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08 Dec 2023

Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2023: Rookie of the Year — Peso Pluma

For this year’s update of our ongoing Greatest Pop Star by Year project, Billboard is counting down our staff picks for the top 10 pop stars of 2023 all next week. Before that, a tribute to the artist who crashed the mainstream for the first time in the biggest way this year: Mexico’s rapidly growing superstar Peso Pluma, one of the year’s preeminent global hitmakers.

During his first-ever interview with Billboard back in March, when he was that month’s Latin Artist on the Rise, Peso Pluma expressed determination to not only be a No. 1 artist, but also to globalize música mexicana, taking the decades-old genre to new international heights. “I’m up for the challenge,” the then-23-year-old emerging artist said.  

Today, he’s done exactly that. Peso Pluma, undeniably the current face of regional Mexican music, has played a significant role in leading the genre’s seismic growth in the United States and beyond with his corridos, punctuated by his raspy vocals and a more modern sound, powered by guitars and brass instruments. This year alone, he’s placed over 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 – highlighted by his blockbuster collab with Eslabon Armado “Ella Baila Sola,” and his album Génesis, which made history when it debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, the highest ranking for a Mexican music album on the tally.  

Since that March interview – when Peso was making waves with “Por Las Noches,” “AMG” with Natanael Cano and Gabito Ballesteros and “PRC” with Cano, all hitting the top 10 on the Hot Latin Songs chart – Peso only doubled down on his global mission and, in a matter of months, had gone from hometown hero to global phenomenon.  

Greatest Pop Stars, Peso Pluma

Medios y Media/Getty Images

Greatest Pop Stars, Peso Pluma

Arenovski

Born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija in Jalisco, Mexico, Peso Pluma (which translates to “featherweight” in English) came on the U.S. radar with his first hit “El Belicón,” in collaboration with Raúl Vega, which entered the Hot Latin Songs chart in April 2022. Then, he was also performing shows in Mexico to a crowd of approximately 500 people.  

That would quickly change for him with 2023. After signing a record deal with Prajin Records in 2022, founded by Mexican American executive George Prajin (also Peso’s manager), Peso was collaborating with artists outside of his genre, which was key in his plan for globalization. He recorded with Colombian hitmaker Ovy on the Drums (“El Hechizo”), Argentine rapper Nicki Nicole (“Por Las Noches Remix”) and Mexican reggaetón artist Yng Lvcas (“La Bebe Remix”), the latter of which peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 in April.  

But there was one team-up that marked a before and after in Peso’s year, and maybe for all of 21st century música mexicana: “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabon Armado. Perhaps this year’s biggest Latin song, “Baila” could’ve been just another viral hit on TikTok, but while it did garner over 5 million creator videos, the dance-ready sierreño song also crossed over to streaming and radio — making history by peaking  at No. 4 on the Hot 100, the highest ranking for a regional Mexican song on the tally. It also became the first Mexican music song to dominate the Billboard Global 200 chart (which it did for six weeks), and spent a total of 19 weeks atop the Hot Latin Songs chart. To date, it has 617.3 million on-demand official streams in the United States.  

By now, all eyes were on Peso, who was turning anything he touched to gold. He only kept the momentum going when he joined Becky G during her Coachella set in Apri, where the pair performed their duet “Chanel.” Just a week later, they’d do it all over again at the Latin American Music Awards. Shortly after, Peso was New York-bound for a historic television appearance: At the end of April, hebecame the first regional Mexican artist to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he sang “Ella Baila Sola.”  

It seemed that fans and industry alike couldn’t get enough of Peso, with his signature corridos and quirky mullet-like haircut. He was now being sought after by hitmakers such as Eladio Carrión, El Alfa and producer extraordinaire Bizarrap, with whom he teamed up with for “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55.” Following the release of the track, Peso became the first artist to ever lead both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. lists simultaneously with different songs, “Ella Baila Sola” and “Vol. 55,” cementing him as one of the premier Spanish-language hitmakers of the moment.  

By June, Peso – who was on the road with his first-ever U.S. tour, dubbed La Doble P – was at the summit of música mexicana, which was having a record year. According to Luminate, regional Mexican music consumption in the United States up 42.1% year to date through May 25 – on track with Mexican music’s exponential and global growth over the past five years.  

Armed with a hefty stack of hits, Peso could’ve kept on releasing singles throughout 2023, since it was a formula that had worked for him. But he didn’t take the easy way out. On June 29, he unleashed Génesis, his third album, though the new level of anticipation for it made it feel like his debut. The 14-track set only scored more records and more hits for Peso debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart — the highest rank ever for a música mexicana album on the chart – and placing a historic 25 simultaneous titles on the Hot Latin Songs chart (dated July 8), breaking Bad Bunny’s record of 24. 

Peso Pluma’s popularity had broken language and genre barriers, penetrating the American pop mainstream like only a select number of Spanish-language acts have been able to. ASAP Rocky has confirmed a collab with Peso is on the way, Post Malone wore a Peso Pluma t-shirt during one of his shows in Mexico and boxing legend Mike Tyson is a self-declared Peso fan. As a sign of the times, Peso became the first Mexican artist to ever perform on the MTV Video Music Awards in September – performing corridos in a space where regional Mexican music had never previously entered. He was also this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards big winner, taking home eight awards, and the 24-year-old artist is up for best música mexicana album at the Grammys for Génesis in February.  

After wrapping his first U.S. trek performing 54 shows across the country, Peso returned to his hometown of Guadalajara in November, where he kicked off the Latin American leg of his La Doble P Tour, playing for a crowd of 25,000, a far cry from his days performing for 500 fans. Stateside and back home, Peso was a force to be reckoned with — even after banners signed by a cartel appeared in Tijuana demanding he cancel his show in that city (which he did), he went on to perform massive sold-out shows in key Mexican markets such as Monterrey and Mexico City.  

After this breakthrough year, with streaming and touring numbers to back him up and a strong catalog of collabs inside and outside his genre, Peso’s set himself up for international domination — which he already got a taste of late last month when he performed back-to-back sold-out arena shows in Spain, Chile and Argentina. Ending the year as Spotify’s fifth most-streamed artist globally, right after Drake, Peso’s massive year and unlikely success is a momentous win for Mexican music and its artists, proving that this “regional” style of music can indeed be global.  

08 Dec 2023

Nigerian Festival NATIVELAND Returns With Ayra Starr, Uncle Waffles, ODUMODUBLVCK

NATIVELAND, the festival put on by Nigerian creative content and media company NATIVE Networks in Lagos for the past half decade, is returning for its fifth iteration on Dec. 22. This year, the fest will be headlined by rising African stars Ayra Starr, ODUMODUBLVCK, Uncle Waffles and Lancey Foux at SOL Beach on Victoria Island in Lagos.

NATIVE Networks, which comprises NATIVE magazine and NATIVE Records, launched the NATIVELAND Festival in 2016, with Burna Boy, Skepta and J Hus headlining. Since then, the festival has hosted the likes of Davido, Wizkid, Tems, Rema, Ckay, Mayorkun, Dave, Amaarae, Koffee and Naira Marley over the years, for editions in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Last September, NATIVE signed a global joint venture deal with Def Jam to sign and develop African artists, becoming the first African label to strike a joint venture with the legendary hip-hop label. At the time, Def Jam chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun said, “As we build a culture here at Def Jam that connects the best in the global Black music diaspora — from hip-hop and R&B to reggae, Afrobeats and more — clearly some of the best, most vital, interesting and cutting-edge new artists and sounds in music today are coming out of the continent.”

Since then, the venture signed a deal with ODUMODUBLVCK, who has had a big year behind high-profile guest spots and his own huge hit “DECLAN RICE,” as well as Teezee, Smada and more.

In addition to the headliners, the festival will also feature Amaarae, Shallipoppi, Cruel Santino, Boj, Sarz, Bloody Civilian and Crayon, among others.

08 Dec 2023

Kim Kardashian Shares Video of North West Dancing to ‘Pink Friday 2’: ‘Biggest Nicki Minaj Fan!’

North West is one with the Barbs. The morning of Nicki Minaj‘s latest album release, Kim Kardashian shared an adorable video of her 10-year-old daughter dancing along to the new record.

In the Friday (Dec. 8) TikTok clip, North energetically dances to “Everybody,” one of 22 new tracks on Pink Friday 2. Decked out in a pink baseball cap and sunglasses, a “Barbie” T-shirt and a Nicki-esque “Barbie” jeweled necklace, she looks perfectly on theme as she improvises choreography to the song, which features a heavy sample of Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet.”

“Pink Friday2???????,” reads the caption.

Kardashian and her eldest daughter, who share the TikTok account “KimandNorth,” also posted a photo of North posing in front of a pink Christmas tree and modeling her Barb gear. “Biggest @Nicki Minaj fan!!” the pair wrote.

The posts come as Minaj’s fifth studio album finally arrives after several delays, with the rapper changing its release date a couple times in recent months before settling on her 41st birthday. Her first LP since 2018’s Queen, Pink Friday 2 serves as a sequel to the artist’s iconic debut album and features collaborators Future (“Nicki Hendrix”), J. Cole (“Let Me Calm Down”), Lil Uzi Vert (“Everybody”) and gospel star Tasha Cobbs Leonard (“Blessings”).

North is Kardashian’s oldest child with ex-husband Kanye West, preceding siblings Saint, Psalm and Chicago. She and her mom often post silly videos together on TikTok, with North dressing up as both her famous dad and Ice Spice at different times this year. In October, the mom-daughter duo went as Cher and Dionne from Clueless for Halloween and shared their joint costume on the platform.

Watch North dance to Nicki Minaj’s new music below:

08 Dec 2023

Country Airplay in 2023 Has Seen the Fewest No. 1s in Nearly Two Decades – What’s Behind the Slowdown?

Jelly Roll’s “Save Me,” with Lainey Wilson, spends a second week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Dec. 16). The song drew 32.6 million audience impressions Dec. 1-7, according to Luminate.

The collab is the 18th to rise to No. 1 during 2023. That’s after 29 leaders in 2022, 32 in 2021, and 38 in 2020 – more than twice as many as this year.

Since Country Airplay launched in January 1990 (with Clint Black’s “Nobody’s Home,” the first No. 1), 934 songs have led, for an average of 27.5 No. 1s per year. 2016 housed the most, 40, while 2003 brought a yearly low of 18. Even if there’s a new No. 1 on each of the final two charts this year (dated Dec. 23 and 30), 2023 will sport the fewest since 2005, when 19 songs reigned.

(In 2003, one politically-themed hit, Daryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten?,” commanded Country Airplay for seven weeks, while two superstar duets also logged long reigns: Toby Keith and Willie Nelson’s “Beer for My Horses,” for six weeks, and Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” for eight.)

Notably, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” amassed eight weeks at No. 1 beginning this May – and is Billboard’s top Country Airplay song of the year. Plus, in 2023, and for the first time in 13 years, six consecutive chart-toppers scored multi-week rules. The run started in February with Wallen’s “Thought You Should Know,” which led for three weeks, and continued with, in order, Luke Combs’ “Going, Going, Gone” (two), Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place” (six), Wallen’s “Last Night” (eight), Combs’ “Fast Car” (five) and Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” (four).

Notably, “Fast Car” did not start as a radio single. As Columbia Nashville vice president of promotion and artist development Lauren Thomas tells Billboard, “We declared ‘Love You Anyway’ as the [lead] single [from Combs’ LP Gettin’ Old] based on listener/fan voting, but the demand for ‘Fast Car’ quickly became undeniable.”

Ultimately, both songs reached No. 1 on Country Airplay, reflecting a mix of tried-and-true label planning and independent audience activity both influencing chart runs, as streaming continues to help labels identify potential singles.

“I think we have a couple things happening,” KBAY San Jose, Calif., program director Bo Matthews said when Billboard examined the increasing lack of turnover atop Country Airplay at midyear. “The pop music cycle is not strong currently, and clearly country music is the winner. Consumption is higher with country music, and programmers are being smart, playing what their listeners want and embracing new country stars. What a great time to be in country music. We have the rock stars right now.”

“Familiarity breeds comfort,” Charlie Cook, Cumulus Media vp of country, said earlier this year. “Okay, that’s a mashup of the saying, but that’s the case with today’s country music. I know that some acts and labels are eager to move on, but I doubt that Wallen, Combs and the writers of these longtime radio hits feel the same.”

08 Dec 2023

Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2023: Introduction & Honorable Mentions (Staff List)

In 2020, Billboard‘s staff revealed its picks for the greatest pop star of every year dating back to 1981 (the first year of MTV, essentially the birth of the modern pop era), with essays making the case for each as the biggest, brightest and most important star in their solar system that calendar year. After adding BTS as the greatest pop star for 2020, we decided to expand the project a little bit. For the last two years, we’ve counted down our picks for the 10 greatest pop stars of the year, with full essays for everyone from No. 10 (Nicki Minaj last year) to No. 1 (Bad Bunny last year), as well as bonus write-ups for our picks for Rookie and Comeback of the year, and even 10 close-but-not-quite honorable mentions.

And now, it’s about time for our 2023 rankings. We’ll be counting down our top 10 over the course of next week, with our top two being revealed on Friday (Dec. 15). But first, we’ve got our 10 honorable mentions for this year — as well as our rookie and comeback artists of the year, to be unveiled later today.

First, though, our obligatory reminder that unlike with our Year-End Charts, these Greatest Pop Stars are not mathematically determined by stats like chart position, streams or sales numbers. They play a big part in our final rankings, of course — but so do things like music videos, live performances and social media presence, and more intangible factors like cultural importance, industry influence and overall omnipresence. (And we measure this over the entire 2023 calendar, so if you were only heard from at the beginning or end of the year — or only had one big song or moment — that’s gonna hurt your performance here as well.)

You’ll probably get the hang of what we mean. Read on below for our best-of-the-rest picks in alphabetical order, and apologies to all the veteran hitmakers and rising phenoms whose presence we couldn’t make room for with just 10 honorable mention spots — it was a huge year for pop stars new and old, and even a top 50 we would’ve probably ended up leaving someone out.

Greatest Pop Stars, Gunna

Spike Jordan

Their Year in Pop: We all love a comeback, don’t we? To bookmark his return home from a six-month prison stint following his Alford plea to a single charge of racketeering in the greater YSL RICO case, Gunna went back to basics with top 50 hit “Bread & Butter.” That song was featured on Gunna’s acclaimed 2023 album A Gift & A Curse, which found the rapper facing his controversies head-on and making a fifth consecutive trip to the Billboard 200’s top 5 (No. 3). Summer smash “Fukumean” soon followed, becoming Gunna’s highest-peaking unaccompanied entry on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 4), along with minor hits “Back At It,” “Back to the Moon” and “Rodeo Dr.” With two sold-out headlining arena shows in NYC and LA and a late-game Afrobeats hit in his remix of Victor Thompson’s “Blessings” – Gunna didn’t just survive the (largely unwarranted) backlash, he rendered it inconsequential. 

Why Not Top 10: As important of a year as this was Gunna, the rapper didn’t quite match his previous commercial heights: A Gift & A Curse missing the top of the Billboard 200 (he’s visited that slot twice before) definitely hurt his chances, as did his surprising Grammys shutout. 

Greatest Pop Stars, Jung Kook

Courtesy BIGHIT Music

Their Year in Pop: The BTS alum had earned some solo success pre-2023, but it was quickly dwarfed by “Seven,” the frisky Latto collab that debuted atop the Hot 100, topped the Global 200 for (sure enough) seven weeks and generally confirmed that Jung Kook was here to stay as a solo star. He kept things rolling with an additional pair of top five hits — “3D” with Jack Harlow and “Standing Next to You” — and his debut solo LP Golden, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, held off only by Taylor Swift’s blockbuster 1989 (Taylor’s Edition). With his hits, accompanying music videos and even a spellbinding Fallon appearance, Jung Kook proved himself the kind of triple-threat we don’t see very often in the 2020s (in this country anyway) — with no less an exemplar than Usher blessing his solo star status via his appearance on the “Standing” Remix.

Why Not Top 10: Jung Kook really only came on in the second half of the year — so if he keeps up the momentum going into 2024, he could be a major top 10 contender in next year’s rankings.

Greatest Pop Stars, NewJeans

ADOR

Their Year in Pop: After storming onto the South Korean scene in 2022, NewJeans officially went global in 2023. With brilliant image control, eye-catching music videos, innovative style and some of the most open-eared and smartly written singles in pop music, the quintet broke onto the Hot 100 near-simultaneously with two singles in January, “OMG” and “Ditto.” The group did even better with July’s Get Up EP, which topped the Billboard 200 and spawned another three Hot 100 entries, including their first to reach the chart’s top half with the sighing, sparkling “Super Shy” — one of two songs they played at the Billboard Music Awards in November. NewJeans ends 2023 as one of the most recognized and most influential groups in pop, with the sponsorships and accolades to prove it.

Why Not Top 10: They’re still extremely new, and have yet to either release a full-length album or land a top 40 Hot 100 hit — though both are probably coming before too long at this point.

Greatest Pop Stars, Sabrina Carpenter

Sarah Carpenter

Their Year in Pop: The former teen star proved in 2022 that she had the goods to be a pop mainstay with her acclaimed Emails I Can’t Send album, but in 2023 she took even bigger steps towards adult stardom. Emails‘ clever and sweetly horny “Nonsense” brought her back to the Hot 100, largely thanks to a viral Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance that saw her killing the choreography and changing her ending ad libs — something she’d continue to do at performances throughout the year, including at the VMAs’ pre-show. By year’s end she was regularly delighting on social media, opening for (and attending Jets home games) with Taylor Swift and pissing off the Catholic church over her video to slow-burning hit “Feather” (from March’s Emails deluxe reissue), offering the perfect retort: “Jesus was a Carpenter.”

Why Not Top 10: As big as “Nonsense” felt, it only peaked at No. 56 on the Hot 100, and while Carpenter played stadiums on the Eras Tour, her Emails tour was still visiting more mid-sized venues — showing how much room her star still has to grow.

Greatest Pop Stars, Sexyy Red

Luca Giannattasio

Their Year in Pop: Thanks to Sexyy Red, the whole world wanted to go to “Pound Town” in 2023. At the top of the year, Sexyy released the slow-burning single, which eventually rode a Nicki Minaj remix to a peak of No. 66 on the Hot 100. An even-bigger hit followed in the freewheeling “SkeeYee” (No. 62), which became the inaugural No. 1 on the newly launched Billboard TikTok Top 50. Sexyy’s brash, unapologetic, sex-positive persona also nurtured Hood Hottest Princess – her second mixtape and first project under a label – to a peak of No. 62 on the Billboard 200. Oh, and who can forget her opening for Drake and scoring a hit alongside him and SZA with “Rich Baby Daddy”? Beyond the numbers, Sexyy refused to remove her foot from pop culture’s neck this year: From her shocking pregnancy debut to her controversial comments in support of Donald Trump, Sexyy Red towered over the year’s conversations.

Why Not Top 10: Sexyy’s commercial feats didn’t quite line up with how big her presence felt this year. Not to mention, we only had a handful of total songs from the rapper until the Hood Hottest Princess deluxe edition was release a week ago! 

Greatest Pop Stars, Shakira

Jaume de Laiguana

Their Year in Pop: When you kick off the year by turning a dramatic divorce into Latin Grammy-winning Hot 100 top 10 hit, the rest of the calendar should be light work. Shakira proved as such with a year that saw her exploring the bounties of collaboration: Her Bizarrap collab obviously paid handsome dividends, but so did her linkups with Karol G (the Hot 100 top 10 hit “TQG”), Manuel Turizo (“Copa Vacía”) and Fuerza Regida (“El Jefe”). Don’t be mistaken, however: Shakira can still kill it on her lonesome. Her electric Tonight Show performance of “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” went viral, the heartfelt “Acróstico” earned a song of the year nod at the Latin Grammys and she shut down the MTV VMAs with a career-spanning medley in honor of her Video Vanguard Award win.

Why Not Top 10: Yes, Shakira had a big year, but with no album or tour in the past twelve months, other artists had bigger, more all-encompassing years. 

Greatest Pop Stars, Travis Scott

Pieter Hugo

Their Year in Pop: Questions of whether Travis Scott could still be as relevant in pop music five years after Astroworld — and two years after the deadly Astroworld Festival disaster that still hangs over his career — were answered with the release of this year’s Utopia. The album (and its accompanying Circus Maximus film) took over the music world both for the week leading up to it and for the week after its release, as fans parsed its tracklist for some of the big names included (SZA, Drake, The Weeknd, Beyoncé) and debated personal favorites. The album moved 496,000 units in its first week — easily the best debut for a 2023 rap album — and held on top for four weeks total, then was followed by Scott’s Circus Maximus Tour, taking him around this country’s arenas this fall and winter.

Why Not Top 10: Outside of the couple weeks this summer Utopia clearly dominated its extended impact felt a little muted compared to Astroworld, and the set failed to produce a single as culture-dominating or enduring as “Sicko Mode.”

Greatest Pop Stars, Troye Sivan

Stuart Winecoff

Their Year In Pop: With a half-decade separating Troye Sivan from his last LP (2018’s Bloom), the Aussie pop star came back with a vengeance in 2023. After playing a supporting role in the The Weeknd’s largely derided (but still culturally pervasive) HBO drama The Idol, Sivan unleashed “Rush,” a delectable slice of dance-pop that earned him a pair of Grammy nods and his highest-peaking solo Hot 100 entry in seven years (No. 77). Something to Give Each Other, his third studio album, arrived to ample acclaim and spawned another Hot 100 entry in “One of Your Girls,” arguably one of the most radical queer mainstream pop songs in recently memory. That track came complete with an instantly viral Ross Lynch-led music video that, along with the clips for “Rush” and “Got Me Started,” cemented Sivan as one of the most ostentatious visual auteurs of his class. 

Why Not Top 10: Troye Sivan has arguably never been more culturally relevant than he is now, but his commercial success was not quite at superstar level this year: Something to Give Each Other landed as his lowest-peaking studio LP on the Billboard 200 (No. 20), and none of its tracks have reached the Hot 100’s top 60.  

Greatest Pop Stars, Victoria Monét

Dalvin Adams

Their Year in Pop: Victoria Monét’s story obviously begins long before the inflection point that was the 2023 MTV VMAs, but few moments are as emblematic as her revealing that MTV passed on having her perform at the awards show — and then popping out with a whopping seven Grammy nominations a few months later. Among those nods was a record of the year nod for “On My Mama,” the ultimate tribute to ‘00s Southern Black culture, which rode Sean Bankhead’s choreography for its instantly viral music video to the highest Hot 100 peak of her recording career (No. 48). “On My Mama” served as the third single from Jaguar II, Monét’s debut studio album, which picked her up a pair of Soul Train Music Awards, boasted collaborations with everyone from Buju Banton to Earth, Wind & Fire, anchored an acclaimed tour that hit three different continents and earned her her highest Billboard 200 peak yet (No. 60). 

Why Not Top 10: Again, a major breakout year for Monét as a recording artist, but her commercial returns don’t quite warrant a top 10 placement at the current moment. Moreover, most of her breakout moments occurred in the latter half of the year, so an even bigger 2024 could be in the cards for her. 

Greatest Pop Stars, Zach Bryan

Louis Nice

Their Year in Pop: One of the biggest success stories of 2022, Zach Bryan started out 2023 with breakout hit “Something in the Orange” hitting the top 10 on the Hot 100 and only gained steam from there. His well-reviewed self-titled album debuted atop the Billboard 200 in September, and also spawned a Hot 100-topping smash with his Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything,” as other big-charting 2023 artists from Tyler Childers to Oliver Anthony Music to Noah Kahan could also claim to have been boosted by his rising tide. He also announced a 2024 arenas-and-stadiums tour in August, with luminaries like Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow as openers, and even when news broke of his arrest in September, it just added to his outlaw legacy — with fans printing T-shirts of his mug shot hours later.

Why Not Top 10: He’s a star for sure, but the “pop” part of it is still a little beyond him — he’s never had a real crossover radio hit or a major TV appearance, and might not be interested in playing the game that would lead to those kind of looks anyway. For now at least, he’s likely content being America’s biggest cult star.

08 Dec 2023

New Music Latin: Listen to Releases From Peso Pluma and Anitta, Mike Bahia & More

New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.

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See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Peso Pluma & Anitta, “Bellakao” (Doble P Records)

Continuing his relentless journey to the top to close out the year, Peso Pluma arrives with “Bellakao,” a sweltering reggaetón number that continues to showcase his genre versatility. This time, he pairs up with Anitta for the first time, and together they belt out a duet about feeling intoxicated with each other’s irresistibility. “Everyone wants to get close to me/ But I don’t want anyone/ It’s just that when you move it like that/ The atmosphere gets dangerous,” spits the Brazilian femme fatale. Meanwhile, Peso leads the tongue-twisting “Bellaque-que-que-que-que-que-queo” verbiage to hype up the vibe. The music video was filmed in Madrid, and viewers see the collaborators performing their bellakeo ritual against a dingy, dark backdrop. — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Mike Bahía, “La Depre” (Warner Music México)

On the heels of his album Contigo being nominated for a 2023 Latin Grammys, Mike Bahía presents “La Depre,” the first preview of what marks his upcoming album. Written by Keityn, the song is short for “the depression,” bringing to light a powerful message about mental health. “Today is one those days that I don’t want to see the sun come out/ I’m not available for anyone/ Don’t invite me to go out because I don’t want to go out,” goes the beginning of the track. Though the lyrics are not quite optimistic, the beat is an inviting merengue-urbano fusion, becoming Bahía’s first experiment in the genre.

“When we don’t feel well and we find ourselves battling against our own mind, it can be easy to feel different, alone and isolated from those around us,” Bahía says in a statement. “But ‘La Depre’ is an important reminder for listeners that it’s okay to not always feel okay and that they don’t have to fight their battles alone. Put simply, it’s telling them: ‘We are here for you,’” — JESSICA ROIZ

Ozuna & El Rubio Acordeón, “La Propuesta” (Aura Music/Sony Music Latin)

Ozuna’s latest collaboration with El Rubio Acordeón takes us on a musical journey to the Dominican Republic. “La Propuesta” is a typical merengue from the Cibao region, known for its happy and catchy sounds, with a rich mix of güira tumbara, and accordion. This duet is full of flavor and carries a sweet message of love in its lyrics: “What would you say if I picked you up in my car? And we danced a little merengue, dancing it very close,” Ozuna recites in the chorus. — INGRID FAJARDO

Pesado & Alejandra Guzmán, “Ojalá Te Mueras” (Warner Music Latina)

Norteño music merges with rock in a new version of Grupo Pesado’s provocative song from 2004 “Ojalá Te Mueras” (I Hope You Die), released this week in collaboration with Mexican rocker Alejandra Guzmán. With lyrics like “I hope you pay dearly for having deceived me” and “I hope your whole world is empty,” the spiteful track takes on a new twist with the hoarse and powerful voice of Guzmán, who appears alongside the emblematic band in a fun music video — where she carries a snake, a la Britney Spears at the 2001 VMAs. It is, so to speak, a painful delight. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS

Diego Torres, Angela Torres & Benja Torres, “Las Leyes de la Vida” (Sony Music Latin)

Performed by Diego Torres, and his nephews Ángela and Benja Torres, “Las Leyes de la Vida” (“The Laws of Life”) is an emotional reflection on the passage of time and the essence of life. The song begins with a melancholy Spanish guitar that opens the doors for a flamenco pop groove — and in the chorus, a vocal symphony full of nostalgia unites the three voices. The lyrics talk about how time runs out and memories fade, highlighting the importance of family love and friendship. This Christmas season, the Torres family motivates us to treasure every moment, with awareness about the transience and beauty of life. — LUISA CALLE

Listen to more new Latin music recommendations in the playlist below:

08 Dec 2023

Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and More Lead Billboard Boxscore’s Year-End Venue Rankings

Last week, Billboard kicked off its 2023 year-end Boxscore coverage. Beyoncé led reported tours, Taylor Swift is poised for a record-setting finish and BLACKPINK and Karol G are helping usher in a new generation of genre diverse headliners. Plus, Boxscore breaks down the highest-grossing venues in the world, split between four capacity categories, plus a chart for stadiums.

New York City is spotlighted atop two of these lists. Madison Square Garden reigns supreme amongst venues with a capacity of 15,001 or more (excluding stadiums), while Radio City Music Hall is tops for venues with a capacity of 5,001-10,000.

For Madison Square Garden, 2023 marks its 15th year at No. 1 in its capacity category, dating back to 1999. It’s been No. 1 for six of the last seven years, after dipping to No. 2 in 2021. And for the second consecutive year, it’s the highest-grossing venue, regardless or capacity or structure. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, MSG’s 116 shows grossed $223 million and sold 1.6 million tickets between Nov. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023.

For Radio City Music Hall, it’s back at No. 1 for the first time since 2020, after Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater led in 2021-22. Over 231 shows in the tracking period, the theater earned $122 million from 1.2 million tickets.

Red Rocks remains the venue with the most tickets sold in the 5,001-10k category (1.4M), while London’s O2 Arena takes top honors for 15,001+ (2.4M).

In between, Dickies Arena (Fort Worth, Texas) completes a steady climb to its first year-end No. 1 in the 10,001-15,000 category. After opening in November 2019, the arena was No. 10 on the 2020 year-end recap, and No. 4 in 2021 and 2022. With $70.5 million, it narrowly takes the gold over Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena ($69.3M), Austin’s Moody Center ($67.8M) and Glasgow’s OVO Hydro ($67.3M).

Even newer, Las Vegas’ Resorts World Theatre claims the top spot among venues with capacity of 5,000 or less. It opened in December 2021 and remains undefeated after crowning last year’s chart. Bolstered by residencies by Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood, the theater hosted 90 shows and grossed $45.3 million.

Finally, the Top Stadiums chart is led by SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., outside Los Angeles. Like Dickies, it’s a relatively new building, after launching in September 2020. This year marks a return to the top, after leading in 2021 and sitting at No. 2 last year behind Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The venue reported 19 shows that collectively earned $175.1 million and sold more than 1 million tickets.

08 Dec 2023

Nicki Minaj Drops ‘Pink Friday 2’: See the Best Fan Reactions

For Barbz around the world, today is a holiday. On Friday, Dec. 8, legions of Nicki Minaj fans made their way to Gag City to celebrate the release of the rapper’s highly anticipated Pink Friday 2. With the use of AI, fans created a virtual kingdom complete with local attractions inspired by different Minaj songs and lyrics; even Sexyy Red, Tyla and Spotify made the pilgrimage to Gag City.

Pink Friday 2 is Minaj’s long-awaited fifth studio album and the sequel to Pink Friday, her Billboard 200-topping 2010 debut album. The new 22-track set features collaborations with Drake, J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Skeng, Skillibeng, Lourdiz, Tate Kobang, Lil Uzi Vert, Future and Tasha Cobbs Leonard. Several of Minaj’s recent singles also appear on the tracklist, including “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” “Last Time I Saw You,” and the Billboard Hot 100-topping “Super Freaky Girl.”

Nicki Minaj has earned 133 Hot 100 hits, three of which hit the summit. On the Billboard 200, the 2024 Grammy nominee has sent two titles to No. 1 — Pink Friday and 2012’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded — from six career entries, all of which hit the top 10.

Here are some of the best fan reactions to Pink Friday 2 (which coincides with Minaj’s 41st birthday!).

08 Dec 2023

Did Nicki Minaj Shoot At Megan Thee Stallion & Latto On ‘Pink Friday 2?’

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2023 MTV Video Music Awards - Roaming Show

Nicki Minaj dropped her latest studio album Pink Friday 2 on December 8, which is also her birthday, and fans online are already running it up and hopping online to share their thoughts. Some fans believe that Nicki Minaj took a shot at both Megan Thee Stallion and Latto on two different songs on the album.

Pink Friday 2 is the fifth studio album from Nicki Minaj, following 2018’s Queen. The Queens star has released tracks and done features in the span of those five years between projects and the anticipation for the new album was high.

Across 22 tracks, Minaj rocks alongside her Young Money boss Lil Wayne and Tate Kobang on the track “RNB” and she rocks with her past collaborator Drake on the track “Needle” while J. Cole graces the song “Let Me Calm Down.”

The tracks that fans are discussing online regarding the alleged disses are “FTCU” and “Fallin 4 U,” the former of which features the lyrics, “Stay in your Tory lane, b*tch, I’m not Iggy” but this could be a reach as the pair seemingly squashed their issues over a failed collaboration.

On “Fallin 4 U,” the lyrics in question are, “Picture you ending up under the seat, where the dread at?/ Picture not listening when I said you would dread that/ I mean locs, ho, you-you’s a chop ho/ I’m number one, y’all go argue over top four,” which some stating the “locs, ho” word scheme was a dig at Latto.

Of course, none of this can be confirmed but the discussion regarding the release of Pink Friday 2 is bubbling on X right now. We’ve got reactions along with birthday wishes from all sides below.

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Photo: Getty

08 Dec 2023

Britney Spears Thanks Fans for Crowning ‘The Woman in Me’ the Best Memoir of 2023 on Goodreads: ‘This Makes Me So Happy’

Britney Spears is finishing off 2023 with one more achievement on her resumé. On Thursday (Dec. 7), the “…Baby One More Time” singer took to Twitter to reveal that her memoir, The Woman In Me, received the fan-voted honor of best memoir and autobiography by the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards.

“Thank you for naming my memoir, THE WOMAN IN ME, the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award winner for Best Memoir & Autobiography!!! This makes me so happy!!!” she shared. For those who still have yet to complete their reading list for the year, Spears added information on how fans can get their hands on a copy, digitally or otherwise: “If you haven’t yet … grab your copy in stores or at http://britneybook.com and listen to the audio book narrated by Michelle Williams wherever audiobooks are available !!!”

Spears’ memoir, released earlier this year on Oct. 24, quickly became a best seller. In the day following its arrival, Spears stated the book was “the highest selling celebrity memoir in history” within its first day on shelves. “And it’s only day 1 !!!” she added. “Thank you to the fans who have been so supportive !!! Love you all ? !!!” At the time of Spears’ comments, the memoir was No. 1 on Amazon.com’s list of most read and sold non-fiction books, and currently maintains the top spot as of publishing time.

The memoir detailed Spears’ relationship with Justin Timberlake — she wrote that the couple had an abortion amid claims he wasn’t ready to ready for fatherhood, and said that she cheated on him after he allegedly had affairs with other women. Following the pair’s breakup — which occurred over text — the “Gimme More” singer said in the book that Timberlake sent her a framed letter.

Other bombshells from the book included insight into her 55-hour marriage to Jason Alexander (according to Spears, she was “just honestly very drunk”), her fling with Colin Farrell (“We were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight”) and some of her most iconic pop culture moments, namely the star being the mastermind behind her “…Baby One More Time” schoolgirl outfit.

See Spears’ celebratory tweet about her memoir below.