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Madame Tussauds New York and Las Vegas unveiled J Balvin’s two new wax figures on Friday (March 22).
The Colombian hitmaker’s New York figure is dressed in his 2021 Moschino Met Gala ensemble, which consists of an embellished floral three-piece suit replicated by Madame Tussauds to match the original set. Rocking Balvin’s bleach blond buzz cut, the figure pays tribute to the singer’s Met Gala debut.
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas wax figure wears an authentic GUESS outfit provided by Balvin himself, originally worn during his 2019 Coca Cola Fest performance in Mexico City. The number is paired with his J Balvin x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Colores Y Vibras” sneakers from his collaboration with Nike.
The “Mi Gente” artist shared his reaction to his new likenesses in a video posted to Instagram. “Amazing how dreams come true seldom you find yourself face to face with yourself and it’s not a reflection in a mirror hehehehe Triple JoSSSe,” he captioned the clip. “Keep dreaming and believe it yourselves ⚡️ Go see it and take a picture with me Thanks @madametussaudsusa PA LA CULTURA”
In the video, he walks up to his wax figures with a few demands and questions for them. “I was looking for my chains, give them back,” he begins. “You owe money, will you pay me back or not?”
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Finally, he asks on behalf of his fans: “When is the album coming? Tell me. We’ve been waiting two years.”
According to a press release, visitors will step into a “mini ultra-lounge busting with electrifying colors and oversized pop imagery, transforming the space into an unforgettable club experience” when visiting Balvin’s figure in Las Vegas.
J Balvin
Madame Tussauds
“J Balvin’s wax figures at Madame Tussauds New York and Madame Tussauds Las Vegas epitomizes his indelible influence on music and culture,” said Matthew Clarkson, head of marketing at Madame Tussauds USA. “With our newly renovated Music experience in New York and the brand new Club T in Las Vegas, his presence adds another dimension to the immersive experiences we offer. It’s a testament to his enduring impact and our dedication to creating dynamic experiences that resonate with visitors worldwide.”
J Balvin is set make his grand return to Coachella since first performing at the festival in 2019 (although he appeared as a special guest for Karol G’s set in 2022). He’ll perform on April 14 and April 21.
See Balvin’s reaction to his two new wax figures below:
After seven years, Shakira has unleashed Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry), her first new album since the 2017 Grammy-winning set El Dorado. Released to all digital streaming platforms on Friday (March 22), this new album is a catharsis for the Colombian hitmaker, who is vulnerable and raw in what could be […]
In a journey of transformation, where tears evolve into diamonds and vulnerability into strength, Shakira reaffirms that her hits don’t lie. With her highly anticipated 12th studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — with eight new songs of 17, including two remixes — the Colombian superstar plunges into the depths of her soul, alchemizing pain into pop gold while celebrating the strength of womanhood.
More radiant than ever, Shakira reveals a profound exploration of emotions and experiences that marks a pivotal chapter in her illustrious career and life, following a sentimental breakup that left her fragile and sensitive but brought her back to music.
“I feel like a cat with more than nine lives; whenever I think I can’t get any better, I suddenly get a second wind,” Shakira told Billboard in September. “I’ve gone through several stages: denial, anger, pain, frustration, anger again, pain again. Now I’m in a survival stage. Like, just get your head above water. And it’s a reflection stage. And a stage of working very hard and when I have time with my children, really spend it with them.”
On her first full-length release in seven years, Shak delivers a captivating blend of pop, Afrobeats (“Nassau”), bachata (“Monotonía”), Tex-Mex rhythms (“(Entre Paréntesis)”) and a return to her rock roots (“Cómo Dónde y Cuándo”). Infusing elements of electronic music, she maintains her signature versatility, showcasing not only her vocal prowess but also her songwriting prowess, and multi-instrumental abilities.
While Shakira shines brightly on solo tracks such as “Tiempo Sin Verte” and “Última,” she also collaborates with a stellar lineup across the set, including Cardi B, Grupo Frontera and returning artists like Rauw Alejandro and Bizarrap. With Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, Shakira continues to offer a diverse array of melodies that evoke both pain and passion, irresistibly, inviting listeners to dance and contemplate simultaneously.
Below, Billboard ranks all 15 songs from Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran excluding two remixes, in descending order.
”Copa Vacía” (with Manuel Turizo)
Luis Figueroa secures his eighth top 10 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart as “A Escondidas” surges 14-7 on the March 23-dated list.
“A Escondidas” lands in the upper region on the tropical radio ranking as the Greatest Gainer of the week, thanks to a 57% gain in audience impressions, to 1.67 million, earned in the U.S. during the March 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate.
“A Escondidas” follows Figueroa’s last top 10, the two-week No. 1 “Bandido,” which crowned the Oct. 21-28, 2023-dated charts; the only salsa to lead the list that year. All of the other No. 1s were bachatas, a merengue track and one mambo tune.
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The new single, the third song on Figueroa’ EP Voy a Ti, nominated for a Grammy for best tropical Latin album in 2023, was co-written by Figueroa and Lenier.
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As mentioned, with “A Escondidas,” Figueroa collects his eighth top 10 on Tropical Airplay. Here’s a recap of his top 10 collection:
Peak, Peak Date, Title, Weeks at No. 1No. 1, July 31, 2021, “Hasta El Sol De Hoy,” oneNo. 6, Oct. 30, 2021, “Si Tú Me Dices Ven”No. 3, Aug. 13, 2022, “Todavía Te Espero”No. 7, Sept. 10, 2022, “Vienes”No. 4, Feb. 4, 2023, “Fiesta Contigo”No. 7, June 3, 2023, “La Luz”No. 1, Oct. 21, 2023, “Bandido,” twoNo. 7, March 23, 2024, “A Escondidas”
Notably, Figueroa earned his first top 10 on Tropical Airplay less than three years ago, placing two or more in every year since, when the one-week champ “Hasta El Sol De Hoy” ruled the July 31, 2021-dated list.
Further, with eight top 10s on his account since 2021, the Puerto Rican breaks out of a tie with Victor Manuelle for the fourth-most top 10s on the decade of the ‘20s. He now trails Prince Royce who continues to lead the pack with 12 top 10s this decade, Romeo Santos’ with 10, and Marc Anthony with nine.
The new chart achievement arrives as Figueroa embarks on his first tour with Victor Manuelle this spring.
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Shakira is set to drop her new album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, her first in seven years, on Friday (March 22). Ahead of the Colombian hitmaker’s big release, Billboard breaks down Shakira’s biggest hits on the chart, proving why the “Te Felicito” singer is a global force to be reckoned with. The singer-songwriter from […]
Nicki Nicole headlined the inaugural Forum on Spanish-Language Music in Madrid presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard on Tuesday (March 19).
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During her 30-minute Q&A moderated by Billboard’s Leila Cobo, the Argentine artist opened up about her creative process when writing music, the importance of prioritizing her mental health, her very public break up with música Mexicana star Peso Pluma, and even revealed that new music with Alejandro Sanz is on the horizon.
Right after, Billboard Español’s latest cover star performed a nearly 20-minute showcase, where she delivered acoustic version of her hits such as as “Dispara ***” and “8 AM.”
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Additionally, the one-day, invite-only event — which sought to highlight the growing consumption of music in Spanish across continents — featured four panel conversations that included managers, executives and artists such as Raphael, Luis Cobos, La Mala Rodríguez, Paula Cendejas, Yotuel and Maikel Delacalle.
Below are the best takeaways from Nicki’s intimate conversation.
Nicki Nicole at the first Forum on Spanish Language Music in Madrid, presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard.
Jaime Massieu
On Collaborating With Alejandro Sanz
“I’m a big fan. I was recently with him in the studio and it was crazy for me. I don’t know if I could say it but yes, we made music together. His daughter’s name is Alma like my album and it was like, things are happening that are not coincidences. I also like that about music, that you can get to know your favorite artists, understand their world. Many of his songs that I thought were [created] one way, he explained to me that were made another way, and that’s also the crazy thing about music. I always play Alejandro Sanz music when I’m in my days. I really like ‘Amiga Mia.’ That’s my favorite song.”
On Peso Pluma Breakup
“I did it because I felt it. I felt that I was pretty exposed and from my part, I had to say what I felt and was going through. I like the fact that I received many messages from women, a lot of support, a lot of love. It’s a bit difficult when your personal life gets mixed up with exposure because a lot of people have opinions, and it’s hard. I was in between saying something or not, but I felt that I had to say something because it goes hand-in-hand with who I am.”
Nicki Nicole at the first Forum on Spanish Language Music in Madrid, presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard.
Jaime Massieu
On Turning Her Feelings Into Music
“I sing what I live and I live what I feel, and if it weren’t that way, I wouldn’t be myself 100 percent. I always like writing in a notebook and it helps me a lot. Beyond whether it [the song] comes out later or not, whether it remains captured somewhere, it’s already my catharsis of what happens to me. It also makes me be the artist that I am and have the fans that I have, who always know that I am going to be sincere with what I feel. I feel that new things will come from the hand of my emotions, and I feel that I will always be faithful to say what happens to me and talk about those things that make us human.”
On Mental Health
“I had a moment in 2021 where I felt very bad personally and at that moment, with my team, we decided to slow down a little and I really liked having that respect from Fede. At that moment I stopped, but today, I think differently — my personal things are my personal things, but there’s also a responsibility, which is my job, the people who pay a ticket to see me. So at this moment, I decided not to stop. I decided to continue because it’s also what motivates me, what is good for me. […] I feel that today, personally, I have quite good self-esteem, and that helps me a lot to stay grounded. But I also very much agree that if you are not good with yourself, you don’t have to do things that you do not feel capable of.”
Cardi B manifested one day working with Shakira, and the chance to collaborate with the Colombian icon came earlier this year after meeting at Paris Fashion Week. “Punteria” is set to arrive on Friday (March 22) as part of Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran album.
Cardi and the Queen of Latin Music sat down to interview each other while taking a break on set for the collab’s music video, where they gushed about being fans of one another and detailed how “Punteria” came about.
“When I first met Shakira, it was in Paris at the Fendi show, and I was very, very nervous,” Cardi B admitted. “I was nervous because I wanted to get next to her, but I was like, ‘I’m not gonna get next to her until they call me.’ I manifested it, but I didn’t know when it was coming.”
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Shakira returned the favor and waxed poetic about Cardi B’s work ethic while championing 2021’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Up” as her favorite track from the Bronx bombshell. “‘Up,’ I love that song. Such a good writer — she’s such a pro and an amazing lyricist and performer,” she said.
The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer explained how she’s “always wanted to” work with Cardi, and the timing was finally right for “Punteria.”
“I wanted to do something with Cardi. We were always discussing internally if it was a good idea to put someone on this song. I always pictured Cardi on this song. I reached out, and here we are,” she added. “It’s been so fun to work with you. It’s so easy, honestly. She’s like, ‘I’ll do everything.’ I’m like, ‘Are you ready to work long hours? Because I work long hours.’ She’s like, ‘I’ll be there from 6 to 6 a.m.’”
Cardi was ecstatic to get the call from Shakira, which she dubbed a “dream.”
“I knew it. I knew this day would come. It came. God is good, Jesus,” Cardi B gushed. “I don’t care if she wants me to meow — I’m doing it. I cannot wait. Seriously, that is my dream.”
“I always look at your videos,” she added, “and it’s so crazy doing a video with you because all of your videos, you could just tell you take your time from the angle, to the dancing, to the things that pop.”
Shak’s new album follows the Colombian hitmaker’s 2017 set El Dorado, which spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart, and included hit songs such as “Chantaje” with Maluma, “La Bicicleta” with Carlos Vives and the Prince Royce-assisted “Deja vu.
Watch the full interview between Cardi and Shakira below. “Punteria” arrives on Friday (March 22).
Intocable returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart as its latest single, “Ojalá Estuvieras Aquí,” climbs 6-1 on the March 23-dated list.
“We are incredibly grateful to our fans for their support and to Billboard for recognizing our music once again,” Ricardo Muñoz, lead singer of Intocable, tells Billboard.
“Ojalá Estuvieras Aquí,” released on Good Music I, takes the Greatest Gainer award on Regional Mexican Airplay, a weekly honor for the song with the largest increase in audience impressions. The song leads thanks to a robust 67% gain in audience impressions, to 8 million, earned in the U.S. during the March 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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“Ojalá” is the first single of the Texas group’s 16-track album, Modus Operandi, released Feb. 8. The song was written by Pablo Preciado (Matisse) and marks the return of the imprint sound of Intocable.
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With the new No. 1, Intocable captures its 19th champ on Regional Mexican Airplay and ties with Banda MS de Sergio Lizarraga for the second-most rulers among all acts since the chart’s inception in 1994. The two acts trail only Calibre 50, who continues at the helm with 24 No. 1s on its chart account.
“Having our 19th song hit No. 1 is unbelievable,” Muñoz adds. “It’s a huge honor, and we feel lucky and humbled. ‘Ojalá Estuvieras Aquí’ is a song that holds a special place in our hearts, and we are thrilled to see it connect with audiences in such a meaningful way.”
As Intocable bags a new ruler, here’s a refreshed rundown of the artists with the most No. 1s on Regional Mexican Airplay:
24, Calibre 50
19, Banda MS de Sergio Lizarraga
19, Intocable
18, Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizarraga
17, La Arrolladora Banda el Limon de Rene Camacho
16, Conjunto Primavera
16, Los Tigres del Norte
As “Ojalá” takes Intocable to No. 1, it sends El Fantasma’s “El Exitoso” to No. 3, after one week in charge, with a 20% dip in impressions, to 6.65 million.
“Ojalá” dominates Regional Mexican Airplay a year and two months after Intocable last took over the Mexican radio ranking, when “Un Poquito Tuyo” advanced from the runner-up slot to lead the Jan. 14, 2023-dated list. In between, two songs reached a double No. 3 high: “No Se Vuelve a Repetir” (September 2023) and “Obsesión” (December 2023).
Further, “Ojalá” surges 21-2 on the overall Latin Airplay chart, the biggest ascension in 2024 thus far. It concurrently bests Intocable’s lasts three top 10s there and marks the group’s highest appearance since “Te Amo (Para Siempre)” landed at the summit, for one week in charge, in 2013.
The new No. 1 achievement on Regional Mexican Airplay lands as Intocable commemorates its 30-year career anniversary.
The first ever Forum on Spanish Language Music in Madrid, presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard, took place on Tuesday (March 19) at the WiZink Center. The one day, invite-only event — attended by some 500 artists, managers and industry execs — sought to highlight the growing consumption of music in […]
Managers, record label executives and artists — including icon Raphael, Luis Cobos, La Mala Rodríguez, Paula Cendejas, Yotuel and Maikel Delacalle — participated in a series of conversations and panels as part of the first Forum on Spanish Language Music in Madrid presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard.
The one day, invite-only event — attended by some 500 artists, managers and industry execs — sought to highlight the growing consumption of music in Spanish across continents, and featured four panel conversations, as well as a Q&A and performance by Argentine superstar Nicki Nicole.
The singer, who made history as the first urban female artist to both enter and top Billboard Argentina’s Hot 100 chart, just finished a round of nine sold-out arena dates in her native Buenos Aires, and will perform her first sold out 15,000-seat WiZink Center in Madrid on March 21. She is also this month’s Billboard Español cover star.
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Nicki Nicole’s status as an artist who rose to popularity in her native Argentina but is now selling out arenas worldwide highlighted the forum’s focus on the new generation of cross-continent, cross-genre, cross-focus Latin acts who are now dominating the charts and the fact that Madrid is an epicenter of that fluidity.
Raphael at the first Forum on Spanish Language Music in Madrid, presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard.
Jaime Massieu
“Spain fully embraces its role as part of a new Latin music movement,” said Jorge “Pepo” Ferradas, who manages Colombian artist Camilo and Spanish artist Rels B, both of whom have had success on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Ferradas was part of an opening powerhouse panel that also featured Walter Kolm, founder of WK Entertainment and manager of Maluma and Carlos Vives, among others; Fede Lauria, founder of Dale Play Records and manager of Bizarrap and Nicki Nicole; Alex Gallardo, president of Sony Music U.S. Latin; and Rosa Lagarrigue, founder of RLM Entertainment and manager of Rozalen and Raphael.
It was followed by a one-on-one conversation with Spanish icon Raphael, who at 80 years old said he had no plans to retire. “I don’t see myself in the role of not doing anything,” he deadpanned.
Then, artists La Mala Rodríguez, Yotuel, Maikel Delacalle and Paula Cendejas sat down for an animated discussion on the current state of music, followed by an interview with venerable conductor Luis Cobos, president of the newly minted Spanish Academy of Music, which is slated to host its first ever award show later this Spring.
The day’s grand finale was a surprisingly candid and intimate conversation with Billboard Español cover star Nicki Nicole, who opened up about how she catalyzes her personal experiences in music and also revealed she will soon release a new single with another Spanish icon, Alejandro Sanz.
Nicki Nicole at the first Forum on Spanish Language Music in Madrid, presented by the Community of Madrid and powered by Billboard.
Jaime Massieu
Nicki also performed a set of six songs in a new semi-acoustic, lo-fi format with the singer backed by a keyboard, drums and guitar, highlighting vocals that have become sultrier and broader ranging.
The forum opened on Tuesday afternoon with a welcome from Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin/Español Leila Cobo, and Mariano de Paco Serrano, Madrid’s minister of culture, tourism and sports, who underscored the importance of music to the city and its role in “fostering talent and the industry.”