Executive of the Week
Within Christian music, few artists of the past decade have made as many waves as Brandon Lake. The singer, songwriter and guitarist, who got his start by crowdfunding his first album, 2016’s Closer, has emerged as one of the genre’s leading lights in recent years, having racked up six Billboard Hot Christian Songs No. 1s, five Christian Airplay No. 1s and one Christian Albums chart-topper, 2023’s Coat of Many Colors.
It was that last album, his first for Provident Entertainment, that really kicked his career into high gear — even beyond the traditional confines of Christian music. As COMC was still producing charting singles, Lake began teasing new music on tour and on TikTok, which started connecting with an audience broader than what he was used to. “With each release, Brandon, his team, and Provident kept raising the ceiling on what was possible and setting a new floor of success for where we could go,” Provident’s president Holly Zabka tells Billboard. By last July, that led to the release of the song “That’s Who I Praise,” which tied the record for longest run at No. 1 on Christian Airplay this decade. But it was his next release that would catapult him into the mainstream.
After teasing the song on TikTok and at shows, Provident released “Hard Fought Hallelujah” in November, months before they had planned, due to fan demand. The response sent the song to No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs, and this week, it not only spends its 20th week at the summit of that chart — making Lake the only artist with three 20-week No. 1s there — but reaches No. 40 on the Hot 100, his first entry on the mainstream chart and the marker of a bonafide crossover smash. And as “Hallelujah” — which also got a high-profile remix from Jelly Roll — continues to gain steam, Provident’s Zabka is Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Zabka talks about building into the success of “Hallelujah,” the effects of the Jelly Roll remix and TikTok on the song’s upward trajectory, and why Christian music is growing in popularity right now. “There’s a quote from Moneyball that says, ‘The first one through the wall always gets bloody, always,’” Zabka says. “At Provident, we operate from the perspective of being the first ones through the wall, leading the way for our creators and the genre.”
This week, Brandon Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah” spends its 20th week at No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs, making him the only artist with three songs to lead that chart for that amount of time. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
From the moment we signed Brandon, our goal has been to throw out the “rulebook” of how we historically would release music and, as a team, challenge ourselves to think differently at every turn.
Last year, we were roughly seven months into working Brandon’s first release on Provident, Coat of Many Colors, when he started teasing new songs on socials and the road. At that time, we were successfully working two different songs to Christian radio, with DSPs focusing on a third single. Conventional wisdom would say we shouldn’t move on to new music; there was still a lot of gas left in the tank on COMC. We watched and learned that Brandon’s audience had the capacity and hunger to consume the current release while also making room for what was coming next. While the data showed a growing appetite for more music, we also had to listen and watch how his fans engaged, and then trust our instincts, because ultimately, the fans indicate how artists should release content.
By July, we released a new single called “That’s Who I Praise” that doubled our biggest single from the previous record. With each release, Brandon, his team, and Provident kept raising the ceiling on what was possible and setting a new floor of success for where we could go. “Hard Fought Hallelujah” was the second single to be teased way back in the spring. Before there was a plan for a record, we were two singles in, and “HFH” released in late fall, again doubling anything Brandon had previously released. Not only was the current record holding its activity, but everything new kept exceeding expectations.
The song also got a remix with Jelly Roll. How did that help boost its traction?
Obviously, we recognized that adding an incredible artist like Jelly Roll would attract a new audience to the song. Brandon’s solo version of “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” released in November of ’24, exceeded every goal and demonstrated that his audience was already expanding. Before a collaboration was possible, Jelly had heard and been affected by the song, making the request for a potential collaboration feel organic and natural. The combination of Jelly, who is very open about his faith, and Brandon, whose artistry had already begun to transcend the genre, created broader access and opportunities for discovery in new spaces.
How did TikTok play a role in the song’s success?
In early 2024, Brandon began playing the verse and chorus of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” at a few shows and then each night of his summer arena tour. Even in fragments, you could feel people connecting to the message and posting videos of their experiences with the song, proving that something special and unique was happening; people were asking for it. All of this occurred before a release date was scheduled, but everything indicated that this song had already ignited a deep connection.
He officially began teasing it across all social media in August, and we had planned for a January 2025 release, given the success he was already enjoying with his previous releases. However, demand for the song was undeniable, amassing over 10 million views and 35,000 short-form creations before it was released in November.
“Hard Fought Hallelujah” hit No. 40 on the Hot 100 this week, Lake’s first-ever Hot 100 entry, suggesting it has major mainstream appeal. It’s also one of just three songs to chart on both the Hot 100 and Hot Christian Songs since 2020. What’s behind that surge, and how have you helped fuel it?
Brandon and his co-writers have written a song that beautifully captures the authentic experiences many people have in their faith journeys. Life is hard, and maintaining faith during those difficult seasons can be challenging. Everyone can relate to the idea of struggling through something, holding onto hope, and emerging on the other side. That’s what has sparked the surge. The song resonates with people right where they are.
We fueled that surge by not allowing the artist’s past to dictate or limit the song’s potential. We focused on the connection the song was making across various audiences and leaned into that in every possible direction. We have had Jelly Roll on Christian radio, Brandon at country radio, and featured on country playlists, faith playlists, and worship playlists; the song has been sung in churches and now at Stagecoach, breaking through typical genre barriers. Regardless of how successful a song or artist becomes, we consistently ask what we can do to help it reach more people. This mindset, shared by everyone on Brandon’s team, continues to drive the growth of the song and the artist.
Christian music in general has been surging lately. What is behind that, and how has Provident been able to benefit from it?
When songs like Lauren Daigle’s “You Say” or Brandon’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah” impact culture beyond the Christian music genre, they inspire the creative community to elevate songwriting, artist development and expression. They attract fans who may not have previously explored an artist or a song in our genre, primarily because the song or artist connects to something deeper.
Provident has seen remarkable growth over the last two years with artists like Brandon, Elevation Worship, Seph Schlueter and Leanna Crawford. These artists have contributed to the genre’s expansion and are shaping the future of Christian music.
The Christian genre has experienced double-digit growth in the past two years, during which time Provident has gained eight frontline market share points. We’ve outpaced the growth of the genre because, instead of merely benefiting from the increasing interest in Christian music, we’ve aimed to be the driving force behind it. We will continue to foster growth by remaining curious, continuing to learn and maintaining our willingness to break down genre barriers for every artist signed and yet to be signed to the roster.
How do you see Christian music continuing to grow moving forward?
There’s a quote from Moneyball that says, “The first one through the wall always gets bloody, always.” At Provident, we operate from the perspective of being the first ones through the wall, leading the way for our creators and the genre.
We must be willing to try, fail, take risks, push boundaries and explore new spaces with our music. In the past, for a song in the Christian genre to cross over, we had to take the best our genre had to offer and give it to the mainstream. This surge in Christian music is proving we can attract that audience to us. As the genre walls continue to disappear, more and more “mainstream” audiences are discovering that Christian music authentically represents a part of their life, faith and daily experience that can be supported through our music. The growth of the genre isn’t slowing down, and we will continue to lead the way and challenge perceptions of Christian music through the quality, diversity, and authenticity of our songs and artists.
Texas rapper BigXthaPlug has carved out a nice career for himself over the past half-decade, amassing 16 hits and three top 20s on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, a handful of appearances on the back half of the Hot 100 and a successful touring base, emerging as one of the more distinctive voices of his generation of hip-hop artists. But he was always more than just a rapper, and his multi-genre Southern roots first came to the fore with his 2022 song “Texas,” the video for which saw him decked out in full cowboy regalia as he rapped about his home state over a country-inflected acoustic slide guitar.
The song, among other things, proved BigX’s versatility. But it also opened the door to something else: the country music community. And now, as his latest single “All The Way” featuring Bailey Zimmerman spends its second week in the top 10 of the Hot 100 after zooming in with a No. 4 debut last week, BigX has a bonafide smash hit country single, with a full country-infused project on the way.
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It’s a huge moment for BigX as he explores his country interests, and also a big pop moment for the Texas MC as well, representing far and away the biggest hit of his career so far. But it’s also a big moment for UnitedMasters, the company founded in 2017 by veteran record executive Steve Stoute that releases his music — and scored its own biggest hit so far with “All The Way,” too. (The song is officially credited as BigXthaPlug/UnitedMasters/Atlantic.) And it helps UnitedMasters vp of music/head of A&R Mike Weiss earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Weiss talks about what went into making the record, BigX’s country “side quest,” the crowded distribution space of the music business and how UM has helped develop BigX by following his vision. “The plan is simple: stay true to BigX, lean into organic collaborations and let the music speak,” Weiss says. “We’re not mashing together genres for the sake of it. We’re building something that reflects all sides of who he is as an artist and a person.”
This week, BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman’s “All The Way” spends its second week in the top 10 of the Hot 100, at number eight. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
This record didn’t happen overnight. It took a complete team effort to get us here with a vision for an overarching artist plan, rather than one single. My partner David Melhado and I sat down a year ago with the idea to start mapping out a course for a country-inspired BigX project. We knew from the start that authenticity had to be the foundation. If BigX didn’t feel it, it wasn’t going to happen and that filter guided every decision we made.
Around that time, BigX started spending time with a number of country artists who had become fans after his breakout single “Texas.” We knew there was an opportunity here. We have an amazing team of core producers in Charley Cooks, Tony Coles and Bandplay. They started working on ideas for a country direction that stayed true to BigX’s roots. The initial demo to “All the Way” was Ben Johnson’s vocals over a guitar that hinted at something special. We knew it needed to be “BigX-ified,” so Bandplay built a sound that was unmistakably BigX. We have an amazing A&R team that played it for BigX. He loved the record, and cut it immediately. BigX has some of the best instincts. He trusts his gut and doesn’t miss.
The song exploded out of the gate, debuting last week at No. 4 on the Hot 100 and soaring in at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs, Digital Song Sales and Hot Country Songs charts and at No. 3 on Hot Rap Songs. Why did the song have such a huge immediate impact?
Back in February, BigX teased an early version of the record on Instagram. There was no set release date at the time, but the response was immediate and explosive. Within days, fans ripped the sound from the Instagram post and flooded TikTok with tens of thousands of videos. It was clear we had something special on our hands.
Even with that momentum, we resisted the urge to drop the record prematurely. There was external pressure to release it fast and not “lose the heat,” but we knew that a moment this big deserved a proper runway. We took the time to create the right content, shoot the music video and prepare a full rollout that matched the energy we were seeing online. We were also mindful that this was the first single off the project, and once we launched, we needed to be ready to move with full force.
That patience and discipline paid off. By the time the song dropped, there was such pent up demand that the record exploded.
With a song like that with so much immediate interest, what can you guys do to keep the momentum going?
Our priority is building sustained momentum for BigX as an artist, not just capitalizing on a single moment. From the beginning, our focus has been longterm artist development, and this moment is just one chapter in a much bigger story that BigX is telling with this country-inspired project.
We have an incredible body of work lined up, and we’re deep in the process of mapping out the next singles and the full rollout. Consistency is everything. With BigX, we take the approach of always being on cycle. We’re keeping our foot on the gas and continuing to invest in the music, visuals and storytelling that got us here, while building towards the next big moment.
After landing 16 songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, this is BigX’s first song that touches the country genre. What are your plans to make sure that his crossover there works?
Our intention isn’t to fully cross BigX into country. This project is more of a creative “side quest” that allows him to showcase his versatility and explore new territory without abandoning his core. It’s about expanding, not switching lanes.
This isn’t a trend-chasing move, it’s rooted in who BigX is. Back in 2022, we released “Texas,” a country-inspired hip-hop record where he was literally in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat in the video. That record sparked early interest from the country community and planted the seed for what we’re doing now. This moment is a natural evolution of that foundation, not a sudden shift.
The plan is simple: stay true to BigX, lean into organic collaborations and let the music speak. We’re not mashing together genres for the sake of it. We’re building something that reflects all sides of who he is as an artist and a person.
This is the biggest song in UnitedMasters’ history so far. What does that mean for the company?
This is an exciting moment for the company and for our team. We’ve been a partner to BigX for four years with a deep belief in artist development and doing what’s best for our artists. This shows that we can compete with anyone. We touched every aspect of the A&R process, rollout, marketing, digital and overarching strategy. This win further affirms that our model works. That independent artists with the right support can not only compete, but lead.
Just last year, we had a major global success with FloyyMenor’s “Gata Only,” the fastest Latin song in Spotify history to hit a billion streams. That was a global moment. But with “All The Way,” we’ve shown we can dominate domestically, too, and drive immediate, culture-shifting impact in the U.S. market. Delivering on both fronts shows that our approach scales. The exciting part is we’re still just getting started.
The distribution space is getting crowded. How do you make sure UnitedMasters stands apart from the competition?
We don’t see ourselves as just a distribution company, and we don’t operate like one. At UnitedMasters, we’re aiming to reimagine what a modern music company can be. Our mission is to reshape the industry by building something that lives at the intersection of a forward-thinking label, a tech-driven platform and a premium distributor.
What sets us apart is the ability to support artists at every stage of their journey, from emerging creators to global superstars, with a tiered system that scales alongside their growth. We’ve invested in world-class technology and paired it with an elite label services team that delivers across A&R, marketing, strategy and beyond. We’re not focused on just getting music to DSPs, we’re focused on building careers.
For Alex Warren, it’s been a long, steady ascent to get to this point. After first coming to prominence through videos on TikTok and other social media platforms and as a co-founder of the Hype House content creator hub, the young singer started releasing music in 2021 before signing to Atlantic Records the following year. Since then, a steady stream of singles led to increasingly positive returns, and Warren made his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 last fall with “Burning Down,” which peaked at No. 69 in October.
But then came “Ordinary,” his latest single, initially released Feb. 7. The song quickly flew onto the Hot 100, debuting at No. 61, and picked up steam on social media — and the steady ascent began. With several television appearances, including on Jimmy Fallon and a Love Is Blind reunion episode, the song began climbing the charts, not just in the U.S., but internationally, reaching No. 1 in the U.K. (where it has remained for four weeks), Australia and Canada. This week, it rose into the top 10 of the Hot 100 at No. 7 — helping Atlantic Records vp of A&R Michael Parker earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Parker talks about Warren’s journey as a songwriter since signing him three years ago and what has made “Ordinary” such an extraordinary breakout hit. “Alex saw the whole path forward from moment one on that song,” Parker says. “He had the vision, the drive and he knew exactly how to finish it and promote it. So naturally, the record took off on this amazing path and immediately connected with his fans.”
This week, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” reached the top 10 of the Hot 100 for the first time, after a nine-week climb. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
Of course, it starts with the music. I’m a firm believer that every artist needs the right people they connect deeply with around them, and that they have access to all of the tools to help realize their vision. “Ordinary” was a track made during recording sessions late last year with his closest collaborators. It was one of those songs that the second you hear it, you just know. Alex saw the whole path forward from moment one on that song. He had the vision, the drive and he knew exactly how to finish it and promote it. So naturally, the record took off on this amazing path and immediately connected with his fans.
The amazing group of people who have worked alongside Alex deserve a shoutout: Adam Yaron, Mags Duval, Cal Shapiro, who have written and produced the album with Alex. Brian Sokolik, the best manager, and the incredible teams at Atlantic and Wasserman.
You first signed Alex in 2022. How have you seen him develop since then, and what role have you played in that?
Since we first signed Alex, he’s truly continued to raise the bar song after song. My job is to keep that bar held up and to never let it fall. Alex has earned the trust of everyone he works with over that time span because we know that if he has a vision for it, he will make it happen. That confidence in himself and his music is infectious to the rest of us, and it’s been amazing to see that develop over the years. Every artist I work with needs support in different ways, and I look to do so by piecing together the right team and being their musical confidant, and that’s exactly what I aim to be for Alex.
He got his start in the public eye as an influencer. How did that affect his career? Did it help or hurt?
Alex has always been a musician first. Connecting with people came naturally to him, and using his platform helped him to do so. Just by being himself and sharing music with his fans, he was able to do what he loves and have a deep connection with them. It’s been great to watch the wonderful interaction between Alex and his fans.
This song is not just blowing up in the U.S., but it’s also hit No. 1 in several countries in Europe, including the U.K., as well as places like Australia and Canada. Why do you think it’s resonating so much around the world?
Alex makes really universal music. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, what age you are, how much money you have, what you believe in. Alex’s songs are personal and powerful, and all true stories ripped right out of his life that most can relate to. It’s also a huge testament to our U.S. and international teams working closely together to achieve global success. It’s incredible to see the global reach that Alex and his music are having.
How have you guys helped to continue to promote this song over the course of the year so far?
We try to amplify every step along the way. Incredible content, syncs, new versions, new performance opportunities. Each thing that came in has propelled it a little bit further. A first-ever Love is Blind live reunion performance that sent the already soaring song off like a rocket ship, as well as making his late-night TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!
In this era where it can be harder than ever to break an act, what is your approach to A&R?
Alex really changed my perspective in that regard. His work ethic makes all the difference. Now, all I care about are artists or projects that want to approach this industry in a different way. As long as the artists I’m working with are equally or more passionate than me, I know they won’t quit on that dream.
For much of the past decade, the British metal band Sleep Token has been quietly building its own universe: anonymity, masks and cloaks, band members identified only by Roman numerals, a dearth of interviews or explanations of any kind. It has led to a mystique that has drawn in fans just as much as the music; the group’s followers comb through Easter eggs and hunt down clues — in website source code, for instance, or by linking QR codes scattered around Los Angeles, or through the lunar eclipse live stream from Griffith Observatory — looking for hints at what is to come, and what the band might do next.
Lately, that has ratcheted up, as the group signed to RCA and began releasing singles on a major label for the first time ahead of their upcoming album, Even In Arcadia, set for a May 9 release. It started with a detailed campaign ahead of the release of the single “Emergence,” which began with the group’s first-ever TikTok video, led to a website where fans were instructed to choose between two coats of arms, involved competing Instagram accounts and instructions released in Morse code and a numerical cipher that spelled out the name of the single — and even that is an oversimplification of the campaign. But the scavenger hunt that ensued, of course, was only part of the story of the song’s success: it became the band’s first-ever Hot 100 entry, and is now spending its third straight week at No. 1 on Hot Hard Rock Songs.
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Building on that was the release of the followup single, “Caramel,” teased in part by WRAL Raleigh, North Carolina weatherman Chris Michaels during a news broadcast, which also helped introduce the band’s next step, which is forthcoming — with “Caramel” jumping out to an even bigger streaming debut so far than “Emergence” had. “It’s truly a marketer’s dream project,” RCA Records’ vp of marketing Aaron Stern says — and the creativity and success so far helps earn Stern the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Stern helps break down some of the work that went into the campaign, and what’s to come for Sleep Token. “The future is about building community,” Stern says. “If there’s anything to take away from this campaign and what this band has created it’s how you build that sense of fellowship and that’s what I’ll take with me as a focus going forward with all of my projects.”
This week, Sleep Token’s “Emergence” spent its third week at No. 1 on Hot Hard Rock Songs, and a few weeks ago became the band’s first-ever single to appear on the Hot 100, when it debuted at No. 57. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
Before we could approach the rollout plans for Even In Arcadia, it was critical to me that everyone who would be tied to the project deeply understood and respected the profound and expansive world the band created to surround its artistry long before this record. Sleep Token set a best-in-class standard for how an artist can cultivate an audience of fans that sincerely immerse themselves in the music and surrounding visual identity. My role was to take the entirely new creative vision the artist had for this album and help bring it to life on a broad scale with intriguing fan intersection points to build demand for new music from the band.
Mapping the timing and cadence of when and how the music rolled out was key. We knew it would be vital to create meaningful inroads to the new world of Even in Arcadia for fans long before the first note of music was heard, so that just before “Emergence” dropped, the anticipation and excitement for what was coming was at a fever pitch. It was so important to us that we honor the vision and support the foundation that Sleep Token had been building for years leading up to this, and we had the expertise of their long time manager Ryan Richards at Future History Management to serve as our compass and one source of truth.
This is the biggest commercial moment for the band in its near-decade history. How did you set this up to both engage their existing fan base and also introduce them to more of a mainstream audience?
The strategy for this rollout was rooted in energizing and activating the existing Sleep Token fan base with hidden clues to draw them into the new world of Even In Arcadia — and then giving them something shareable to bring others in. We leaned into the mystery and the lore that exists innately with the identity of Sleep Token and created an entirely new realm with many different touchpoints fans could explore. We knew that if we hit a critical mass of excitement and conversation within this core fan base, it would then spill over into a larger mainstream space and get potential new fans intrigued and engaged. We believed it was only a matter of time for Sleep Token to break through if the fan base was equipped to go out and share their excitement about the new album broadly.
Following the success of “Emergence,” RCA released second single “Caramel” to even bigger streams so far. How have the two songs worked together to boost the band overall?
These are some of the most incredibly crafted songs the artist has released to date, and they were recorded with so much depth and nuance, so I’m not surprised to see these songs have resonated so deeply. We knew stepping out with “Emergence” would immediately resonate with their fans, and sonically nodded to their past successes — but also branched out with genre-bending spirit that gave a glimpse into what Even In Arcadia could be for a much larger audience. “Caramel” then further solidified the statement of true ambition for where this band is headed and further proof that there is no sonic highway they won’t explore. Credit to the artist along with A&R gurus Dan Chertoff and Daniel Schultz for plucking these two songs from the brilliant album as the introduction of what’s to come. The success we’re seeing is not just that people are listening, it’s that they are listening and they’re invested enough in what they hear to go online or out into the world to share their experience with others. In a time of so much polarization, this music and the immersive world connected to it is uniting people and offering a space for people to come together.
There has been an intricate marketing plan for these singles. What were your favorite moments, and how did you want to bring the fans into the experience with them?
We’ve had so much fun rolling this one out. It’s truly a marketer’s dream project. It all started with the visual creative for this record that would become the initial touchpoint for fans to be drawn in. That came to life through the vision of the artist in collaboration with the incredible minds of Niki Roberton, Shoshana Reist and Leo Araujo from the RCA creative team. Once we established this beautiful palatial world of exquisite flora and fauna, seemingly run by a lone black flamingo, we focused on ways to bring people into it. By seeding cryptic messaging, puzzles and scavenger hunts for fans to discover and explore, we leaned into immersive storytelling.
As an exuberant community of worshippers across the globe dove deeper and deeper into this world, a local weatherman from Raleigh, North Carolina started adding clues in his weather reports, which added to the buzz on TikTok and Instagram. Sometimes it’s hard to put into words how it all falls into place, but with the combination of the visual creative and its strategic placement, coupled with the mystery built and the passion of the fan base, set the tone for a highly anticipated launch. Tarek Al-Hamdouni, Christian Edusada and Bird Cooley from the RCA digital marketing team have done a fantastic job of having the pulse of the fans online and have played an integral role in the strategy of getting the message out there. We also can’t forget that Sleep Token is one of the greatest live bands in the world. Lexi Vaganos, my marketing partner in crime at RCA, and I worked closely with our friends at AEG to extend the world of this record into the teasing and announcement of their now sold out U.S. arena tour this fall. I love that we found ways for the marketing of the album to extend into every component of what this band does and where it exists, going far beyond any other standard project roll out.
Why is this happening for them now?
There’s no stopping a great vision whose time has come. Simultaneously, and thankfully, we’re also seeing a resurgence in rock music, in part due to the cyclical nature of music trends but also driven by a collective desire for the authenticity that the genre stands for. The continuous growth of streaming, as well as social media trending topics like the elder-emo subculture over the past few years, have contributed to exposing younger generations to rock music, sparking new interest in the genre.
What have you learned from the unorthodox campaign here that you feel can be applied to other artists?
I’ve learned that people really want something to unite on and something that can help them escape from reality. I realize that this isn’t new and music has always been this way for most of us, but the way we rely on a creative escape ebbs and flows with the happenings of the world — and we are in a moment where a retreat from our real world is desired. The future is about building community. If there’s anything to take away from this campaign and what this band has created it’s how you build that sense of fellowship and that’s what I’ll take with me as a focus going forward with all of my projects.
How do you continue to push this forward with future singles as you approach the band’s album release?
We’ve got such an amazing plan ahead and so much to Do thAt I think is really going to shake things up and set fans up for an epic experience of Even In Arcadia. This is one of the MOst intelligent and exCited fan bases I’ve ever seen. They often know what’s coming with even the LittleESt kernel of information that’s put out there, so I’ll keep it to that.
After finishing the last of seven concerts at GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City March 30 as part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour, Shakira announced she would return to Mexico in August. Her encore will bring her total shows played in the country to 22, a record for a single tour. Shakira initially played 11 stadium shows in Mexico, selling them all out, and eventually announced additional shows for August and September, including one more stop at GNP Seguros Stadium. Her eight performances there will be a record.
It’s the latest success in a string of them for the Colombian star. Last week, Billboard reported that, for the month of February, Shakira topped the monthly Top Tours chart for the first time, earning $32.9 million from 282,000 tickets sold that month, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
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Shakira follows Bad Bunny, Los Bukis and RBD among Latin artists who have topped the monthly ranking, making her the first solo Latin woman to hit No. 1. This also marks the first time Shakira ever tops the chart, which launched in 2019, after she finished her previous outing, 2018’s El Dorado World Tour.
All those tickets sold are particularly sweet success for Shakira, who not only hadn’t toured in six years, but hadn’t had this level of success with her recorded music, either. Since 2019, as is by now very well known, the global superstar split up with her longtime partner, Gerard Pique, moved from Barcelona to Miami, turned her heartbreak into chart-topping songs, and now, at 47 years old and as the mother of two children, is in the midst of what will be the biggest tour of her career.
At her side is manager Nadine Eliya, who after working with Shakira in different capacities for years, took over management in 2023 after the Colombian star moved to Miami and started releasing new music. While that was a project in and of itself, Shakira’s new tour, a massive endeavor that kicked off last month in Brazil, is the Colombia’s star most ambitious move yet. Originally slated to be an arena tour, Shakira scrapped those plans last fall, following reaction to her new album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Sony Music Latin), and announced she was doing stadiums instead. And while she had to cancel three South American dates —two for production issues and one due to illness — her Mexico run has more than made up for lost time.
Given the extraordinary resurgence of Shakira, spotlighted by her No. 1 spot on Top Tours for February, Eliya is Billboard’s Executive of the Week. Here, she speaks about crafting Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, and its impact on the touring market.
You’ve had many Shakira highlights in the past year, but these Mexico concerts feel particularly significant. Is that the case?
These Mexico concerts were so rewarding in so many ways. It’s nice to see a Latin American city leading on a global scale as a concert city market, and only reinforces the massive growth we’ve been seeing in the Latin market over the last 10 years. To be breaking such significant records 30-plus years into your career is a testament to Shakira’s longevity and the care we’ve taken to keep creating music that draws new fans while deepening the connection with the ones who have accompanied her all along the way.
Shakira went from having a much-publicized split with her longtime partner two years ago to now leading Billboard’s tour recap for the month. What was the biggest challenge in achieving this?
The biggest challenge, I think, was being able to channel the pain into productivity, into growth, into a tool for connection. I think her music last year has struck a chord with so many women who felt like she gave a voice to their same feelings and frustrations and made them feel seen.
I think people may think, it’s Shakira, she’s a global star, this is easy…
Ha! Every new leg of a stadium tour brings its own challenges, and every achievement only brings ideas for new goals we want to reach. It’s a misconception that when you get to the top, you relax. It only makes the stakes higher. And I’m bad at relaxing.
What has been the biggest challenge in putting together this stadium tour?
The biggest challenges were bringing a production of this size to Latin America, which had never been done before in many of the markets we visited. Also, thinking big picture about where we want to be at the end of it, the milestones we want to hit, and how we plan to get there.
What can you tell us about the concept of the tour?
It’s all about female archetypes, connection and empowerment. If you notice, many of the interludes, that are a CGI-animated Shakira — an industry-wide first — center around an archetype: the warrior, the mother, the primal she-wolf. The idea was to take the fans on this journey with her and to walk out feeling uplifted and empowered. And I think she delivered beyond anyone’s expectations, including her own.
What were your expectations when you started to plan, and what are they now?
I think we expected to surprise fans with a big show but we didn’t expect how emotional the reaction would be and what a movement it’s become, this experience of attending her concert.
A couple of weeks ago, Shakira also released the music video to “Ultima,” a very melancholy ballad that looks back at her relationship. Why now?
We filmed that video a while back, but we wanted to release it at a time that had meaning to it. It felt like a beautiful bookend to a year after the release of such a personal album and sharing it from a very different place than when the song was written, after the live [version] of the song has connected with so many on tour. It was a gift for the fans who offered so much support through a difficult time.
When Playboi Carti released his long-awaited third album, Music, in the early hours of March 14, it was met with a tidal wave of interest — its songs immediately flooded the daily Spotify and Apple Music streaming charts, and it immediately became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a day in 2025. And the album — his first in nearly five years, since 2020’s Whole Lotta Red — will likely become his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when it officially debuts on the chart next week.
It’s been a long time coming, and fans were certainly ready. And Carti has been building anticipation for the release for an extended period, teasing songs on social media, putting up billboards in Los Angeles, dropping singles seemingly at random and debuting new tracks in live performances, including at Rolling Loud earlier this month. That was all according to plan. “It was always kind of teasing and never fully announcing, keeping fans engaged in the mystery until we finally announced the new album was dropping,” says Carti’s manager, Opium Records president/CEO Erin Larsen. And now, with Music poised to become the biggest release of Carti’s career, Larsen has earned the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Larsen breaks down some of the strategies behind the rollout of Music, and how the team helped build anticipation for the album. “Carti’s a perfectionist,” Larsen explains. “He wants to take his time building out the music and the world around it and really developing the sound for the album.”
This week, Playboi Carti released his latest album MUSIC, becoming the most-streamed album in a single day in 2025 on Spotify and likely leading to his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
Our pre-release campaign started in 2023 and that was the first time he revealed the “I AM MUSIC” logo alongside the first song release on Instagram. We focused on consistent branding throughout the longer campaign and creating different moments that tied in like the NBA jerseys, “I AM MUSIC” out of home, key press moments, teasing records during live performances, etc. It was always kind of teasing and never fully announcing, keeping fans engaged in the mystery until we finally announced the new album was dropping.
This is Carti’s first album in almost five years. Why the gap in projects, and what effect do you think that extended time between projects had on the anticipation for this eventual release?
Carti’s a perfectionist. He wants to take his time building out the music and the world around it and really developing the sound for the album. The music is a larger representation of his creative vision and I think every project he’s offered something different. He remains at the forefront of conversation when fans are wondering what direction sonically he’ll go with this album and we tried to create moments along the way to bring them into that process.
Playboi Carti photographed by Matthew Salacuse on Aug. 2, 2024 at Seret Studios in Brooklyn.
Carti has been teasing songs from this project in a variety of different ways, releasing videos solely to social media, performing unreleased songs at shows and dropping singles out of nowhere. How has that strategy helped to build towards the eventual release of the project?
This felt like an innovative approach on how to drop music. We didn’t play snippets. We dropped an entire song on YouTube or Instagram and fans tapped into those platforms to hear them because they weren’t available on DSPs. In the process, he built the hype up around the sound of the album, and we were able to see which tracks really resonated with people. The strategy really opened the conversation and made the fans feel like a part of the process.
After such an extended wait, and after a series of billboards that helped sow breadcrumbs, Carti announced the project’s release date the day before it came out. Why did you guys consider that to be the best way to announce it?
The “I AM MUSIC” branding became so integral in the rollout because it was synonymous with an upcoming Carti moment. We built the anticipation and continued to create moments to keep fans captive and engaged throughout the rollout. I think this approach intrigued new fans as well.
How do you build on this momentum moving forward for Carti?
We’re going to continue to drive awareness to the project, build the songs with strategic moments and continue to engage the core fans. His music always resonates well live and brings his vision to life, so touring will be impactful. We’ve got great partners at Interscope and will work with them to expose the music to different audiences, build records at radio, use digital marketing and socials as well as branding opportunities.
What moves the needle for an artist in 2025?
Beyond great music I would say authenticity, building a strong brand and finding a way to organically connect with your audience.
Wale Davies first met Nigerian singer Tems in 2018, shortly after she released her first single, the stirringly plaintive “Mr. Rebel.”
“Initially it was informal; I just liked her song, I was just helping her put it on sradio and connecting her with people in the industry in Nigeria,” says the artist-turned-manager. “I’m always attracted to music that makes me feel something, so when I heard the first single, what I felt was somebody singing for their life — she meant every word she was singing in that song.”
Davies, who co-manages Tems with Muyiwa Awoniyi, has been with the singer ever since — and has watched her grow into one of the biggest African artists on the planet. To name just some of her accolades: She’s landed 28 songs on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats chart, including 10 top 10s and two No. 1s; she’s collaborated with the likes of Drake, Beyoncé and Future and covered Bob Marley’s classic “No Woman, No Cry” on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack; she reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021 with a feature on Wizkid‘s inescapable hit “Essence,” which got a remix from Justin Bieber; she’s earned eight Grammy nominations, and became the first Nigerian to ever win two Grammys after taking home best African music performance for her single “Love Me JeJe” earlier this month; and this week, she became the first African female artist to hit 1 billion Spotify streams for her feature on the Future and Drake song “Wait 4 U,” which samples her 2020 single “Higher.” That’s to name just a few of her accomplishments.
It’s been a rapid-fire rise in just a few years for the singer, and one she’s had to handle in the public eye. “Just seeing her grow as a human being, first, has been the most remarkable thing,” Davies says. “She’s had a lot of fame thrust on her super early, and her adjusting to those changes and how everything came, and now working with the record label and getting global attention and big artists reaching out to you, and social media and all these different platforms and people, seeing her adjust to that and learn and grow and work on herself has been the most impressive thing.”
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Now, all that success helps Davies earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week. Here, he discusses Tems’ rise as an artist, the work that went into her 2024 debut album Born In the Wild, the record-breaking success of “Wait 4 U” and the rise of African music in the U.S. “I’ve worked in the music space in Nigeria for quite a long time, and I’ve never seen anybody grow and accelerate that quickly,” Davies says. “Seeing the change of where she was to where she is now, and the confidence and how she’s grown as a person, is as close to a miracle as I’ve ever seen.”
This week, with “Wait 4 U,” Tems became the first African woman to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
For Tems, her music is very personal to her and comes from a very personal place. So initially when we got the call [about the song sample], the first thing she said was, “What do you think?” And I said, hearing what they’ve done with the song, they honored it in a good way and it would appeal to a whole bunch of different, new people, and if the goal is to have people feel something from your music, as long as the music still represents that, and it opens the door to new people to hear it, I think it’s a great idea to do it. And she loved Future as well, she just wanted to see how that marriage would work, and it turned out beautifully. And with all the structure and all the business behind the scenes with the song, my job is to make sure that everything is done for the benefit of my artist, and making sure that, yes, we are coming from Africa, and yes, these are big global superstars, but that we’re well represented at the table as well.
You mentioned the sample is “Higher,” which is off her first EP For Broken Ears, which came out five years ago now. What is it about that song and that EP that has given it such staying power?
One of the things I noticed very early on in Tems’ music is, each time I listened to her songs, I found new things and loved them even more. And that’s very rare with records, because after a while you can hear a record too many times. And even going on tour with her, having been in the studio with her working on these records for years, and then hearing them live, they still sound fresh and new, and I still feel something every time. I think people are trying to tap into their emotions and tap into things, and when music allows you a safe space to do that, it has a quality that’s timeless and lasts. The best music, you remember the first time you heard that song, and that’s timeless music. And that’s what it does — it evokes emotions, it helps you place it. So for me, “Higher” does that as well. It’s such a beautiful song. I heard it from voice note to this version to “Wait 4 U,” and each iteration of the song has been great.
“Wait 4 U” won her a Grammy, and then she just won another with “Love Me JeJe” a few weeks ago. That makes her the first Nigerian to have ever won two Grammys. What’s the significance of that for you?
We never really started out with the intention of global stardom or anything, she just really wanted to sing. She would joke at the beginning, “If I didn’t meet you guys, I would just be happy to sing in hotel lounges, just for people to hear my music.” But the way it’s gone and the way it’s grown and the way it’s resonated with people, what the Grammys do is they solidify the fact that you can still make music that is true to yourself and have it recognized globally.
“Love Me JeJe” was a strong choice for us to be the lead single from the project because it referenced something nostalgic to us, because the original “Love Me JeJe” song was one that we all grew up with in Nigeria, our parents loved the song, and so for us to be able to pay homage to that song was really special. We spoke afterwards — the original guy who sang the song, Seyi Sodimu, is also now a Grammy winner, 21 years after. So it was also giving him his flowers for doing something remarkable at a time when there wasn’t that much light being shown on our music and where we’re from. It just gives people the opportunity to dream — yes, you can get this global acclaim. And for us, it being the first song that she’s done herself by herself to win a Grammy, it just shows that the work is being seen and felt.
This song is off Born In the Wild, her official debut album. How did you want to roll that out and market it? And did you feel like you needed to introduce her with this project?
She had her first two EPs, she had “Wait 4 U,” she had “Free Mind,” “Essence” was a big song as well; all of this was without actually putting out a debut album. The phrase we would laugh about while we were recording was just trying to figure out a way to dance like you’re still in your little studio by yourself. Now we’re in bigger studios and there’s more opinions and more people. So it was trying to, first of all, block out all that noise and allow the artist to just be themselves, and then helping sometimes when they have internal noise telling them to do this or that. So it was trying to do something that felt really true to Tems. She listens to loads of different music, she creates loads of different music, and I think with the EPs you got certain glimpses of what types of music she makes, and with the album she wanted to lay it all out: Here are the different influences I have, some of them might be reggae, some of them might be Nigerian songs, some of them might be Sade Adu. So in all those different worlds, how do you connect that seamlessly?
And it was also important for us that we started the project back home. For us, we feel like there’s a lens through which people are able to look at Africa, look at an African woman and look at what a modern African looks like through Tems, whether through the way she portrays herself or carries herself, or through her music as well. So it was important that the first look we gave from the album was “Love Me JeJe.” We shot the video in Lagos, she was on a flatbed going through Lagos, which was surreal in itself because of the traffic in Lagos. It was a crazy moment.
Starting with “Essence,” she’s really been at the forefront of African music’s rise in the United States in the past couple years. How do you feel that’s progressing?
My theory is that we’re in a world now where we’re constantly looking for new things, consciously and subconsciously. I feel like with music you were hearing a lot of versions of the same thing you’ve heard before, and I think it came to a point, to me, where people started looking outwardly. Initially, I felt like the U.S. was very insular: U.S. music, U.S. charts. But once they started listening to new things, what people found was that there’s similarity and threads in everything. It’s called Afrobeats, but a lot of the songs Tems does are R&B songs. All of us grew up on American music, but also on Nigerian music and Jamaican music. Our music is more or less like a melting pot of all of our influences growing up, and I think there’s definitely a part of that that people will relate to because they’re mostly global references, and then you’re hearing Nigerian sounds that you may have never heard before which sounds new. So I think the rise of African music is extremely needed, and what people will realize is that they will find there are more artists in different genres playing in different spaces and different lanes, and it’s really a beautiful thing.
What’s next for you guys?
Tems has different ways she wants to express and showcase the music, so we’re finding different ways of how to push out the music. The project is already out, but what does it sound like reimagined, with different musical elements added to it or stripped back from it? She’s interested in exploring that more. At the same time, she’s always recording and working on new music. She’s got an interest in film, so that’s something we’re exploring.
And then on the business side, we’re trying to figure out, how do we utilize this position we’re in to create more opportunities back home? Our vision is in a lot of ways very global, but also very Africa-focused. Right now, we’re putting together an initiative to support young women producers on the continent, what that will look like, and that will be rolled out very soon. We just got involved in the sports world as well; that’s mainly to see how we can bring opportunities in sports back home to young people because we come from a place where we have to create opportunities for the younger generation ourselves. So that’s where our head’s at, and Tems is always recording. So there will be new music and new recordings and new versions of Born In the Wild out soon.
This week, all eyes have been on one of the biggest stages in the world: the Super Bowl. And while Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show rightfully has had many people talking, he wasn’t the only performer that stole the show at the NFL’s main event — New Orleans native Jon Batiste kicked off proceedings with a stirring, emotional rendition of the National Anthem, seated behind a multicolored piano on the Super Dome field.
And that was just the most high-profile moment for Batiste, the seven-time Grammy winner and former bandleader for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The day before the main event, Batiste also put on the Love Riot festival in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward neighborhood, which featured performances by him, Ledisi, Preservation Hall band, Flavor Flav, Dee-1 and more. And helping knit all that together was Culture Collective founder/CEO and Batiste’s business partner Jonathan Azu, who earns the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
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Here, Azu — a Superfly and Red Light Management veteran, who also teaches music business at USC and is a governor of the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy, among other endeavors — explains his role in helping Batiste secure those events during Super Bowl weekend, as well as the other projects he and Batiste have in the works. “When you’re working with someone as innovative as Jon,” Azu says, “the best thing you can do is give them the freedom to create and then support them and lead our internal team in bringing that vision to life.”
This week, Jon Batiste performed the National Anthem prior to Super Bowl LIX. How did that come together?
We received a call from the team at Roc Nation, which selects all Super Bowl performers, asking if Jon would be interested in performing the National Anthem in his native New Orleans. I was thrilled that he said yes — there’s truly no one better suited for the moment than him. Additionally, the other co-producers on the halftime and pregame performances, Diversified Production Services and Jesse Collins Entertainment, were teams I had recently collaborated with on NBC’s Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central in May of last year. Having just worked closely with them on a major live broadcast, I was excited to reunite for another high-profile moment only months later.
How did he want to present his rendition differently from others, and how were you guys able to pull that off?
Reimagining the National Anthem is always a challenge because it has been performed — at the Super Bowl alone — 57 times before. The goal was to create something that would not only stand out but also move people in a way they hadn’t experienced before. Jon is the perfect artist to take on this challenge, bringing a blend of musicality, storytelling and emotional depth. My role was to provide him with the tools, resources and space to develop and execute his vision. When you’re working with someone as innovative as Jon, the best thing you can do is give them the freedom to create and then support them and lead our internal team in bringing that vision to life.
The day before, he put on the Love Riot Festival in New Orleans. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
When Jon committed to performing at the Super Bowl, it was important to both of us to integrate a meaningful community outreach initiative into the weekend. Jon is from New Orleans, and my mother is as well, so I spent a lot of time there growing up. While most visitors during Super Bowl weekend stay in or near the French Quarter, we wanted to ensure we were making an impact in communities that don’t always receive the same economic boost — particularly the Lower 9th Ward.
To bring this vision to life, we sought a partner who shared our commitment to community engagement. We were fortunate to connect with He Gets Us, a faith-driven media campaign that was already involved in this year’s Super Bowl advertising. They became an invaluable partner in helping us realize the festival. My role was to work closely with their team to execute Jon’s vision seamlessly — overseeing guest talent coordination, production logistics, sponsorship integration and advising on the overall audience experience.
What were some of the toughest aspects of putting together that festival on Super Bowl weekend?
One of the biggest challenges was assembling available production teams and securing guest talent in the middle of one of the busiest entertainment weekends of the year. Super Bowl weekend brings an influx of major events, making it difficult to lock in resources and availability. However, we were able to navigate these hurdles and successfully produce the festival.
The end result was incredible — we had over 5,000 people come out for what turned into a beautiful day. The festival featured performances from guest artists like Ledisi, Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball, Preservation Hall, Flavor Flav and Dee-1, creating an environment that was both celebratory and impactful. From an executive producer standpoint, my role was to ensure everything came together in the right way, including logistical planning for artists to seamlessly move in and out of the festival while keeping the focus on community engagement.
You’ve worked at Superfly and Red Light before beginning to work with Jon. How has that past experience helped you to help grow his career?
Superfly and Red Light laid a strong foundation for me, both in terms of skills and relationships. Being among the first handful of employees at Superfly, the co-founders of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and Outside Lands Music Festival, equipped me with the skill set, knowledge and relationships essential for organizing large-scale events in a city. My time at Red Light, where I operated as general manager, provided me with a deeper understanding of representing talent on significant stages, whether at festivals or high-profile events like the Super Bowl. Both experiences were instrumental in preparing me for the multifaceted demands of supporting Jon’s career.
He’s been a staple on late night television and won a Grammy for album of the year. How do you keep pushing his career forward?
Jon is the ultimate multi-hyphenate, and there’s truly no limit to where his career can go. I’m incredibly excited about what lies ahead for him, not just in music, but in business as well. We’re working closely to develop intellectual property and dynamic business opportunities that go beyond the stage. A great example is the launch of the new Jon Batiste Jazz Club at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas. Jon and his programming team are curating what happens on those stages 365 days a year, and Jon is involved in all aspects of the consumer experience — from what they see on stage to the artwork within the venue to the dining experience. This holistic approach ensures we’re not only expanding his artistic footprint but also building a lasting legacy.
What do you have in the works moving forward?
Like many of the talented individuals I work with, I’m a multi-hyphenate in the business world. In addition to Culture Collective, where I’m focusing on developing artists like Leon Thomas — whose album MUTT is skyrocketing — I have multiple business ventures on and off the stage. I partner with Jon Batiste and his company, JBI, to build out his multi-layered ecosystem around the world. In my partnership with Joe Killian, we are forging groundbreaking collaborations through our consultancy, Killian + Co., where we’ve spearheaded innovative, high-impact campaigns with artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator and Eminem for global brands like Ford, American Express and Julien’s Auction House.
In the academic space, I’m dedicated to cultivating the next generation of music executives. This includes my four-year tenure as an adjunct professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music, where I teach music business. I also serve on the Board of Trustees at Drake University, my alma mater, where I first started in music as president of the concert committee. Additionally, I help steer the Recording Academy into the future by serving as a governor of the Los Angeles chapter.
After the holiday period subsided, Atlantic Records kicked the year off with a bang, and are now setting records and breaking barriers because of it. The chief reason: the runaway success of Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.,” which this week spends its second week atop the Pop Airplay chart after becoming the first song by a K-pop artist to top that particular chart.
It’s a remarkable achievement for an artist, and a genre, that has been making waves in the U.S. for years now, first with BLACKPINK and now as a solo artist. And it’s not just on the U.S. pop airwaves that the song has been a massive success — this week, “APT.” spends its 14th week at No. 1 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, tying the record for the longest-running No. 1 in that chart’s history, while also returning to No. 1 on the Global 200 for a 12th week, making it officially the No. 1 song in the world once again. And it helps Atlantic Music Group executive vp of promotion Brady Bedard earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
It’s not just “APT.” fueling this hot streak; Mars, despite not having released an album since the Silk Sonic team up with Anderson .Paak An Evening With in 2021 and without a solo album since 2016, has three songs in the top 20 of the Hot 100: “APT.,” (No. 3), “Die With a Smile” with Lady Gaga (No. 2) and “Fat, Juicy & Wet” with Sexyy Red (No. 17). It’s another big moment for Mars, who just took over as the artist with the most monthly Spotify listeners, passing 150 million in January.
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Here, Bedard talks about the success of “APT.,” how the global numbers have boosted domestic radio efforts and why Mars is having such a moment right now. “He’s one of the most talented, important, versatile artists of this century who continues to build one of the best catalogs in music,” Bedard says. “He continuously elevates both popular music and popular culture with hit after hit after hit — and judging by the world’s reaction we can all agree we are all better for it.”
This week, Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” spends its second week atop the Pop Airplay chart. It’s the first-ever song by a K-pop artist to reach that mark on that chart. What key decision(s) did you make to help make that happen?
It was the sum of all the parts. Rosé was in prime position to finally break out as a solo artist, and with the iconic touch of Bruno Mars it marked for a perfect collaboration. There was, unanimously, an irresistible energy to the song which translated in the immediate huge metrics in the U.S. and globally. Programmers ear-picked it from the start, as did their audience. Starting with our chart debut until reaching No. 1, the weekly airplay growth was textbook. It’s almost never a straight line to get to the top of any airplay chart, but this one was as close as it gets to perfect.
Has K-pop become more accepted at pop radio now, or was there something in particular about this song and campaign that made it particularly effective?
The answer really is both. Now more than ever K-pop is seen as part of the pop pantheon. Beata Murphy at KIIS in Los Angeles created a two-hour specialty show — iHeartKPOP with JoJo — that now runs across every iHeart Pop airplay station on Sunday nights. That didn’t exist a year ago.
In the specific case of Rosé, genres get “labeled” a lot in the pop airplay sphere based on the type of artist — that’s a K-pop artist, or that artist is a country or rock artist, etc — and while “APT.” is by a K-pop artist and that rightfully should be celebrated, when all those labels are stripped away at its core it’s just a really great pop song by an incredible rising pop artist.
At the same time, the song ties the record for the longest reign at No. 1 on the Global Ex-U.S. chart, at 14 weeks. How does that tangible global success help you in the promotions world?
The work the core team at the label provides is essential to what we do in promotion. Of course, starting with the music, Rosé’s Atlantic A&R Gelareh “G” Rouzbehani and then on to [VP of marketing] Jackie Wongso running point on the crucial marketing efforts, [executive vp of streaming and sales] Drew Maniscalo on the commerce side working in tandem with Liz Drummey and the global marketing team. With [Atlantic senior manager of digital] Kyle Viti pushing the massive digital footprint, and [Atlantic senior director of media] Ted Sullivan on the press side rolling out strategic media appearances all with identifiable eye-popping creative integration from [vp of creative] Trevor Newton in partnership with THEBLACKLABEL is nothing short of invaluable. The massive success their teams did here in the US and globally armed us with the information and positioning our promotion team needed to give our radio partners the confidence in this record week after week. We couldn’t have maximized what we did on the airplay charts without their expertise and insight.
Between “APT.,” “Die With a Smile” with Lady Gaga and the Sexyy Red-assisted “Fat Juicy & Wet,” Bruno has three songs in the top 20 of the Hot 100, even without having put out a solo album in almost a decade now. What makes him such an enduring hitmaker, and how do you help boost that on radio?
And look at the sonic array of those three songs! Radio is drawn to him in the same way everyone else is. He’s one of the most talented, important, versatile artists of this century who continues to build one of the best catalogs in music. He continuously elevates both popular music and popular culture with hit after hit after hit — and judging by the world’s reaction we can all agree we are all better for it.
How has the job of promotions at a record label changed over the course of your career?
Having great music and strong relationships remains core to the art of promotion. The shift is really in the strategy. In general, when I started 25 years ago, promotion teams pushed a song on the radio to work toward breaking an artist or song. Radio airplay drove the consumer into the malls and retail record outlets to buy the music — a model that worked for decades. In today’s dominant streaming and social media climate, once an artist or song is identified and verified as a winner inside of the various forms of data and metrics, then we amplify with the radio audience to take it to another level — bigger and with a long-tail effect. How much audience and how many formats can we reach in a campaign? How many songs can we reach with chart topping success? And then, once we get there, how long can we stay there? That makes the promotion work navigating radio and its hundreds of millions of weekly audience impressions as important as it has ever been.
What predictions do you have or trends are you keeping an eye on in the music business for 2025?
I predict we will continue to see a rise in more genre-bending hit songs finding their way across multiple airplay charts.
At this point in his career, Bad Bunny is way beyond breaking records. In 2020, he became the first artist to notch a No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with an all-Spanish album, and he’s the only one to repeat the feat — not one, not two, but four times.
Now, Bad Bunny’s latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, has spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — and it currently seems poised to notch a third consecutive week atop the tally. Of his four No. 1 albums on the all-genre chart, it’s now the second longest running at the top spot; his 2022 set, Un Verano Sin Ti, collected the most weeks there with 13 non-consecutive weeks.
This week, Debí Tirar Más Fotos is also No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, and the song “DtMF” is No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart for the second consecutive week. Bunny, in fact, occupies more than half the top 10 on the Global 200. On Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, nine of the top 10 songs are Bunny’s, including “DtMF” at No. 1.
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It’s an astounding showing, even for an artist as big as Bad Bunny. It’s also worth considering that Debí Tirar Más Fotos debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 following an incomplete debut tracking week due to his decision to release the album on a Sunday — Jan. 5 — in anticipation of the Jan. 6 celebration of Three Kings Day, which is a big deal in Puerto Rico and ties with the album’s love of Puerto Rico theme.
But Bunny quickly made up for lost time with a blitz of finely-tuned and very creative publicity efforts that ping-ponged from the U.S. to Puerto Rico, including his stint co-hosting The Tonight Show alongside Jimmy Fallon, playing a surprise concert at a New York subway station, co-hosting a morning news show in Puerto Rico and surprising local podcaster Chente Ydrach with Puerto Rican parranda.
The final flourish was announcing a 21-date residency at Puerto Rico’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico, with the first several dates available exclusively to Puerto Rican residents.
A major architect in Bunny’s marketing and promotional strategy is Monica Jiménez, director of marketing and brand partnerships at Rimas’ Bad Bunny Division.
Jiménez, who worked with brands like Coty and Procter & Gamble before joining Bunny’s label and management company, works together with Rimas CEO Noah Assad on everything Bad Bunny and was pivotal in executing the artist’s complex vision. The success of Debí Tirar Más Fotos earns her the title of Billboard‘s Executive of the Week.
What exactly was your role in this album’s roll-out?
One of my duties is understand and bring to life the vision of the artist for the album. Benito is an artist who fully immerses himself in the many facets of a release process, including marketing, and it’s crucial to achieve what he visualizes for the project. I usually bring together the amazing ideas of the entire team and also look for new ideas to ensure a robust and strategic plan. I also focus on implementing the plan so it meets expectations, but above all, so it truly represents Benito’s essence as an artist and conveys the message of the project.
So, what was this message? And what was the overlying strategy for the album?
The strategy was telling a story through nostalgia and taking a message of love and appreciation for our upbringing, regardless of where or what that upbringing was. With this album, we underscored our pride for Puerto Rico, and we wanted the whole world to feel this same pride. That’s what we’ve presented in all our storyline and in everything we’ve done inside and outside the island. I think that’s what’s pushed such a special connection between the album and its listeners.
We’re closing in on a third consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, more than any other of Benito’s albums except for Un Verano Sin Ti. What do you attribute that success to?
DEBí TiRAR MáS FOToS has been a very special project. I think the entire world has seen and understood the essence of what the album wanted to communicate: Benito’s love for his culture and for his Latin people. I believe this has made the reception to the album different [from other albums].
This feels like more of a passion project than any of Benito’s previous albums. Do you think that has had an impact on people’s obsession with it?
Definitely. Benito has always been very vocal about his commitment and love for Puerto Rico. But here, he’s devoted an entire project to his island — not only conceptually but also musically, betting on root genres and on young, local talent like Los Sobrinos [the band on the album, made up of students from Puerto Rico’s Escuela Libre de Música] and Los Pleneros de La Cresta. It’s made people look at the project from another point of view and value it even more.
Benito did more promo for this album than any other. Why? And how did you convince him to do it?
I truly think his connection with the project made everything flow easier. He wanted to do it that way, to support the release in the way he did. The key is ensuring that what we do resonates with him, with his personality as an artist and with his vision. Once we have that, everything is easier.
Can you give me examples of marketing strategies that you thought were particularly effective?
Our strategy to reveal the song names generated a lot of buzz. We collaborated with Google Maps and Spotify, and as part of the collaboration, coordinates for each song on the album’s tracklist were revealed on Spotify, encouraging fans to dive into Google Maps for hidden clues. We not only looked for a different, interactive way to do this, but it led to many people discovering different places on our island.
Another major effort was the short film released prior to the album. The story it told [of an older man, played by filmmaker and actor Jacobo Morales, who reminisces of his life and love for Puerto Rico] was a great preamble to the album. It was an emotional, well-done piece [directed by Bad Bunny himself] that connected with many people in and out of Puerto Rico. Plus, those short previews of different tracks that were included in the video opened up an enormous conversation on social media on what people could expect from the album.
Does it surprise you that such a Latin album is the most consumed in the U.S.?
More than a “Latin” album, it’s about the [Puerto Rican] rhythms that make up the album. I’m definitely positively surprised, and as a Puerto Rican, it fills my heart. It’s a huge step for music as a whole.
What’s next with this album?
We never stop. There are many things coming up around the album. Plus the residency in Puerto Rico, which is something historic and will definitely be special for everyone who comes to visit and enjoy.