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Latin

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Three months after Grupo Frontera became the second regional Mexican act to break the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Un X100to” with Bad Bunny, the sextet scores its first top 10 on any albums chart with El Comienzo as the album flies 39-4 on the Top Latin Albums chart Aug 19-dated ranking after its first full week of activity. The set also jumps 12-2 on Regional Mexcan Albums and debuts at No. 39 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

El Comienzo is the Texas-based band’s album debut following multiple hit singles. The cumbia-spiced set was self-released on an off-cycle Thursday, Aug. 3 (the final day of the July 28 tracking week), and debuted at No. 39 on Billboard 200 with only one day of activity (Aug. 12-dated list).

On its first full tracking week ending Aug. 10, El Comienzo earned 21,000 equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Luminate. Nearly all the 11-track set’s opening sum is fueled by streaming activity. That figure equals to 31.4 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs, while a negligible amount of album sales and track-equivalent album units contributes to the remaining balance.

Grupo Frontera grabs its first top 10 on an albums chart after placing six top 10s on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs and eight entries on the all-genre Hot 100. On the former list, “Bebe Dame” with Fuerza Regida led for two weeks in January, while on the latter survey “Un X100to,” with Benito, reached a No. 5 high in May.

Beyond its Top Latin Albums new peak, El Comienzo also gifts Frontera its first top five on Regional Mexican Albums, climbing from No. 12. Plus, it opens at No. 39 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

El Comienzo was preceded by four tracks on Hot Latin Songs, including the No. 2-peaking “Uno X100to.” Those, plus “El Amor De Su Vida” with Grupo Firme, which debuts on the current chart, make for a total of five songs from the album that have secured a spot on the list. Here’s the recap:

Peak Position, Title, Artist (if other than Frontera), Peak Date

No. 3, “No Se Va,” Nov. 12, 2022

No. 3, “Que Vuelvas,” with Carín León, Jan. 28

No. 2, “Uno X100to” with Bad Bunny, May 6

No. 43, “Le Va Doler,” June 24

No. 12, “El Amor de Su Vida” with Grupo Firme, Aug. 19 (debut)

“El Amor De Su Vida” also bows at No. 82 on Hot 100, for a total of eight entries there.Further, Grupo Frontera holds the record for the most entries on the all-genre tally among regional Mexican groups. Only one other act continues to topple its run, Peso Pluma with 20 entries, the most overall.

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Billboard readers have voted and crowned RBD’s Anahí as the Latin artist they would like to see portray Barbie in a dream sequel. Our readers have also voted for their dream Latin Ken, picking Anahí’s very own group member Christopher von Uckermann.  Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]

Carin Leon’s former manager is suing distribution company Oplaai and two of its executives for copyright infringement over allegations of underpaid royalties.

In the lawsuit, Javier “El Tamarindo” González, CEO of Tamarindo Rekordsz, alleges that he has not been properly paid by Oplaai – his indie label’s distributor since 2018 – for revenues from Leon’s music. González owns all copyrights for songs recorded by Leon during the term of their recording deal that started in 2018 through last December.

According to the claim, Oplaai has “infringed, and continues to infringe” upon González’s copyrights in the sound recordings and compositions by “reproducing, distributing, selling, promoting, advertising, performing by means of digital audio transmission, and otherwise commercially exploiting without authority or consent.” Oplaai’s CEOs Marylu Ramos and Victor Zambrano are also named as defendants.

González and Oplaai’s partnership began in 2018 through an oral distribution agreement where he says he “granted” Oplaai a two-year license to distribute new Tamarindo Rekordsz recordings delivered to Oplaai during that period. According to the complaint, the deal would be renewed for subsequent one-year terms if both parties agreed.

Initially, the deal was that Oplaai would collect all revenue derived from Tamarindo Rekordsz’s catalog and retain 30% of the net revenue (as a distribution fee) and pay 70% of the net revenue to Tamarindo Rekordsz (as a royalty). Following Leon’s massive success during 2019 and 2020 – Oplaai “agreed” in 2021 to lower its distribution fee to 14% and to pay Tamarindo royalties in the amount of 86% of the net revenues collected by Oplaai from the catalog. 

By the end of 2022, Leon and González announced they had mutually agreed to part ways after the five-year relationship, during which Leon earned his first Latin Grammy win, plus 11 entries on the Hot Latin Songs chart and 10 top-10 songs on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart.  

After Leon and González negotiated a release agreement – ratifying González as the owner of all rights (including copyrights) pertaining to Leon’s recordings from February 2018 until the date of the release agreement – González formally notified Oplaai that he was terminating their pact effective April 11, according to the lawsuit. He also requested Oplaai provide him with a simple catalog delivery file so that Tamarindo Rekordsz could “commence alternative distribution.” 

After the termination, “neither Oplaai, Ramos, or Zambrano had the right to copy, sell, distribute, license, or publicly perform any of the Sound Recordings. Nor did they have a license or right to exploit the Compositions.” Yet, according to the lawsuit, “even after confirming that the Distribution Agreement was terminated and representing that it had instructed its distributor to take down all Tamarindo-controlled content, Oplaai, at Ramos’ and Zambrano’s direction, has continued to distribute and exploit the Sound Recordings without license or authorization, in violation of Tamarindo’s exclusive rights.” 

Furthermore, Oplaai has collected revenue from DSP’s including YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon, among others, “as a result of its unauthorized distribution and exploitation of the Sound Recordings,” according to the claim. The lawsuit also states that Oplaai has “improperly” charged the indie label a 30% distribution fee for March and April 2023 and failed to pay Tamarindo royalties for that period. And that Oplaai has failed to provide Tamarindo with the requested migration files, thereby requiring González’s new distributor to “manually upload the data, codes, music, and other necessary information to the DSPs to migrate the catalog.”   

González claims that he has suffered damages in a “specific, identifiable amount to be proven at trial” and is seeking “all gains, profits, and advantages derived by Defendants from their infringements of Tamarindo’s and Tons’ copyrights.”  

Billboard reached out to Oplaai but did not hear back at press time.

Pedro Capó is currently on the road with his La Neta Tour — his first official trek since the pandemic — which kicked off in May in Spain and is en route to Latin America and the United States this fall. 

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“I’m happy that we finally got here. They all sold out,” he tells Billboard. “La Neta is the little boat that could.” 

The tour backs up Capó’s sixth studio album, La Neta, which was released in December 2022 via Sony Music Latin. The ultra-personal 10-track set finds the artist navigating emotions of honesty and vulnerability, and delving deeper into lyrics about  love, happiness, loneliness, life and death. The title track, he says, is “a different sound.” 

“It marks a road ahead for me because sonically I was coming out of the whole ‘Calma’ thing, which was beautiful, amazing. The pandemic came, I kinda got lost in my sound a little bit, which is kind of the process,” he explains. 

Although “Calma” gave the Puerto Rican artist many first-time milestones in his career, including his first-ever Billboard No. 1 hit, a Latin Grammy for song of the year, and the opportunity to travel the world, Capó admits that all the success was new to him. 

And suddenly, on the heels of his first big hit at 38 years old, the pandemic hit. 

“That silence was necessary for me to come back to my roots,” he recalls. “What would have been of Pedro without that in the middle? Where would he go naturally as a creative? And that’s what ‘La Neta’ was for me.[…] The album is something I recorded, produced, and wrote in its entirety in my house. Very personal. It’s a pandemic album, a picture of everything that happened to me in my life.” 

Capó’s North American leg of his tour kicks off October 21st in Orlando and will visit Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. He also promises more new music in the works. 

“I spent about a month locked myself in Nashville and we put forth a great number of songs that would be coming out by the end of the year,” he notes. “There’s a little bit of country with what I bring to the table, and I couldn’t be happier. I think it’s going to be a special one.” 

Watch Capó’s interview with Billboard News in the video above.

RBD‘s Maite Perroni, Christian Chávez and Christopher von Uckermann are confirmed for the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week, set to take place Oct. 2-6 at the Faena Forum in Miami. Additionally, Chencho Corleone, Feid, Manuel Turizo and Myke Towers are also set to be part of the five-day legacy event.
Following their reunion tour announcement after a 14-year hiatus, the three RBD members will take center stage at Latin Music Week to share how their reunion tour came to fruition. This RBD marquee appearance follows another first as this month, all five members — Anahí, Dulce María, Perroni, Chávez and von Uckermann — will sit down with Billboard and Billboard Español for their first interview as a group.

Meanwhile, Colombian superstar Feid, will bring together his creative and management team for a blow-by-blow panel on how his passion translated to success. Hitmaker Myke Towers will participate in the “Deja tu Huella” panel presented by Cheetos. During the panel, the “LALA” singer will share the stage with fellow creatives from different fields who have also brought together success in conjunction with social responsibility. Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and producer Chencho Corleone will be part of a panel conversation with Vico C. And, Manuel Turizo will grace the stage for a one-on-one conversation, presented by Delta.

The aforementioned artists join a star-studded Billboard Latin Music Week that will feature exclusive panels and conversations with hitmakers throughout the week. Previously announced participants include Shakira, Arcángel, Edgar Barrera, Maria Becerra, Eladio Carrión, Fonseca, GALE, Grupo Frontera, Natanael Cano, Nathy Peluso, Nicki Nicole, Peso Pluma, Santa Fe Klan, Shakira, Sebastián Yatra, Vico C, Yng Lvcas, and Young Miko, with more to be revealed.

With 30 years of events, Billboard Latin Music Week is the longest running and biggest Latin music industry gathering in the world. After a sold-out 2022 edition that featured star Q&As with Maluma, Ivy Queen, Chayanne, Romeo Santos and Christina Aguilera, to name a few, the event returns, coinciding with Hispanic Heritage Month.

Billboard Latin Music Week will also coincide with the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Thursday, Oct. 5, at the Watsco Center in Miami, and will broadcast live on Telemundo. The awards show will broadcast simultaneously on Spanish entertainment cable network Universo, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

This year’s Latin Music Week partners include Cheetos, Delta Air Lines, Michelob ULTRA and more. Registration for the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week is now open at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.

Latin star Pedro Capó opens up about his latest album, La Neta, going on tour, life after the success of his track “Calma,” new music and more.Pedro Capo:Out of the blue, unexpectedly. It wasn’t supposed to be a single. It wasn’t written with that, you know, looking for that either, that one was absolutely special.

Hi, I’m Pedro Capo and this is Billboard News.

Leila Cobo:Pedro Capo, welcome to Billboard News!

Pedro Capo:Thank you! Happy to be here! Happy to see you! Thanks for having me!

Leila Cobo:Likewise. And now you’re back with ‘La Neta’ tour. This is the first tour since the onset of the pandemic for you.

Pedro Capo:Yeah, yeah. Happy… happy that we finally got here.

Leila Cobo:Tell us about that tour.

Pedro Capo:Yes. Well, we started in Spain, we did four cities over there. And it was a huge success. Every city sold out. We’re now going to Argentina, which they all sold out. I feel like ‘La Neta’ is that you know, the little boat that could, and then we’re going to Mexico and we’re going to be coming to the (United) States so we should be here in October. Very excited about that. ‘La Neta’ was a different- is a different sound. And I feel like it marks a road ahead for me.

Leila Cobo:How so?

Pedro Capo:Because sonically I was coming out of the whole “Calma” thing, which was beautiful, amazing. “Calma” had, you know, happened at such an interesting moment. The pandemic came, I kind of got lost in my sound for a little bit, which is part of our process, I’d say. And ‘La Neta’ was something that I record and produced and write in its entirety in my house. Very personal.Watch the full interview above.

Alejandro Fernández will donate a portion of proceeds from his Oct. 14 concert at The Theater at Madison Square Garden to help newly-arrived asylum seekers in New York. According to a press release, Live Nation, the promoter behind his 2023 U.S. Amor Y Patria Tour, will be matching the donation. The New York Immigration Coalition […]

Corridos tumbados star Junior H is looking to set another milestone in his already prolific career: conquering the legendary Foro Sol stadium in Mexico City. Mexican promoter Ocesa announced on Monday (Aug 14) that the singer will perform at the storied venue on Nov. 23.

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The 23-year-old singer will arrive at the emblematic venue after having packing the Plaza de Toros México for two consecutive nights last May, drawing more than 80,000 people, according to organizers. Junior H is following in the footsteps of his genre colleague and July’s Billboard cover star Peso Pluma, who will perform at the Foro Sol 12 days earlier.

Junior H’s concert in the Mexican capital was announced after he kicked off his Sad Boyz 2023 U.S. arena tour on Friday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where he gathered around 13,000 people, according to his publicists.

Ocesa announced that a presale for Citibanamex cardholders will be held on August 22nd starting at 11:00 a.m. (Mexico City time); the general sale will begin one day later at the same time through Ticketmaster Mexico, and at the Palacio de los Deportes box office in Mexico City.

Prior to his concert at the Foro Sol, Junior H (whose real name is Antonio Herrera Pérez) will headline the Coordenada Festival on October 14 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, where he will share the bill with Mexican band Panteón Rococó and Queens Of The Stone Age.

In just four years, the self-proclaimed Sad Boy has solidified his position as one of the top exponents of corrido tumbado, a subgenre born after the release of Natanael Cano’s Corridos Tumbados album in 2019, with whom he has collaborated early in his career. He has also performed alongside other successful Mexican acts like Peso Pluma, Edén Muñoz, Gabito Ballesteros and Alemán.

Clocking in at more than 2 million plays in just a few weeks when it released in 2019, his song “No He Cambiado,” from his album Mi Vida en un Cigarro, became a phenomenon on digital platforms. Since then, he has placed 18 songs on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, four of which reached the top 10, and earlier this year he made inroads on the overall Billboard Hot 100 chart with the hit “Fin de semana” alongside Oscar Maydon.

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His latest track is “El Patrocinador” with Grupo Firme, whose video has more than 5.8 million views since its release 10 days ago.

Check out Ocesa’s announcement of the Junior H concert at the Foro Sol below:

Karol G kicked off her first-ever stadium tour at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas last week on Thursday (Aug. 10). The Colombian artist — who will continue the 15-date trek at the RoseBowl in Pasadena, Calif. tonight (Aug. 14) — performed nearly 30 of her biggest hits from her albums Ocean, KG0515, Mañana Será […]

A new Drake and Bad Bunny collaboration is on the horizon. During the “Jumbotron S–t Poppin” rapper’s Sunday night (Aug. 13) concert in Inglewood, Calif., he brought up Bunny for a special announcement during his set, much to the delight of concert attendees. “I wanna tell y’all something, because y’all are L.A. and we love […]