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Selena Gomez is showing off her musical talent as well as her acting chops! The multihyphenate took to Instagram to share a clip of the dance-ready track, “Mi Camino,” which is featured in the upcoming film, Emilia Pérez, in which Gomez stars as Jessi Del Monte. “A little sneak peek of the song “Mi Camino” […]
New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
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Grupo Frontera & Gabito Ballesteros, “Pienso En Ella” (Grupo Frontera)
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After dabbling in bachata on “Ángel” with Romeo Santos, Grupo Frontera returns to their roots to deliver a hip-swiveling cumbia titled “Pienso En Ella,” or “I think of her.” This time, the Texas group reels in Mexican singer-songwriter Gabito Ballesteros who adds his velvety vocals alongside Payo (Frontera’s frontman) to the accordion-powered heartbreak song. Produced by Edgar Barrera, who also co-wrote the song, it’s a testament to the hitmakers’ knack to produce songs that are both sonically and lyrically nuanced. — GRISELDA FLORES
PJ Sin Suela, Toda Época Tiene Su Encanto (El Efecto Secundario)
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PJ Sin Suela has unleashed his fourth studio album, dubbed Toda Época Tiene Su Encanto, which loosely translates to “every era has its beauty.” In the 12-track LP, the Puerto Rican indie artist — who’s also a med school graduate and a published author — delivers a conceptual set about love that navigates from the early puppy love stage to overcoming a breakup, and beyond. A musical masterpiece, the artist born Pedro Juan Vazquez Bragan fuses funk, jazz, lo-fi beats, electronic, bolero and tropical music with reggaetón and hip-hop elements. Lyrically, PJ’s wisdom and maturity ooze through lyrics that, for the most part, are about discovering oneself and the importance of self-love, as notably heard in the closing track “Nunca Es Suficiente.”
“The album chronologically explores different stages of love, beginning with the initial innocence-exquisite yet fleeting-then moving through disappointments, experiments, and lessons,” the artist expresses in a press statement. “Ultimately, I learned that each stage has its own charm, with its highs and lows, but true love requires first loving what is uniquely ours.” Toda Época Tiene Su Encanto also includes collaborations with Jorge Drexler (“Todo Se Complica”), Ana Tijoux (“Polos Opuestos”), Elena Rose (“Maldades”), Ñejo (“En Las Guerras Nadie Gana”) and emerging Puerto Rican band Chuwi (“Escúchame”). — JESSICA ROIZ
TIMØ, “El Canto del Olvido” (UMG Recordings, Inc.)
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Colombian boy band TIMØ presents their new single titled “El Canto del Olvido.” With analog instruments, with percussions as protagonists, the band sings about the heartbreak of a love that has left over a Latin pop track that fuses traditional and contemporary elements. “This is the song/ The song of oblivion/ Because when I sing it/ My crying ends/ And I forget that you’ve gone,” they sing in unison in the chorus. The band is preparing to hit the road with their Conquistar el Planeta Tour 2024, which begins on Sept. 26 and will take them through 14 cities in Latin America and Europe. — LUISA CALLE
Salomón Beda & Pedro Capó, “Cada Loco Con Su Tema” (Pa’lante Records LLC)
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Colombian singer-songwriter Salomón Beda and Puerto Rican star Pedro Capó unite their good vibes in “Cada Loco Con Su Tema” (slang for “To Each His Own”), a chill pop single about accepting others by embracing their differences. “How boring the world would be if everything were the same,” goes part of the bridge before the chorus: “To each his own/ There’s no accounting for taste/ We give each other good vibes/ We are clear, there is no problem/ I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me.” The song, co-written by both artists along with Diego Contento, is refreshing and perfect to help you relax. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Jhayco, Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) (Universal Music Latino)
With a rebellious sneer, Le Clique: Vida Rockstar (X) is a brash declaration of artistic evolution, with Jhayco enhancing his reggaetón beats for a raw revelry that electrifies and disrupts. Split into a thematic triptych — “Le Clique,” the family, “Vida Rockstar,” the movement, and “X,” the hits — the Puerto Rican star sails across genres with ease.
Opening with the title track, “Vida Rockstar,” the Jhayco salutes ’90s-era skater pop-punk, channeling the high-energy of bands like Blink-182. Disc two kicks off with “Le Clique” featuring DJ Khaled and Yovngchimi, who delivers a punchy, trap-inflected flow complete with playful lyrics that invite Prince Royce to swing into a bachata. It’s fresh, vibrant and indicative of the album’s overarching aim: to shake listeners and pull them onto the dance floor. On “58,” Jhayco ventures into Jersey club territory with the aid of Dei V, and on “0 Milla,” produced by MAG, Jhayco dives into hard-hitting reggaetón, complete with trap interludes and a screeching guitar that opens the song. Meanwhile, the third disc starts with “3D,” a Dominican dembow track that energizes the lineup alongside Tivi Gunz and De La Rose.
With the help of producers like Albert Hype, Tainy, and Haze, the album’s 29 tracks were recorded across global music hubs including Paris, Madrid, and Los Angeles, enveloping the in a worldly aura that complements its intrepid spirit. Collaborating with Peso Pluma, Quevedo, Eladio Carrion, and Bryant Myers, Jhayco unites a varied musical community. By weaving together the threads of rock, reggaetón, and everything in between, the singer, songwriter and producer transforms into a genre alchemist, reaffirming that genre lines no longer exist and the music speaks — and rocks (!) — for itself. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Listen to more editors’ Latin recommendations in the playlist below:
Iconic bossa nova producer, songwriter, pianist and song interpreter Sérgio Mendes has died at 83. The legendary Brazilian superstar whose career spanned more than six decades and helped craft the modern sound of Latin pop and dance died in Los Angeles of undisclosed causes.
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Beginning in his teens, Mendes — who was born on Feb. 11, 1941 in Rio de Janeiro — focused on dreams of becoming a classical pianist before being inspired by the then bubbling bossa nova explosion in the late 1950s that put a jazzy spin on the popular samba style. He honed his chops played clubs and performing with his bossa nova mentors, Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, before forming his first band, the Sexteto Bossa Rio, with whom he released his 1961 debut recording, Dance Moderno.
Mendes and his band quickly jumped from the clubs of Rio to New York, where Mendes played the first bossa nova festival at Carnegie Hall, followed by a pop-in at the iconic Birdland jazz club in 1962. That serendipitous visit led to an impromptu set with hard bop legend saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, resulting in 1963’s Cannonball’s Bossa Nova album, which featured a mix of jazz-tinged sambas with Mendes on piano. Mendes’ busy year also included contributions to American jazz flutist Herbie Mann’s 1963 albums, Do the Bossa Nova with Herbie Mann and its follow-up, Latin Fever.
After moving to the U.S. in 1964, Mendes formed the first in a series of eponymous bands, Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’65 and released The Swinger From Rio album, with contributions from Jobim and American jazz trumpeter Art Farmer, followed by a live album recorded with his Brasil ’65 crew, In Person at El Matador.
Bouncing between recordings for Atlantic Records and Capitol, Mendes released albums at a furious pace throughout the late 1960s, quickly cementing his status as one of the premier ambassadors for the swinging bossa nova sound. But it was when he signed to jazz great Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss’ A&M Records that Mendes’ album sales and chart success began to take off thanks to the renamed Brasil ’66’s debut single, the Jorge Ben-penned “Mas que Nada.”
The track with lead vocals from American jazz singer Lani Hall, appeared on the platinum-selling Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 and ran up to No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, helping cement its status as one of Mendes’ most beloved songs. The group, which continued to chart through the decade with groovy samba-inflected covers of pop songs, including their Grammy-nominated 1968 take on the Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill,” as well as the Fab Four’s “Day Tripper” and boss nova’d versions of the Mamas & the Papas’ “Monday, Monday” and the Cole Porter standard “Night and Day.”
The group’s second A&M album, 1967’s Equinox, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart, followed a few months later by Look Around, which established a soon-to-be-familiar pattern of mixing bossa nova covers and originals with takes on popular English-language songs, including the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” and Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Dusty Springfield hit, “The Look of Love”; Mendes’ version bested Springfield’s on the U.S. charts, going all the way to No. 4 on the Billboard pop tally. The song’s popularity was boosted when Mendes performed the Oscar-nominated song from the James Bond movie Casino Royale on the 1968 Academy Awards telecast.
In 1968, Mendes replaced the entire Brasil ’66 lineup — with the exception of singer Hall — on the group’s fourth LP, Fool on the Hill, which spawned two top 10-charting singles with the Beatles cover title track and a take on Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair.” Mendes released three more albums on A&M through the end of the 1960s — 1968’s Sergio Mendes’ Favorite Things and Crystal Illusions and 1969’s Ye-Me-Lê — which continued the winning formula of mixing bossa nova with grooving takes on Great American Songbook classics and American pop hits by the likes of Otis Redding, Glen Campbell and Bacharach/David.
His output continued apace in the 1970s, when he released more than a dozen albums, including 1970’s Stillness, which featured new lead vocalist Gracinha Leporace and Love Music, his third album with the reconfigured band — now known as Brasil ’77. The familiar formula continued apace, mixing songs by Jobim with covers of well-known tunes by Stevie Wonder and Leon Russell.
By the 1980s his release schedule began to slow, but Mendes’ popularity bumped up again with 1983’s self-titled album, which gave him his first top 40 LP in more than a decade, as well as his highest-charting single, the No. 4 Hot 100 adult contemporary hit written by Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, “Never Gonna Let You Go.” Mendes scored his only Grammy win in 1992 with Brasileiro, which won the 1993 Grammy for best world music album.
In 2006 he teamed with Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am for Timeless, a No. 44 Billboard 200 LP which featured vocals from a raft of neo soul singers including Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and india.arie, as well as Q-Tip, John Legend, Stevie Wonder and Justin Timberlake.
Mendes continued to release music throughout the 2000s, including his final studio album, 2020’s In the Key of Joy. In addition to his Grammy award and two Latin Grammys, Mendes was nominated for an Oscar in 2012 for his theme song to the animated film Rio, “Real in Rio.” Mendes was also profiled in the 2020 documentary Sérgio Mendes: In the Key of Joy.
Listen to some of Mendes’ most beloved songs below.
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Carlos Vives now has his double at the Wax Museum of Mexico City. The Colombian star helped unveil his figure on Thursday night (Sep. 5) night at the institution, where it will share space with other iconic Mexican cultural figures, like painter Frida Kahlo and wrestler El Santo.
“I’m happy with this recognition that the Mexican people give me, that’s how I feel,” Vives said during the ceremony, evidently moved. “We have come to Mexico so much, our hearts have been touched by its music, by its art, by its cinema, its television.”
He added: “Being here in the museum, next to so many figures from the world, but above all next to the Mexican stars, who from my childhood and my youth had been a great example and inspiration — being here with them is the greatest honor I’ve received from the Mexican people.”
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The new wax figure shows Vives looking a bit younger and taller than the real artist. It carries a guitar and wears fitted leather pants and a black t-shirt emblazoned with his name and the title of his sixteenth album, Cumbiana (2020). It’s located in the main hall of the museum, close to those of Vicente Fernández and Marco Antonio Solís.
Vives — who is performing this Saturday, Sept. 7 before 10,000 people for a sold-out show at the National Auditorium in Mexico City — shared the honor with the Colombian musicians who inspired him in his youth and who are part of his history. “They are here with me and represent what I wanted to show the world: a beautiful and diverse oral tradition like our country,” he said.
His addition to the museum comes two months ahead of his honoring as the Latin Recording Academy 2024 Person of the Year in November, during the 25th anniversary of the Latin Grammys in Miami.
Born in Santa Marta, Colombia, Vives is one of the most respected artists in Spanish-language music and a pioneer of a new Latin American sound, redefining traditional Colombian vallenato by incorporating to it pop and rock sounds. With No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts such as “Volví a Nacer,” “Fruta Fresca” and “La Bicicleta” with Shakira, among others, he has become an ambassador of Colombian and Latin American culture around the world.
“He has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the hearts of millions of people and today he will be immortalized at the Wax Museum of Mexico City,” said the museum in a press release prior to Thursday’s ceremony.
Located in the central neighborhood of Colonia Juárez, in an old Art Nouveau style mansion, the Wax Museum of Mexico City celebrates this year its 45th anniversary. In its 14 thematic rooms, visitors can appreciate some 260 wax figures of characters from history, art, politics, and sports, from Diego Rivera and Salvador Dalí, to Bill Gates, Ronaldinho, Hugo Sánchez, ‘Canelo’ Álvarez; Gene Simmons, Michael Jackson, Chaplin, Alex Lora, Chabelo, and more.
According to the museum, the wax figures are made by its team of sculptors and many wear clothes that belonged to the real character. The creation of each figure takes approximately four to eight months.
Watch Carlos Vives unveil his wax figure below:
Peso Pluma is currently on the North American leg of his 2024 Éxodo Tour that will officially wrap up on Oct. 11 in Montville, Calif. after making pit stops in more than 35 cities. Produced by Live Nation, the música Mexicana star kicked off his trek on May 26 at the Sueños Festival in Chicago […]
Maria Becerra took to social media on Sept. 5 to share a personal update with her millions of followers. Posting a photo of herself in a hospital setting and holding hands with her partner J Rei, also a recording artist, the Argentine hitmaker wrote, “Yesterday I had to undergo surgery because I was having an […]
Ryan Castro and Nike have teamed up for a new collaboration, Billboard can exclusively announce. The Nike by Ryan Castro capsule — available for a limited time at Nike’s flagship stores in Bogotá and Medellín — features customized designs by “El Cantante del Ghetto,” including T-shirts, jackets and shoes with unique laces and tags accessories. […]
Jay Wheeler and Zhamira Zambrano are first-time parents! The couple announced the exciting news in a joint post on Wednesday (Sept. 4). “Welcome princess, we love you with our life,” reads the caption, which accompanies two adorable photos in which the newborn’s tiny feet and hands are shown. The Puerto Rican artist and Venezuelan emerging […]
Young Miko is set to perform and speak at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week, Billboard announced on Thursday (Sept. 5). The Puerto Rican hitmaker will join the special 35th-year anniversary concert for INSIDER badge holders on Friday, Oct. 18. She will also participate in an intimate Superstar Q&A on Tuesday, Oct.15.
Young Miko joins a star-studded lineup for the five-day event, taking place Oct. 14-18 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter performed at last year’s Billboard Latin Music Week En Vivo concert series before embarking on her current XOXO Tour. Since her meteoric rise, she has undeniably becoming one of the most exciting new voices in Latin music. Earlier this year, her debut LP Att. earned the also rapper her first top 10 entry on any Billboard albums chart. Her presence at Latin Music Week underscores her continued impact on the genre and her exciting future ahead.
“We’re thrilled to see Young Miko return to Billboard Latin Music Week,” said Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin and Español. “Her journey from debut to stardom has been truly extraordinary. Her continued innovation and dynamic presence have reshaped the Latin music landscape, and we’re excited to celebrate her remarkable achievements and ongoing influence in the genre.”
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Featuring exclusive panels, conversations and performances by Latin music’s biggest stars, previously announced participants include Bad Gyal, Belinda, Camila Fernández, Chiquis, DANNA, Danny Ocean, Dei V, Domelipa, Eslabon Armado, Fat Joe, Gloria Estefan, J Balvin, JOP, Keityn, Kunno, Lele Pons, Luis Alfonso, Lupita Infante, Majo Aguilar, María Becerra, Marko, Mau y Ricky, Mon Laferte, N.O.R.E., Omar Courtz, Paola Jara, Peso Pluma, Pipe Bueno, Sophia Talamas, Yahritza y Su Esencia, Yeison Jiménez, Yeri Mua and Zhamira Zambrano. More participating artists will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Tickets for the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week, celebrating its 35th anniversary, are available for purchase here.
Billboard Latin Music Week will coincide with the Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will air on Telemundo. Latin Music Week tickets will not include access to the awards show this year. Instead, Billboard will host a special 35th-year anniversary celebration on the evening of Oct. 18, where INSIDER badge holders will receive exclusive invitations to this star-studded event.
For more information on Billboard Latin Music Week, updates on the schedule and more exciting announcements, visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.
Young Miko
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Three out of 996. That’s the number of individual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Hispanic inductees born in Latin America. The stats remain low even when adding members of Ibero-American heritage born in the English-speaking world: one in England and 11 in the United States.
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As of the 2023 class, the 15 inductees with confirmed Hispanic roots represent just 0.015% of the total inductees into arguably the most prestigious pantheon of rock. What’s more, no act that sings exclusively in Spanish has ever been included.
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This statistic not only reflects a low representation for Latin America, a region with a longstanding and powerful tradition of rock artists and fans — as this year’s induction ceremony approaches in October 19, it also presents an opportunity for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to embrace a more inclusive and diverse future, one that highlights how rock & roll brings people from different countries, cultures and languages together.
I’ve been running a fan campaign since 2020 to advocate for Argentina’s Soda Stereo’s induction into the RNRHOF, as their first Spanish-language band. Despite frequent comments our team’s effort has sparked on social media, I don’t believe the Hall is biased against Hispanic artists. It only seems they haven’t been exposed enough to authentic rock en español to properly consider its inclusion, and they still think of Ritchie Valens and Carlos Santana as the only Latin rock legends. That perception could be rectified in under six hours by watching the docuseries Break It All on Netflix, which covers the history of rock in Latin America.
The RNRHOF aims to recognize artists who’ve significantly contributed to the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock & roll. However, it never mentions that this recognition is limited to a specific language or market — so anyone in the world meeting their induction criteria is supposed to be eligible. But the reality is quite different; for decades they’ve only looked on the same horizon, mostly inducting white male musicians. It wasn’t until recent years, thanks to diversity and inclusion movements, that more female and African American acts have been significantly included. Hispanic acts, however, have remained ignored.
The RNRHOF’s nominating committee consists of 30 experts, none of whom are Hispanic. This puts our campaign on a collision path against history, and the entire hopes of a rock en Español induction in the hands of people who may not possess the best expertise on Latin music.
Soda Stereo
Caito Lorenzo
Rock Hall executives explain controversial multi-genre nominations by referencing Motown Records’ old motto, “The Sound of Young America.” They say they want to bring back the original spirit of the 1950s. However, focusing only on what young people in the United States listen to could limit real inclusion and diminish their global appeal. This is also unfair to followers abroad, because rock and roll was born in the U.S. but belongs to the entire planet.
When John Sykes took over the RRHOF foundation, he promised more diversity to prevent the institution from becoming irrelevant. I started the Soda Stereo Rock Hall campaign hoping his pledge would finally recognize a Latin American band. According to a June 2024 U.S. Census report, Hispanics now represent 19.5% of the US population — and with Spanish being the second-largest language by number of native speakers in the world, and easily the second-most spoken in the United States, it’s time to include Latin acts in the mix. Many experts agree that the first band should be Soda Stereo, followed by the other three of the “sacred tetralogy” of Spanish-language rock: Heroes del Silencio (Spain), Los Prisioneros (Chile), and Caifanes (Mexico).
But it can’t stop there. Foundational icons of the movement should also be considered: El Tri and Javier Batiz (Mexico), Charly Garcia and Luis Alberto Spinetta (Argentina), Miguel Rios (Spain), and Los Saicos (Peru), as well as icons like Maná and Café Tacuba.
As for Soda Stereo, the band’s import in the history of popular music is undisputed. Cirque du Soleil paid tribute to Soda’s legacy in 2017 and 2018 with a tribute show, Sep7timo Día, an honor bestowed only on three other acts: The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Michel Laprise, director of the show — who spent months talking to fans worldwide to understand the band’s legacy — expressed on a video recorded at their Montreal headquarters for our campaign, “The quality of their rock music, the intensity of what they did, is universal and ageless … Then we realized they’re not in the Rock Hall of Fame. It doesn’t make sense; they should be there. Let’s correct that and celebrate the timeless quality and relevance of that music”.
Soda Stereo disbanded in 1997 still at the peak of its career, exhausted from an intensive tour schedule. It reunited for a record-breaking tour in 2007, and intended to resume recording new albums and touring. Sadly, Gustavo Cerati, the band’s charismatic frontman, fell into a coma in May 2010 after a solo show in Venezuela, and died on September 4, 2014. His passing led to an outpouring of love and respect from fans and colleagues around the world, and his massive funeral was compared to the funeral of iconic tango legend Carlos Gardel in 1935.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin is without a doubt Soda Stereo’s most high-profile and vocal global fan; Gorillaz’ Seye Adelakan, a loyal admirer since his teenage years, says: “They transcend the Spanish language.” Shakira cites them as her inspiration to become an artist; Andy Summers wanted to do more music with Cerati after they recorded together; and Bono prayed onstage for his recovery.
Despite its legacy and positive impact on rock’s development in Latin America, the band has yet to be nominated for the Rock Hall. Our petition has gathered close to 40,000 signatures from 68 countries across all continents, and the endorsement of historically significant Hispanic rock stars. Many believe that if Soda Stereo was from the U.S. or Europe and sang in English, it would have been inducted long ago.
The Rock Hall should not induct Soda Stereo merely to satisfy a diversity quota. But it should also not discriminate against it because of their Latin American origin, or because of the band’s legacy being unknown to them, or especially because its music is in a language they don’t like or understand.
Rock and Roll is created worldwide and in many different languages. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame could honor and celebrate that? Especially at a time when multicultural bridges and better social understanding are most needed.
Miguel Gálvez is a journalist and the creator and director of the Soda Stereo Rock Hall campaign.