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In February, Karol G and Shakira unleashed their first collaborative effort called “TQG” (short for “Te Quedó Grande,” which loosely translates to “I’m Too Good For You”) part of Karol’s fourth studio album Mañana Será Bonito.
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The star-studded team-up is powered by a somber, hard-hitting reggaetón beat helmed by artist-producer Ovy on the Drums and packed with fierce and unapologetic lyrics about successfully moving on from an ex. “It hurt me to see you with the new one, but I’m already doing my own thing,” chants Shakira. The long-awaited collaboration finds the two Colombianas in a sultry music video, confirming once more that there’s no messing with them (and their hearts).
“We always have a good time creating music,” Ovy (born Daniel Echavarria Oviedo) tells Billboard of the song’s creative process, which was partly done virtually. “Karol spoke highly of Shakira and told me she was incredible. And this is the result of two of the biggest artists in Colombia. It’s awesome being part of this process and this hit because it’s a collaboration for the books.”
In March, “TQG” became both Karol G and Shakira’s first No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. It also reached the top slot on Hot Latin Songs, where it has since spent five weeks leading the chart.
Below, Ovy explains how the foundation for the international hit, reacts to the song’s success and more.
A collaboration between Karol G and Shakira had long been anticipated by fans. How did those conversations begin, and what was your initial reaction once it was confirmed?
Sometime in January 2022, we were working on “MAMIII” — [Karol G’s] collaboration with Becky G — and after we finished, Karol and I stayed in the studio. That’s when the first version of “TQG” was born. Honestly, when we had the first version, I never imagined Shakira on the track. Karol was the one who, out of nowhere said, “Ovy, Shakira on ‘TQG’ will be a hit!” She was the one who envisioned it and I got really excited. At the same time, rumors of a collaboration began making the rounds. I already knew that Karol was going to reach out to [Shakira’s] team but when different media [outlets] interviewed me, I would say that I didn’t know anything.
Karol sent it to Shakira, and she added her verse. It was a beautiful team and a song that surprised me. I even got a tattoo of “TQG” because it’s my first No. 1 hit [on the Spotify Global Top 50, as well as the Billboard Global 200] as a producer.
So you never actually met Shakira in person?
I didn’t have the opportunity to meet her, but I would be in touch with her thanks to the voice notes she sent me through her manager. Nowadays, there’s no need to get together in person, though I think it’s best to all be in the studio together. Sometimes, because of distance and time, it’s not possible — and thanks to technology, we can create things virtually. Shakira and Karol didn’t meet in person until the filming of the music video, but Karol did record with me and Shakira recorded with her team.
From the first day in the studio to the day of release, how quickly did you finish the song?
The first version was ready for almost a year, but when Shakira stepped in, we changed it around. She brought her ideas, and we joined them with Karol’s ideas and began reworking the song as a team. Shakira entered the collab around December 2022, and in January, the song was mastered and ready to go because we had to submit Karol’s album, [Mañana Será Bonito].
Did this song ever have another title in mind or was it always going to be called “TQG”?
I wanted it to be called “La Nueva” (“The New One”) but Karol thought of “TQG.” Like “Tusa” and other titles, she’s really good at thinking of song names. She’s a genius, and the title is perfect.
Are there any interesting anecdotes you can share about the process of “TQG”?
We always have a good time creating music, but I know they both connected and had a good [working] relationship. Karol spoke highly of Shakira and told me she was incredible. This is the result of two of the biggest artists in Colombia. It’s awesome being part of this process and this hit because it’s a collaboration for the books.
What is your favorite line or verse from the song?
The part that says: “Es como tapar una herida con maquillaje/No se ve, pero se siente” (“It’s like covering a wound with makeup/It is not seen, but it is felt”) — I love that part!
The song has been extremely successful on the Billboard charts, including a fifth week at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs on charts dated April 8. What’s your reaction to such accolades?
The day I’m not surprised of having another hit, I’ll quit and focus on something else. I do music with so much passion and so much dedication to see these types of results. I want people to enjoy it and for the song to become a hit — I want it to reach places I’ve never imagined. The day Karol made history as the first woman to have a No. 1 with an all-Spanish-language album [on the Billboard 200], that day I cried. Every song has a different story, a different meaning and is born in a different way. They’re all my babies and I like seeing each of them succeed. I’m very happy with everything’s that happening. I’m going to continue creating music and work hard for everything that’s coming.
A version of this story originally appeared in the April 1, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Anitta and Warner Music Group are parting ways, both parties announced in a joint statement the Brazilian star posted on social media on Tuesday (April 4).
“After eleven years of successful partnership, we’ve agreed to go our separate ways,” reads the post. “Anitta would like to thank the Warner Music team for all their support. And the Warner team wishes Anitta all the best in the future.”
Anitta signed with Warner Music in the U.S. in 2020 after previously linking with Warner Music Brazil in 2013. Under the U.S. contract, she produced Versions of Me, which was executive produced by Ryan Tedder. The trilingual album was recorded mostly in English with a few songs in Spanish and one in Portuguese. It included the hit song “Envolver,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart and on Spotify’s Global list, making Anitta the first Brazilian artist to achieve either feat. Meanwhile, the self-directed video for the song claimed the top spot on YouTube’s Global Top Music Videos chart. It currently has more than 500 million views on YouTube.
The news comes after Anitta took to Twitter in March to say she would have “auctioned off her organs” to be let out of her Warner contract. “If there was a fine to pay, I would have already auctioned off my organs, no matter how expensive it was to get out. But unfortunately, there isn’t,” she wrote. “When you’re young and still don’t know a lot, you need to pay close attention to the things you sign… if you don’t, you could spend a lifetime paying for the mistake.”
It wasn’t the first time Anitta has complained about her relationship with WMG. According to Anitta, Warner refused to produce a video when they saw that the song’s performance on streaming platforms was falling below expectations.
“They only invest after it pays off on the internet,” Anitta said in an Instagram livestream in May. “Unfortunately, there are things I can’t get, that’s why I don’t buy millionaire cars, because when I want to do something, I pay for it.”
Recently, it was announced that Anitta has joined the Elite cast for season seven of the hit Netflix show.
Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro each add a new top 10 to their Billboard charts career history as “Beso” debuts at No. 4 on the Hot Latin Songs ranking dated April 8. The new achievement is their first as a couple, following five top 10s collaborative entries for Rosalía, and eight for Rauw Alejandro.
In total, “Beso” is Rosalía’s seventh top 10, and the 10th for Rauw Alejandro.
“Beso” is from the pair’s joint three-song release, RR, which arrived March 24 through Duars/Columbia/Sony Music Latin. The track, previously teased on Rosalía’s TikTok account on March 16, was accompanied by its music video, in which the couple announced their engagement.
The reggaetón-pop tune traces its high debut on the upper region on Hot Latin Songs — a blend of airplay, digital sales, and streaming activity– largely to 9.1 million official U.S. streams earned during the March 24-30 tracking week, according to Luminate. The sum makes for a No. 38 start on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart and a No. 4 on Latin Streaming Songs.
“Beso” also sold 2,000 downloads during the same period, making it the top-selling Latin song of the week with a No. 1 debut on Latin Digital Song Sales and a No. 36 on Digital Song Sales. On the former, it becomes Rosalía’s sixth No. 1 and Rauw’s fourth.
Radio, the third metric that contributes to Hot Latin Songs, also adds to “Beso’s” high start. The song registered 3 million in audience impressions in its third week. As such, it starts at No. 44 on the all-genre Latin Airplay chart.
“Beso” concurrently captures multiple top 10 entries across Billboard charts: No. 6 on Latin Pop Airplay, No. 10 on the Billboard Global 200, No. 7 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart. Plus, it makes its first chart appearance on Latin Rhythm Airplay at No. 17 and on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 tally, at No. 52.
Pipe Bueno has signed a management deal with Business Manager JB (helmed by artist manager Juan Ballesteros) and OCESA Seitrack, Billboard can exclusively reveal today (April 4).
With the new signing, JB & OCESA will develop Pipe’s career at a musical and commercial level in Mexico with the mission of taking his 15-year-long trajectory to an international level.
“We are sure that we signed the best representative of the genre in Colombia, and as an artist, he can transcend,” Ballesteros, who also manages Mike Bahía, Greeicy and Annasofia, tells Billboard. “I think we have a new ballad, mariachi, and pop star that comes with a lot of music and collaborations. We are happy to have this new challenge with Pipe Bueno and I hope that everyone receives it with the same joy and enthusiasm that we do.”
The artist born Andrés Felipe Giraldo Bueno launched his self-titled debut album in 2008, and has since risen to pioneer “la música popular Colombiana,” a musical genre that fuses traditional folk music from the Paisa Region with Regional Mexican elements, such as mariachi and ranchera. The genre is also locally known as “música de cantina” and is played at every parranda, parties that feature local music and food.
The innovative 31-year-old singer-songwriter has laced the genre with urban and pop rhythms by teaming up with artists such as Wisin, Zion, and Darrel, to name a few. Pipe has collaborated twice with his good friend and colleague Maluma on the tracks “La Invitación” (2014) and “Tequila” (2020). The former entered the Billboard Latin Rhythm Airplay chart in 2016.
Agencia Jaque
Shakira and her children are starting a new chapter together outside of Spain.
In a statement shared with fans on her social media accounts on Sunday (Feb. 2), Shakira said she and her sons are headed to “another corner of the world” and will be close to family and friends.
“Thank you to everyone who has been there to cheer me up, dried my tears, inspired me and made me grow,” she said in the note, translated from Spanish to English. She also specifically thanked her loyal Spanish audience.
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Shakira and ex Gerard Piqué, who are parents to 9-year-old Milan and 7-year-old Sasha, split in June after more than a decade together.
“Everyone has their responsibility to do what’s best for their kids,” Piqué recently said to El Pais. “It’s about protecting them. That’s the job of all parents with their kids. That’s what I’m focused on and that’s my role as a father.”
On media coverage surrounding the split and his new relationship with Barcelona college student Clara Chia Marti, he said, “The problem is how people perceive things or how the press packages it. I’m still doing what I want. I want to be faithful to myself. I’m not gonna waste money on cleaning up my image.”
“The people that I love and worry about are the people that know me. The rest, I don’t care,” he added.
Shakira didn’t hold back on her breakup experience on “BZRP Music Sessions #53,” which rocketed to No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and broke 14 Guinness World Records.
See Shakira’s full note that she shared on Sunday in Spanish below:
“Me establecí en Barcelona para darle una estabilidad a mis hijos, la misma que ahora buscamos en otro rincón del mundo al lado de familia, amigos y el mar. Hoy iniciamos un nuevo capítulo en la búsqueda de su felicidad. Gracias a todos los que surfearon junto a mi tantas olas allí en Barcelona, la ciudad en la que aprendí que sin duda la amistad es más larga que el amor. Gracias a todos los que allí me animaron, secaron mis lágrimas, me inspiraron y me hicieron crecer. Gracias a mi público español que me ha arropado siempre con su cariño y lealtad. Para ustedes solo un hasta luego y como decía tantas veces mi padre, nos vemos en las curvas!”
A night dedicated to “jovenes romanticos” (young romantics) and “cincuentones” (50 year olds), Marco Antonio Solís delivered a nearly three-hour-long concert for all generations on Saturday night (April 1) at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla.
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After starting a little past 9:00 p.m. with songs “No Puedo Olvidarla” and “Tu amor o tu desprecio, Solís — who’s currently on his El Buki solo tour — greeted the nearly 20,000 crowed that was formed mainly by millennials accompanying their parents or grandparents.
“Let us thank the heavenly father for this moment. We are here for a reason. There is nothing like being present. Today with technology, what I value most is presence,” the Mexican balladeer said.
Wearing a shimmery, sequined pant and blazer set, Solís continued to sing songs such as “Nada Que Me Recuerde a Ti,” “Dios Bendiga Nuestro Amor,” and fan-favorites from Los Bukis’ such as “Falso Amor” and “Y Ahora Te Vas.”
“I have little academic studies,” he admitted during his show. “My studies are from the street. I love music and lyrics, and it’s truly a beautiful career blessed by the grace of God.”
Celebrating a 40-year trajectory, Solís’ “street [music] studies” shined far beyond his powerhouse vocals: he played the guitar, played the piano, played timbales, and danced to every rhythm.
During the concert, where he was accompanied by a 15-member band and four beautiful dancers, Solís performed some of his all-time corta-pulso classics such as “Invéntame,” “Como Fui a Enamorarme de Tí,” “Si Te Pudiera Mentir,” “Mi Eterno Amor Secreto,” “Tu Cárcel” (which he wrote during difficult times), and “La Venia Bendita” (which he says was the fastest song he’s written — in just three hours — because he was, and still is, in love),” among others.
El Buki Tour is not only charged with heartfelt ballads but it’s also equipped with hip-swaying, shoulder-shaking dancing tunes liked “Morenita,” “El Perdedor” and “Más Que Tu Amigo,” to name a few.
Just minutes after the clock hit 11:30 p.m., and following two of his biggest titles “Si No Te Hubieras Ido” and “Donde Estará Mi Primavera,” Solís thanked his loyal fans for singing with him and wished the crowd “a lot of inner peace.”
Tickets for the Live Nation-produced trek can be purchased here.
The last time Los Temerarios performed in Chicago was in 2019 at the Rosemont Theater, which has a capacity of a little over 4,000. Since then, the Mexican grupero band hadn’t performed in the Midwest city due to the pandemic shutdown. But their return to the Chicago couldn’t be stronger, even more so than the 90 mph winds that threatened the area on Friday (March 31).
As part of their 2023 tour, Los Temerarios — led by brothers Gustavo and Adolfo Ángel — performed two back-to-back sold-out shows at Allstate Arena (capacity of 18,500), just a few miles from the Rosemont Theater where they last played.
“It’s a complicated night,” an emotional Gustavo, the band’s lead singer, said at the beginning of the show. “I was backstage and was hearing about all these alerts of winds, so we’re really thankful to all of you for being here despite all that. Chicago is special to us. It’s the second city we ever visited in the U.S. when we started working over here back in like 1985. Imagine what we feel to see this place packed. Thank you for all the love you’ve given our music throughout all these years.”
Adolfo, the group’s keyboardist and co-founder along with his brother, was less talkative throughout the set but got equally emotional thanking fans for embracing their music for so many years.
“Chicago brings back so many memories, and we’ve missed you all so much,” he added.
The band went on to serenade a sea of fans who sang along throughout the entire show, during which they performed all the oldies but goodies in the form of ballads, cumbias and pop songs. The setlist included “Enamorado de Ti,” “Tu Infame Engaño,” “Como Te Recuerdo,” “Tu Última Canción,” “Dímelo,” “Ven Porque Te Necesito” and “Te Hice Mal.”
During the more than two-hour set (they kept coming back after the crowd requested an encore three times), Los Temerarios proved their endurance with a high-energy and dynamic performance that had Gustavo working the crowd with jokes and quirky dance moves. But more than anything, they shined with timeless songs that showcase Gustavo’s high, expressive tenor. And, of course, Adolfo’s knack for writing lyrics on love and heartbreak that will live on forever thanks to fans who continue to take solace in these anthems.
Los Temerarios’ return to the live scene coincides with the band’s 40 years in music, which will be marked by a special edition vinyl La Colección (out in April) and will include 10 brand new songs. Overall, the romantic group, known for their wistful keyboard-heavy ballads, has notched 41 entries on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, 17 of which are top 10 hits, including four No. 1s.
“Staying relevant in this industry is not easy so we have nothing but gratitude for our fans, we feel very fortunate,” Adolfo previously told Billboard. “We’ve always had a great respect for this career that has given us so much that’s why we always give our best when it comes to our albums, our live shows, we make sure our production is top quality across everything we do. Our brother and I also have a mutual respect and admiration for each other, that’s been fundamental for us to keep going for so many years.”
Los Temerarios continue their tour — which launched in February in San Jose, Calif., in states such as Nebraska, North Carolina and Georgia before wrapping up April 22 in Missouri.
This week, our New Music Latin roundup — a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums and videos recommended by the Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors each week — is powered by new music from Natti Natasha, Becky G and Peso Pluma, and Yahritza Y Su Esencia, to name a few.
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The list includes Natti Natasha’s “Algarete,” a risqué reggaeton track about the joy and thrill that comes from letting loose. “It’s a song that I dedicate to those who, although they no longer have the same opportunity to go out as before, when they do, they have the chance to relive their years of intense partying. With this track, the nights in Paris really inspired me and you can feel the same vibe I felt when I first got the idea for the song,” she said in a statement.
Also on the list are new collaborations such as Becky G and up-and-comer Peso Pluma, who team up for “Chanel.” In this track, Becky further testifies her genre versatility. With a voice well laid back, or bien tumbada, and an octave deeper than usual, the Inglewood star leaves the past behind her and pushes forward with lyrics that express better days ahead. The song is Becky G’s first single from an upcoming all-regional mexicano album she’s set to release later this year with more collaborations to be announced soon.
Additionally, Gaby Moreno reels in renowned actor Oscar Isaac into music to serenade fans with a touching interpretation of the Guatemalan classic “Luna de Xelajú”. The single is the lead track from Moreno’s upcoming acoustic album X MÍ (VOL. 1) to be released on May 5. The duet intertwines their voices to give a profound and soulful acoustic performance of the classic written in 1944 by Paco Perez that has become a second anthem of their country.
Vote for your new favorite release below, followed by our weekly New Music Latin playlist:
Eladio Carrión has been keeping it lit. He is freshly off releasing a Billboard-charting album 3MEN2 KBRN (pronounced tremendo cabrón), preparing his first ever festival Sauce Boyz Fest and plotting a national tour, which includes a stop at Coachella.
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While in Austin for his Billboard Presents The Stage at SXSW performance earlier this month, the Puerto Rican rapper sat down with Leila Cobo, chief content officer of Billboard Latin/Español, to discuss his history and latest whereabouts.
“Tremendo cabrón because this album has all the cabrones,” says Cobo, congratulating the artist for his star-studded release, which includes guests such as Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Future, Fivio Foreign, Bad Bunny and more.
“We really got to get my favorite artists on this album. This one is a very special album for me and my team,” says Carrión. “[Lil Wayne] is one of my favorite rappers,” says Carrión. “He’s the reason why I don’t wait every four bars for a punchline. Every bar can have a punchline. Wayne used to do it, so I do it.” (The “A Milli” rapper starred on Carrión’s remix for “Gladiador.”)
The Latin trap star mentions that there was never a Plan B for the album, “If Plan A does not happen, let’s wait until it does. Plan A until the end of the world.”
Born in Kansas City, the Puerto Rican, whose father was in the Army, moved around often during his youth, from Hawaii to Baltimore and Alaska. And before he became a rapper, he was a comedian as well as a songwriter to other artists. “There came a point when I just wasn’t satisfied [writing for others] when the music came out,” he reveals. “I was just giving them a piece of me, and it was some personal stuff, it was like, ‘D–n, he didn’t go through that, I went through that. I want to tell my story.’”
Carrión discovered his love for the stage, saying that performing is a big part of what made him fall in love with being an artist and wanting to be an artist. He also tells Cobo to expect big surprises for his Coachella gig, which will take place the weekends of April 14 and April 21.
On May 18-20, the rapper will kick off his first-ever festival in Puerto Rico, and to expect performances from Argentine giants Bizarrap and Duki, as well as Dominican dembow performer Tokischa.
This week, his 3MEN2 KBRN album debuted at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums Chart, and reached No. 16 on Billboard 200.
Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Eladio Carrión above.
Mexican pop band RBD, which scored five top 10 hits on the Hot Latin Songs chart in the early 2000s, performed its last show in 2008, during which the act announced it was disbanding. Its members — Anahí, Dulce María, Christian Chávez, Maite Perroni and Christopher von Uckermann — haven’t stepped onstage together since. And yet, when RBD recently announced it was reuniting for 40-plus shows in arenas and stadiums around the world, dubbed the Soy Rebelde Tour, over 1.5 million tickets were sold in just 24 hours, according to RBD’s manager, Guillermo Rosas.
RBD is the latest in a string of Latin reunion tours that are raking in millions of dollars. The trend started in 2020 when bachata supergroup Aventura reunited after 10 years for its Inmortal Tour. Its first leg posted $24 million after 14 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore. And in 2021, iconic ’80s Mexican grupero band Los Bukis reunited after 25 years for its own stadium trek; the nine-date stint entered at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Tours of 2021 with nearly $50 million in grosses.
“What makes these nostalgic touring concepts powerful is that it’s multigenerational,” says Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, the promoter behind RBD’s upcoming trek. In 2006, RBD — conceptualized from the Mexican telenovela Rebelde — had the No. 1 Latin tour, with a gross of nearly $31 million across 51 shows. “The music has been passed down generations and continues to live on. Now we are seeing more artists interested and excited to tap into the nostalgia of fans.”
But, as Rosas notes, it’s also risky, considering the uncertainty in booking acts that haven’t toured in decades and don’t have massive streaming numbers. “Just because you have 50 million listeners doesn’t mean you’re going to sell 1.5 million tickets at the box office,” he says. “It takes a lot more than streams to become part of culture. As managers and promoters, you learn how to cross those bridges and not go blindly based on numbers.”
When Adolfo Romero, vp of programming for SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Park and YouTube Theater, booked Los Bukis for their back-to-back shows at the SoFi, it never crossed his mind that a nostalgia act wouldn’t be able to sell over 70,000 tickets. “I come from [major league] soccer. If we can sell 70,000 plus for soccer here, what’s the difference?” he previously told Billboard. “It’s the same demographic. We have disposable income. A lot of our community was working in the service industry. Now, many of their kids are college grads.”
L.A.’s Bésame Mucho (like the nostalgia-fueled When We Were Young festival) inaugural event last year sold out in 12 minutes when the 2000s-inspired lineup — which included Juanes, Hombres G and Los Tigres Del Norte — was announced. Come December, Los Bukis will headline the fest’s second edition.
“We focused only on what the fans wanted to see and not what was playing on radio,” says John Frias, producer of Bésame Mucho and president of Frias Entertainment. “A ton of people brought their parents to the festival. It was a smash.”
Frías is hesitant to label these shows as simply “nostalgia” tours since they’re not only appealing to an older generation of fans. There’s a new generation that’s discovering and embracing these bands, too. “In this day and age, fans won’t be subjected to only today’s music. They liked yesterday’s music and they like today’s music,” he says categorically.
Music discovery could be a significant contributing factor to RBD’s massive success on the touring front. In September 2020, RBD’s catalog became available for the first time ever across digital streaming platforms, including Spotify. “Context is so important for data,” says Schafer. “You have to understand where things come from. And tours like these, they’re an emotional response to something that was lived years ago and you’re now able to inspire and remind people of those moments.”
A version of this story will appear in the April 1, 2023, issue of Billboard.