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Billboard’s Spirit of Hope Award, created over two decades ago in honor of the late Selena, honors artists’ philanthropy. This year, it goes to Colombian superstar Karol G, who with her Con Cora foundation works to support women in vulnerable situations through scholarships (including education for imprisoned women and teen mothers) and support for the arts and educational institutions.
Amid her current global tour, Karol G spoke about the organization’s significance to her.
Why did you create Con Cora?
Many times, especially when I’m on a flight, I think: “God, it’s impossible for someone to receive as many blessings as I have, simply to be successful or rich. Please give me the wisdom to understand what is that thing I need to accomplish.” I feel my mission is through Con Cora and my amazing team of women, who are working together to transmit this message of empowerment and motivation, so we all fulfill our goals by promoting positive behaviors and generate opportunities for a more beautiful tomorrow.
What is the change you want to effect?
This project is for women in all aspects and situations of vulnerability: Women who have no resources for education; women who are denied their liberty or are close to finishing their [prison] sentences, and we give them a second chance and prepare them and help them in their reintegration; women who are an inspiration because they’ve overcome difficult situations and we give them resources to improve their quality of life; abused women; heads of families; women in the arts, women in sports.
What is one accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?
Our work with women who are heads of families because this way, we benefit the entire family. Also, the many people who want to join us. Every time we do a project, more people come forward to give us a hand. It has made us see just how many people work tirelessly to empower women.
As a successful Colombian artist, do you feel it’s your responsibility to give back?
As a Colombian, I feel it’s my responsibility to give back to my country, and to society in general. I feel 100% that what goes around comes around, and everyone who receives blessings has to extend them. I feel my real purpose is there: in inspiring other people, inspiring women and helping and supporting them to achieve their dreams.
For event dates, tickets and more on the conference, go to billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
This story originally appeared in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
With COVID-19 restrictions now lifted entirely, the 2023 edition of the Billboard Latin Music Awards promises to be more celebratory than ever when it airs live on Telemundo from Miami’s Watsco Center on Oct. 5.
“We are all ready to party,” says Mary Black-Suárez, who produces the show through her MBS Entertainment. Here are five highlights to watch for.
1. In his first-ever awards show appearance, Mexican star Peso Pluma, who leads the list of this year’s finalists, will perform his hit “La Bebé” (with Yng Lvcas); the evocative “Nueva Vida” from his new album, Génesis; and a third song with a surprise guest.
2. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of banda diva Jenni Rivera (who died in December 2012), her daughter Chiquis Rivera will pay homage in a medley of essential hits like “Basta Ya,” “Inolvidable” and “Ya lo Sé” with assistance from norteño group Calibre 50 and Banda Cañaveral.
Chiquis attends the 23rd Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards at Michelob ULTRA Arena on November 17, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
3. After topping the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart with the irresistible “LALA,” Myke Towers will perform his hit live for the first time on TV. As a bonus, he’ll also premiere his new song with Yandel, “Borracho y Loco.”
4. Every year, Billboard and Telemundo recognize standout achievements that go beyond chart performance with special awards. Recipients in 2023 include reggaetón superstar Ivy Queen, who will receive the Icon award for her pioneering work in the genre that opened the door to women in urban music.
• Premieres at this year’s event will include Marc Anthony performing his new single with ranchera star Pepe Aguilar, as well as Marshmello making his first appearance at a Latin music awards show, performing “El Merengue” with Manuel Turizo. (The song is a finalist in the tropical song of the year category.)
For event dates, tickets and more on the conference, go to billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
This story originally appeared in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Over the past 12 months, Latin music’s growth has only accelerated. U.S. revenue surpassed the $1 billion mark for the first time ever — driven in large part by regional Mexican music, now the dominant Latin presence on the charts — indicating that the appetite for music in Spanish worldwide is vast and diverse.
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The 33rd edition of Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6 in Miami and including the Billboard Latin Music Awards, delves into the diversity of sounds and revenue sources fueling the genre, with events including these highlights.
“The Art of the Festival”
Over the past five years, the presence of Latin artists at major, multigenre U.S. festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza has grown — but there has also been a boom in Latin music-focused festivals domestically and abroad. What exactly goes into crafting and sustaining a successful one? Presented by Viña del Mar, this panel will have representatives from Baja Beach Fest, Bésame Mucho and Primavera Sound offering a look behind the scenes of these events.
“The Power Players: The Indie Edition”
As the heads of three of the most successful Latin indies, Rancho Humilde’s Jimmy Humilde (Fuerza Regida, Natanael Cano), Dale Play Records’ Federico Lauría (Duki, Bizarrap) and Prajin Music Group’s George Prajin (Peso Pluma) are a triple threat in the sector. In Billboard’s signature Latin Music Week panel discussion, they’ll offer insights into how their individual strategies have launched some of this generation’s most important Latin stars.
“The New Mexican Revolution”
The globalization of Mexican music has taken over the Billboard charts as a young and fearless new generation of artists scores major hits and goes viral. Moderated by BMI vp of creative and Latin Jesús González, this panel will take a closer look at this recent explosion, as norteño cumbia troupe Grupo Frontera, corridos tumbados pioneer Natanael Cano, genre-spanning star Peso Pluma, Mexican rapper Santa Fe Klan and Mexican reggaetón artist Yng Lvcas convene for a conversation about the genre’s diverse sounds and configurations.
“El Marketing Del Ferxxo”
Feid
@molomuseum
Feid’s seemingly overnight success belies how the Colombian superstar hustled his way to the top. After becoming an in-demand collaborator and writing for artists such as J Balvin, Thalia and Reykon, the singer-songwriter embraced his roots: “I opened the coolest door that I’ve ever opened, which was finding my identity and introducing El Ferxxo,” the hit-maker told Billboard in March. Along with members of his inner circle — including his manager and creative director — Feid will explain the nuts and bolts behind his success.
Los Ángeles Azules
Los Ángeles Azules
Courtesy Photo
Since emerging in the mid-1970s, this beloved Mexico City band has been rewriting the Mexican cumbia playbook. Continuously modernizing the storied regional Mexican subgenre for the next generation, the group of siblings has extended its reach drastically by revamping its hits and writing new ones alongside an exhilarating all-star cast of Latin artists from all corners of the map. In recognition of its enduring influence in Latin music, Los Ángeles Azules will receive the lifetime achievement award, as well as perform at Billboard’s Latin Music Awards.
“The Multimarket Pop King”
Sebastián Yatra
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Sebastián Yatra has both endured and flourished as a core pop artist who invites urban acts into his orbit and also lends his voice to a plethora of projects, from film (Encanto) to TV (Érase Una Vez … Pero Ya No) to music competitions (The Voice). Strategically collaborating outside genres isn’t new, but Yatra’s mastery of the practice (his recent “Vagabundo” with Beéle and Manuel Turizo went to No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart) and his ability to navigate two languages and cultures set him apart. Yatra will discuss his multitiered approach and what’s next for him.
“The Latin Swing: The Intersection of Music and Sports”
Francisco Alvarez #50 of the New York Mets
Elsa/Getty Images
Since launching in January, Rimas Sports, a division of Noah Assad’s Rimas Entertainment, has signed 50 baseball players. The move expands Rimas’ interest in athletics; Assad and Rimas Sports president Jonathan Miranda already own Puerto Rican basketball team Los Cangrejeros de Santurce with Bad Bunny. Rimas Sports clients Francisco Alvarez (of the New York Mets) and Everson Pereira (of the New York Yankees) will participate in this conversation moderated by executive and radio personality Angel “El Guru” Vera. They will be joined by Eladio Carrión and Arcángel, two Rimas artists who actively participate in philanthropy through sports.
Cheetos Block Party Featuring Myke Towers
Myke Towers
John Parra/Getty Images
“The biggest risk I’ve taken in my career musically is on this album,” Myke Towers told Billboard in April about his 2023 album, La Vida Es Una. The Puerto Rican singer-rapper will rock the Wynwood Marketplace stage at the Cheetos Block Party, where he’ll showcase songs from the album. The “LALA” chart-topper will also participate in the “Deja Tu Huella” panel presented by Cheetos, where he’ll share the stage with fellow creatives who have achieved success in conjunction with social responsibility.
For event dates, tickets and more on the conference, go to billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
This story originally appeared in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
As a fresh generation of artists elevates música urbana to new heights, two influential genre legends — Latin hip-hop’s “Rap Godfather” Vico C, and reggaetón hitmaker Chencho Corleone — are reasserting their dominance.
After more than a decade away, the Latin hip-hop legend returned with new music — but the same strong ethos.
To a casual fan, it may have looked like Latin hip-hop legend Vico C completely fell off the map for the past 14 years. But he never stopped writing songs during that time, even if he couldn’t release new music due to business-related legal issues.
“Having faith that those issues would soon resolve, I just kept writing so that I would be prepared for when I could finally release something again,” says the 52-year-old artist, known as the Rap Philosopher. “I couldn’t visualize what that ‘comeback’ would be like, but I just knew that I couldn’t die without releasing new music ever again.”
The socially conscious lyricist, born Luis Armando Lozada Cruz in Brooklyn, gained fame in the 1990s thanks to his vivid, thought-provoking storytelling that addressed topics such as faith and societal values. His sound, a melodic take on rap that fused reggaetón and hip-hop, was similarly bold.
Vico C returned in May with Pánico, a 13-track set released by his new label, Nain Music (a subdivision of Rimas Entertainment), and his first album since 2009’s Babilla. But he’s still reluctant to describe this stage in his career as a comeback. “It’s hard for people to follow a weird career like mine that isn’t super consistent. There have been controversies,” he explains, nodding to a turbulent past — which includes a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 1990 that led to drug addiction and six months in jail for drug possession — that precipitated a spiritual journey to recovery. “But I never stopped creating music or performing. It was just not being able to release a new album, and for many, no new albums means no career, period.”
His resurgence comes as música urbana has taken over the global charts thanks to a new generation of acts — many of whom have credited the wordsmith as a foundational influence. In the crowded field of urbano artists, Vico C has stuck to his values, sharply criticizing oversexualized, violent and materialistic lyrics.
That industry outlier status drew Nain Music to sign him earlier this year. “He’s fresh air to the genre,” says Nain CEO Fidel Hernández, calling Vico C the label’s “flagship” artist. “From an audience perspective, he represents that option to hear deep lyrics that transcend simple entertainment, with impeccable interpretation paired with contagious and creatively unlimited urban rhythms.”
And as Vico C sees it, his unique perspective explains his staying power. “My lyrics aren’t the type that typically sell in my genre. And I don’t want people to think that because I don’t have that sexual element in my music means that it will be out of place. That’s why I’m working hard to polish my lyrics, make them shine thanks to all I’ve learned as a producer. I feel calm and prepared. I’m not reinventing myself here. It’s a matter of just commercializing what I want to give to people.”
On the heels of mega collabs, the Puerto Rican hit-maker arrives as ‘a new artist.’
After nearly 20 years as half of the reggaetón duo Plan B, Chencho Corleone will release his first solo album through his new label, Sony Music Latin, by the end of 2023. The highly anticipated set — Chencho’s first since going solo in 2018 — follows several big collaborations for the Puerto Rican hit-maker, including the blockbuster “Me Porto Bonito” with Bad Bunny, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Once I started collaborating with all these artists, I saw that people wanted more from me,” says Chencho, 44. “There came a moment, after teaming up with Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro and they were all becoming hits, when I said, ‘OK, it’s time to give fans a more complete project.’ God’s timing is always perfect, and I’m ready to give it my all.”
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Chencho laid the foundation for his solo career with Plan B. Alongside partner Maldy, the iconic two-piece rose to fame in the 2000s with reggaetón anthems such as “Mi Vecinita,” “Frikitona” and “Fanática Sensual,” ultimately placing 11 songs on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart and 10 on Hot Latin Songs. Plan B’s highest-peaking album was also its last: 2014’s Love and Sex, which landed at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums.
But Chencho prefers to enter this new era with a clean slate. “When I started this journey alone, I didn’t want to live in the past. I never want to enter a space and say, ‘I’m Chencho, and this is everything I was able to do with Plan B,’ ” he explains. “I have no ego when I go into a studio with someone else. I consider myself a new artist, and I’m here to prove that just how I was there before, I am here today.”
Since going solo, he has scored two No. 1s on Latin Airplay: “Desesperados,” with Rauw, and “Me Porto Bonito,” which ruled Hot Latin Songs for 20 weeks. But Chencho’s collaborations hint at what fans can expect from his new album, which he promises will stay true to his reggaetón roots. “It’s what my fans know me for,” he says. “My style is singing songs that people can identify with but still dance along to and be transported to a specific time in their lives. The album is everything Chencho Corleone is known for, but amplified.”
Vico C and Chencho Corleone will speak at Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2 – Oct. 6. To register, click here.
This story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
At Houston’s NRG Stadium on Aug. 29, Karol G invited a special guest to join her onstage: her international tour’s opening act, the Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko. Clad in a vibrant pink crop top and matching baggy pants, Young Miko took Karol by the hand as the two sang their collaborative hit, “Dispo,” moving in perfect harmony in an undulating perreo-style dance.
Amid the ecstatic cheers of fans, it was Karol, not the newcomer, who betrayed a rare glimpse of nerves as she admitted, “Ahora soy yo la que me puse nerviosa!” (“Now it’s me who has gotten nervous!”)
Miko’s meteoric rise from nascent local sensation to captivating performer capable of holding her own beside a global superstar is a testament to her undeniable talent. In just over one year, Billboard‘s 2023 Latin Rookie of the Year has broken out of her native Puerto Rico’s música urbana scene, performing with heavyweights like Karol and Bad Bunny as well as headlining her own Trap Kitty world tour of nearly 50 cities across the Americas and Spain.
“I feel incredible — a world tour! At least this early in my career,” Miko says, still sounding awestruck.
She has also been ascending the Billboard charts. “Dispo” peaked at No. 22 on Hot Latin Songs, and she made her Billboard Hot 100 debut in July with “Classy 101,” a smooth reggaetón number with Colombian star Feid. “It was definitely a shocker,” Miko told Billboard in June. “Usually one sees Beyoncé, Taylor Swift or The Weeknd on the Hot 100. To see my name is very surreal, a reminder that this is really happening and that people are consuming [my music].”
Lia Clay Miller
Lia Clay Miller
While her name now shares the charts with music’s biggest stars, not long ago, the 24-year-old artist born María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano Cardona was leveraging another form of artistic expression — tattooing — to finance her music. “The goal was always to start tattooing so I could afford my music dreams and eventually let go of the machine,” she says. “Thanks to tattoos, I was able to start paying for studio time.”
Since arriving on the global Latin pop scene, Miko has both played into and inverted male-centric Latin tropes with bold and raunchy lyrics that draw on her experience as a queer woman while boosting the LGBTQ+ community. “When I started writing music, I was like, ‘F–k it. People already know I’m gay, and why would I sing to men?’ Respectfully,” she adds with a chuckle, “if I don’t like men, I’m not going to dedicate a song to one.”
Her commitment to authenticity allowed her to carve out a place as a singular, hyper-femme queer rapper in música urbana with an unmatched, unhurried flow that has captivated a growing fan base that she calls Mikosexuals.
“For a lot of people, I came out of nowhere and caught a drastic boom — but in reality, we’ve been doing this for a really long time,” she explains. “SoundCloud played a big role in letting me test these waters that I had never explored before. We didn’t have any other resources. We had the talent, the idea, the vision, the work ethic.”
Lia Clay Miller
That drive paid off when Angelo Torres, co-founder and head of Puerto Rican indie label Wave Music Group, came across Miko while scrolling through Twitter on a flight in 2020. “This SoundCloud link popped up of this girl with pink hair and tattoos,” Torres remembers. “I was instantly captivated when I heard her tracks. There was something undeniably intriguing about her sound. [I thought,] ‘I really need to meet this person.’ ”
Torres and producer Caleb Calloway established Wave in 2021 and signed Miko several months after. Calloway, who would become pivotal to her rise, first collaborated with her on “Puerto Rican Mami” when she only had a couple of songs released on SoundCloud. That track arrived in December 2021. By July 2022, Miko was onstage at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan with Bad Bunny, performing her viral trap song “Riri.”
To Calloway, Miko’s sincerity remains the key to her success. “She has always maintained her originality, never letting fame alter her essence,” he says. “Miko was that artist that was able to finally fit in exactly to where my sound was and then take it to another level with her Y2K flow, with her singing and then rapping, and me doing the beat. It just sounds like we’ve been together our whole lives, and we’ve only been working for three years.”
Lia Clay Miller
Young Miko photographed on September 11, 2023 in New York.
Lia Clay Miller
Alongside Calloway and her longtime producer Mauro, Miko has crafted hits like “Riri” and this year’s “Wiggy” and “Lisa.” Her debut album, Trap Kitty, and the singles that have followed showcase her laid-back approach to trap, rap and reggaetón — a refreshing blend of boldness and nonchalance.
“We sensed tremendous excitement around Young Miko,” says Jeremy Vuernick, president of A&R at Capitol Music Group, which locked in a long-term distribution deal with Wave in April. “One of the most exciting things about Young Miko, aside from her incredible ability as a songwriter and storyteller, is the way that she’s able to connect with her audience.” And her unwavering authenticity and fiery passion have struck a chord with fans across the globe.
“It has been a year filled with a lot of learning, both professionally and as a person. It all happened so fast, but I’m surrounded by people who just want the best for me — people who have been with me since day one,” Miko says. “There are many new things that seem unreal, but I’m grateful. I’m growing, I’m learning, I’m evolving. I just know that the best is yet to come.”
Young Miko will speak at Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2 – Oct. 6. To register, click here.
This story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
When Edgar Barrera first thought of bringing Bad Bunny and Grupo Frontera together for a collaboration, he thought to himself, “Wait, what am I even saying? That could never happen.” But like so many of the Mexican American songwriter-producer’s genre-bending ideas, this one didn’t just work out — it became a smash. The cumbia-norteña track “un x100to” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May.
“To have the biggest artist, whom I had been wanting to work with, collaborate with a group from my hometown and record a cumbia, which is the music I grew up listening to with my dad, it was crazy and a full-circle moment in my career,” Barrera says today. “Sometimes I sound delusional, but the crazy thing is that the impossible happened.”
Ten years into Barrera’s career, his ability to effortlessly move across genres has made him one of the most sought-after songwriters in Latin music, with collaborators including Maluma (“Hawái”), Christian Nodal (“No Te Contaron Mal”), Grupo Firme (“Ya Supérame”), Camilo (“Vida de Rico”), Becky G (“Chanel”) and Marc Anthony (“De Vuelta Pa’ la Vuelta”), in addition to non-Latin stars such as Ariana Grande (“Boyfriend,” with Social House) and Shawn Mendes (his “KESI” remix with Camilo). In January 2021, he topped four genre charts — pop, rhythm, tropical and regional Mexican airplay — with four different songs, something no other Latin songwriter had done before. “That moment was really special,” says Barrera, 33, who also won the 2021 Latin Grammy for producer of the year. “I remember when I heard about it, I kept calling people in the industry asking, ‘Is this normal?’ ”
Extraordinary moments have defined the career of Billboard’s 2023 Latin Groundbreaker, who grew up near the border between Roma, Texas, and Ciudad Miguel Alemán in Tamaulipas, Mexico. At 6 years old, he created a rock band with his brother, cousins and a friend, who were all around his age. “I swear there are photos of me playing a guitar that was bigger than me,” he says with a laugh. “And I would write songs too. The first ones were really bad — they were about teddy bears — but come on, I was a little kid.”
It was around that time that he also started joining his father, a cumbia artist, at the studio or watching him rehearse with his band. Later, as a teen, Barrera handed out business cards and CDs with songs he had written to artists leaving local radio stations after their interviews. He still has one of those old business cards, which he proudly shows off. “I would go home and just keep hitting refresh on my Hotmail in case someone wrote, but no one ever did,” he says with a shrug.
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Still, his hustle landed him an internship across the country in Miami with songwriter-producer Andrés Castro. “It was the best decision I could’ve ever made,” he says. “I started off as an engineer, [but] I remember when artists would come to the studio, I’d make sure to tell them, ‘Hey, I’m not really an engineer. I’m a songwriter and producer.’ And I’d show them my music. I got into a lot of problems because you’re not really supposed to talk to them directly. But I preferred to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission. And it worked: I got what I wanted.” Later, Castro would take Barrera to Sony Music Publishing Latin America, where he was signed by president/CEO Jorge Mejía.
Now, Barrera is laser focused on BorderKid Records, an imprint he launched in February 2022, with emerging acts Alex Luna and Neeus along with marquee client Grupo Frontera on his roster. When Barrera signed the six-piece last October, it was already a popular local band in McAllen, Texas, and had just landed its first big hit, “No Se Va,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
“We’re from the same place, so we all know each other, and one day, my compadre, who had hired them to perform at his tire shop opening, kept sending me videos telling me that they wanted to meet me,” Barrera explains. Their partnership began with a meet-up at a local Starbucks. “He believed in us from the start,” says vocalist-accordionist Juan Javier Cantú. “When we first met, he asked us where we saw the group going and we told him, but he told us that we were thinking too small and that we could go so much further. He pushed us to dream big.”
Edgar Barrera photographed on September 6, 2023 in Miami.
Natalia Aguilera
And now, Grupo Frontera is the latest Barrera success story. In August, its debut album, El Comienzo, bowed and peaked at No. 3 on the Top Latin Albums chart, and in the past year alone, the group — a 15-time finalist at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards — has placed eight songs on the Hot 100.
“I promised myself that, from now on, I would work only on projects that I feel really passionate about and make me feel something,” Barrera says. “With BorderKid, it’s that. I want to be that bridge between new artists, songwriters and producers and their goals.”
Edgar Barrera will speak at Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2 – Oct. 6. To register, click here.
This story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
For 2023, Billboard introduces the Latin Power Players Choice Award, a peer-voted accolade chosen by Billboard Pro members to honor the executive they believe has made the most impact across the Latin music business over the past year. After three rounds of voting, Billboard Pro members have chosen Walter Kolm, founder and CEO of WK […]
The first time Nelson Albareda promoted a show at the Madison Square Garden complex in New York — not at the arena proper, but at the 5,600-capacity theater beneath it — everyone told him, “You’re going to lose your ass.” Albareda, a Miami-born Cuban, had assembled what to him was a dream lineup: a 50th-anniversary celebration of groundbreaking salsa artist and Fania Records co-founder Johnny Pacheco, featuring Pacheco and the Fania All-Stars. Still, his detractors were right: Albareda lost $200,000 on the 2006 show.
But after the music ended, the promoter was still buzzing. At midnight, he took his parents, who had attended, to a nearby deli, where his father asked, “How are you laughing? You lost 200 grand!”
“Well, it’s part of the business,” Albareda told him. “We keep moving on.”
Seventeen years later, Albareda, now 47, stands by that take. “In this business, you lose money, and it’s not how quickly you fall but how quickly you come back,” he says.
That fearlessness has helped Albareda become one of today’s most successful music executives. After nearly two decades working at labels and in radio, marketing and concert promotion, including as the leader of his formidable company Eventus, Albareda founded Loud And Live in 2017. The forward-thinking outfit’s flywheel-style model combines independent concert promotion — in 2022, it ranked at No. 14 on Billboard Boxscore’s year-end promoters chart with $96.5 million grossed, propelled by major tours including arena runs by Camilo and Ricardo Arjona — with marketing, brand partnerships and a content development studio. Loud And Live’s breadth reflects Albareda’s own guiding ethos, which emphasizes a broader culture and how disparate revenue streams fit into it, rather than focusing on just one or two of those streams.
“I was very proud of my culture and my heritage, and I wanted to give back,” Albareda says. “I got into music because of culture and because of pride, not necessarily because of the business — even though I ended up being in the business.”
For Albareda, who grew up in Miami during a “golden age” for music in the city in the 1980s, running Loud And Live is a natural fit. As a kid, he would listen to any cassettes or CDs he could get his hands on — he cites Cuban salsa singer Willie Chirino as a childhood favorite and inspiration — and he fondly recalls attending the Calle Ocho festival, where he saw Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine perform.
“I grew up in a moment where Miami defined different sounds within the music business and always wanted to be part of that, primarily because of culture and the heritage of my parents,” he says.
Albareda’s entrée into the industry, while circuitous, laid the foundation for his interdisciplinary career. As a Miami Dade College freshman, he scored a meeting with Bacardi executives and successfully pitched “a branded entertainment concept … mixing music and cigars and the whole lifestyle around a big band.” As the project of “creating a 1950s, 1960s tropical salsa band” commenced, the team enlisted Celia Cruz — and when executives from her label, RMM, got to know Albareda, they offered him a publicity job in-house. RMM was distributed by Universal, then affiliated with the Bronfman family, which owned beverage conglomerate Seagrams; Albareda shared office space with the spirits division and began consulting for the likes of Absolut and Chivas Regal. The experience was formative, and after leaving RMM, he logged time at advertising agency Sanchez and Levitan before landing in radio at Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., where he deployed his passions for music and marketing.
“I saw an opportunity to make money on everything but the radio,” Albareda says. “I started a team that would do events, concerts, festivals — and then we also would go to the brands and say, ‘Hey, you’re Procter & Gamble. How do I help you?’ ”
Albareda understood the deep bond between radio audiences, particularly Hispanic listeners, and their favorite stations — and how it could be harnessed to deliver returns to brand partners. “You listened to that morning show, and you trusted that morning show,” he says. “You trusted the conviction that those are your friends. You wake up every day with them; you drive home with them. That’s what I built: You had the relationship with the artists, you had the relationship with the brands, you have the relationship with the listeners.”
As the company underwent changes, culminating in its absorption into Univision, Albareda realized, “Hey, I can do this without radio. Let me go on my own and really focus on this.” His first, short-lived attempt, a company called Unipro Group, failed when the 26-year-old Albareda misjudged the viability of a Christmas event and lost $3 million. “It was a decisive moment in my life,” he says now. “You realize when you’re at the bottom, you don’t have that many friends.”
After regrouping, in early 2005, he founded Eventus, which would focus on marketing and brands — not just because he knew the area well, but because he now lacked the capital to put on events. Eventus’ first client was the Latin Recording Academy, then still relatively new and looking to grow its footprint. Albareda helped it do just that, particularly through the sponsorship-driven event property Latin Grammy Street Parties, which staged open-air festivals in major cities nationwide. Brands took notice.
“We became the go-to guys for corporate America to connect anything that was culture with brands, specifically in the multicultural market,” Albareda says. “Our core was Hispanic. One by one, we started growing, and we built a company that worked with 60 brands. McDonald’s, Walmart, Dr Pepper, Verizon … those were all clients of ours.”
From left: El Alfa, Nelson Albareda, and Silvestre Dangond photographed on September 5, 2023 at Loud And Live in Doral, Fla.
Melody Timothee
With 40% growth year over year, Eventus also had runway to enter concert promotion, and Albareda focused on the South Florida market. After selling Eventus, now one of America’s biggest multicultural marketing players, to Advantage Solutions in 2013, Albareda remained as CEO until 2016, when he struck out on his own (on May 20, Cuban Independence Day, he observes) with a noncompete clause and free time to boat, fish and develop the kernel of the idea that would become Loud And Live.
“We are marketers turned promoters — versus a lot of the entertainment companies out there, and a lot of the promoters out there want to become marketers,” Albareda says of launching his current company in 2017. Because he understood “what brands want,” he could facilitate the types of partnerships that help make tours profitable. But his decision to focus on touring at Loud And Live before branching out into agency work — effectively reversing his Eventus path — was also borne of necessity: His noncompete around live entertainment expired first.
“When we started, artists would pick up our calls because of brands, but they didn’t necessarily trust us with touring,” Albareda says. To build Loud And Live’s reputation, he deviated from the industry trend — “Everybody was going after urban,” he recalls — and decided to pursue “five or six iconic artists that we can make an impact [with] and that other artists look up to.” He began with Juan Luis Guerra and later added Arjona, Carlos Vives, Franco De Vita and Ricardo Montaner, who all then spread the gospel of Loud And Live. And once Albareda was able to reenter the agency space with Loud And Live, what the company could offer clients clarified.
“The businesses here are all synergistic,” he says. “The way that we treat artists, we are their partner when they’re touring and when they’re not touring. We’re not that promoter that signs a deal, puts a tour [on and says,] ‘See ya.’ ”
Loud And Live’s attentiveness to its clients runs “from the manager to the engineer all the way up to the manager to the artist,” Albareda explains, and while he’s emphatic that “in this business anybody can write a check; we can write a check,” it has helped the company compete with deeper-pocketed, more established competitors.
“They’ve bet a lot on me and will continue to do so,” says Colombian vallenato artist Silvestre Dangond, who will embark on his fifth Loud And Live-promoted tour in 2024. “We have a lot of love for each other. I feel like he’s not even my promoter because of the way he talks to me. He has created a team that’s a hybrid of who he is, with his personality, his positivity, good energy. He’s very decent and very human.”
Adds WK Entertainment founder/CEO Walter Kolm, who manages Dangond and other Loud And Live clients like Vives and Prince Royce: “Nelson is a promoter, but his advantage is that he also thinks like a manager. On top of being a hard worker and great at his job, Nelson is such a kind human, and [that] makes working with him the greatest pleasure.”
The pandemic interrupted Loud And Live’s growth, but now the company is firing on all cylinders. After orchestrating a partnership between McDonald’s and J Balvin in 2020, Loud And Live has continued connecting the restaurant chain with artists including Prince Royce, Nicky Jam and Manuel Turizo. The company’s brand portfolio now includes Pepsi, Walmart, Mattel and Michael Kors. When Becky G embarked on her first headlining tour on Sept. 14, she did it with Loud And Live as her promoter — and with a fresh Vita Coco partnership facilitated by the company. Other fall tours for the promoter include U.S. runs by Vives, El Alfa and Diego El Cigala.
With in-person concerts on pause during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Loud And Live was able to grow its content division more quickly than anticipated, and it won a Latin Grammy for its 2021 Juan Luis Guerra concert special. When Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami CF, the soccer team (already a Loud And Live client) turned to Albareda to help roll out the superstar’s arrival — and Loud And Live assembled LaPresentaSíon, a concert featuring Camilo, Tiago PZK and more. (“All music artists look up to athletes; all athletes look up to artists,” Albareda says.)
And philanthropically, in keeping with his MO that his work place the culture, not business, first, Albareda announced a $1 million donation to the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation late last year; the funds, to be disbursed over five years, will go toward college scholarships, grants and educational programs.
“Throughout his career, Nelson has been an avid supporter of the Latin Recording Academy and our sister organization, the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, donating time and resources to our events as well as engaging as an advocate to share our mission and vision with artists,” says Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud. “Among [his] greatest professional strengths are the intangible qualities that are from the heart, particularly his passion for Latin music.”
But despite Loud And Live’s success, Albareda still possesses the scrappy drive that fueled him at his Garden debut nearly 20 years ago. The father of three says he works 18-hour days, adding that his “aspiration is to be the leading Latin promoter and entertainment company in the world.” Immediately before the pandemic, Loud And Live partnered with Move Concerts, a major Latin American promoter that works across genres, to increase its presence in Central and South America, and Albareda is now eyeing expansion into Europe.
And his vision isn’t restricted to Latin music: In November, Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt will headline the inaugural Country Bay Music Festival, Loud And Live’s first foray into the country market and an attempt to introduce a major country festival in Miami. “Country is a genre that is very similar in culture to Latin,” Albareda observes. “It’s a tight-knit community of family, core values, every song is a story — and we also know that Hispanics overindex in country music. Over 30% of country music fans in the U.S. today identify of Latino origin … My great-great-grandfather came here in 1876. Why is it that I can’t do country music?”
As he navigates a turbulent industry and the attendant pivots, Albareda returns to essential traits like perseverance, determination and trustworthiness. “We don’t sell widgets,” he says. “We sell relationships.”
Additional reporting by Griselda Flores.
This story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Shakira walks into a luxurious upstairs suite at Miami Beach’s Versace mansion wearing high-waisted jeans, a loose T-shirt and a baseball cap pushed low over her forehead, her hair pulled back in a tangle of dirty-blonde braids. Far from cameras, her face is practically devoid of makeup save for mascara, and her eyes are wide over prominent cheekbones. Clear-skinned, barely over 5 feet tall in her sneakers, she looks young and almost fragile — a far cry from the powerful, wrathful woman she has played in her recent, hugely successful songs and music videos.
“I’m still in a reflective period,” she says pensively. “I’m still exorcising some demons. The last I have left,” she adds with a hearty laugh.
One of the most recognizable and celebrated stars on the planet, Shakira is also notoriously meticulous, a perfectionist known for leaving little to chance. But in the past 14 months, the 46-year-old has thrown convention, expectations and her own personal brand of allure-driven celebrity to the wind following her infamous split from Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué, her partner of over a decade and the father of her two children, Milán, 10, and Sasha, 8. Covered ruthlessly by Spanish tabloids, the separation amid allegations of infidelity on Piqué’s part was immortalized when Shakira recorded “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, an incendiary track in which she made a proclamation that became a global feminist mantra: “Women don’t cry; we make money.” The song hit No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200.
But lost amid the tabloid coverage, the four Guinness World Records that “Sessions” set and multiple Billboard milestones (including becoming the first female vocalist to debut in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 with a Spanish-language track) was the fact that between motherhood and marital bliss in Barcelona, it had been nearly a decade since Shakira had achieved anywhere near the success she has had in the past year; her last No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart was “Chantaje,” with Maluma, back in 2016.
This year, she has already landed two No. 1s on the ranking: “Sessions” and “TQG,” with Karol G. (Both also reached the Hot 100’s top 10, and “TQG” topped the Billboard Global 200.) And in the past 12 months, she has placed six hits on the chart, all of them alluding to her separation and the range of emotions it has generated, from intense rage to deep sorrow to faint hope.
However torturous the process of setting those emotions to music has been, the result is that the now-single mother of two is once again one of the world’s hottest artists in any language, with 2024 plans for a new album and a global tour, respectively her first since 2017’s El Dorado and its corresponding 2018 trek.
The irony of the most tumultuous period of her personal life fueling a mid-career renaissance isn’t lost on Shakira.
“I feel like a cat with more than nine lives; whenever I think I can’t get any better, I suddenly get a second wind,” she says. “I’ve gone through several stages: denial, anger, pain, frustration, anger again, pain again. Now I’m in a survival stage. Like, just get your head above water. And it’s a reflection stage. And a stage of working very hard and when I have time with my children, really spend it with them.”
Iris van Herpen dress and headpiece.
Ruven Afanador
Shakira has always been remarkably eloquent, both in her native Spanish and in the English she learned as an adult when she crossed over into mainstream pop. In conversation, she bounces between languages almost reflexively as she searches for just the right word, bilingually expressing a wicked, sometimes self-deprecating sense of humor — and a sincerity that’s startling for such a scrutinized artist.
At the Versace mansion, she settles cross-legged into a big, blue armchair. She asks for black coffee; it has been a long night at the studio, followed by an early morning getting the kids ready for school. She has a craving for chocolates, and soon, a tray is delivered loaded with a variety of bars and bonbons. She goes for the latter and eats one with relish, then another. She chats freely about children, life and loss, laughing often and pausing to take a call from Sasha, who is in his first week of school after the summer break and at a friend’s house.
“My love, remember to pick up your plate, wash your hands and say thank you after eating,” Shakira reminds him. She sounds like a regular mom — highlighting the earthiness that has won the oft-barefoot performer so many fans.
“Attaining success is of course complicated, but far more complex is maintaining it through time. Shakira has demonstrated in a thousand ways that she belongs to this very select group. Every time she releases a song or an album, her shadow is again gigantic,” says Sony Music Latin Iberia chairman/CEO Afo Verde, a confidante who has worked very closely with Shakira through the years, particularly since May, when the Colombian star relocated from Barcelona to Miami.
Since then, she has been spending most days at 5020, Sony’s state-of-the-art recording studios and rehearsal space in Miami, working with a steady flow of creatives that includes top producer-songwriter Edgar Barrera, who has collaborated with Maluma, Peso Pluma and Grupo Frontera, among others.
“Of all the artists I’ve worked with, she’s the most perfectionist, the most meticulous,” says Barrera, who worked on several songs with her, including “Clandestino,” with Maluma. “She knows exactly what she wants and what she doesn’t want. She’ll request things like a change of frequency in a kick. After working with her, I understand why she’s where she’s at and why she has been at No. 1 so many times.”
Iris van Herpen headpiece.
Ruven Afanador
For Verde, Shakira’s proximity has helped him support her creative process in a way that has hugely accelerated her output. “She’s one of those few cases in the world who, despite the passage of time, continues to work with the same excitement, quality, respect and attention to detail as she did in the beginning. She works with whoever makes sense for her artistic pursuit. She doesn’t care if they’re established or up and coming. For her, art comes first.”
Case in point: Fuerza Regida, the Southern California Mexican quintet that has scored five Hot 100 entries in the past year with its brash, homegrown take on norteño music but remains far from a household name. When Shakira’s team reached out to lead singer JOP in July to ask if he was interested in collaborating on the recently released “El Jefe” with her, the 26-year-old got on a flight to Miami the next day without having heard a note of the proposed track.
“It’s Shakira! Do you understand what I mean?” JOP says. “There isn’t anything else to say. I grew up listening to Shakira, and after all the challenges to reach where I am now, to collaborate with one of the greatest artists in the world… It’s crazy! It had me mind-blowed.”
In May, Billboard honored Shakira as its first ever Latin Woman of the Year; in July, Premios Juventud gave her its Agent of Change Award; and on Sept. 12, she received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she also performed a dazzling, 10-minute medley of hits.
Still, she admits, for the past seven years, she has been sidetracked by family matters and life in Barcelona, far from music industry action. That changed a little over a year ago, when she split with Piqué and began cathartically pouring her heart into her songs. Several milestones followed in quick succession. “Te Felicito,” with Rauw Alejandro, reached No. 10 on Hot Latin Songs and No. 67 on the Hot 100 in May and June of 2022, respectively; in November, “Monotonía,” with Ozuna (its video shows Shakira’s heart literally torn from her body and squished by a shoe on the sidewalk), climbed to No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs; and earlier this year, “Sessions” and “TQG” surged in popularity.
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Suddenly, Shakira was no longer a distant celebrity, but one of the most streamed stars on the planet. (At press time, she was Spotify’s most streamed Latin woman artist ever.)
Simultaneously, Shakira — who essentially pioneered the concept of global touring in the Latin realm and made history when she co-headlined the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Jennifer Lopez — revived conversations about hitting the road. While details remain under wraps, her upcoming tour, says WME music partner Keith Sarkisian, will include arena and stadium shows in nearly two dozen countries across Latin America, North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.
“Shakira has established herself as a remarkable and influential artist over the past 20-plus years,” says Live Nation Entertainment CEO/president Michael Rapino, whose relationship with the singer dates back to her 2007 Oral Fixation tour. “She has grown a massive global fan base through her captivating performances and unique blend of pop, rock, Latin and world influences. We can’t wait to see her on stages around the world for her biggest tour yet.”
Shakira agrees. “I think this will be the tour of my life. I’m very excited. Just think, I had my foot on the brakes. Now I’m pressing on the accelerator — hard.”
First order of the day: Are the kids happy in school?
They’re doing very well. They love it. In Barcelona, they carried the weight of being “the children of…,” and the media situation was hard on them. We had paparazzi at our doorstep every single day. Here, they’re normal children who enjoy normalcy, which is what school should be: a safe haven where they can be themselves. And because they’re sociable and pretty open, it was easy for them to adapt.
Have you adapted?
I’m still in the process! (Laughs.) I’ve lost a bit of my mental plasticity with time. The last time I lived here, I was 21 or so. Miami has changed. There wasn’t as much traffic before.
Do you still enjoy driving?
Yes. I still drive myself. I drive a total soccer mom car: a Toyota Sienna. Not sexy at all. There are no sexy cars in my house. The only sexy thing in my house is me. (Laughs.)
I’ve seen you going out a lot. I didn’t know you were such a social butterfly.
Me either! I didn’t know it because I really was lazy about going out [before]. My favorite outfit is my PJs. But my kids are big Miami Heat fans. Milán is a fan of all sports. So I have to take him to all the baseball games, all the basketball games, all the hockey games. Never in my life have I gone to so many sporting events. And then, when they’re with their dad, I work from morning to night, and then I have a margarita with my friends.
Did your lifestyle change dramatically over the last year?
Dramatically. Aside from the fact that it’s been a drama, the time I have with my children, [I] really spend it with them. For example, this summer, the time they spent with me, I devoted entirely to them. I didn’t work, and they didn’t go to camp. They went to Camp Shakira. If I can only have them half the time, I’m going to make the most out of my half.
Versace dress and gloves, Giuseppe Zanotti boots.
Ruven Afanador
How does this affect your music?
Now that I spent a week in Los Angeles, for example, I put in everything: studio, work, meetings, work, work, work, work until late, then meet up with my girlfriends that I haven’t seen in a while and go out at night like in the old days. (Laughs.) I put everything, leisure and pleasure, in the same week but very compacted because then I have to come back and be a mom again, the head of the household, and then I can’t do anything because I have the children with me all the time. As far as the music, it still comes from a very reflective place.
But the upside to all you’ve been through seems to be that you’ve produced some of your most successful music in years. Would you agree?
Well, the thing is, I was dedicated to him. To the family, to him. It was very difficult for me to attend to my professional career while in Barcelona. It was complicated logistically to get a collaborator there. I had to wait for agendas to coincide or for someone to deign to come. I couldn’t leave my children and just go somewhere to make music outside my house. It was hard to maintain the rhythm. Sometimes I had ideas I couldn’t lock down. Right now, I have an idea and I can immediately collaborate with whomever I want to. Something inescapable about Miami, Los Angeles, the U.S. in general is I have the logistical and technical support, the resources, the tools, the people. Living in Spain, all that was on hold.
I hadn’t thought about it that way…
That’s why my career was a third priority. The last time I released an album was six years ago. Now I can release music at a faster clip, although sometimes I think being a single mom and the rhythm of a pop star aren’t compatible. I have to put my kids to bed, go to the recording studio; everything is uphill. When you don’t have a husband who can stay home with the kids, it’s constant juggling because I like to be a present mom and I need to be there every moment with my children: take them to school, have breakfast with them, take them to play dates. And aside from that, I have to make money.
It’s so complicated to be a working mom — we’re taught we can do everything, but something always suffers. What do you think?
I haven’t been to the gym in a year. Well, I’ve gone a couple of times. I don’t know how long it’s been since I got a massage. I have torticollis! Something’s got to give. My neck. My traps. That’s what gives. It’s hard to do everything.
Before all this happened, were you concerned about releasing new music, or were you happy in your Barcelona state of mind?
My priority was my home, my family. I believed in “till death do us part.” I believed that dream, and I had that dream for myself, for my children. My parents have been together, I don’t know, 50 years, and they love each other like the first day, with a love that’s unique and unrepeatable. So I know it’s possible. My mom doesn’t leave my [sick] father’s side. They still kiss on the mouth. And it has always been my example. It’s what I wanted for myself and my children, but it didn’t happen. If life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade. That’s what I’m doing: making lemonade.
Gaurav Gupta dress.
Ruven Afanador
Tell me about your upcoming singles. You’ve been collaborating with all Latin artists lately. Is that a calculated decision?
It has all been very organic. I’m coming out with something in September and maybe in November. The new single is a collab with Fuerza Regida. It’s a Mexican ska, and it sounds very fresh, very original, very punk in a way. It has tons of energy. The song is called “El Jefe” [“The Boss”], and it’s about abuse of power. We had the song and thought, “Oy, who could we get for this?,” and we thought of Fuerza Regida. JOP’s voice is very special. We wrote him, and he flew in the following day from Los Angeles and we recorded it in three days.
[Regarding “TQG” with Karol G], Karol is going through a good moment, plus we were both going through [public breakups] that have a common denominator. That inspired the song, which we both worked on. It was a project I believed in from the onset, and that’s why I invested so much time in it.
This was a highly anticipated and very successful collaboration. Would you say you devoted more time and resources to “TQG” than other recent singles?
Well, the Ozuna video [for “Monotonía”] was also my idea. Most videos I end up co-directing, co-writing, even designing the objects with the art department. I really get involved all the way because I feel the audiovisual world [also] expresses a very oneiric side and connects with the song from the subconscious. It allows the subconscious to speak. When I’m making a video, I close my eyes and dream.
With that in mind, why have a siren in your new music video for “Copa Vacía” with Manuel Turizo?
Because the siren is a symbol that represents that part of me that was abducted and taken from a world where she belongs to a world where she doesn’t belong. A world she had to make enormous sacrifice to be in. A world where perhaps she lacked oxygen. But in the end, she returns to the sea because it’s her destiny, just like I returned to Miami. (Laughs.) This siren was first abducted and then, for love, is next to this man, captive and locked up in a way. Sacrificing her own well-being and what is natural for her for love. And then she ends up thrown in the trash and surrounded by rats.
That’s intense.
Right? And I don’t know if you knew this, but there are real rats around me in the video. Because believe me, I’m still surrounded by rats. But every time less and less. That has been a big part of what I’ve been doing this past year: cleaning the house, exterminating the rats.
But your music returned. That’s the silver lining.
There’s always a silver lining. Life always manages to compensate somehow. In one year, I lost what I loved most, the person I most trusted, my best friend: my father. He has lost many of his neurological functions as a result of the accident he had in Barcelona [a fall in June 2022]. And he went to Barcelona precisely to console me, to support me at the time of my separation. I thought, “How can so many things happen to me in a year?” But that’s life.
From there, my music has also taken new flight, and I suppose that’s the way life compensates. You subtract on one end and add on the other. It’s pure mathematics. In my ninth life, I’ll tell you what the total is. Sometimes I think happiness isn’t for everyone. Happiness is a luxury, a commodity. Some people are born to be happy, and some people are born to do things, serve the community. I don’t know.
Are you happy now?
It’s a very short question for a very long answer. I don’t think everyone has access to happiness. It’s reserved for a very select number of people, and I can’t say I’m part of the club at this moment. There are moments of happiness, distraction, moments of reflection. There are also still moments of nostalgia, and my music right now feeds off that cocktail.
Iris van Herpen headpiece.
Ruven Afanador
You obviously didn’t plan any of this. You weren’t looking for a No. 1, but for a creative outlet, correct?
Exactly. I was trying to work out and understand my emotions in search of a catharsis.
In 2021, you sold the music publishing rights to your catalog of 145 songs at the time to Hipgnosis. Why?
I’m very friendly with Merck [Mercuriadis]. He’s a musicology expert who knows my catalog intimately from the very first song I wrote when I was 8 years old. I know my compositions are in the best hands with him as the custodian for them, and I’m very happy. They’re doing a really good job. If you sell your catalog, you want to know it’s to someone who values your music and knows about music.
Are you at all worried about artificial intelligence?
I was shown how I sound with AI. But I don’t think they got it right yet. I don’t hear myself there. The letter E, for example, sounds like my voice, but not the other four vowels. I think it’s going to be hard for AI to imitate me. And I have bigger fish to fry right now. My biggest concern is figuring out how Milán can practice American football, soccer and baseball in the same week.
I know you’re planning to tour next year, and I saw photos of you at Beyoncé’s tour. It looked like you were having fun.
Oh, no. I was working! (Laughs.) I definitely can’t tour with as many trucks as Beyoncé, but I was taking notes.
Something I’ve always loved about your tours is that they are pretty much all you. That you don’t need…
So much stuff? In a way, I wanted to prove to myself that I could support the entire weight of a show. In fact, many of my tours had no dancers and a limited production. In the [2002-03] Tour of the Mongoose, which was one of my most successful tours, with the biggest production, I traveled with that serpent that rose at the beginning of the show, remember? That serpent cost $1 million and, transporting the serpent, several million more. When the tour ended, my manager asked for his commission, and I said, “Aha, and how much did I make from the tour?” He said, “No, you lost $6 million. Didn’t you want to travel with that cobra?” You live and learn.
Putting a tour together is fun, but it’s a great effort and you have to put everything on the balance and decide what the fans really want to hear, what songs you want to hear and how much production you want. In the end, the more production you have, the higher the ticket price. I want the tickets to be affordable. But to me, the most important thing is the repertoire. That’s why I think [my next tour] will be the tour of a lifetime, because I have so many songs.
Versace dress and gloves, Giuseppe Zanotti boots.
Ruven Afanador
Do you think that in five years, when you look back, you’ll see this moment in a more positive light?
Like a blessing in disguise? I think that nothing can compensate for the pain of destroying a family. Of course, I have to keep going for my children’s sake; that’s my greatest motivation. But my biggest dream, more than collecting platinum albums and Grammys, was to raise my sons with their father. Overcome obstacles and grow old together. I know I’m not getting that now.
What did you learn about yourself in this process that surprised you?
My strength. I thought I was much weaker. I used to crumble before the stupidest problems. I’d create a drama because I chipped my tooth or that kind of stuff. But maturing, going through truly difficult things, gives you a sense of perspective and empathy. You learn how to value the good moments and how not to amplify the bad ones.
Before, when I didn’t have real problems, I was a true drama queen. I remember one time, Gerard bought me a diamond ring because I chipped a tooth on The Voice and I was crying so much. I was inconsolable. I was also pregnant, so I was highly hormonal. Now I chip a tooth, and it doesn’t go beyond being a little inconvenience that you fix with a visit to the dentist. I wouldn’t cry over it for two days in a row like I used to back in the day when I used to be happy.
At a time when there seems to be no taboos left in Latin music in terms of content and image, do you think a lot about what you want to say or portray in your music?
I’ve always been very conscious of the fact that what a public person expresses or says has an echo and an impact over others. And I am convinced that we have to serve the community through our work and help the world become a better place. As a woman, I feel I have a responsibility. I also think music is a tool, a platform for validation as a woman and to validate my own ideas, but there isn’t a calculated intent behind what I do. But I do understand the responsibility that comes with what I have and with being a public person and being able to do music for such a long time and reach several generations. I know little girls see me, go to my concerts, listen to my music. That’s always in the back of my head.
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“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” generated a lot of controversy. People were divided over whether you should have spoken out. Was that a difficult decision?
When I did that session, people on my team were saying, “Please change this. Don’t even think about coming out with those lyrics.” And I said, “Why not?” I’m not a diplomat in the United Nations. I’m an artist, and I have the right to work on my emotions through my music. It’s my catharsis and my therapy, but it’s also the therapy of many people. I know I’m the voice of many people, and I’m not being pretentious, just realistic. I lend my voice to many women who maybe also wanted to say the same things I said and perhaps haven’t had the validation to do so. I think songs like the Bizarrap session or like the one I did with Karol have given many women strength, self-empowerment, self-confidence and also the backing to express and say what they need to say.
And without the need to be vulgar or graphic?
No, but going straight to the jugular. I don’t know how to go anywhere else.
Michelle Yeoh, who is 61 years old, won the Academy Award for best actress this year. In her speech, she said, “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime.” Ours is a very ageist industry. What do you think of those words?
When the year started and I got that first No. 1, then the other, back-to-back, I thought, “This can’t be happening to me at 46 years old.” It was so exciting to break the mold or reinvent the paradigms, and also, because that’s how you change things. I feel I have more energy now than at many other times in my life. Now the studio is one of my happy places. In the past, it wasn’t so much like that. There were moments where I had a love/hate relationship. There was a bit of a fear factor in the studio, at the prospect of being before a blank canvas. But now, when I’m about to start a song, my feelings are more of anticipation. Maybe because I’m not such a control freak as I used to be?
Really?
I’ve let go a lot! I still control, but I’m not a freak. Who doesn’t like control in a way? You want to realize your vision. But I’ve let go a lot. If I were to chip my tooth now, I’d probably spill a tear or two, but I wouldn’t cry the whole day.
This story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Although British rock band The Last Dinner Party scored a top 10 alternative hit with their debut single, for the five women that comprise the group, they’d been preparing for this moment for years. Just before beginning university in 2020, lead singer Abigail Morris, bassist Georgia Davies and vocalist/guitarist Lizzie Mayland crossed paths and became fast friends, bonding over musical interests. (Morris and Davies attended King’s College London; Mayland at Goldsmiths.) “We would go to gigs all the time, researching and thinking about starting a band,” Morris explains. “We were very intellectual about it for a long time.”
They soon recruited lead guitarist Emily Roberts and vocalist/keyboardist Aurora Nischevi, both of whom were involved in the local music circuit. The five began writing music together at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, though their first release wouldn’t come for nearly three years — but the wait paid off. “Nothing Matters,” the cinematic alt-rock debut single that arrived in April has become a force at radio, reaching a new high of No. 8 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated Sept. 23.
While fleshing out its sound, the group built a fan base by testing its material in pubs and small venues around London. “In the age of TikTok, people thought unless you have a song go viral, there’s no way of generating a following,” Morris says. “Ours just felt like a more natural thing. We had much more of a jumping off point from playing shows to seven people who don’t give a f–k to [then] playing much larger shows.”
From left: Georgia Davies, Emily Roberts, Abigail Morris, Aurora Nischevi, and Lizzie Mayland of The Last Dinner Party photographed on August 30, 2023 in London.
Nicole Nodland
From left: Emily Roberts, Lizzie Mayland, Georgia Davies, Abigail Morris and Aurora Nischevi of The Last Dinner Party photographed on August 30, 2023 in London.
Nicole Nodland
As the band’s stature in the local scene grew, it wasn’t long before it gained traction in the industry, too: after Q Prime’s Tara Richardson heard about The Last Dinner Party through an audio engineer that worked with the act in the studio, she received four “very impressive” demos, she says. Subsequently, she saw the band perform live in early 2022, and almost immediately, she signed the act to the management firm. By May, the group had scored a record deal with Island. “It’s just so refreshing to see young, strong women,” Richardson says. “They’re not arrogant; they’re not out to prove themselves. They’re just doing what they do, and if you don’t like it, they’re completely fine with it.”
By the start of 2023, with a team in place, the group prepared to officially launch its recording career with “Nothing Matters.” “We built a reputation around the London live circuit and had a bit of buzz around our first release,” says Davies. “This wasn’t a dress rehearsal.” Adds Morris: “You only get one debut.”
With a swelling bridge and a cheeky hook, “Nothing Matters” originally began as a “slow, sad ballad” that Morris wrote about a then-current romantic relationship. “I very rarely write love songs — I only write about heartbreak,” she says with a laugh. “It’s just easier and more dramatic. [But] I was with my boyfriend at the time and I was very happy.” Davies remembers the bandmates then “throwing everything at” the simple piano ballad in the studio, playing around with guitar solos, horn sections and vocal tones. “It was really a song that became itself once it was in the hands of the band,” Davies says. “It was one completely different thing when it first started and it needed to be played live and have everyone’s input.”
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The song officially arrived on April 19, and was paired with a Pride & Prejudice-coded music video that delivered dark academia with an edgy girl-band twist. “It captures the spirit of what we’re doing now,” Morris says. “ ‘Nothing Matters’ has that maximalist, tortuous freedom that we have and want for the rest of the record.” By the summer, “Nothing Matters” had become a radio hit: in early July, it debuted on Adult Alternative Airplay; the following month, it did so on Rock & Alternative Airplay.
Since the breakthrough hit arrived, The Last Dinner Party has grown its touring platform well beyond the pubs from their early days, supporting Florence + the Machine and Hozier on separate runs and performing at major festivals including Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds. The band will soon embark on a 10-stop U.K. headlining tour, followed by five dates in the U.S. It’ll have two other singles in tow for the trek: The bouncy pop-rock “Sinner” dropped in late June, and its next release, which the band calls a “left turn,” is due to arrive by the end of September.
With a debut album expected sometime in 2024, The Last Dinner Party’s members seem completely in sync: Morris and Davies finishing each other’s sentences multiple times during our interview, including when discussing what keeps the band’s emotional bond so strong. “I think what’s missing in a lot of artists [is] a commitment to themselves because they want to seem cool or ironic,” says Davies. “I want people to see our sincerity and be themselves too.”
“We advise them, but at the end of the day, they know what they’re doing,” says Richardson. “They have mood boards — everything has already been discussed. Excuse the French, but they’re not f–king around.”
From left: Georgia Davies, Lizzie Mayland, Abigail Morris, Emily Roberts and Aurora Nischevi of The Last Dinner Party photographed on August 30, 2023 in London.
Nicole Nodland
From left: Georgia Davies, Abigail Morris, Emily Roberts, Aurora Nischevi and Lizzie Mayland of The Last Dinner Party photographed on August 30, 2023 in London.
Nicole Nodland
A version of this story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023 issue of Billboard.