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Shakira makes a splash across Billboard’s charts as her latest album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, her twelfth studio album over a four-decade career, debuts at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums (dated April 6). The set concurrently bows at No. 2 on Top Album Sales, No. 4 on Vinyl Albums and at No. 13 on the overall Billboard 200 chart.
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Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, released March 22 through Sony Music Latin, earned 34,000 equivalent album units, earned in the U.S. during the March 22-28 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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Of Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’s first-week sum, 19,000 units derive from streaming, equaling 26.73 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Album sales contribute just under 15,000, while the remaining 500 units derive from track-equivalent album units. (On Top Latin Albums, Latin Pop Albums and Billboard 200, one unit equals to one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)
Shakira’s new No. 1 on Top Latin Albums follows the top 20-charting live set, Shakira In Concert: El Dorado, World Tour (Soundtrack), which took the singer-songwriter to No. 18 in 2019. El Dorado, her eleventh-studio album, offered her last No. 1, claiming the top spot for five weeks starting in 2017.
Shakira Becomes First Woman With No. 1 Albums Across Four Decades: As Shakira reclaims the No. 1 spot on Top Latin Albums with Las Mujeres, she banks her seventh No. 1 among 11 career entries, and her first in the 2020s decade, after she managed at least one No. 1 every year from 1998-2017.
Notably, with the new ruler, the Colombian becomes the first woman with a No. 1 in four different decades on Top Latin Albums. Only one other artist has achieved the feat: Alejandro Fernández, who scored an equal seven No. 1 albums during the 1990s (one), 2000s (one), ’10s (four) and the ’20s (one).
Here’s a recap of Shakira’s chart-toppers on Top Latin Albums since her first, Donde Están Los Ladrones? landed at the summit in Nov. 1998:
Peak, Title, Weeks at No. 1Nov. 28, 1998, Donde Están Los Ladrones?, 11April 8, 2000, MTV Unplugged, twoNov. 23, 2002, Grandes Éxitos, oneJune 25, 2005, Fijación Oral: Vol. 1, 17Nov. 6, 2010, Sale El Sol, 12July 1, 2017, El Dorado, 5April 6, 2024, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran
Elsewhere, Las Mujeres debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales (15,000 sold in its opening week). The 17-track set concurrently opens at No. 4 on the Vinyl Albums tally with –6,000 vinyl LPs sold– her first top 10 on her first try there, plus, it bests El Dorado’s No. 15 debut and peak on the overall Billboard 200, starting at No. 13.
‘Puntería’s’ Marksmanship Blasts Shakira To Different Orbit Across Songs Charts: On the songs realm, Las Mujeres parades three new cuts on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart: “Puntería,” with Cardi B, leads the new recruits, launching at No. 3 –Shakira’s highest debut since “TQG,” with Karol G, debuted at No. 1 on the chart-dated March 11, 2023. The chart ranks the most popular Latin songs of the week by blending streaming, airplay, and sales data.
“Puntería” opens at No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs mainly on the strength of streaming data and strong radio support. The album’s eighth single logged 6.6 million official U.S. streams during the same tracking week, enough to shoot the collab to a No. 6 start on Latin Streaming Songs.
“Puntería” also sold 3,000 digital downloads in the same period, sparking a No. 1 start on Latin Digital Song Sales and a No. 10 start on the overall Digital Song Sales survey.
Meanwhile, “(Entre Paréntesis),” with Grupo Frontera, arrives at No. 22, while “Cohete,” her second partnership with Rauw Alejandro (after the No. 10-peaking “Te Felicito” in 2022), bows at No. 48.
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Extends Latin Airplay No. 1 Record Among Women: Further, with “Puntería,” Shakira extends her record for the most No. 1s on the overall Latin Airplay ranking among female artists, with 22, as the song debuts atop the list with 9 million audience impressions. With the new leader, the Colombian opens a larger gap from her closest competitor: Karol G, who comes in second with 17 No. 1s. Plus, she ties with Wisin for the seventh-most rulers among all acts.
Here’s a look at the mainly male-dominated list of Latin Airplay highfliers:
36, J Balvin34, Ozuna32, Enrique Iglesias28, Daddy Yankee24, Bad Bunny24, Maluma22, Shakira22, Wisin
First No. 1 Debut on Latin Pop Airplay: Shakira steps on different ground on Latin Pop Airplay, where “Puntería,” with Cardi B, debuts at No. 1. It’s the first time either act has debuted atop the list. The new achievement earns Shakira her maiden debut at the summit since 1996, when “Estoy Aquí” ruled for four weeks.
In sum, 24 of her songs have led the Latin pop ranking, the most for any woman since the chart’s inception in 1994, where Enrique Iglesias continues to rule with 25 No. 1s.
Cementing Her Regional Mexican Airplay Prescence: Beyond her Latin Airplay command, Shakira snatches her second top 10 on Regional Mexican Airplay as “(Entre Paréntesis),” with Frontera, debuts at No. 10. Her second chart appearance generated 4.33 million audience impressions across regional Mexican stations in its first tracking week.
Shakira’s latest entry on the Mexican radio ranking, follows her Fuerza Regida collab, “El Jefe,” which reached to No. 9 last November.
Lastly, as “(Entre Paréntesis)” starts in the top 10, Shakira becomes the second Latin pop act to secure a top 10 on Regional Mexican Airplay in 2024. Previously Becky G’s “Por El Contrario,” her first team-up with siblings Angela and Leonardo Aguilar, ruled for one week (chart dated March 9).
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Ozuna adds a 34th No. 1 to his Billboard Latin Airplay chart history as “Baccarat” climbs 6-1 on Latin Airplay list (dated March 30).
“Baccarat” leads the way on the 50-deep tally as the Greatest Gainer of the week thanks to a 26% increase in audience impressions, to 9.2 million, earned during the March 15-21 tracking week, according to Luminate.
Among “Baccarat’s” biggest supporters during the tracking week, New York’s WSKQ (1.4 million) and WXNY (1.2 million) steer the ship, with KXOL in Los Angeles (1.1 million), coming in on second place.
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As the Chris Jedi and Gaby Music-produced tune rises to No. 1 on Latin Airplay, Ozuna captures his 34th champ on the overall radio ranking, still the second-most leaders since the chart launched in 1994. Here’s a recap of the leaderboard, with Shakira being the only female representation among acts with at least 18 No. 1s::
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36, J Balvin34, Ozuna32, Enrique Iglesias28, Daddy Yankee24, Bad Bunny24, Maluma22, Wisin21, Romeo Santos21, Shakira18, Ricky Martin
“Baccarat” is one of the 15 tracks from Ozuna’s sixth-studio album, Cosmos (his seventh top 10 on Top Latin Albums), which reached No. 9 high last December. The song concurrently grants Ozuna his eighth champ on Latin Airplay as a soloist, unaccompanied by any other act, and first since “Deprimida” reached No. 1 in June 2022, for one week in charge.
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Elsewhere on the Latin radio rankings, Myke Towers’ “La Capi” takes the Hot Shot Debut of the week on Tropical Airplay, as the song opens at No. 7 with 2.3 million audience impressions during the tracking week.
“La Capi,” released via One World International/ Warner Latina, grants independent label One World International its first top 10 on Tropical Airplay. Warner Latina, meanwhile, collects its first top 10 through a Towers’ entry.
“La Capi” becomes Towers second entry on the tropical radio tally, after “Travesuras,” his collab with Nio García, Casper Mágico, Ozuna, Wisin & Yandel and Flow La Movie, which topped the chart for one week in 2021.
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El Fantasma’s “El Exitoso” continues to find success on Billboard’s Latin airplay charts (dated March 16) as the track surges 5-1 on Regional Mexican Airplay and rallies 18-2 on the overall Latin Airplay tally.
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“El Exitoso” climbs 5-1 on Regional Mexican Airplay with a robust 72% gain in audience impressions, to 8.3 million, earned during the March 1-7 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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As “El Exitoso,” released last October via Afinarte, advances to the summit, it ejects “Por El Contrario,” by Becky G, Leonardo Aguilar, and Angela Aguilar, from the lead. The latter falls to No. 3 with a 20% drop in impressions, to 6.8 million.
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With the new success, El Fantasma captures his sixth No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay, which began when “Encantadora” took over the radio ranking for four weeks in 2019. Here’s a recap of all the champs:
Peak, Title, Artist, Weeks at No. 1June 1, 2019, “Encantadora,” fourAug. 14, 2021, “Soy Buen Amigo,” oneSept. 25, 2021, “Tus Desprecios,” with Pepe Aguilar, oneOct. 1, 2022, “Soldado Caído,” oneSept. 9, 2023, “La Vida Cara,” oneMarch 16, 2024, “El Exitoso”
Thanks to “El Exitoso,” Afinarte leads Regional Mexican Airplay for a second term in 2024, after the label last led through Los Dos Carnales’s “Gracias a Ti,” for one week in charge on the Feb. 24-dated list. The label picks up its 10th champ overall.
Beyond its Regional Mexican Radio reign, “El Exitoso” also conquers new territory on the overall Latin Airplay ranking, where it flies No. 18-2. With the rise, El Fantasma collects his 10th top 10 there, and achieves his best chart performance to date. Previously the singer-songwriter reached a high of No. 4 with “El Selectivo” in May 2023.
Nacho and Maffio each score a career milestone on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “No Es Normal,” with Venesti, reaches No. 1 on the March 16-dated ranking. With the new ruler, Nacho and Maffio achieve their first chart-topper since their maiden chart visits in 2017 and 2012, respectively. Venesti attains his second No. 1.
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“No Es Normal” rolls into the top spot, from No. 5 a week ago, thanks to a 21% gain in audience impressions, to 9.64 million, earned in the U.S. during the March 1-7 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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“Normal” was released Aug. 31, 2023, through AP Global and reaches the top slot on the overall Latin Airplay ranking in its 16th week on the chart. The song is one of 14 tracks from Venesti’s De La Nada album released Sept. 28, 2023.
With “Normal,” both Nacho and Maffio check into the penthouse for the first time. While Nacho surpassed the No. 3-peaking “Bailame” (November 2017), his best ranking thus far, Maffio bests his highest-charting entry to date, “No Tengo Dinero,” which reached No. 29 in Oct. 2013.
Venesti, meanwhile, captures his second No. 1 on Latin Airplay, and first through a collaboration. He previously ruled unaccompanied by any other act for one week with “Umaye” last October.
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Beyond its Latin Airplay command, “Normal” remains steady atop Latin Pop Airplay for a ninth week in charge. The song reached the pinnacle on the Latin pop radio ranking on the Jan. 13-dated tally when it earned the tripartite team-up their first No. 1 there.
Notably, out of the three, Nacho is the only act to have reached the top 10 on Latin Pop Airplay before “Normal.” He nearly missed the No. 1 slot when “Bailame” reached No. 2 in 2017. In between, the Venezuelan secured a second top 10 through another collab, the No. 7-peaking “Déjalo,” with Manuel Turizo in 2019.
Further, with nine weeks in charge on Latin Pop Airplay, “Normal” becomes the longest-leading song in 2024 so far.
Angela Aguilar and Leonardo Aguilar snatch their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Por El Contrario,” their first pair-up with Becky G, soars 7-1 on the March 9-dated ranking. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The track, released via Kemosabe/RCA/Sony Music Latin, is one of […]
Yandel and Myke Towers celebrate a new No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Borracho y Loco” crowns the list dated Feb. 17. It’s the first collaboration by two Latin rhythm acts to top the chart in 2024.
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It advances from the runner-up slot with 10.3 million audience impressions earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 8 (up 18%), according to Luminate. It sends last week’s No. 1, Xavi’s “La Diabla” down to No. 7 after one week in charge. The latter declined 26% to 7.1 million in audience.
“The truth is that it makes me very happy that with so many years making music my songs still reach the first places and top lists in the United States and other parts of the world,” Yandel told Billboard.
As “Borracho y Loco” lands at the summit, it becomes the pair’s second No. 1 team-up. The Puerto Ricans last ruled the overall Latin Airplay ranking through a Nio Garcia, Casper Mágico, Ozuna, Wisin and Flow La Movie collab, when “Travesuras” topped the tally for one-week in 2021.
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Thanks to “Borracho y Loco” Yandel scores his 16th champ on Latin Airplay. Further, he ties with Nicky Jam for the seventh-most No. 1s among male urban artists since the tally launched in 1994. Here’s a review of the winners:
36, J Balvin33, Ozuna28, Daddy Yankee24, Bad Bunny24, Maluma22, Wisin16, Nicky Jam16, Yandel
“I am beyond grateful for my fans, my producers and the artists I have had the joy of collaborating with,” Yandel adds. “Now another No. 1 arrives through ‘Borracho y Loco.’ Myke Towers, thanks brother! Here we go, another No. 1 for the books!”
For Towers, the rapper and singer-songwriter lands his 10th No. 1 with his 31st chart appearance. He last topped the chart with the viral TikTok hit “Lala,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 in September 2023.
“Borracho y Loco” takes over Latin Airplay in its 18th week, marking the second-longest climb to the top for both artists. Previously, Yandel placed three songs at the summit each one in its 20th week, including two featured roles: through Maluma’s “El Perdedor,” and in IAmChino’s “Ay Dios Miío,” which also featured Pitbull and Chacal, and with “Nunca Me Olvides,” all in 2016.
Tower’s, meanwhile, secured two songs at No. 1 in 22 weeks each: “Bandido” with Juhn, and “Bésame,” with Luis Fonsi, in June and Nov. 2021, respectively.
For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated Feb. 17) will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 13).
The contestants on Jeopardy! on Friday (Feb. 2) cleaned up on the category “Billboard’s 500 Best Pop Songs,” answering all five questions correctly in quick succession. The Jeopardy! producers chose five songs near the top of the list, which was a staff project that was posted on Billboard.com on Oct. 19, 2023 to mark the […]
Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor Melanie, who died on Jan. 23 at age 76, by looking at the pop star’s lone No. 1 hit as a recording artist: the charming (but risqué for its time) “Brand New Key.”
Melanie’s sing-song pop smash “Brand New Key” seems pretty innocuous today, but when it was released in 1971, it was considered fairly risqué. “Skates” and “key” were pretty obvious sexual metaphors, and this stanza was rife with sexual innuendo: “Don’t go too fast, but I go pretty far/ For somebody who don’t drive/ I’ve been all around the world.”
You have to keep in mind that this was a full decade before Olivia Newton-John’s sexually provocative “Physical,” which the Grease star fretted was going too far practically until the moment it was released. In 1982, Madonna arrived, eventually bringing gender parity to the whole notion of songs about lust. “Brand New Key” might have been the first step down the road that took us to Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell,” Cyndi Lauper’s “She Bop,” Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and countless more.
Melanie (whose full name was Melanie Safka) acknowledged the possibility of fans hearing sexual innuendo in the lyrics, but has denied that was her intent. The oldies site Superseventies.com quotes Melanie as saying that she wrote the song in about 15 minutes one night: “I thought it was cute; a kind of old [1930s] tune. I guess a key and a lock have always been Freudian symbols, and pretty obvious ones at that. There was no deep serious expression behind the song, but people read things into it.”
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In addition to helping to make top 40 radio safe for racier songs by female artists, “Brand New Key” changed Melanie’s image. Prior to “Brand New Key,” she had been seen as cool by contemporary pop and rock audiences. She was one of just three solo women on the bill at the Woodstock festival in 1969, along with Joan Baez and Janis Joplin (who was backed by the Kozmic Blues Band).
As it began to rain during her performance on the opening night of that epic, three-day festival, hundreds of candles suddenly appeared, which inspired Melanie’s breakthrough hit, “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).” In July 1970, that song became her first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 6. The Edwin Hawkins Singers, best known for their 1969 hit “Oh Happy Day,” were featured on the record, giving it a gospel quality that balanced her folkie sound.
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In September 1970, Melanie made the top 40 on the Hot 100 with her follow-up, “Peace Will Come (According to Plan).” The following month, The New Seekers landed a top 15 hit on the Hot 100 with another Melanie song, “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma.” (Melanie had recorded the song under the title “What Have They Done to My Song Ma” on her 1970 album Candles in the Rain.) The New Seekers followed that hit with their versions of two more Melanie songs, both of which also made the Hot 100 – the flower-power anthem “Beautiful People” (No. 67) and “Nickel Song” (No. 81), which Melanie would later have a No. 35 hit with.
Melanie performed at the Isle of Wight festival in August 1970 as well as the Glastonbury Festival (then dubbed Glastonbury Fayre) in June 1971. So, Melanie was a star even before the song that became her biggest hit.
People who just know Melanie from “Brand New Key” might be surprised to hear her other songs, which she sang in a husky voice and in an idiosyncratic style. “Brand New Key,” which Melanie wrote by herself, smoothed out the rough edges of her other records. It is more of a pure pop record, which is probably why it did so well.
The song, produced by Melanie’s husband Peter Schekeryk, was the first release on their own label, Neighborhood Records, following her departure from Buddah Records. The song (arranged by Roger Kellaway) opens with a simple piano intro, before Melanie lays out her predicament. She needs a key and she needs it bad. Her frustration is apparent as she sings, “It almost seems like you’re avoiding me/ I’m OK alone, but you’ve got something I need.” More than 40 years later, in “Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen would capture that same sense of frustration, pining for a disinterested guy.
The chorus of “Brand New Key” is very sing-songy, which some found charming and others found grating. The wordless bridge lends some interest, “Oh, yeah, yeah/ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah…” And in the final repetition of the chorus, Melanie omits the lines “I’ve been looking around awhile/You’ve got something for me” and replaces them with “La-la’s.”
In the week ending Oct. 30, 1971, “Brand New Key” entered the Hot 100 at No. 87. Eight weeks later, it dethroned Sly & the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” to become the No. 1 song in the land. It held the top spot for three weeks, bridging 1971 and 1972. Incredibly, it held Don McLean’s instant-classic “American Pie” to the No. 2 spot for two weeks before “Pie” was able to dislodge “Key.” And then “Key” stayed at No. 2 for three weeks, giving it a total of seven weeks in one of the top two positions – longer than any other song by a female solo artist in the first three years of the ’70s.
“Brand New Key” is a very short single — it runs just 2:26, shorter than any other No. 1 hit of 1971 or 1972. It’s ironic that “Key” was followed in the No. 1 spot by “American Pie,” which ran 8:37, which made it the longest No. 1 hit in Hot 100 history until recently. “Brand New Key” also reached No. 1 in Canada and Australia and climbed as high as No. 4 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
“Brand New Key” is easily Melanie’s best-remembered hit, but it was hardly the sum total of her chart impact that year. In the week ending Feb. 26, 1972, Melanie had three songs in the top 40 on the Hot 100: “Brand New Key” dropped from No. 14 to No. 24, “Ring the Living Bell” (the proper follow-up to “Key”) jumped from No. 39 to No. 34 and “Nickel Song” (which Melanie’s former label Buddah Records released to capitalize on her newfound success) leaped from No. 43 to No. 36. Melanie was just the second solo female to have three songs in the top 40 at one time (following Mary Wells in 1964), and the only woman to achieve the feat in the ’70s.
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Critic Paul Gambaccini led his Singles column in Rolling Stone (March 16, 1972) with a discussion of Melanie’s three simultaneous hits. Under the headline “Melanie laughs all the way to the bank,” Gambaccini wrote “It has long been fashionable for rock critics to knock the recorded efforts of Melanie, but the woman with the little girl’s voice now has the last laugh. While most artists consider themselves fortunate to have one hit single, she has three.”
In his weekly American Top 40 countdown for week in question, Casey Kasem made note of Melanie’s triple play and said words to the effect that “Last year was the year of Carole King. It looks like this year will be the year of Melanie.”
In one sense, Casey was right. On Billboard’s year-end charts for 1972, Melanie was No. 1 on the Top Singles Female Vocalists chart, ahead of three legends – Cher, Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin, who held down the next three spots. But if Casey was suggesting that Melanie was moving up to superstardom, as it appeared at that moment, that didn’t come to pass. After those three early 1972 hits dropped off, Melanie logged just one more top 40 hit, “Bitter Bad,” which reached No. 35 in the spring of 1973.
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Some of Melanie’s original fans had disdain for the novelty-shaded pop direction of “Brand New Key,” while her newfound pop fans proved fickle. Widely read industry pundit Bob Lefsetz wrote an assessment following Melanie’s death in which he opined that he “had some respect for her” prior to “Brand New Key,” but lost it with that one song. “Melanie had been a deep thinker, anything but light,” he wrote. “And now she’s released this adolescent, no, strike that, kiddie song about roller skating.”
Melanie made her final Hot 100 appearance in the first week of 1974 with a fine cover version of Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” She made her final appearance on the Billboard 200 in her lifetime that June with Madrugada.
In 1990, “Brand New Key” appeared on Vol. 7 of Rhino Records’ 25-volume Have a Nice Day series, which collected pop songs from the 1970s. I wrote the liner notes for that entire series (as well as the Grammy-nominated 1998 box set Have a Nice Decade, on which “Brand New Key” also appeared.)
Here’s what I wrote in 1990 about “Brand New Key”: “Melanie, whose ‘Brand New Key’ hit #1 in December 1971, wasn’t a one-hit wonder. She is, however, Exhibit A in the case of artists whose careers were hurt more than they were helped by hit records that projected the wrong image. The whimsical, nostalgic nature of ‘Brand New Key’ gave Melanie a lightweight, novelty image which was at odds with the contemporary pop/rock persona she had cultivated with her 1970 hit, ‘Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).’ It didn’t help that the follow-ups ‘The Nickel Song’ and ‘Ring the Living Bell,’ were also very light. Still, one imagines that the coy innuendos of ‘Brand New Key’ resonated for, say, Madonna, in a way that Carole King or Roberta Flack never did. In fact, it’s a small step from the tongue-in-cheek sass of ‘Brand New Key’ to ‘Like a Virgin.’”
In one interview, also featured in that Superseventies.com piece, Melanie expressed some ambivalence about the song. “I used to love singing ‘Brand New Key,’ at first,” she said. “It had great shock value, dropped in the middle of one of my concerts. I’d be singing along about Suffering and the Trials of Man, and then suddenly, ‘I’ve got a brand-new pair of roller skates…’ It had a great effect. After it became a hit, though, the fun kind of wore off, at least for me. Some things, I think, are better left a surprise.”
While Melanie struggled commercially after “Brand New Key,” the song itself has had an afterlife. A parody version titled “Combine Harvester,” recorded by a comedy folk act dubbed The Wurzels, topped the Official U.K. Singles Chart for two weeks in June 1976. The song depicts two farmers with one saying to the other, “I’ve got a brand new Combine Harvester/ And I’ll give you the key.” (If “Brand New Key” is novelty-shaded, this loopy track goes all the way.)
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Melanie’s original recording was heard in the acclaimed 1997 film Boogie Nights, which was set in the 1970s. The song was used as an informal theme for Heather Graham’s Rollergirl character. (Roller skating became a genuine pop-culture fad during the disco era, long after Melanie’s song had run its course.) Country singer Deana Carter covered the song on her 1998 album Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, which went gold. The song has also been featured in the TV shows Family Guy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Melanie’s legacy extends beyond “Brand New Key,” however: “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma,” which she also wrote, was a much-admired and much-performed song of that era. The great Ray Charles recorded a marvelously funky and fresh version of the song that reached No. 65 on the Hot 100 in August 1972 and received a Grammy nod for best R&B vocal performance, male. In October 2012, Miley Cyrus released a video of an acoustic version of that song as part of her Backyard Sessions series. In 2015, Melanie joined her to duet on the song, in addition to “Peace Will Come.”
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Melanie had other successes. too. In 1989, she won a Primetime Emmy (in tandem with Lee Holdridge) for outstanding achievement in music and lyrics for the “The First Time I Loved Forever.” They wrote the ballad for the CBS series Beauty and the Beast (not to be confused with the later film of the same name).
In 2010 and 2011, Melanie performed at 40th anniversary editions of famous festivals she had performed at originally – Isle of Wight and Glastonbury, respectively. She also endured as an avatar for Woodstock, playing a big part in the informal revival of Woodstock ’89. According to Variety, Melanie was in the studio earlier this month working on her 32nd album, Second Hand Smoke, a collection of cover songs.
Melanie died on Jan. 23 at home in central Tennessee. She is survived by her three children, daughter Leilah (named after the Derek & The Dominos classic “Layla”), daughter Jeordie and son Beau Jarred. Schekeryk, her husband of 42 years, died in 2010.
“She was one of the most talented, strong and passionate women of the era and every word she wrote, every note she sang reflected that,” her kids posted on Facebook. “Our world is much dimmer, the colors of a dreary, rainy Tennessee pale with her absence today, but we know that she is still here, smiling down on all of us, on all of you, from the stars.”
Mesita, Nicki Nicole, Emilia and Tiago PZK‘s “Una Foto” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated Jan. 27) for a second week.
The song earned Uruguayan Santiago Messano, better known as Mesita, his first champ on the overall Argentina songs chart, when it flew from No. 30 to No. 1 (list dated Jan. 20). While Nicki Nicole added her fourth leader and Emilia her third, Tiago PZK secured his sixth, entering into a tie with Maria Becerra for the second-most, both with six No. 1s, trailing only Bizarrap’s long-standing crown with nine rulers.
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Argentinian rapper Khea earns his first top 10 in 2024, and sixth overall, as “Hola Perdida,” with Luck Ra, rises 8-2. Luck Ra captures his fourth top 10.
Young Miko nabs her highest-charting song with her first Bizarrap collab, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 58”. The song, which gives the Puerto Rican her second top 10, picks up the Greatest Gainer honors of the week, as it climbs 55 rankings, from No. 58 to No. 3. Bizarrap ups his top 10 career count to 20. Young Miko is also set to receive the Impact Award at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards, taking place March 6 and streaming on March 7.
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Elsewhere, Emilia notches her 29th entry on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 as “Jet_Set.Mp3,” her team-up with Nathy Peluso, debuts at No. 30. The song, the Hot Shot Debut of the week, gifts Peluso her highest debut thus far, after “Argentina,” with Trueno, debuted and peaked at No. 48 in May 2022.
Further, two other songs debut this week, starting with “Tal Para Cual” by Salastkbron and Omar Varela, which starts at No. 55. The track brings back Varela to the tally, after “P Rreo,” with Kaleb Di Masi, Salas, and Alejo Isakk, took him to a No. 99 high in April 2022. Lastly, Ariana Grande secures her 11th chart entry with “Yes, And?” at No. 61.
Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana spins off a third No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Mónaco” rises 3-1 on the Jan. 27-dated ranking. The new champ follows two other chart-toppers from the album: “Where She Goes” and “Un Preview,” both one-week rulers in 2023.
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“Mónaco” leads the overall Latin radio chart with a 7% gain in audience impressions, to 8.75 million, earned in the tracking week ending Jan. 18, according to Luminate. The track leads in its 12th week, after five weeks in the top 10, and unseats Feid and Rema’s “Bubalu” from the summit after the latter’s two-week reign.
With “Mónaco,” Bad Bunny scores his 24th No. 1 on Latin Airplay among 47 chart appearances. Aside from Nadie Sabie’s three No. 1s, the set has also tallied one more entry on Latin Airplay: “Perro Negro,” with Feid, which debuted and peaked at No. 46 in December. As Bad Bunny ups his career No. 1 count, he ties with Maluma for the fifth-most champs since the chart launched in 1994. Here’s the winner recap, with J Balvin still at the lead with 36 No. 1 hits:
36, J Balvin33, Ozuna32, Enrique Iglesias28, Daddy Yankee24, Bad Bunny24, Maluma22, Wisin
Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Mónaco” concurrently lands at No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay, advancing from No. 2, for Bad Bunny’s 23rd champ there.
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Venesti, Nacho & Maffio’s “No Es Normal” Rules Latin Pop Airplay: Over on Latin Pop Airplay, Venesti, Nacho and Maffio’s first team-up, “No Es Normal,” holds strong for a third week with a robust 21% increase in audience impressions, to 4.1 million during the same period.
The collab earned each of the artists their first No. 1 when it lifted 2-1 on the Jan. 13-dated list. Nacho came up short a few years back, when “Báilame” achieved a No. 2 peak in Nov. 2017. Over a year later, “Déjalo,” with Manuel Turizo, took him to a No. 7 high in April 2019.
While Nacho and Maffio have secured previous entries on the chart, the song earned newcomer Venesti his first chart visit. The Colombian, however, scored his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart with “Umaye,” which spent one week atop Latin Rhythm Airplay last October.
Over on the overall Latin Airplay list, “No Es Normal” pushes from No. 35 to No, 24, Maffio’s highest ranking there.
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