Latin
Page: 222
This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.
When their baby, Índigo, turned 40 days old, new parents Evaluna Montaner de Echeverry and Camilo Echeverry packed their bags and embarked on their first tour as a family of three. “She fits in perfectly with this [tour] life, thank goodness,” says Evaluna proudly of her daughter, the superstar couple’s first child.
It’s late March and the multifaceted artist — singer-songwriter, actress and director — is home in Miami after wrapping up the first leg of the couple’s ambitious De Adentro Pa’ Afuera world tour, which kicked off last year. “The crew became Índigo’s second family.” She adds, “It’s just so much fun to see her surrounded by many people that love her.”
Evaluna, 25, and who goes by her first name only, grew up in a similar environment. Her father is prolific singer-songwriter Ricardo Montaner, her mother is director Marlene Rodríguez Miranda — who directs all of Ricardo’s music videos — and her brothers are recording artists Ricardo and Mauricio Montaner (known as the duo Mau y Ricky).
While Evaluna’s name is often seen side by side with those of her famous husband, siblings and parents, she’s a powerhouse in her own right. With a distinctive soothing voice that has captured more than 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 4 million YouTube subscribers (as well as 21 million followers on Instagram), her ability to balance life as a Montaner (on- and offscreen), in addition to a marriage, a recording and directing career and now motherhood on the road, embodies a different kind of pop star: One that makes family part of her success.
“It has been wonderful to grow up in the family that I’ve grown up in, where they are open to all of us following our dreams. Our dreams all happen to go hand in hand, and we’re able to work together.”
That modeled her own relationship with Colombian star Camilo (who also goes by his first name), whom she married in February 2020. The pair collaborated on “Por Primera Vez,” “Machu Picchu” and “Índigo,” which peaked at No. 16 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart and No. 26 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. She has also directed all of Camilo’s music videos, following in the footsteps of her mother, who would take Evaluna to work with her while she was directing on set. “I’d be her AD [assistant director], and it would be great because she’d make me do a bunch of things although I was really young,” she remembers. “I felt I was being productive, and that really encouraged me to say, ‘I think I can do this too.’ I don’t know if I’ll be as good as her, but I can try.” Even after directing for three years now, Evaluna confesses she’ll still call her mom to ask: “Do you think this idea for a music video is cool or do you think this is going to be lame?”
Aside from touring and directing, Evaluna’s music career (she’s managed by Jorge Ferradas at FPM Entertainment, who also manages Camilo) is “very much a priority.” Her latest single, “Refugio,” a sunny ballad released last year with a video (directed by her mom) with over 4 million YouTube views, is a preview of what’s to come. “I’m not one to release a whole bunch of songs and go single after single,” she explains. “I like taking my time and nurturing a song before releasing it. I’m getting closer to the stripped-down, raw sound I want to have for myself.”
A few weeks after Billboard spoke with Evaluna, the family of three will pack up again and kick off the second leg of the tour in Central America and Mexico. “Having to wake up early after you’ve had a long night, that’s intense,” she says of touring with a baby in tow.
Still, that doesn’t compare to the comments she was seeing online after giving birth, the less-talked-about side effect of having millions of eyes on you. “That was the hardest part,” Evaluna says. “They were saying that childbirth had ‘done a number on me.’ The only reason I’m sharing this is because I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. I regret feeling for a moment that those people might be right. I regret it because my body is incredible. It has been doing some crazy things since the moment I got pregnant.” She then adds confidently, “I feel like I’ve really grown as a woman, being a mother to this beautiful girl. I can say that I’m the woman I always dreamed of becoming.”
Tickets to Billboard‘s Latin Women In Music can be purchased here.
This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.
Emilia has conquered millions of fans with an urban pop sound that’s both mischievous and sensual; a sweet, recognizable voice; and honest but playful lyrics. Since her debut as a solo artist in 2019, after a stint as a member of Uruguayan band Rombai, she has placed 18 songs on Argentina’s Billboard Hot 100 chart — most recently “En la Intimidad” with Big One and Callejero Fino, which in early April had spent seven weeks at No. 1.
She has also placed two songs on Billboard’s Latin Pop Airplay chart: “Blessing” with Alex Rose at No. 13 and “No Soy Yo” with Darell at No. 38. And this year she performed at the Viña del Mar Festival, where she received golden and silver Gaviota awards.
All that glamour began with a folk guitar.
María Emilia Mernes Rueda (her full name) was about 6 when her grandfather — the only musical reference in her family — gave her the instrument so she could start taking music lessons. “Actually, he’s a plumber, but his hobby, his lifelong passion, has always been playing the guitar,” says the Argentine singer-songwriter, her eyes sparkling with pride.
As for Emilia’s parents, her father was a baker and her mother a cook. Originally from Nogoyá, a farming town with a population of 45,000 in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, she grew up admiring “megapowerful women,” from Rihanna and Beyoncé to Paulina Rubio and Thalia.
“I would watch them on TV and I couldn’t believe it. I’d say: ‘I hope one day I can see myself like them!’ Because whenever I listened to them, they instilled a message of power and confidence in me,” she recalls from her home in Buenos Aires, where she now lives.
That desire led her to form her own bands in her early teens. From cumbia covers she transitioned to rock and began playing shows in her city and its surroundings.
Over the years, music continued to be an integral part of her life, but due to her circumstances she thought it couldn’t be more than a hobby. “I was like, ‘No. It is impossible to live from this. If I don’t have the financial resources I can’t travel to Buenos Aires, where everything happens.’ ” Instead, she moved to Rosario to study literature.
Her life took a radical turn only months later, when she started uploading videos of herself playing the guitar and singing covers to Instagram. They caught the attention of Rombai. At the time, the Uruguayan cumbia-pop band had gained popularity in South America and was looking for a new female vocalist. In a matter of days, Emilia was singing with them in front of 12,000 fans.
Two years later, she decided it was time to take the next step and left the group to pursue her solo career. Whereas with Rombai she only got to sing songs written by her bandmates, she now started to write her own for the first time. “I had a lot of uncertainty, to be 100% honest. I didn’t know what kind of music I wanted to make, I didn’t know which side to face, I didn’t know who to work with,” she recalls.
She headed to Miami to work on developing her own voice as a singer-songwriter.
Some of the first people she shared with in the studio were Camilo and Farina, with whom she wrote the song “Recalienta.” “I said: ‘I think this is going to be the one with which I start my career.’ And it was beautiful,” she adds, also naming Sebastián Yatra and TINI as artists who didn’t hesitate to lend her a hand.
Today, Emilia is still signed to a management deal with Walter Kolm (who was previously Rombai’s manager) and has a recording deal with Sony Music Latin. And she has forged a trusted “songwriting crew” that includes Elena Rose, FMK and Duki, with whom she worked for her 2022 debut album, the very personal tú crees en mí?
For this year, she’s working on a “more conceptual” second album that will include her most recent single, “Jagger.mp3,” a funky, upbeat dance track in Spanish sprinkled with some English.
In Argentina, her parents and grandfather “cannot believe” the success she has had. “My grandfather is very shocked. He recently went to one of my shows — he had never had the opportunity to see me — and I dedicated it to him that night. It was very emotional.”
As for the guitar he gave her when she was a little girl, Emilia keeps it somewhere in her hometown: “I don’t know if I gave it to him or if it is at my house with my parents,” she says. “But I have it in Nogoyá.”
Tickets to Billboard‘s Latin Women In Music can be purchased here.
Bad Bunny shocked wrestling fans by making a surprise appearance during WWE Monday Night Raw to tussle with Damian Priest on Monday (April 24).
The three-time Grammy winner made his grand entrance wearing a brown cowboy hat, oversize orange button-down and light-wash jeans and wielding a kendo stick, just before Priest was about to finish off Rey Mysterio for throwing a steel chair at his face.
“It feels like it’s gonna pop off here in Chicago!” the announcer exclaimed as Bad Bunny entered the ring, staring down his opponent with a determined glint in his eye. “And here we go!” At that point, the “Tití Me Preguntó” rapper nailed Priest twice with the kendo stick — walloping him once in the stomach and again in the back before sending him flying out of the ring.
Bad Bunny’s surprise attack came as retribution for Priest sending him through the announcer’s table with a choke-slam a few weeks ago during another episode of Monday Night Raw, leaving the Latin sensation in need of (scripted) medical attention.
Billboard‘s top artist of 2022 was originally set to host WWE Backlash in his native Puerto Rico on May 6, but is now slated to take on Priest once more in a “Street Fight,” hopefully settling their rivalry for good.
Bad Bunny just wrapped up his star-powered headlining slot at Coachella during weekend 2 and released “un x100to,” his new collab with Grupo Frontera, which earned the pop star his 60th top 10 hit on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
Watch Bad Bunny face off with Priest below.
Grupo Frontera pick up their highest debut on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart with “un x100to,” their first team-up with Bad Bunny, which debuts at No. 3 on the April 29-dated ranking. The song arrives in the top five with only four days of activity. It’s the fourth top 10 for Grupo Frontera, while Bad Bunny adds his 60th top 10, extending his record among all acts.
“Un x100to” dropped April 17 via Rimas Entertainment, a surprise not only for fans, but for Frontera as well. Benito’s vocals were incorporated as Edgar Muñoz, composer of the song, revealed his participation as a surprise the day the norteño group shot the music video. “We did not hear Bad Bunny’s part in the song until the day of the video,” Adelaido “Payo” Solis III, lead vocalist, shared during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “So when that part comes out and we were shooting the video, I froze. Having a song with Bad Bunny is just something that… It’s unexplainable.”
“Un x100to” starts at No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs, largely due to its surge in streams. As mentioned, because the song came with the track’s music video on April 17, it joins the upper region of the multimetric ranking with only four days of activity for its chart debut. According to Luminate, it generated 20 million official U.S. streams during the April 14-20 tracking week. That opening sum yields a No. 7 on the overall Streaming Songs chart, a first top 10 for Frontera there, and an equal No. 3 debut on Latin Streaming Songs.
“Un x100to” also registered 4,000 downloads in the same period, prompting a No. 1 launch on Latin Digital Song Sales. There, it becomes the third champ for Frontera and Bunny’s 13th chart topper.
Over on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, Frontera’s new single makes its top 20 debut, at No. 15, the highest ranking for the McAllen-based group. For Benito, it becomes its highest chart appearance since “Moscow Mule” debuted and peaked at No. 4 in May 2022.
Back on Hot Latin Songs, “un x100to” marks Frontera’s fourth top 10. It follows “Bebe Dame,” with Fuerza Regida, which led for two weeks (Jan. 21 and March 4-dated lists).
Elsewhere, Frontera also earns career highs on both global charts. “Un x100to” bows at No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200 with 67 million streams, while it shoots to a No. 4 start on the Global Excl. U.S. with 48 million earned during the same period.
The news of the collab’s debut across Billboard charts arrives on the heels of Frontera’s El Comienzo Tour, which kicked off in San Antonio, Texas, on April 20 and will take the sextet through the U.S. with its last stop on Nov. 25 in L.A.
When Pedro Tovar — Eslabon Armado‘s frontman — first came up with the melody to a new track back in January, he didn’t think much of it. He boxed the tune for a few days not knowing whether he’d come back to it or not. He did.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
A few weeks later, Tovar and Peso Pluma started exchanging direct messages on social media and discussed a potential collaboration. “I told him that I really liked his music and he said he’d be down to do a song together,” recalls Tovar. So, he went back to that melody and began writing the lyrics to what is now known as the global hit song “Ella Baila Sola.”
Currently, the romantic sierreño track — not to be confused with a corrido, Tovar categorically explains — sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200. It’s the first leader on the list for each act, as well as the first for the regional Mexican genre. Additionally, “Ella Baila Sola” has, so far, spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. On the Billboard Hot 100, the banger is No. 5 on the tally dated April 29 — the first Mexican music song to enter the top 10 on the chart.
Below, a breakdown of “Ella Baila Sola”:
The players
Eslabon Armado, signed to indie label DEL Records, is no stranger to making history on the charts. After scoring four consecutive No. 1 albums on the Regional Mexican Albums chart between 2020-2021, the California-based, Mexican-American teenage group — known for their sad sierreño anthems “Jugaste Y Sufri” and “Con Tus Besos” — made history last year with Nostalgia, which became the first top 10-charting regional Mexican album ever on the Billboard 200.
While considered a new act, Peso Pluma has rapidly climbed to the top of the charts. In the past year alone, Billboard‘s Latin Artist on the Rise in March signed with indie label Prajin Records, his first record deal, and has so far placed 14 songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The corridos juggernaut joined Becky G at Coachella during her weekend one set and announced his first U.S. tour this year, which will kick off July 20 at L.A.’s YouTube Theater. Peso, who was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico is set to make his late-night TV debut on April 28 when he performs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The song’s backstory
After talking to Peso on social media, Tovar wrote the lyrics to “Ella” in a matter of “two or three” days, he tells Billboard. He wrote the first half in one day, and two days later he wrote the second part. “Peso asked me to send him songs, so I wrote ‘Ella Baila Sola’ after we had messaged each other. I called him right after I finished writing it. I remember he was at an airport and I was like, ‘Hey bro, I have the song.’ He asked me to send it to him but I decided to sing it to him instead. ‘So I can see your reaction,’ I explained to him. He immediately fell in love with it. He was hella hyped.”
Peso adds, “It’s a song that many people can relate to, besides having the elements of the instruments that really make it stand out, people received it so well and are enjoying it as much as we enjoy it.”
The lyrics and the sound
The song tells the story of two compas (guy friends), who are at a gathering and spot a beautiful girl who is the belle of the ball. But don’t ask Tovar where he drew inspiration for that specific track — because, as he puts it, “I always say the same thing when they ask what inspired my lyrics: ‘I really don’t know,” he says. “For sure I knew that I wanted to tell a story and wanted it to have the point of view of two guys talking about a girl at a party.”
The sound strikes the perfect balance between Eslabon and Peso Pluma’s musical styles. “Each one of us did our own thing and it became its own style. No one forced anything, which in return made the song turn out so well,” Peso Pluma says. The core sound is sierreño, with the requinto as its leading guitar. For a twist, they added charchetas, trombone and the tololoche. “We used very specific instruments to get the sound we wanted and for it to sound like what is popular today,” adds Tovar, who also produced the song.
Capital One City Parks Foundation announced the 2023 roster for its SummerStage concert series on Tuesday (April 25) including Grandmaster Flash, Tanya Tucker, Noel Gallagher and more.
The season will kick off June 10 with a free performance by St. Paul and the Broken Bones in Central Park, and continue through the summer with 80 free shows and benefit concerts across all five boroughs of New York City.
Highlights this year will include a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop throughout the summer, starting with Mike bringing his Young World Festival to Brooklyn’s Von King Park on July 15 followed by Grandmaster Flash returning to the Bronx for a special hometown show on Aug. 2 in Crotona Park. A few days later, a Hip-Hop 50 Special Edition Showcase will head to Coney Island on Aug. 6.
“We are thrilled to present another vibrant season filled with captivating artists from around the world and introduce music fans to their diverse sounds,” said SummerStage executive artistic director Erika Elliott in a statement. “As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop this year, we are excited to highlight the global impact that the genre has had on music and culture with an outstanding lineup of international artists and hometown heroes. SummerStage has been featuring hip-hop in our performances since the ’90s and is dedicated to giving a platform to showcase this important culture, shining a light on the genre every season.”
SummerStage won’t just be hip-hop, though. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Garbage will join forces on July 10; Juanes will bring his Latin flair on July 12 as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference; rising electronic Afro-Cuban/French duo Ibeyi will join The Comet Is Coming for a night of electronica-jazz stylings on August 2 and Tucker will close out the season-long series with her own headlining show in Central Park on Sept. 14.
Check out the SummerStage 2023 announcement below and get a look at the entire schedule of concerts here.
This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.
In the last 12 months, Shakira has placed four songs at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts and has broken 14 Guinness World Records. She has also been celebrated with a retrospective exhibit at the Grammy Museum.
Oh, and she has sparked something of a female revolution along the way.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The Colombian superstar turned one of the most difficult years of her life into an unprecedented return to Spanish-language music by opening her heart to teach us that it’s OK to be vulnerable, and even “cash in” when suffering from heartbreak.
The latest winning streak by the artist — who was already the woman with the most top 10 hits on Hot Latin Songs (34), the most No. 1s on Latin Airplay (18) and the most entries on Latin Pop Airplay (50), among other milestones — began in April 2022 with “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro. The song reached No. 1 on the Latin Airplay and the Latin Pop Airplay charts, the latter of which Shakira had not led since “Clandestino” with Maluma four years earlier.
Then came the heartfelt bachata “Monotonía” with Ozuna, which peaked at No. 1 on Latin Airplay and spent six weeks atop the chart.
Shakira finished off the trilogy in January with the forceful “Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, in which she declared her new motto: “Women don’t cry anymore, they cash in.” The song earned her her first No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs since “Chantaje” with Maluma in 2016.
The track also “cashed in” by breaking 14 Guinness World Records, including most played Latin song on Spotify in 24 hours (14.4 million) and most viewed video on YouTube in 24 hours (63 million).
“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish,” Shakira posted on social media, in Spanish. “I want to embrace the millions of women who stand up to those who make us feel insignificant… They are my inspiration,” she added.
Shakira
Jaume de la Iguana
And just when it seemed like she had said it all, she made history again with “TQG” with Karol G. The collaboration — an explosive goodbye kiss for their respective exes — not only debuted at the top of Hot Latin Songs, but also earned both Colombian powerhouses their first No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.
Having back-to-back hits is nothing new for Shakira, who debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001 with “Whenever, Wherever” and hit No. 1 in 2006 with “Hips Don’t Lie.” But being at the top of the global charts two decades later, singing in Spanish, reaffirms her place as a true superstar — one capable of transcending languages, generations and borders as very few can.
“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish”Shakira
And her influence and contributions go far beyond music. Shakira has been an advocate of education through her Fundación Pies Descalzos, which since 1997 has built and adapted nine public schools in Colombia that have benefited more than 152,000 children and their families. “It’s part of my mission,” she told Billboard nearly a decade ago, and she has kept it that way.
In this inaugural edition of Latin Women in Music, the Woman of the Year — for her unprecedented past and current success — is, unquestionably, Shakira.
Maluma, Bizarrap, Carlos Vives, Camilo and More on Shakira’s Staying Power
“Working with Shakira, I immediately realized exactly why she is such a powerhouse in our industry. She is phenomenally talented, hardworking, relentlessly detailed-oriented and always delivers musical excellence.” —Maluma, artist
“The importance of having a Shakira in our music industry as a Colombian, a woman, or an artist, is that she teaches us with her example that we can have our own voice; that difference coupled with excellence and delivery make a good combo.” —Goyo, artist
“Shakira isn’t a powerhouse. Shakira invented powerhouse. She has the nerve and the talent. Everything else is ‘only’ a great capacity to work and give it all.” —Alejandro Sanz, artist
“Shakira is a tireless warrior, megatalented and capable of getting up and reinventing herself every day. Nothing is impossible for her. Not in her profession, nor in her personal life.” —Afo Verde, chairman/CEO, Sony Music Latin Iberia
“Shakira represents so many women so well that she deserves to be Woman of the Year. She’s like a force who has the power to protect [others] in times of difficulty. … I remember when we were doing the video for ‘La Bicicleta’ when I managed to break the protocol and we ended up roaming through the neighborhood and arriving at her school. At that moment I think she was like Shakira the pelaíta, the girl from Barranquilla. She ordered the director to ‘follow us already,’ and we started. And that moment is felt in the video.” —Carlos Vives, artist
Shakira
Jaume de la Iguana
“I’ve worked with everyone. Whitney, Michael Jackson, and I’ve never experienced that [level of] detail. She conducts a session like she’s teaching! … This girl, she’s the definition of music.” —Will.i.am, artist-producer
“I was proud to be a part of her growth from the beginning of her career, and she deserves everything she has achieved. Her great talent, her perseverance; she has always put her passion first to bring something new to music and her fans. [When I met her,] she didn’t speak any English, and I said, ‘We’re going to do the crossover with you.’ … Six months later, she went for an interview and she spoke English better than me.” —Emilio Estefan, producer-composer
“What’s most impressive about Shakira, beyond what a multifaceted and talented force she is as an artist, is just how far-reaching her impact is … I remember my first trip to Colombia with her many years ago to inaugurate one of the new schools she built through her Pies Descalzos Foundation, I was so blown away to see and hear firsthand how knowledgeable, passionate and committed she was to providing universal access to quality education for all in her country, and how intolerant she was of achieving anything less. I saw then how her dogged perseverance is to thank for her level of success.” —Jaime Levine, manager
“Working with her was a master class in my career. She’s an artist in every sense, a tireless worker, talented and kind. No. 1 without a doubt.” —Jorge Ferradas, founder of FPM Entertainment and former member of Shakira’s management team
“Only wonderful things happen to people who are absolutely dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Shakira is one of those people. … For me as an artist, and especially as a Colombian artist, having such a reference since I was very little pushed me to be the best version of myself. When I was able to meet her and sing with her, I was able to confirm that everything I thought and felt was true.” —Camilo, artist
“Collaborating with Shakira this year was an incredible experience for me, from which I learned a lot. We worked a lot on this song [‘BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53’], right up to the last minute! I thought I was detailed until I met Shakira.” —Bizarrap, DJ-producer
“I know Shakira the artist, and it is no secret to anyone that she is incredible. But I also know Shakira the mom, and this version of her is at another level. The way she loves and gives her life for her two children is admirable. Seeing how she enjoys her children, how she talks about them with such pride, how she takes them into account for everything, makes me admire her more.” —Keityn, artist-composer
Tickets to Billboard‘s Latin Women In Music can be purchased here.
This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.
Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito made history when it debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart dated March 5. Previously, only two all-Spanish albums led the list, both by Bad Bunny (Un Verano Sin Ti in 2022 and El Último Tour del Mundo in 2020).
To some, the landmark moment symbolizes a turning point for women in Latin music and beyond.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The reality is that when you zoom out of that one history-making feat and look at the bigger picture, women artists (from singers to songwriters and producers) are still underrepresented in Latin music; they’re not streamed as much as men are, and they’re still not having major impact on the charts — artists such as Karol G and Selena notwithstanding.
Two of the top five Latin albums of 2021 were by women (according to Billboard and MRC Data’s year-end report), only one of those, Karol G’s KG0516, was a new album. The other was Selena’s Ones, a chart mainstay.
Karol G is also one of only two women who’ve had No. 1 releases on the Top Latin Albums chart between 2020 and 2023: Karol G, with KG0516 (2021) and Mañana Será Bonito (2023), and Selena Gomez, with Revelación (2021). Not a single woman placed a No. 1 album on the chart in 2020 or 2022. So far, men have placed 18 No. 1 albums in the past three years.
Men outpacing women reflects what we’ve seen since the 1990s, around when the chart was launched. For example, from 2000 to 2009, 23 albums by women peaked at No. 1 on the chart, compared with 123 by men. From 2010 to 2017, just 19 women-led projects, compared with 150 albums by men, ruled the chart. They included the late Jenni Rivera, with six No.1 albums, Thalía with three and Shakira with two. Women did not place a No. 1 album in 2018 or 2019.
On Hot Latin Songs, the story is similar. In the early 1990s and 2000s, women were scoring more No. 1s. But then there was a shift. From 2010 to 2019 — when reggaetón, a genre led by mostly men, dominated streaming and radio airplay — only 14 No. 1s were by women artists. In that same period, men placed nearly 80 No. 1 songs.
So far, in the 2020s, men have placed 16 No. 1s on the chart, compared with just eight for women.
They include Shakira and Bizarrap’s head-turning “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” the first Spanish-language song by a woman to debut in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. That track, in turn, was followed by “TQG” by Shakira and Karol G, which peaked at No. 7, making it two in quick succession.
So far, in the 2020s, men have placed 16 No. 1s on the Hot Latin songs chart, compared with just eight for women, according to Luminate numbers.
While it is a notable milestone, it also speaks to the lack of women-led tracks on the Hot 100; men have placed 15 No. 1s between 2020 and 2023 thus far.
Elsewhere, only two women have reached No. 1 on the Latin Songwriters chart: Mexican music up-and-comer Yahritza Martinez (of Yahritza y Su Esencia) and Karol G. And not a single woman has appeared on the Top Latin Producers chart, which ranks the top 10 producers of the week. Both charts were launched in 2019.
It’s hard to pinpoint why the numbers for women simply aren’t there, but “limited opportunities are definitely part [of the issue],” says Alexandra Lioutikoff, president of Latin America and U.S. Latin at Universal Music Publishing Group. “I think men tend to bring their friends — usually other men — into writing rooms without really thinking twice about it. It’s changing, but it’s going to take more time.”
The numbers also reflect what is happening outside the United States; more specifically, how women artists are performing in Latin America. According to Luminate data from eight Latin American countries, women make up 23% of the top 100 artists overall in Latin America by total audio and video streams. Men make up 70%. Five percent is mixed (a group made up of women and men), and 2% is null (unable to pull gender makeup). In streaming, based on the top 100 artists, women don’t compare to men. For example, in Colombia, men comprise 79.6% of the streams and women 11.7%. (All data is based on the week ending Feb. 23.)
The root of the issue is a bit more systemic, says Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning producer-composer Claudia Brant. If there’s to be any significant change for women representation, it needs to start from the top. “There’s a disconnect when it comes to labels hiring women producers or doing songwriting camps that are all women. It’s always a mix. In most cases it’s 10 men and a woman. That also affects the language that is being used in a song, hence why women are still objects.”
Brant adds that she hopes more women take more risks to stand out and defy structural or industry expectations. “Rosalía, I don’t know what planet she’s from; she has her own ideas and her own point of view and her own style of producing and writing. She blows everyone’s mind because she doesn’t care, she does whatever she wants.”
“There’s a disconnect when it comes to labels hiring women producers or doing songwriting camps that are all women. It’s always a mix. In most cases it’s 10 men and a woman. That also affects the language that is being used in a song, hence why women are still objects.” Claudia Brant, songwriter
The Spanish star — who this year became Billboard’s first Women in Music producer of the year honoree — previously expressed to Billboard why producing was a way to gain creative control of her artistry. “I realized that I wanted to decide what I was going to sing. I also wanted to decide what I was going to say and how it would sound,” Rosalía said. “I became a songwriter and producer because I cared way too much.”
There are organizations that are taking matters into their own hands to advance the representation of women on the charts and beyond. She Is the Music and We Are Moving the Needle focus on mentorship, networking and providing scholarships for women who are in the early stages of their careers.
“We have the largest global database of female creatives and executives in music,” says Lioutikoff, who is the co-chair of the Latin committee for She Is the Music. “It’s not only placing women in their first jobs in the industry, but also providing one-on-one opportunities for women to learn about the business, whether on the executive or creative side.”
Brant, who’s part of the Latin Recording Academy’s mentorship program, says that it’s all about telling women that nothing is impossible. “We have to make them understand that it’s doable, that they have to go for their dreams and make them a reality.”
Tickets to Billboard‘s Latin Women In Music can be purchased here.
Maria Becerra will be honored with the Visionary award at the inaugural Billboard Latin Women in Music gala.
The Argentine singer and composer will be recognized along with Thalia, Ana Gabriel, Evaluna and Goyo at the two-hour special event taking place at the Watsco Center in Miami on May 6, and airing on Telemundo and Universo May 7.
The same evening, Shakira will be honored as Latin Woman of the Year.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Becerra, a pop/urban artist who began as a YouTuber in her teens and was nominated for a best new artist Latin Grammy in 2021, has had three entries on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, including her hit “Qué más pues? alongside J Balvin, as well as two top 10 hits on Latin Airplay (“Te espero” with Prince Royce, which reached No. 1; and “Extasis” with Manuel Turizo at No. 9). She’s also placed five tracks on Latin Rhythm Airplay, including three on the top 10 (“Suelta” with Dímelo Flow, Farruko, Rauw Alejandro, Mr. Vegas and Fatman Sccop; “Berlin” with Zion & Lennox; and “Extasis”).
“María Becerra is receiving the Visionary award for developing a sound and aesthetic that are intensely personal, are all her own, and cross genres and styles,” says Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin and Español. “Maria is a visionary who has defied convention with extraordinary quality and distinctiveness. We are proud to honor this rising star with an immense future.”
As announced previously, Mexican icon Ana Gabriel will be honored as Living Legend; urban pop Argentine star Emilia will receive the Rising Star award; singer, actress and director Evaluna will receive the Tradition and Future award; Colombian rapper and singer Goyo will be honored as Agent of Change; and Mexican superstar Thalia will receive the Global Powerhouse award.
Another icon, Ivy Queen, will host the event alongside actress and host Jacky Bracamontes.
Billboard’s inaugural Latin Women In Music celebrates artists, executives and Latin creatives who are working proactively to generate positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased here.
Mario Bautista reeled in Adriel Favela for his new single and music video “Mejor Así,” premiering exclusively on Billboard below.
Backed by strong ranchera melodies with hints of urban-pop sounds produced by Yera, Bautista and Favela’s potent vocals beautifully harmonize on a song about finding oneself after a failed relationship. “As mom used to say, time heals all wounds, sometimes saying goodbye, welcomes new beginnings,” says part of the optimistic lyrics.
A melancholic black-and-white music video, directed by Antonio Roma for La Catrina Films, features Bautista and Favela performing the song in an intimate theater setting.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“It was wonderful to work with Adriel, his energy was always top,” Bautista tells Billboard. “We met the day of the video shoot and we vibed incredibly and from there started a friendship. I know this song also represents him. I really enjoyed working with someone like him, someone who values [the song] and works as a team. I’m pretty sure we’re going to make more music without a doubt.”
“Mejor Así” marks yet another Regional Mexican effort by the Mexican pop star following his hit “Brindo.” Its Banda El Recodo de Cruz de Lizárrga-assisted remix earned Bautista his first No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay Chart in 2022. Both tracks are charged with feel-good and positive lyrics.
“What I really like to capture in my songs is a message that will add to people,” he notes. “They are messages that have helped me and that I have applied to my life. That’s why I love to translate them into my lyrics that later connect with millions of souls and can multiply the good vibes. That’s the purpose of life.”
Watch the music video for “Mejor Así” below: