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Who will win the top prize at the Latin Grammys 2025? Every year, Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors dissect the top categories — song of the year, record of the year, album of the year, and best new artist — to forecast the winners and spotlight the most deserving artists.
As we approach the Latin Grammys on Thursday (Nov. 13), our Latin/Español editorial team has engaged in spirited analysis, weighing market trends and historical voting behaviors to make educated predictions. This discussion includes insights from Billboard’s Leila Cobo, Chief Content Officer, Latin/Español; assistant editor, Latin, Jessica Roiz; senior editor, Latin, Griselda Flores; and Billboard Español associate editor Isabela Raygoza.
On its 26th anniversary, the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The three-hour telecast will be produced by TelevisaUnivision and air across the network’s U.S. platforms, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The Latin Grammy Premiere, where the majority of the categories are awarded, will precede the telecast.
To refresh your memory, here’s the complete list of this year’s nominees. Below, our predictions:
Album of the Year
Rauw Alejandro, Cosa Nuestra
Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Papota
Gloria Estefan, Raíces
Vicente García, Puñito De Yocahú
Joaquina, al romper la burbuja
Natalia Lafourcade, Cancionera
Carín León, Palabra De To’s (Seca)
Liniker, Caju
Elena Rose, En Las Nubes – Con Mis Panas
Alejandro Sanz, ¿Y Ahora Qué?
Leila Cobo: I cannot imagine anything other than Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos winning here. I think it would be a travesty if he didn’t win. I’m not saying the other albums aren’t great, there are a lot of really good albums in that category — but this album is that perfect balance of commercial success and critical acclaim, from the biggest artist in the world right now after Taylor Swift, I’d say. I can’t imagine anyone else could win.
Griselda Flores: If Bad Bunny wasn’t nominated, I could see Rauw Alejandro as a frontrunner. His album really set the stage for Bad Bunny’s and Karol’s tropical-leaning albums. But there’s so much momentum around Bad Bunny — the residency, the Super Bowl halftime show — and Debí Tirar Más Fotos is worthy of a win. Lyrically and sonically it’s strong. It has substance. Plus, it beams with pride and it’s such a big statement in this political climate. This will be the year he wins this category.
Isabela Raygoza: I agree. The back-to-roots approach and how he positioned Puerto Rico in the larger conversation. I thought it was amazing and beautiful, and he brings these icons of plena to perform on the album and also gives it this modern urbano sound. It does embody a love of his cultural and musical roots, but also with a contemporary and commercial appeal. If it’s not Bad Bunny, potentially Gloria Estefan could take this one if the Latin Academy wants to honor a legend.
Jessica Roiz: If Bad Bunny doesn’t win, it will be a big snub, and it will be controversial. I agree with what everyone has already said. But other favorites that I would like to see win are Elena Rose’s debut album; I’m happy it got recognition. And Papota is a really cool and edgy alternative album that I feel is doing something different.
Raygoza: CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso’s Papota would be the wildcard winner for sure.
Song of the Year
“Baile Inolvidable,” Marco Daniel Borrero, Antonio Caraballo, Kaled Elikai Rivera Cordova, Julio Gaston, Armando Josue Lopez, Jay Anthony Nuñez, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio & Roberto Jose Rosado Torres, songwriters (Bad Bunny)
“Bogotá,” Andres Cepeda, Mauricio Rengifo & Andres Torres, songwriters (Andrés Cepeda)
“Cancionera,” Natalia Lafourcade, songwriter (Natalia Lafourcade)
“DtMF,” Bad Bunny, Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Roberto José Rosado Torres, Hugo René Sención Sanabria & Tyler Spry, songwriters (Bad Bunny)
“El Día Del Amigo,” Rafa Arcaute, Gino Borri, Catriel Guerreiro, Ulises Guerriero, Amanda Ibanez, Vicente Jiménez & Federico Vindver, songwriters (Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso)
“Otra Noche De Llorar,” Mon Laferte, songwriter (Mon Laferte)
“Palmeras En El Jardín,” Manuel Lorente Freire, Luis Miguel Gómez Castaño, Elena Rose & Alejandro Sanz, songwriters (Alejandro Sanz)
“Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” Edgar Barrera, Andres Jael Correa Rios & Karol G, songwriters (Karol G)
“#Tetas,” Rafa Arcaute, Gino Borri, CA7RIEL, Gale, Ulises Guerriero, Vicente Jiménez & Federico Vindver, songwriters (CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso)
“Veludo Marrom,” Liniker, songwriter (Liniker)
Roiz: I hope it’s “Baile Inolvidable.” That’s my favorite song this year. It’s Bad Bunny’s first salsa song, and it turned out to be phenomenal. That was the first song that really resonated with me when I first listened to the album in January. I know Rauw Alejandro did the salsa thing before with “Tú Con Él,” but Bad Bunny took it to the next level. I think all the salsa legends showed up to his residency because of this one song.
Cobo: I am going with Karol G. I think “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” was the song of the year. It’s one of those smash hits that in 20 years, we’ll still be dancing to it. It’s that kind of song, it has permanence, such a strong melody. I love “Baile Inolvidable,” but overall, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” for me — it’s a better crafted song. It’s the kind of song that has lasting appeal.
Raygoza: I love “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” And it’s with Edgar Barrera, who is a prolific songwriter/producer. It maintained that mainstream appeal, but also that balladic emotional depth. She sings it really beautifully.
Flores: While I love both of those songs, I believe “DtMF” will and should win. Personally, this is my favorite on the album because of the message of living in the moment that resonates so well today, at a time when everything seems to moving at warp speed. “I should have taken more photos, I should have given you the kisses and hugs that I didn’t,” I mean, how can you not get behind that? And sonically — marrying the rhythms of modern plena with the pulsating beats of reggaetón — it’s just really gorgeous. And, out of all the songs in the album, this one is up for record and song of the year at the Grammys.
Record of the Year
Bad Bunny, “Baile Inolvidable”
Bad Bunny, “DTMF”
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, “El Día Del Amigo”
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, “#Tetas”
Jorge Drexler & Conociendo Rusia, “Desastres Fabulosos”
Zoe Gotusso, “Lara”
Karol G, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
Natalia Lafourcade, “Cancionera”
Liniker, “Ao Teu Lado”
Alejandro Sanz, “Palmeras En El Jardín”
Cobo: For record, here I would say “Baile Inolvidable.” It’s a song that pulls in so many directions. It’s already a great song but the production is really clever. He’s able to do something very contemporary and turn it into something classic and vice versa in ways that are not obvious. I very much like what he did there.
Flores: Same here. I like “Baile Inolvidable” as the winner of this particular category. But can also see Natalia Lafourcade winning because of her work with “Cancionera.” She won this same category two years ago for “De Todas Las Flores,” and I think the Academy really appreciates her craft and the way she approaches the production aspect of her music, which is very raw and folky.
Raygoza: I think Jorge Drexler and Conociendo Rusia have a shot here. Conociendo Rusia is like a hidden gem, and I am such a huge fan of his music. The way they created “Desastres Fabulosos” is very poetic, very elegant — the production is incredible. It was produced by Nico Cotton, who is exceptional, so he has that alternative, trap edge. But this song has technical brilliance. And Jorge Drexler is a Latin Grammy darling, so this is very possible here.
Roiz: Bad Bunny went above and beyond for “Baile Inolvidable,” stepping outside of his comfort zone. He deserves this win.
Best New Artist
Alleh
Annasofia
Yerai Cortés
Juliane Gamboa
Camila Guevara
Isadora
Alex Luna
Paloma Morphy
Sued Nunes
Ruzzi
Flores: If Annasofia wins, that would be three consecutive wins for Julio Reyes Copello’s Miami Art House, which would be interesting… It would be nice to see Ruzzi, who is a multi-instrumentalist from Mexico, win. She’s collaborated with Natalia Lafourcade and Ximena Sariñana. Alex Luna is also pretty cool. His lyrics feel young and relatable and he has that Gen Z/Millennial appeal. I sort of love that new Mexican pop scene with artists like Alex and Latin Mafia, who aren’t your typical pop artists who sing ballads, they have a more worldly approach to their sound.
Raygoza: Looking at the history of recent winners, like Ela Taubert, Joaquina and Silvana Estrada, there’s like a clear pattern. My favorite here is Yerai Cortés, from Spain, and he’s helping resurrect the new flamenco and he’s already performed alongside C. Tangana. He’s a young guitarist, he’s honoring this historic genre and modernizing. This would be a refreshing win considering the previous winners.
Cobo: Isa, I am with you. I think Yerai Cortés would be a break from the tradition of the past few years. He’s pretty well known in Spain. The association with C. Tangana is because he did the documentary “La Guitarra Flamenca de Yerai Cortés.” Yerai has that name recognition in Spain, he’s the subject of a documentary, comes from a family of musicians, he’s on tour, it makes sense.
Roiz: I was pleasantly surprised to see Camila Guevera from Cuba nominated. I discovered her when I was listening reparto music, although she doesn’t do reparto music. She does soulful boleros, trova and she’s really good, and she is the granddaughter of late Cuban trovador Pablo Milanés. She’s super talented.
From “Yo Perreo Sola” to “La Romana” and “Mía,” here are Best Bunny’s best songs (so far).
11/10/2025
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Carlos Vives is gearing up to shine brighter than ever with his Tour Al Sol, Billboard Español can exclusively announce today (Nov. 10). The Colombian superstar’s upcoming North American tour, kicking off on April 16, will celebrate more than three decades of his illustrious career by revisiting timeless hits from his seminal albums Clásicos de La Provincia (1994) and La Tierra del Olvido (1995), as well as songs from the newly reimagined La Tierra del Olvido 30 Años (Remastered & Expanded), released in July.
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“Each show of Tour al Sol will be a concert from sunrise to sunset — a journey through the emotions of music that moves with the sun,” Vives tells Billboard Español. “It will feature a selection of songs, including the most remarkable vallenatos of my career, and pay tribute to classics.” He adds, “In short, Tour al Sol is a concert with the sun of La Provincia.”
Covering 14 cities across North America, his tour will include stops at renowned venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as Jazz Fest in New Orleans and will conclude with a special performance at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on June 5.
Presented by Cárdenas Marketing Network (CMN) in the U.S. and Canada, and No Limits Entertainment in Puerto Rico, Tour Al Sol will feature next level visual productions, including the symbolic ascent of La Provincia’s sun. According to the press release, the concert series will showcase “the path of the sun: from the first rays of sunrise, symbolizing hope and new beginnings, through the vibrant energy and joy of midday, to the sunset, when nostalgia and magic fill the stage.”
Tickets for will go on presale on Thursday (Nov. 13) at 10 a.m., local time, via Spotify, and general ticket sales will follow the next day at 10 a.m., local time, here.
CARLOS VIVES – TOUR AL SOL 2026 DATES:
April 16: Toronto, Canada @ Coca Cola Coliseum
April 19: Montreal, Canada @ Bell Place
April 24: New York, N.Y. @ Radio City Music Hall
April 26: New Orleans, La. @ Jazz Fest
May 1: Sugar Land, Texas @ Smart Financial Centre
May 2: Grand Prairie, Texas @ Texas Trust CU Theatre
May 7: Chicago, Ill. @ Rosemont Theatre
May 9: Fairfax, Va. @ EagleBank Arena
May 10: Boston, Mass. @ Agganis Arena
May 14: Seattle, Wa. @ WAMU Theatre
May 16: Los Angeles, Calif. @ Peacock Theater
May 23: Miami, Fla. @ Kaseya Center
May 24: Orlando, Fla. @ Kia Center
June 5: San Juan, Puerto Rico @ Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot
Carlos Vives
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The legacy of iconic Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel was celebrated in an unprecedented and massive event that brought together 170,000 people on Saturday (Nov. 8) night at Mexico City’s Zócalo, according to figures from the capital’s government. Fans gathered to watch the screening of the first concert the late “Divo de Juárez” performed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1990.
This marked the second time that one of the three concerts the legendary artist held at Bellas Artes during his career was screened in the country’s main public square. A similar event held in September 2024, when a projection of his 2013 performance at Mexico’s premier cultural venue, drew 70,000 fans.
Saturday’s screening set a new global attendance record for an in-person fan event organized by Netflix, according to the streaming platform, which partnered with the capital’s Secretariat of Culture to host it at the same public space where, 25 years earlier, the legendary artist held a free concert for thousands of fans.
The screening of Juan Gabriel’s debut performance at Bellas Artes was part of Netflix’s promotion for its new docuseries Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will (Juan Gabriel: Debo, Puedo y Quiero), which premiered on Oct. 30.
The event, which at times felt like an actual concert due to the audience’s enthusiasm, became a journey back in time to revisit the historic performance of the singer, which took place 35 years ago and sparked controversy due to his desire to perform at Mexico’s most prestigious cultural venue as a popular artist.
From early hours, fans of all ages and from all corners of Mexico, Juan Gabriel impersonators, and special guests gathered in the Zócalo — or Plaza de la Constitución — with posters, T-shirts, and outfits inspired by the legend. The artist’s son, Iván Aguilera, was also present to celebrate his father’s legacy, as well as the docuseries director María José Cuevas and producers Laura Woldenberg and Ivonne Gutiérrez, who also sang and danced alongside the attendees.
José Luis Flores, a man in his 40s from the neighboring State of Mexico, proudly displayed a tattoo on his chest featuring the late singer’s image. “I waited for him for more than four hours after a concert — this is my greatest treasure,” the man told Billboard Español.
Classic hits from Juanga’s discography, such as “Hasta Que Te Conocí,” “Querida,” “Amor Eterno,” and “Por Qué Me Haces Llorar,” moved the audience to tears, creating an intimate and nostalgic atmosphere. After the screening, the Mariachi Estrella de América performed on stage a setlist of Juan Gabriel’s hits, followed by a fireworks display that lit up every corner of the square, honoring the life, talent, and music of the Mexican singer-songwriter. Juan Gabriel died on August 28, 2016, at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., of natural causes, in the middle of a concert tour. He was 66.
Inducted into the Billboard Hall of Fame in 1996, he built a legacy as a multifaceted artist over more than four decades, recording songs in genres as diverse as ranchera, ballad, pop, and bolero, and producing for other artists. Among his many achievements, he sold over 150 million records, wrote more than 1,800 songs, released 34 studio albums, was nominated for six Grammy Awards, won three posthumous Latin Grammys, and saw more than 20 of his hits reach the top 10 on the Billboard charts, including seven No. 1s on Hot Latin Songs. His hit “Yo No Sé Qué Me Pasó” inaugurated the first edition of that chart in 1986, at No. 1.
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From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
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The 2025 Maestro Cares Gala
The Maestro Cares Foundation, co‑founded by Marc Anthony and Henry Cárdenas, celebrated its 12th Annual “Changing Lives, Building Dreams” Gala this week at the Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Key leaders, philanthropists, and entertainment figures — including Eva Longoria and J Balvin — were present at the ceremony. Longoria was honored with the Maestro Cares Community Hero Award for educating and empowering Latin women through Eva Longoria Foundation (ELF), and Balvin received the Trailblazer of Cultural Empowerment Award for his commitment to raising awareness about mental health.
“For Henry and me, tonight is not just a gala; it’s a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when talent and generosity come together,” Anthony said in a press statement. “Thanks to their leadership, and to the commitment of every person in this room, we are fostering opportunities and support for girls and boys in need. What we are celebrating today is not an award; it’s a collective momentum that changes destinies.”
Funds raised during the gala will benefit Maestro Cares Foundation programs, focused on housing, education, and health for vulnerable communities in Latin America and the United States.
Marc Anthony, Eva Longoria, and J Balvin at the Maestro Cares Foundation Gala 2025 at Ciprini Wall Street in New York, NY, on November 5, 2025.
Querencia Creative
Chiquis’ New Studio Album
Chiquis has released her new album, Flores En Mi Alma, the first under her own record label Sweet Sound Records. Steering away from the Banda music that has characterized her sound and biggest hits, the Mexican-American singer experiments with reggae, R&B, and folk cumbia on this eight-track set that also includes powerful audio affirmations by the singer. The album, which Chiquis describes as “healing music that comes from the soul,” has a very low frequency to hit the chakras of each person, according to a press statement.
“I took a little bit of soul space to reconnect with myself and what I wanted to write about,” Chiquis previously told Billboard of her new music. “I think it’s very important to get passionate and fall in love all over again with my art. […] I had my creativity blocked, and I didn’t know what was happening, but then I realized that I needed to look inward. I did a spiritual retreat for three weeks, and it helped me tremendously, to the point that I want to sing things I never sang about.” Stream and listen to Flores En Mi Alma below.
Juan Luis Guerra Will Conquer Aruba
This week, the “Live in Paradise” concert set to take place in Aruba announced Juan Luis Guerra as its iconic headliner. The news was shared during a press conference held from Pier 5 at Bayside Marketplace in Miami on Wednesday (Nov. 5) featuring renowned DJ Alex Sensation and representatives from the Aruba Tourism Authority (A.T.A.) and the Ministry of Tourism of Aruba. The “Live in Paradise” concert, which will bring together music, travel, and the Caribbean culture in a tropical island, will take place Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Harbour Arena in Aruba.
Juan Luis Guerra performs on stage during the 25th Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Nov. 14, 2024.
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Gloria Estefan’s Homecoming
Earlier this week, the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation and Sony Music Group’s Beyond the Instrument initiative hosted an event with Gloria Estefan at James H. Bright / JW Johnson Elementary School in Miami. The school, which received a grant for new musical equipment, is where Estefan’s late mother, Gloria Fajardo, was a teacher for more than 20 years, marking a special full-circle moment for the artist.
“Returning to James H. Bright/JW Johnson Elementary School is deeply personal for me,” the artist expressed in a statement. “This is where my mother, Gloria Fajardo, dedicated more than two decades of her life as an educator — inspiring generations of students to dream, learn, and believe in themselves. Music was always a central part of our home and our family, and I know she would be so proud to see the next generation of young minds being nurtured through it. Supporting music education is not just about fostering future artists; it’s about giving children the tools to express themselves, to build confidence, and to connect with their culture and community. To be able to honor my mother’s legacy in this very special way means the world to me.” The celebration also included students from the school performing a special tribute of “Mi Tierra” and “Conga.”
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When Young Miko set out to create her second studio album, Do Not Disturb, she was going through a difficult time personally and professionally. She had just come off a tour that, for the first time, kept her away from her home in Puerto Rico for months, experiencing the loneliness of hotel rooms, the exhaustion of travel, the stress of figuring out what she would do next.
“I was missing my family a lot, and I don’t know, I was also coming from a moment of a lot of movement and speed,” recalls the Puerto Rican star in an interview with Billboard Español. “I didn’t allow myself to be present and enjoy all the fruits of the work I had been doing for so long. And all this chaos affected everything in my life: it affected my personal relationships, my work, my family relationships. I felt a bit dull and disconnected from myself, and I felt like I was losing my color, my aura, and my essence.”
But Miko found solace — and herself — in the blank page, opening up to tell personal stories like never before, prioritizing peace, intimacy, and self-expression, and offering fans a window into her artistic evolution.
“It was a process where I felt closer to myself than ever before. It was a space I wanted to give to myself to embrace myself, to listen, and heal. To perhaps understand why I was feeling the way I was feeling, and within all that uncertainty, within all this emotional chaos and uncharted territory I hadn’t encountered before, this whole album was born.”
Released on Friday (Nov. 7) under The Wave Music Group, Do Not Disturb is a 16-track introspective journey that invites listeners to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with their inner peace — but also to dance. Throughout the record, Young Miko showcases her versatility, exploring genres like drum and bass, R&B, and afrobeats, while continuing to shine with the trap and reggaeton beats that made her popular.
With more intimate lyrics, loaded with honesty and sensuality, the album — which follows her 2022 EP Trap Kitty and her Grammy-nominated debut album att. (2024) — includes the previously released singles “WASSUP,” “Meiomi,” and “Likey Likey,” as well as titles like “What’s Your Vibe,” “En el Ritz,” “Sexo de Moteles,” “Esa Nena,” and “Algo Casual.” It features only one collaboration, “Traviesa” with Eladio Carrión, with whom she had previously recorded “AMG.”
Below, Young Miko breaks down five essential tracks from her new album, Do Not Disturb. To listen to the full set, click herea.
Young Miko, “Do Not Disturb”
The Wave Music Group
“Ojalá”
Trending on Billboard This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features new music, including fresh picks by Zhamira, Pablo Alborán, Rosalía and Santa Fe Klan, to name a few. Zhamira released her debut album, Curita Para el Corazón, an LP that doubles down on matters of the heart, ranging from heartbreak […]
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New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
Pablo Alborán, KM0 (Warner Music Spain)
Pablo Alborán’s personal and heartfelt seventh album, KM0, is a set of 14 songs and four bonus tracks in which he explores a variety of rhythms and styles. Born from the pain and uncertainty of a loved one’s illness, as the artist recounted in a recent interview with Billboard, the album showcases a more mature and determined musician with renewed artistic freedom. Here, Alborán takes on the songwriting of all the songs and, for the first time, produces and arranges most of them, experimenting with rhythms like country/folk (“Vámonos de Aquí,” with Indiara Sfair), salsa music (“La Vida Que Nos Espera”) and merengue (“Si Te Quedas”).
The album opens with “Clickbait,” a pop track that critiques the superficiality and fake news of social media, addressing the obsession with fame and “likes.” And continues with the emotional title track, “KM0,” in which he sings about facing a new start after going through a very difficult period in his life. It also features collaborations with Luan Santana (“Qué Tal Te Va”), Ana Belén (“Inciso”), Vicente Amigo (“Planta 7,” named after the hospital floor where his relative was located), and Japanese artist Lilas Ikuta (“Perfectos imperfectos”). In true Alborán style, it is a sublime and thoroughly enjoyable work, full of heart and musicality. – SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Santa Fe Klan, “No Seré Quien Canta” (473 Music)
There’s a serenity to Santa Fe Klan’s new single, which captures the Mexican rapper at his most raw and vulnerable state. “No Seré Quien Canta” is a welcome departure — both sonically and lyrically — from his hard-hitting rap songs that have catapulted him to fame over the past decade. Powered by soft guitar notes, the soul-baring cumbia finds Santa in a state of healing, reflecting on love that once was and the peace that comes from letting go. “I was broken into pieces, my steps were unsteady,” he sings with pathos. “And when you hear a loud voice, you’ll think it’s your lucky day, but I won’t be the one singing, I won’t be the one making you vibrate.” — GRISELDA FLORES
Zhamira, Curita Para El Corazón (Dynamic Records/EMPIRE)
Almost 10 years after gaining momentum on Univision’s reality talent show, La Banda 2, Zhamira unleashes her highly-awaited debut studio album Curita Para El Corazón. If its title is any indication, which translates to “bandaid for the heart,” the 14-track set explores love and heartbreak, offering personal and vulnerable songs that can heal the deepest wounds. The Venezuelan singer-songwriter delivers a full-blown pop album sprinkled with heart-wrenching ballads and some tropical tunes.
For example, the bachata-infused “Mil Preguntas” is about a girl questioning her boyfriend’s intentions. The country-tinged “Otra Vez,” alongside her artist husband Jay Wheeler, is about making broken promises, and “No Me Quiero Ir” is a soft-paced merengue. In Curita Para El Corazón, Zhamira collaborates with Greeicy (“como fué?”), Noreh (“me hubiese gustado”) and KENNY (“desvelo”). The set is also home to a salsa version of the Jay Wheeler-assisted “extrañándote” that earned Zhamira her first Top 10 on the Latin Pop Airplay chart when it peaked at No. 4 in February 2024. — JESSICA ROIZ
Edén Muñoz & Bacilos, “Chimba” (Sony Music México)
Edén Muñoz is fulfilling one of his biggest dreams: releasing a collaboration with Bacilos, a band that strongly influenced him during his teenage years and whose songs are part of his set list at shows. With the release of “Chimba,” a song written and saved for many years by Muñoz, Mexico and Colombia come together once again in music and joy. What begins with soft guitars continues with a very danceable rhythm set by trumpets and timbales. The tuba also plays a part, adding that Sinaloan touch, while the accordion gives it a vallenato flavor. The lyrics couldn’t be more catchy: “And she gave me a little kiss, invited me to her apartment, we had a great time, really awesome, and I was left thinking, how lucky I am,” referring to a serendipitous encounter between two people who want to heal their broken hearts. — TERE AGUILERA
Estevie, La Traición y El Contrabando (Warner Music Latina)
Beneath her signature cowboy hat, Estevie is carrying the emotional depth and firepower of música mexicana’s brightest newcomers — but with a style that’s entirely hers. With her latest EP, La Traición y El Contrabando, the Beaumont-born vaquera doesn’t ease you in at first play. Instead, she spins haunting falsettos over accordion-laced melodies in the ghostly opener “La Eternidad.” And then there’s “Esa Fui Yo,” a tender-yet-defiant declaration of love and heartbreak, as she sings, “Y cuando te caiste quien te recogió, esa fui yo” over a rich cumbia groove, steeped in nostalgia and illuminated by the shimmer of a 12-string guitar. By the time you reach the flashy “Diamantes en mi Boca” or the melancholic closer “Contrabando,” her emotional range and high-pitched vocals leave you captivated. Estevie’s voice resonates throughout that lush blend of cumbia-pop, and leaves an impression that lingers long after the music fades. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Check out more Latin recommendations this week below:
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The easy thing for Rosalía would have been to follow up 2022’s successful Motomami, which placed her on the brink of superstardom, with a quick album that walked that same path: Songs that treaded the line between her flamenco Spanish roots and Latin and reggaetón influences. It was a formula that yielded hits like “Despechá,” Rosalía’s take on merengue, and “La Fama,” her take on bachata alongside The Weeknd. The set provided an unlikely segue from her stunning but niche-appealing El Mal Querer, to a broad audience who embraced Rosalía and her sound with cult-like passion.
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It stands to reason, then, that something along those lines would follow in quick succession.
Instead, fans waited for two and a half years for LUX, an album that not only breaks parameters for Rosalía, but for the musical landscape as a whole. Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, it’s an ambitious, complex, sprawling orchestral and operatic ouvre of 18 tracks, performed in 13 different languages, where Rosalía pushes her vocal prowess into untested waters. This isn’t your tried-and-done collection of pop songs set to symphonic arrangements, but rather a new take on pop (or is it classical?) that tests the limits of what genre is and where it falls in the spectrum of musical production and consumption especially in an era of fast-food music that’s quantified and discarded with grim abandon.
“Sexo, violencia y llantas” (Sex, Violence and Tires), the provocatively titled opener to Lux, starts with a piano intro that evokes a classical piano étude — a cross between Bach and Chopin — then gives way to Rosalía’s vocals set to a sustained acoustic bass line that final crashes in choruses and full string orchestra. The track ebbs and flows in rhythm, pacing and BPM’s, full of rubattos and crescendos, sounding every bit like a classical music composition, except it quite isn’t. The opening line – “Quién pudiera vivir entre los dos, primero amaré el mundo y luego amaré a Dios” (How nice it’d be to live between them both, first I’ll love the world, then I’ll love God) — establishes the foundation of an album and an artist tied to the terrestrial but aspiring to the spiritual and sublime, and actually reaching them more than once.
Lux keeps you on your toes. Divided into four movements, yet another nod to its classical ground, it nevertheless doesn’t adhere to the tradition of a single tempo or mood per movement, but instead veers from arrangements and styles in dizzying manner. Listen carefully, though, and you’ll find the “intentional structure” Rosalía sought to create throughout the album. “I was clear that I wanted four movements,” she told Billboard in her cover story. “I wanted one where it would be more a departure from purity. The second movement, I wanted it to feel more like being in gravity, being friends with the world. The third would be more about grace and hopefully being friends with God. And at the end, the farewell, the return.”
Does Lux follow the rules of classical composition? It doesn’t mean to, and sometimes, it runs all over the place (we can only imagine the Grammys and Latin Grammys discussing what category to place the album and tracks into). “Porcelana,” for example, sounds like four different segments glued together without much rhyme or reason. But Rosalía’s voice is irresistible, capable of going through pianissimos to forte with ease and support. Only a trained voice could deliver this tour de force, and you keep listening, rivetted, until the very end, moving from “Porcelana,” with its traces of reggaetón, urban and flamenco, to “Mio Cristo Piange Diamante,” a bona fide aria performed in Italian.
There are decided commercial nuggets here. “La Perla,” performed with Mexican trio Yahrtiza y su Esencia (with Yahritza’s soprano voice beautifully rising to the task of singing with Rosalía), is a deliciously naughty dis track aimed at a former lover and arranged as a waltz, both quaint and incisive. And “Dios Es Un Stalker” is as catchy and rousing as a mid tempo pop hit can be.
But this is an album that defies convention, arrangement and structure. Challenging but exquisite, we hope it forces others to delve deeper into their art, and make us wait just a little bit more if it means making us listen again and again — not because we’re immediately hooked, but because we want to discover more.
Juan Luis Guerra and Sting, two of the most globally admired artists in music, surprise their fans Thursday night (Nov. 6) with a new version of “Estrellitas y Duendes” — a classic by the Dominican maestro, included on his iconic 1990 album Bachata Rosa — which you can preview exclusively above. (Return at 7:00 p.m. ET to watch the full music video).
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The sweet song — a bachata with bolero elements that expresses the pain and melancholy of a lost love through deeply poetic lyrics — returns 35 years later to unite Guerra’s celebrated sound with Sting’s unmistakable artistic sensitivity, with the latter taking on the task of singing entirely in Spanish.
“Juan Luis’ lyrics in ‘Estrellitas y Duendes’ are a master class in what one might call romantic magical realism. I had to try to sing them exactly as they were written because they’re impeccable,” Sting says in a statement to Billboard Español. “My Spanish pronunciation is hardly perfect, but the spirit in which I sang them is genuine and true.”
For Guerra, this came as a surprise. “We recorded remotely, and what stood out to me the most is that he wanted to record it all in Spanish,” he explains separately in a Zoom interview. “It’s a somewhat challenging song, with metaphorical words that aren’t very common, and he did it impressively well. I know he put in special effort.”
In its new version, “Estrellitas y Duendes” keeps the elegant, evocative instrumentation and arrangements of the original basically intact, but it’s Sting’s voice that opens with the romantic line: “Viviré en tu recuerdo como un simple aguacero de estrellitas y duendes” (“I will live in your memory like a simple downpour of little stars and elves”). From there, both artists take turns singing the different verses in a sweet back-and-forth of their unmistakable voices.
This isn’t the first time these two music legends have collaborated in some way. In 2006, Sting invited Guerra on stage during a concert at Altos de Chavón in La Romana, Dominican Republic, to perform “Fragile” together.
Almost two decades later, Guerra was re-recording “Estrellitas y Duendes” for an upcoming album of new versions of his songs when Sting’s name came up as a possible collaborator. “We approached him, and he accepted, and for me, it was a privilege and an honor to have him as one of the greatest representations of rock in the world,” Guerra says. “Besides, we are fans of his and have always admired him.”
Sting recalls that it was his manager Martin Kierszenbaum, who is a Spanish-speaker “and, like me, a big admirer of Juan Luis’ compositions,” the one who encouraged him to lend his voice to this classic by Guerra, “one of his favorites.” They immediately recorded his part one afternoon at Night Bird Studios in Los Angeles.
Guerra notes that this happened a couple of years ago, explaining that they had to wait for the right moment to release it. Finally ready, they met in person a few months ago to shoot the music video at Power Station Studios in New York, directed by Guerra Films.
Juan Luis Guerra and Sting both have extraordinary legacies in music. The former, one of the most celebrated Latin artists in history, has received three Grammy Awards and 31 Latin Grammys. The latter, both as a solo artist and as the leader of The Police, has earned 17 Grammy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and multiple Oscar nominations.
Released on December 11, 1990 under Karen Records, Bachata Rosa debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Tropical Albums and topped the chart for 12 weeks. “Estrellitas y Duendes,” the fifth single from the set, reached No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs in 1991.
“Estrellitas y Duentes” ft. Sting
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