Latin
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YouTube established its coveted “Billion Views Club” in 2012, when Psy’s “Gangnam Style” made history as the first-ever music video to hit one billion views on the platform.
Since then, countless music videos have formed part of the elite music video club, including those of Latin acts such as Karol G, Daddy Yankee, Christian Nodal, Becky G, Myke Towers, Romeo Santos and Los Angeles Azules.
To date, the fastest Latin music video to reach one billion views was “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, surpassing the impressive number in only 97 days. “Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William followed, reaching one billion views in 103 days.
With more than eight billion views, the former is currently the second-most-watched music video, overall, on YouTube — behind just Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark,” but above Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” and “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, to name a few.
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Balvin, on the other hand, is the Latin artist with the most music videos in the Club, having racked up 15 in total at the time of publishing.
“The Billion Views Club represents the diverse mix of global sounds and voices that have helped make YouTube the home of music,” YouTube Music Trends manager Kevin Meenan explained in a YouTube blog post. “The list serves as a reminder of the power of the visual pairing with a great song, with the music video – alongside features like Premieres and Shorts — serving as the ultimate way for artists to share their art and vision directly with fans.”
Below, check out every Latin artist — as a lead, featured artist or collaborator — with more than five music videos to enter YouTube’s Billion Views Club:
J Balvin
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
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Colombian superstar Karol G officially wrapped her Mañana Será Bonito World Tour – a yearlong tour de force stint that touched base in the U.S., Latin America and Europe, with her last show in Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, where she became the first artist to sell out four sold-out shows at that venue.
“Hey familia, after almost seventy nights, I’m going to say for real that tonight is going to be the coolest night of my life,” said Karol, who, for this special occasion, ditched her pink-hued locks and appeared in her iconic, teal-dyed hair at the beginning of the show. The blue hair stayed for the first 30 minutes of the show, a nod to her KG0516 era, and with it she performed hits like the fiery “TQG,” the cheeky reggaeton anthem “Mi Cama” and her breakthrough song “Tusa.”
Billed as Mañana Será Bonito Forever, the show also streamed on Karol’s official YouTube page, kicking off at 6pm ET (after the show ended in Madrid) and at one point the stream surpassed 1 million people tuning in, with hearts flooding the comments section. Meanwhile, at the Bernabéu, thousands of fans danced and sang decked out in flowery Mañana Será Bonito merch with pink cowboy hats or fluffy earmuffs as an extra nod to Karol’s Bichota Season aesthetic.
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The last show was a culmination of her extraordinary tour – and yes, extraordinary because no other women in Latin music had headlined a global stadium tour. The trek – in support of Karol’s Grammy-winning, Billboard 200-topping album by the same name – also became a top grossing event — she was the was the highest grossing Latin touring artist of 2023 — and the moment wasn’t lost on Karol who was visibly emotional during the show as she stared out at the sea of fans who chanted “Karol, Karol.”
Not much changed for her last show from previous performances (except for the hair color changes throughout the over two-hour set, going blue to red and then pink). Karol stuck to the show fans have raved about all year long singing all her old and new hits – including her latest, the merengue-powered “Si Antes Te Hubieras Conocido,” which currently sits atop the Hot Latin Songs chart.
“I always think I have the words for everything but I would like to find the words to describe how I feel as a person, as a woman, how I feel here in front of all of you, how I feel knowing that, at home, there are thousands of people watching me right now,” a tearful Karol, dressed in a gorgeous angelic white dress, told her fans. “If there is something beautiful that this journey taught me, it was to learn to love myself, I am sure that God made me unique as well as he made us all unique for a reason. This tour allowed me to find my purpose in life and that is to help people feel like I feel now after so many years of not feeling this way. I’m closing a chapter of my life that gave me everything, the closeness with my fans, with my family and after all, tomorrow was very beautiful. From my heart, I wish this for each one of you, so learn to put yourselves above many things, love yourselves very much, I love you with my life, my relationship for life is with you. Thank you!”
Making the connection even deeper with a few lucky fans fans, Karol stepped down from the stage mid-show greeting those in the front section, including little kids, and personally picking up gifts along the way; a bouquet of flowers, a stuffed unicorn, a rainbow flag and a cowboy hat.
The tears continued to flow when she performed “Mientras Me Curo del Cora,” and Iker, the little boy who was a key figure in her Mañana Será Bonito concept, appeared on stage wearing green, white and red (representing Mexico) holding a traditional Mexican rag doll as a gift for Karol. “He was my inner child in this process,” Karol said as she introduced him to her fans. The two embraced and Karol reminded everyone, “nothing matters because mañana será bonito.”
Toward the end of the show, she sang an encore of “Amargura,” this time accompanied by a salsa band, which included Emily Estefan on percussion. But right before, she expressed, “This tour changed my life, it changed the lives of many people. I feel proud to represent my home country and I feel much more proud to represent all my Latin countries. I would love to stop time and stay here crying, singing, thank you for making me so happy. I don’t want to leave, if it was up to me, I’d start the show all over again.”
But alas, all good things come to an end. And Karol officially closed with “Provenza,” the song that “started everything,” she said. “Here and those at home, let’s enjoy this moment like if it was our last and best night of our lives.”
Venesti celebrates a double win with “Es Normal,” as his latest single crowns Billboard’s Latin Rhythm Airplay and Latin Pop Airplay charts (dated July 27). The track is the fourth single from parent album De La Nada to enter a Billboard chart.
“It’s really important to lead the Latin Rhythm Airplay and Latin Pop Airplay charts, both for me and my team,” Venesti tells Billboard. “Actually, it’s the song we picked as (the) first single and the one I listen to the most.”
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On Latin Rhythm Airplay, “Es Normal” ascends from No. 3 to crown the 25-song ranking with a 21% gain in audience impressions, up 6.6 million, logged during the July 12-18 tracking week, according to Luminate. With the ascension, Colombian Venesti picks up his second No. 1, after the one-week takeover of “Umaye” last October.
Further, the new champ also takes indie label AP Global to its second coronation on Latin Rhythm Airplay –and third top 10 overall– after it secured its first top 10 through “Pura Maldad” in June 2023.
“When we were composing the song, I was going through a real-life situation about mistrust and chatter, so we decided to write it because so many people go through the same thing,” Venesti remembers. “When the person involved heard it, she started questioning whether I had changed. But nothing, it’s been proven that such is the case, and yes, that makes the song even more special for both, me and my team.”
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The Pop-Afrobeat “Es Normal” also stands steady at No. 1 for a second week on Latin Pop Airplay. There, it joins Venesti’s first champ, “No Es Normal,” with Nacho and Maffio, which held strong at the summit for 10 weeks, the longest-leading song in 2024 so far.
“Es Normal” joins three other songs stemming from Venesti’s debut studio album De La Nada, released Sept. 28 on AP Global. Those songs are the No. 11-peaking “Necesidad” (Latin Rhythm Airplay, Dec. 2022), and top 10s “Pura Maldad” (No. 10 high, June 2023) and as mentioned, “Umaye,” which granted Venesti his first ruler on any chart.
Beyond Latin Rhythm Airplay and Latin Pop Airplay, Venesti reaches for his third top 10 on the overall Latin Airplay, where “Es Normal,” produced by Milo Beat, jumps 8-4. The Colombian singer-songwriter and producer landed two champs previously on the overall radio ranking, both in less than a year: “Umaye” (Dec. 2023) and “No Es Normal,” with Nacho and Maffio, in March.
The 2024 Premios Juventud is just around the corner, and as tradition holds, the event will recognize artists and young people for their “extraordinary accomplishments in society, celebrating music, new artists, community and creators,” according to a press release. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news This year’s nominations […]
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Last week Ricardo Montaner released Ricardo Montaner 2 (Versión Montaner), a re-recording of his 1988 album that included classics like “Tan Enamorados” and “A Dónde Va el Amor.” The new set comes less than a month after Ricardo Montaner (Versión Montaner), and is part of a broader project in which the acclaimed Latin pop singer-songwriter aims to give his old music a more contemporary sound.
“I think it has a lot to do with responsibility,” Montaner tells Billboard Español about this initial six-album project, all under his own independent label Hecho a Mano. “The sound of my music from that era does not match the technical advances available today. […] I want fans from that time to enjoy my music today and to do so under exactly the same conditions as the music people make today.”
But that is not the only motivation for the Argentine-Venezuelan musician. A contract he signed at the beginning of his career with Love Records, part of then-Venezuelan record company Sono-Rodven, did not include rights to his masters, which he says are now in the hands of Universal Music Group. (In 1995, Sono-Rodven transferred its operations to PolyGram, which was later acquired by the multinational).
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“I need my artistic legacy to pass into the hands of my children,” Montaner explains. “I never earned a penny in royalties from any of my first six albums. To this day, with more than 40 years of career, I have not received a single penny from the sales of ‘Yo Que Te Amé,’ ‘Tan Enamorados,’ ‘La Cima del Cielo,’ the album Los Hijos del Sol, the album En El Último Lugar del Mundo.“
“The contracts at that time were predatory and totally disadvantageous for the artist, so that is a very, very strong motivation. If I didn’t earn a single penny for my music at the beginning of my career and at the time when I was most successful, today I am looking to record independently so that my children will have, at least from now on, the peace of mind that the music of their father — especially the most important, the most emblematic or iconic music of his career — will pass into their hands,” he continues. “I am also complaining to the people who have the original masters, the first masters of my career, considering they have been recorded already 40 years ago. I am asking that they return them to me.”
Neither Montaner nor his team has specified whether there is a formal complaint or lawsuit, “beyond the fact that Ricardo is trying to get his masters back,” a person from his team told Billboard Español. Universal Music Latin had not replied a request for comment sent on Monday (July 22) by the time of publication.
Montaner’s re-recording of his albums — something reminiscent of Taylor Swift‘s successful “Taylor’s Version” series — is a meticulous project with “exactly the same” musical arrangements as the originals, and the art cover from the era reproduced with great detail (from set design and wardrobe to the pose of the singer) in a fun and exciting nostalgia trip.
Montaner’s voice remains practically entirely intact. The only change, besides the better sound quality, is in the freedom that comes with age and maturity.
“I recognize that today I sing ‘Me Va a Extrañar,’ ‘Tan Enamorados’, ‘La Cima del Cielo’ or ‘Yo Que Te Amé’ differently than I sang them at that time,” he admits. “But today, sitting from another angle of my life, seeing that I have nothing else to prove in the sense that these songs do not have a risk as they did at that time […] it gives me a lot more freedom to sing them.”
The next releases from the project will arrive Sept. 6 with the album Un Toque de Misterio (Versión Montaner) and the single “La Cima del Cielo (Montaner Version),” followed by En El Último Lugar del Mundo (Versión Montaner), with “Será (Versión Montaner)” as the focus single, on Nov. 1. The re-recordings of Los Hijos del Sol and Una Mañana Y Un Camino would arrive by early 2025.
After these, three more versions of later albums in Montaner’s career will come, this time only for pure pleasure: “I felt like repeating the albums Con La London Metropolitan Orchestra, which were two unforgettable projects for me,” he says excitedly, without revealing what the third one would be. “We already have Abbey Road studios booked for the beginning of November of this year to record the three versions in a single session.”
Retired from the stage at least for a while, Montaner is now enjoying going in and out of the studio while making the most of his time with his family, which includes his wife Marlene, his children Alejandro, Héctor, Mau y Ricky, and Evaluna (all musicians), as well as six grandchildren who will soon become seven with the imminent arrival of Evaluna and Camilo‘s second baby.
“I want to have time to live this,” Montaner says from Medellín, Colombia, where his wife was releasing a new book, El Libro del Corazón. He also traveled recently to Spain and to Argentina to watch his children perform. For many years, he “missed many things of Marlene and my loved ones, because I was doing my own thing, so […] I don’t want it to be once in a while and because time allowed it. Today I want to own my time and be everywhere with them.”
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Ruidosa Fest, self-proclaimed as the first Latin American festival focusing on women in music, is poised to make its U.S. debut at New York City’s Lincoln Center on August 10. The festival, part of the venue’s “Summer for the City” program running from June 12 to August 10, will transform Lincoln Center into a hub of Latin music, featuring live performances, a panel, and cultural exchanges.
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Founded in 2016 by Chilean singer-songwriter Francisca Valenzuela, Ruidosa Fest has evolved into a prominent platform that champions visibility and opportunities for “women who make noise.”
The festival’s lineup will feature a diverse array of talent, including Valenzuela herself, along with iconic Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto, indie synth-pop duo Buscabulla, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter iLe, Colombian indie pop artist Salt Cathedral, Tijuana punk rocker Bruses, Venezuelan newcomer Nella, as well as Renée Goust + Khylie Rylo, Mireya Ramos, DJ Riobamba, and more.
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The day will kick off with an industry panel titled Latinx to the Front: Nuestro Ruido Is Worldwide. The event will explore the media influence of Latin artists, moderated by radio producer Jeanne Montalvo and feature YouTube’s Stephanie Carvajal, Sirius XM’s Ellen Flores, Rolling Stone‘s Julyssa Lopez, Amazon Music’s Angie Romero, and Billboard Español‘s Sigal Ratner-Arias and Isabela Raygoza.
Motivated by a stark gender disparity at Latin American music festivals, Ruidosa Fest was conceived after discovering that women constituted only 9.5% of acts at surveyed festivals in 2016 and 2017, a figure marginally improved to 22.5% when considering mixed-gender groups. This deep-seated imbalance spurred the creation of Ruidosa Fest, dedicated to enhancing the representation and contributions of female performers inside the industry.
The performances will begin on August 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET. For further details about the full schedule and more, visit the event’s website.
Ruidosa Fest
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Karol G‘s history-making Mañana Será Bonito World Tour will come to an end on Tuesday, July 23, with the Colombian superstar wrapping a year of touring at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, where she will become first artist to have four sold-out nights at that venue.
For the special occasion, Karol’s Mañana Será Bonito Forever concert — billed as a global celebration of the tour’s unprecedented success across the U.S., Latin America and Europe — will livestream via the hitmaker’s official YouTube channel.
Kicking off at 6 p.m. ET tomorrow, the show’s livestream was announced by Karol earlier this month in an emotional Instagram post in which she wrote in Spanish, “The time has come to close an unforgettable chapter in our lives. This album, more than songs, has been a journey of overcoming, of desire, of motivation and a band-aid for the soul.”
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She continued in her post: “Every stadium we stepped in vibrated with the beautiful emotions that each one of you brought and we had the opportunity to fill thousands of hearts around the world. We are about to have the last concert of this tour and yes, it is hard to say goodbye to something that has meant so much to all of us, but the time has come and I want us to celebrate together! This July 23rd, our last concert, we will broadcast it through my YouTube channel, in real time, so that EVERYONE, anywhere in the world, can watch it and celebrate this beautiful thing we built together.”
The trek was in support of her record-breaking 2023 set, Mañana Será Bonito, which became the first Spanish-language album by a female artist to top the Billboard 200. The LP went on to win the Latin Grammy for album of the year and a Grammy for música urbana album.
Karol is the first Latina to headline a global stadium tour and was the highest grossing Latin touring artist of 2023. According to Billboard Boxscore, she grossed $155.3 million and sold 925,000 tickets from 20 shows, placing at No. 11 on Billboard’s all-genre year-end Top Tours chart.
This year so far, Billboard previously reported that Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito Tour had earned $45.1 million and sold 419,000 tickets from nine shows. It landed at No. 2 on the gross-based Top Tours chart for April 2024.
“When I take the stage in a stadium, one of the reasons I cry is because I know one day this will all be over; I’ll be home remembering the time I was No. 1,” Karol told Billboard back in February. “That’s life.”
Below, find the YouTube link to watch Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito Forever show live from Madrid:
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A little over two decades ago, Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez sat in the tiny apartment he shared with his wife and three children in Villa Kennedy, a housing project in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“¡Cómo le encanta la gasolina! (She really likes gasoline!),” shouted the voices beneath his window, taunting the pretty girls who accepted rides from guys with flashy cars.
“’A ella le gusta la gasolina, dame más gasolina.’ I had the phrase, I had the chorus,” Ayala, better known as Daddy Yankee, would tell me a decade later. “I sat in my studio there in Villa Kennedy and started to harmonize the flow.”
Back then, in 2004, Ayala was already Daddy Yankee inside Puerto Rico, the leader of a new musical movement born in the barrios and connecting with hundreds of thousands of fans who identified with a message created in their streets. But outside of Puerto Rico, Yankee and reggaetón were little known. Until “Gasolina” and Barrio Fino.
“Gasolina” would become the first single off Barrio Fino, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums charts on July 31, 2004, becoming the first reggaetón album to hit No. 1. The set would become the top-selling Latin album of 2005 and of that decade, making Daddy Yankee the Messiah of reggaetón — a genre that would revive sales of Latin music, usher in a new radio format in the U.S. (Latin Rhythm Airplay) and for the next decade would evolve to provide the urban base that dominates much of Latin music to this day.
And while “Gasolina” was the big motor behind Barrio Fino, the entire album was chock full of groundbreaking hits. With features by the likes of Wisin & Yandel, Zion & Lennox and salsa star Andy Montañez, Barrio Fino — in its blend of styles and personalities within urban music — was a harbinger of things to come. It not only opened the door to collaborations from within and outside the realm of urban music, the album intuitively commercialized a genre that had lived largely locally and underground.
“I had a really different vision,” Yankee said in 2004. “I could feel the impact reggaetón was having in the streets, in South America, in the streets of the United States. I knew we were close to exploding. So I said, ‘OK, I’m going to be the one to do it.’ All the money I had, I invested in Barrio Fino.”
Two decades years after its release, Barrio Fino continues to be a definitive album that still sounds and feels radical, and is acknowledged as one of the great inspirations behind the rise of reggaetón. Barrio Fino ushered in not just a musical movement but a lifestyle, built on a beat with irresistible global appeal that would eventually be the basis for other movements, from Medellín’s romantic reggaetón to Argentine trap.
Celebrating its impact and enduring appeal, we at Billboard have ranked its 18 tracks (excluding the intro and outro) with a rare caveat: Every track in this set deserves more than one listen. — Leila Cobo
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Throughout her Mañana Será Bonito World Tour, Karol G has brought out surprise guests to join her onstage, including Nathy Peluso in Argentina and Pabllo Vittar in Brazil. Her stop in Madrid was no exception. Marking a show-stopping moment, Spanish singer-songwriter Amaia Montero joined Karol G onstage on Sunday (July 21) to perform her hit […]
Lasso and Sofía Reyes‘ “Siempre Llegas Tarde,” a fusion of cumbia and pop, has topped this week’s new music Latin poll. In a poll published on Friday (July 19) — in support of the weekly New Music Latin roundup and playlist, curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — music fans voted for the Venezuelan artist’s team-up with Reyes as their favorite […]