked about the new chapter of his life during his farewell concert in Puerto Rico in December, part of four back-to-back shows called La Meta (The Goal). “All the tools that I have in my power, like music, social media, platforms, a microphone, everything that God has given me is now for his kingdom,” he expressed to fans. “I hope you walk with me in this new beginning and I hope you remember something very important: Don’t follow any person. I am human. To all the people who follow me, follow Jesus Christ — he’s the way, the truth and the life.” 

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Latin AMAs Unveil 2024 Special Honors Awards

This week, the Latin American Music Awards unveiled which three artists will receive a special recognition during the ceremony next month. Recognized for their notable musical careers, both Banda MS and Ricardo Montaner will be honored with the Latin AMA Legacy Award. Yandel, meanwhile, will be celebrated for his contributions to the Latin urban music scene with the Latin AMA Pioneer Award. 

Feid and Peso Pluma lead this year’s nominations with 12 nods each. They are followed by top nominees Bad Bunny (11), Grupo Frontera (11), Karol G (9), Shakira (9), Eslabon Armado (8) and Fuerza Regida (8). Co-hosted by Thalía, Alejandra Espinoza and Carlos Ponce, this year’s awards ceremony will celebrate the theme We Speak Música, and will air live at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 25, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas via Univision, UNIMÁS, Galavision and ViX. 

Karol G Brings Out Servando y Florentino 

During her two-day stop in Venezuela as part of her Mañana Será Bonito tour, Karol G surprised fans with an epic Servando y Florentino reunion — more so, with a major Salserín throwback. The Colombian singer, alongside the talented Venezuelan brothers, performed the 1996 salsa hit “De Sol a Sol” to a roaring and excited crowd of more than 50,000 people.

“The first woman to make history at the Monumental Simón Bolívar stadium. You don’t only standout for your great show but also for the wonderful person you are,” the duo expressed on Instagram.

“Thank you for singing with me and doing the choreography. I can’t believe it,” the Bichota also wrote on her own account. 

Greeicy Releases Song for Kai

Greeicy shared a snippet of a new song that she premiered during her recent concert at the Movistar Arena in Bogota. Named after her son, Kai, the song is a reflection of her new motherhood era. “Hopefully those eyes see me forever/ What’s left of this life and also the next one/ I don’t usually talk too much, I prefer to show you/ I wish I could wrap the world and give it to you/ And not even that will be enough,” goes part of the heartfelt lyric that’s penned by Keityn.

During her performance, Greeicy also shared never-before-seen footage of her son.