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Bad Bunny has scored his tenth music video to hit one billion views on YouTube. One of Bunny’s earliest hits, 2016 trap anthem “Soy Peor” was one of the songs that helped put him on the map. The track — produced by the artist himself — peaked at No. 19 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart.
The official visual for the song is Bunny’s tenth video as lead, featured artist, or collaborator to achieve this milestone. Elsewhere on YouTube, the chart-topping artist also has presence on the platform’s U.S. Top Songs chart thanks to the the swooning “Ojitos Lindos” video, which rises to No. 25 as “Titi Me Preguntó” takes No. 4 and his collaboration with Arcángel “La Jumpa” comes in at No. 81. Bad Bunny takes No. 2 on U.S. Top Artists and No. 5 on Global Top Artists.
Since “Soy Peor,” Bunny has only catapulted to global success with albums YHLQMDLG, Las Que No Iban a Salir, El Último Tour del Mundo and Un Verano Sin Ti. The latter two of those debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the only artist to top the tally with a Spanish-language album — not once, but twice.
Most recently, Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti won the IFPI Global Album Award, becoming the first Latin artist to ever win an IFPI global award, according to the organization. The set spent a total of 13 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and became the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards.
Revisit “Soy Peor” below.
Becky G was honored on Wednesday night (March 1) with the American Express Impact award at 2023 Billboard Women in Music.
The bilingual crossover star also brought Latinidad flair to the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles during the show by performing a solo rendition of her Karol G collab “Mamiii” while flanked by a guitarist, percussionist and two backing vocalists. “Lo que no sirve, que no estorbe/ Te metiste autogol por torpe/ Te quedó grande este torque/ Ya no estoy pa que de mí te enamores, baby/ Sin visa ni pasaporte/ Mandé tu falso amor de vacaciones,” she sang in Spanish.
The singer later got teary-eyed as she accepted this year’s Impact award from Dove Cameron. “Let’s talk about my friend Becky G,” the Vengeance actress said while introducing her pal. “Her music is incredible, spans multiple languages and keeps racking up the hits.”
From there, Cameron ran through Becky’s litany of recent accomplishments, including five career top 10s on the Hot Latin Songs chart, her first No. 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart (thanks to her 2022 sophomore full-length Esquemas) and more than two billion U.S. streams (per Luminate), before touting the reasons Becky G is this year’s Impact honoree.
“A second-generation Mexican-American, Becky G has made it a point to represent her community and celebrate Latinidad culture and 200 percenters through her music, her beauty brand and her new production company, which will focus on storytelling [in] underrepresented communities,” Cameron explained.
“She has donated funds from merchandise to help underprivileged students from Los Angeles access digital technology to attend online classes, used her platform to support Black Lives Matter and Dreamers and was a co-chair of Michelle Obama’s voter registration nonprofit When We All Vote,” she continued. “The word ‘impact’ can mean so much to so many and there is no one who is more deserving than this tonight.”
Twenty years after entering the Billboard charts for the first time with “Quiero Bailar” (2003), Ivy Queen was honored with the Women In Music Icon award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music on Wednesday (March 1).
The 50-year-old Puerto Rican rapper — who to date has 20 entries on Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, among other accolades — was presented with the coveted award by Bad Bunny, who during his presentation said he is the artist he is today because he has a part of Ivy Queen in his musical DNA. “She gave me the strength to be myself and to work double,” he said.
“As a fan of reggaetón, I’ve waited a long time for this moment,” he continued, “and I think that in 2023 is the time where more female reggaeton exponents exist, and I’m sure it’s because of the root that Ivy planted a long time ago.”
Dazzling in an all-silver, body-hugging gown, Queen accepted the award, giving an empowering speech.
“When I fell in love with music I found myself constanly battling to earn my spot, to earn my own lane, and to find my own identity between the guys,” she said. “The movement was underground, then turned reggaeton. I traveled around the island of Puerto Rico measuring my skills against male MCs. Bars became my self-defense mechanism. Through lyrics, I encouraged other Latinas that stand around me to stand for themself and also to not stay quiet when something hurts. I call upon all the Latin and industry women to not allow others to split us and divide us no more. … Let’s stay authentic, let’s stay healthy, let’s walk with grace, let’s laugh more but also remember that beauty is a mental attitude, and with that said, please, ladies, do not go to bed with makeup tonight, OK?”
In addition to Ivy, this year’s honorees included SZA (Billboard’s Woman of the Year); Becky G (Impact Award); Lana Del Rey (Visionary Award); Kim Petras (Chartbreaker Award); Latto (Powerhouse Award); Honda’s Rising Star Doechii; Lainey Wilson (Rulebreaker); Rosalia (Bose’s Producer of the Year Award); and K-pop group TWICE (Breakthrough Award).
Billboard’s annual Women in Music awards returned Wednesday (March 1) for the 2023 edition to honor the most influential powerhouses – including artists, creators, producers and executives — in music today who are contributing to the industry and community. The ceremony took place at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, and was hosted by award-winning writer-actress Quinta Brunson.
Billboard Women in Music honors executives, artists and power players who have worked against the odds to succeed in a male-dominated business (and any way you crunch the numbers, that’s just a fact). But few of the 2023 honorees have had a path like Ivy Queen. With tenacity and talent, the Puerto Rican singer not only made a name for herself in the predominantly male world of reggaetón in the ‘90s but established herself as one of the genre’s all-time icons.
So it’s only fitting that at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event, Ivy Queen is honored with the Icon Award. After a surprise introduction from Bad Bunny – Billboard’s Top Artist of 2022 – at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday (March 1), Ivy Queen took the stage.
“When I fell in love with music, I found myself constantly battling to find my own lane, spot and identity between the guys,” she told the Los Angeles crowd. “Bars became my self-defense mechanism.”
The diva also urged the crowd “not to stay quiet when something hurts.”
“In a world that tell us women we’re always being measured by looks, by body type and sometimes by beauty — and that we are getting not equally paid for having ovaries — I call upon all the Latin and American industry women to not allow others to split us and divide us.”
Ivy Queen ended her speech with a meaningful, philosophical and extremely useful piece of advice. “Beauty is a mental attitude; with that said, please, ladies, do not go to bed with your makeup on.”
Dressed in knee-high boots and an edgy two-piece ensemble, Rosalía arrived at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards held at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday (March 1), where she was honored with the first ever Women in Music Producer of the Year award presented by Bose.
After receiving the award from Canadian recording producer WondaGurl — who expressed her admiration for the artist — the Spanish singer-songwriter delivered a heartfelt speech in which she thanked God, her family and team (in that precise order).
“This is the first time I get a chain as an award,” she said of the diamond necklace presented to the honorees. “When I started in music, I had no idea what producing was. It was with time that I learned, and now I cannot imagine another way to make my music that’s not producing. A producer’s job is a job in the shadow, it’s not very fun … it’s 15 hours a day working on a sound. It comes from love and obsession and that’s why you stay in that small room with no windows while everyone else is living life and doing regular human s–t.”
She continued, “To me, it feels special tonight because this is not usual. I make my own music, I produce my own songs, and I write my own songs. I want to dedicate this award to all the women who are going to be producers.”
Rosalía ended her speech with an impromptu shout-out: “Lana Del Rey, te amo!”
Inspired by female artist-producers such as Björk and Missy Elliott, the 30-year-old artist tries “to not have a specific idea of how a song must sound,” she previously said to Billboard. “Instead, I go in with concepts, or ilusiones, of how I would like it to sound. But never a rigid idea. That’s not organic, nor is it productive. Producing also requires humility because you’re constantly testing out ideas. I remember Pharrell [Williams] once told me that we’re just testing ideas from the universe because no one really owns an idea. I love that concept.”
On her latest set MOTOMAMI, which won best Latin rock or alternative album at the 2023 Grammys and album of the year at the 2022 Latin Grammys, Rosalía genre-hopped from dembow to bachata to reggaeton to bolero. She produced tracks including “Saoko,” boldly fusing jazz and reggaetón, and in “Delirio de Grandeza,” she sampled Soulja Boy in an otherwise traditional bolero.
“My homework as a producer is to follow my intuition. It’s to make decisions and take risks,” she noted.
The 16-track LP peaked at No. 3 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart and follows her 2018 breakthrough set El Mal Querer (which also won a Grammy for best Latin rock or alternative album) and her debut album, Los Ángeles. In 2019, she was honored with the Rising Star Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards, becoming the first Spanish artist to receive that honor.
Welcome to The Contenders, a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated March 11), a number of new releases challenge SZA’s ongoing Billboard 200 supremacy — led by the latest from a Latin pop star looking to accomplish the unprecedented.
Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito (Universal Latino): Karol G might not be a household name among mainstream U.S. audiences, but that could change with the debut of her fourth album. The Latin pop star reached a higher peak on the Billboard 200 with each of her first three albums — 2017’s Unstoppable (No. 192), 2019’s Ocean (No. 54) and 2021’s KG0516 (No. 20) — and last year scored her first two top 25 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Provenza” and her Becky G collaboration “Mamiii.” Now, with last Friday’s (Feb. 24) Mañana Será Bonito, she should be in the mix for the chart’s top spot.
Mañana is currently available on CD and as a digital album — it topped the iTunes albums chart on its day of release — and is helped by the inclusion of streaming smash “Provenza,” as well as Hot 100 hits “Gatúbela’ (with Maldy) and “X Si Volvemos” (with Romeo Santos). But the album’s biggest hit might be brand new: the much-hyped Shakira collaboration “TDQ,” which has been in the top 10 of the daily charts on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and iTunes since its release.
If the album does debut at No. 1, it would make history as the first all-Spanish-language album by a female artist to reach the top spot — joining only Bad Bunny (who’s done it twice, with 2020’s El Último Tour del Mundo and 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti) among all artists. She’d also be only the third woman with a mostly non-English language No. 1 album, following Selena (Dreaming of You, 1995) and The Singing Nun (The Singing Nun, 1963). Dreaming of You blended Spanish and English, while The Singing Nun was recorded entirely in French.
Gorillaz, Cracker Island (Parlaphone/Warner): Gorillaz fans have been waiting to take the trip to Cracker Island since the album’s title track came out last June — followed by a steady stream of singles, including the top 20 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs hit “New Gold,” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown. Now, the full 10-track album is finally out, available for sale in over a dozen vinyl variants, box sets, as well as four cassette options. Speaking of Bad Bunny: He graces the album’s “Tormenta,” which should provide a nice boon to the album’s streaming numbers.
Yeat, AfterLyfë (Geffen/Field Trip/Twizzy Rich): One of the most-hyped rappers of the last few years, enigmatic hip-hop sensation Yeat released his third album in three years last week with AfterLyfë. Yeat’s streaming prowess sent 2022’s 2 Alive to No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and the 21-track AfterLyfë seems likely to join it in the chart’s top 10. The album’s lone high-profile guest is the YoungBoy Never Broke Again guest spot on “Shmunk,” however, and it has no physical release currently available for sale.
IN THE MIX
Don Toliver, Love Sick (Cactus Jack/Atlantic): Rapper-singer Don Toliver has been a ubiquitous supporting actor in hip-hop over the past year, showing up on Hot 100 hits from Billboard 200-topping albums by Pusha T (“Scrape It Off” from It’s Almost Dry), Metro Boomin (“Too Many Nights” from Heroes and Villains) and SZA (“Used” from SOS). Now he gets his own shot with Love Sick, which follows 2021’s No. 2-peaking Life of a Don and boasts guest appearances from Justin Bieber, Future, Lil Durk, Brent Faiyaz and other big names.
Godsmack, Lighting Up the Sky (BMG): It’s been two decades since the Massachusetts hard rock band was at its commercial peak, but Godsmack remains a reliable performer on the Billboard 200, sending each of its past six albums to the chart’s top 10. Lighting Up the Sky is the group’s first release since 2018’s No. 8-peaking When Legends Rise – the longest gap between albums in Godsmack’s career — and contains their 12th No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with lead single “I Surrender.”
Gracie Abrams, Good Riddance (Interscope): Gracie Abrams has long cultivated a reputation as your favorite singer-songwriter’s favorite singer-songwriter, and this February she finally put out her debut album, Good Riddance. The album does not yet have any major chart hits to its credit, but it comes with chart-topping pedigree in its primary artistic partner, writer-producer Aaron Dessner – whose frequent collaborator Taylor Swift is taking Abrams out on her impossibly anticipated The Eras Tour this spring.
Ozuna captures his 32nd No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Hey Mor,” with Feid, advances from No. 3 to lead the March 4-dated ranking. Thanks to the new leader, Ozuna ties with Enrique Iglesias for the second-most No. 1s on the list. Feid, meanwhile, scores his second.
“Hey Mor” takes over Latin Airplay in its ninth week, supported by a 12% increase in audience impressions, to 11.5 million, earned in the U.S. during the Feb 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate.
“Hey Mor” is the second song from Ozuna’s fifth studio album, OzuTochi, to hit No. 1 on the all-genre Latin Airplay. It follows “Somos Iguales,” with Tokischa, featuring Louchie Lou & Michi One, which topped the tally for one week last October.
As mentioned, with the new No. 1, Ozuna moves ahead and enters a tie with Enrique Iglesias for the second-most No. 1s on Latin Airplay since its inception in 1994. They only trail J Balvin, who continues to dominate with 35 No. 1s: Here’s an update of the scoreboard:
35, J Balvin
32, Enrique Iglesias
32, Ozuna
27, Daddy Yankee
22, Maluma
22, Wisin
22, Romeo Santos
Feid, meanwhile, picks up his second No. 1 after a year and a half. He secured his first victory with “Porfa,” with the all-star team comprising J Balvin, Maluma, Nicky Jam, Sech and Justin Quiles. The song earned the Colombian his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart as it ascended to a dual domination on Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay for one week in August 2020.
Further, Feid crosses off a new career achievement as “Hey Mor” rises 12-10 on Hot Latin Songs, which blends airplay, streams, and digital sales. It becomes his first top 10 on the multi-metric tally. Ozuna collects his 29th top 10.
Grupo Quintanna Arrives
Elsewhere on the Latin charts, Tlaxcala, Mexico, band Grupo Quintanna scores its first top 10 on any Billboard chart as “El Final de Nuestra Historia” rallies 15-7 on Regional Mexican Airplay. The song’s surge comes via a remix with Raymix, which arrived six months after the original version was released on May 10, 2022.
The new leader gives Grupo Quintanna its first top 10 through its first chart appearance. Raymix clocks his sixth.
“Final” secures a spot in the top 10 with 4.8 million in audience impressions, a 23% gain in the tracking week ending Feb. 23.
Women’s History Month has arrived, and in celebration, Billboard has compiled a list of all the women who earned a No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart since 2015. The chart ranks the most popular Latin songs of the week, blending airplay, streaming, and digital sales data.
But first, let’s trace back to 2012 when icons Gloria Estefan and Paulina Rubio reached No. 1 on the coveted chart. The former debuted and peaked at No. 1 with “Hotel Nacional,” and the latter with “Me Gustas Tanto.” For over three years, women’s representation was scarce at the top of the Latin charts until Maná’s “Mi Verdad,” where they were accompanied by Shakira. The following year, Shak’s “Chantaje” (in collaboration with Maluma) debuted and peaked at No. 1 on the chart dated Nov. 19, 2016, where it ruled for 11 weeks.
Like Estefan, Rubio, and Shak, other Latinas have made Billboard history.
Karol G and Nicki Minaj’s “Tusa” became the first song to debut at No. 1 in 2019, and the first title by two women in a lead role to open atop the chart since its inception in 1986. With “Telepatia,” Kali Uchis became the first female soloist without an accompanying act to reach No. 1 since 2012. Becky G and Karol G’s “Mamiii” hit No. 1 last year, and when it was followed on top by her solo smash “Provenza,” Karol became the first woman to replace herself at No. 1 on the chart.
Starting off 2023 strong, Shakira hit No. 1 with her Bizarrap-assisted “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” tying Bad Bunny for the fourth-most No. 1s overall on the listing, both with 12.
Below, revisit all the tracks by or featuring a Latina artist to have reached No. 1 since 2015:
Maná feat. Shakira, “Mi Verdad” (2015)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
On February 28, 2015, after three years of having no female representation at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs, Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira arrived as a featured artist on Maná’s heartwarming ballad “Mi Verdad.”
Shakira feat. Maluma, “Chantaje” (2016)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
The following year, Shakira remained on the throne with her sultry reggaetón smash “Chantaje,” where she was joined by then-newcomer Maluma. The track hit No. 1 on Nov. 19, 2016, and ruled for 11 weeks.
El Chombo, Karol G, Pitbull feat. Cutty Ranks, “Dame Tu Cosita (Remix)” (2018)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
In May 2018, an up-and-coming Karol G arrived at No. 1 thanks to Pitbull and El Chombo’s “Dame Tu Cosita (Remix)” featuring Cutty Ranks, the Jamaican dancehall singer from the original 1998 recording.
DJ Snake feat. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B, “Taki Taki” (2018)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
The EDM/urban banger “Taki Taki” brought both Selena Gomez (of Mexican descent) and Dominican rapper Cardi B to No. 1, where the DJ Snake-led and Ozuna-assisted track spent 12 weeks.
Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna & J Balvin, “China” (2019)
Image Credit: Miguel Ducos
Karol G hit No. 1 in 2019 with “China,” a Spanish-language adaptation of Shaggy’s 2001 Hot 100-topper “It Wasn’t Me,” where she was joined by Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, and J Balvin. The club banger ruled for 12 weeks.
Karol G & Nicki Minaj, “Tusa” (2019)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
That same year, Karol earned another No. 1 as a lead artist with the ultra-breakup reggaetón track “Tusa” alongside Nicki Minaj. The song debuted and peaked at No. 1 on Nov. 23 and ruled for four weeks.
Kali Uchis, “Telepatía” (2021)
Image Credit: Courtesy of UMG
With her dreamy pop track, Uchis scored her first No. 1 on the May 22, 2021-dated Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming the first female soloist without an accompanied act to reach No. 1 since 2012.
Becky G & Karol G, “MAMIII” (2022)
Image Credit: Emilio Sanchez
Becky G’s first No. 1 hit arrived with the fierce and unapologetic “MAMIII,” alongside Karol G. The reggaetón hit debuted and peaked at No. 1 in Feb. 2022, where it ruled for 10 non-consecutive weeks.
Yahritza y Su Esencia, “Soy El Único” (2022)
Image Credit: Rita Feregrino
Not only did this heartfelt sierreño song earn then-15-year-old Yahritza Martinez her first No. 1 hit in April 2022, but she also became the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre Hot 100 tally.
Karol G, “Provenza” (2022)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Singing over a lilting, calypso-esque beat, the Colombian artist yearned for an encounter with a past love on the Latin Grammy-nominated “Provenza,” which hit No. 1 on the chart dated May 14, 2022.
Bizarrap & Shakira, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” (2023)
Image Credit: Pedro Colmeiro
Early this year, Shakira reclaimed her No. 1 crown with the Bizarrap-helmed, EDM-infused “music sessions, Vol. 53,” where she threw witty punchlines at her ex Gerard Piqué and his new girlfriend.
Downtown Music Services has inked a global distribution, creative marketing and synch licensing deal with Natanael Cano‘s record imprint, Los CT, it was announced Monday (Feb. 27). The label’s current roster includes Gabito Ballesteros, Alejandro Buelna, Tyan G and more.
Under the deal, Downtown Music Services will be responsible for all aspects of global distribution, creative marketing and synch for Los CT. This includes providing listeners with access to new music releases, securing strategic marketing and synch opportunities and ensuring that Los CT artist releases are available on all major digital streaming platforms.
Cano launched Los CT last year amid a public dispute with his former label, Rancho Humilde, as an opportunity to continue broadening the Mexican music style he’s been actively internationalizing.
“I am always very happy to work with people who supported me from the beginning,” Cano said in a press release. “Now being able to distribute my music with some of the same people who always believed in me, I am extremely grateful and motivated to continue giving my all alongside the Downtown Music Services team.”
Downtown Music Services vp of A&R Latin, Ray Tapia, worked side by side with Cano’s manager, Ramon Emilio Hernández, to make this partnership a reality. A subsidiary of Downtown Music Holdings, Downtown Music Services offers bespoke distribution, publishing administration, creative marketing and finance solutions to entrepreneurial creators and their partners.
Tapia said, “We are thrilled to partner with Natanael Cano and the Los CT record label team. The Mexican music scene is undergoing a transformation with an increasing number of collaborations and a growing number of artists attracting millions of monthly listeners. This genre remains one of if not the most independent, and we are super excited to have the opportunity to contribute to its success. ¡Ánimo!“
“We have been working on this for a minute and I am really excited about this partnership and how we are helping put this new era of the culture out there,” added Hernández. “There is so much promising talent in this space and we look forward to working with some of these artists and the team at Downtown Music. They really knew the genre, the music and understood our goals from the beginning.”
This year, Cano has achieved three entries on the Billboard Global 200 chart, including “AMG” with Gabito Bastelleros and Peso Pluma which hit No. 35 on the tally. He’s also scored two entries on the Billboard Hot 100.
February is ending, and we can’t wrap the month without asking readers to vote for their favorite collaboration released in the past 28 days.
The fan-based poll features 16 Latin collaborations that were either featured on our weekly First Stream Latin playlist or as a new music release story this month, including the catchy reggaetón “1000CANCIONES” by Alvaro Diaz and Senra; Fuerza Regida and Becky G’s flirtatious “Te Quiero Besar;” and Ana Barbara and Vicente Fernandez’s heartfelt “La Jugada,” released posthumously after Chente’s passing, to name a few.
Two of Karol G’s latest bangers are also on the list: her sultry urban track “X Si Volvemos” with Romeo Santos and her bonafide anthem “TQG” with Shakira.
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Additionally, many artists joined forces this month to drop innovative tropical bops such as the cumbia villera “En La Intimidad” by Emilia, Callejero Fino and Big One; Maluma and Marc Anthony’s salsa “La Fórmula”; and power couple Mike Bahía and Greeicy’s bachata “Mi Pecadito.”
What’s your favorite Latin collaboration? Vote below!
The 2022 winning collabs are Christina Aguilera and Ozuna’s “Santo” (January); Becky G and Karol G’s “MAMIII” (February); Sebastian Yatra and John Legend’s “Tacones Rojos (Remix)” (March); Bizarrap and Paulo Londra’s “BZRP Music Session” (April); Morar and Duki’s “Paris” (May); Blessd and Rels B’s “Energia” (June); Pablo Alboran and Sebastian Yatra’s “Contigo” (July); Anonimus and R3ymon’s “Santa Diabla” (August); Kany García and Christian Nodal’s “La Siguiente” (September); Juan Gabriel and Anahí’s “Déjame Vivir” (October); Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares’ “Tukoh Taka” (November); and Alejo and CNCO’s “Estrella” (December).