Music

13 Sep 2024

Friday Music Guide: New Music From The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, Charli xcx & Troye Sivan and More

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, The Weeknd brings us back to the dance floor, Playboi Carti is still seeing red, and Charli xcx extends Brat Summer. Check out all of this week’s picks below:

The Weeknd, “Dancing in the Flames”

The Weeknd triumphantly returns with “Dancing in the Flames,” the first single from forthcoming album Hurry Up Tomorrow, that continues the synth-pop fantasia of Dawn FM but offers an even meatier chorus and more vocal fragility; it’s a big swing that would work well in an ‘80s radio block or any collection of modern streaming hits.

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Playboi Carti, “All Red”

The hip-hop world has been eagerly awaiting Playboi Carti’s next album, and the release of “All Red” not only suggests that the follow-up to Whole Lotta Red is right around the corner (and a thematic continuation, natch), but that the MC is as locked-in as ever, as he tosses out catchphrases and ad-libs over a combustible beat.

Charli xcx feat. Troye Sivan, “Talk Talk” remix

We may be past Labor Day and beyond the glories of Brat Summer, but Charli xcx is not done gifting us compelling remixes to her lauded full-length — this time, her pal and tour partner Troye Sivan offers perfect balance on a new version of “Talk Talk,” with his soulful tone complementing Charli’s elastic bounce amidst the song’s constant motion.

Tate McRae, “It’s ok I’m ok”

Continuing a breakthrough year in which she’s been able to show off pinpoint choreography and smashing hooks, Tate McRae positions new single “It’s ok I’m ok” as a collection of breathless melodies that work well for dance routines; we’re hearing a pop singer find her sound and style in real time.

Miranda Lambert, Postcards From Texas

For her first album with new label partners Republic and Big Loud — and since entering her forties — Miranda Lambert returns to her roots on Postcards From Texas, with one of country music’s smartest storytellers utilizing her home state as inspiration for stories of singular characters, post-betrayal revenge and women who are underestimated while being experts in their craft.

Katy Perry feat. Doechii, “I’m His, He’s Mine”

One week before unveiling new album 143 and a few days after her Video Vanguard showcase at the MTV VMAs, Katy Perry is lending some of her pop prowess to rising star Doechii on “I’m His, He’s Mine,” who in turn injects the track with ample amounts of confidence, as they play a pair of queens who can beguile any stray man.

Shawn Mendes, “Nobody Knows”

In his rustic return, Shawn Mendes has shrugged off pop bombast in favor of guitar strums and unguarded vocals — and “Nobody Knows,” a swaying new anthem that allows Mendes’ upper register to hoot, holler and fully bloom, sounds like the most naturally rendered track released so far from his upcoming album.

Editor’s Pick: FKA Twigs, “Eusexua”

Like most of FKA Twigs’ hypnotic tunes, “Eusexua,” the title track from her next album, juxtaposes the gentle contours of Twigs’ voice with jarring production elements — this time, skittering beats that grow and threaten to burst before congealing into a dance-floor throb, then unexpectedly evaporating. Breathtaking and accessible, “Eusexua” is a dazzling return from a one-of-a-kind creator.

13 Sep 2024

John Legend Slams Donald Trump’s ‘Hateful’ Claim That Haitian Immigrants Eat Pets in His Hometown

John Legend has long been open about his political views, as well as his opposition to Donald Trump. But after the presidential debate on Sept. 10 — during which the Republican candidate regurgitated rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio — it got personal for the EGOT winner.

In a video posted to his Instagram account Thursday (Sept. 12), two days after Trump’s first debate with Kamala Harris, Legend — who is from Springfield — shared his thoughts on the easily debunked claims about his hometown’s immigrant community. “Springfield has had a large influx of Haitian immigrants who’ve come to our city,” he explained. “Now, our city had been shrinking for decades. We didn’t have enough jobs, we didn’t have enough opportunities.”

“Of late, during the Biden administration, there’ve been more jobs that opened up — more manufacturing jobs, more plants, factories — that needed employees and were ready to hire people,” the “All of Me” singer continued. “During the same time, there had been upheaval and turmoil in Haiti. Our demand in Springfield for additional labor met up with the supply of additional Haitian immigrants.”

After outlining how the federal government assisted the Haitian population in legally moving to the United States, Legend compared the situation to other international communities — Polish, Irish, Italian, German, Jewish and Jamaican, to name a few — who’ve also immigrated over the years in pursuit of the American dream. “All of us need to have the same kind of grace that we would want for our ancestors,” he said into the camera.

“Nobody’s eating cats,” he added. “Nobody’s eating dogs. We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy, safe environment. Don’t spread hateful, xenophobic, racist lies about them.”

The post comes as Springfield finds itself thrust into the center of the 2024 presidential race thanks to the false pet-eating rumor, which started with a post in a local Facebook group that alleged a neighbor’s daughter’s friend had found their missing cat hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home. With anti-immigration sentiment being a core tenet of Trump’s platform, his campaign was quick to use the rumors as fuel for his third White House bid, as conservative outlets spread the false story online.

“There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” a spokesperson for Springfield recently told CNN, while Mayor Rob Rue said Thursday that the hoax is “hurting our citizens and hurting our community.”

The Springfield controversy is just the latest topic Legend has spoken about amid the 2024 presidential race, with the musician being one of the earliest and most outspoken supporters of President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris’ campaigns this year. In a recent interview with BBC Newsnight, for instance, he opened up about the importance of reproductive healthcare — another hot-button issue in this year’s race — and detailed how it played a crucial role in his family in 2020.

“We were losing a pregnancy we wanted, a baby we wanted — we were losing him,” Legend recalled of Chrissy Teigen’s pregnancy loss four years prior. “We had to have abortion care to resolve that, to make sure that Chrissy didn’t die. She was bleeding profusely, and her life needed to be saved. We had to have abortion care to do that.”

Watch Legend call for peace in Springfield, Ohio, and share his thoughts on healthcare for women below.

13 Sep 2024

Janet Jackson Reveals Mortifying Wardrobe Malfunction in Front of Queen Elizabeth II: ‘I Couldn’t Believe It Happened’

Janet Jackson is opening up about another wardrobe malfunction. In an interview with British Vogue in which the 58-year-old pop icon flipped through a look book of some of her most iconic costumes, Jackson stopped on one of the military-inspired looks from her 1989 Rhythm Nation album.

“Funny story. I was performing for the Queen of England, and we were doing Rhythm Nation,” Jackson said of the late British monarch who died at age 96 in Sept. 2022. “Sure enough, as soon as I squatted, my pants split right up my booty crack.” Jackson said she “couldn’t believe” her terrible luck before realizing it was worse than she imagined.

“Then I started feeling air back there, so I knew it had really happened,” she said, revealing her quick-thinking fix for the sartorial nightmare. “I never turned my back to her, which, some of the choreography, I was supposed to. I just faced forward.”

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The story from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is extra poignant given the other wardrobe malfunction she is most commonly associated with. As you may recall, back in 2004 Jackson performed with Justin Timberlake at that year’s Super Bowl halftime show in Houston, during which JT famously ripped off a piece of Jackson’s costume, exposing her nipple for 9/16th of a second.

The moment that was probed in a 2021 New York Times Presents documentary led to a raft of complaints from viewers, as well as fines and significant professional implications for Jackson. For years, many fans and pundits noted that Timberlake appeared to emerge from the pre-social media viral moment with little or no backlash, while Jackson’s career was dealt a blow from the incident after her videos were pulled from Viacom properties including MTV, VH1 and CBS and she was uninvited to that year’s Grammy Awards.

The Super Bowl slip dubbed “Nipple-gate” also introduced the phrase “wardrobe malfunction” into common parlance and, in the wake of the #FreeBritney movement that blew up in 2019, led to Timberlake issuing public apologies to both Jackson and his ex Spears for the way he’d treated them.

“I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond,” Timberlake said at the time after the 2021 Framing Britney Spears documentary portrayed the “Cry Me a River” singer as acting callously following his split with Britney in 2002. “I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism. I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”

Jackson is gearing up to launch her Las Vegas residency with back-to-back performances on Dec. 30 and New Year’s Eve at Resorts World Las Vegas.

Watch Jackson describe her royal de-pantsing below.

13 Sep 2024

Miranda Lambert’s ‘Postcards From Texas’: All 14 Tracks Ranked

Miranda Lambert returns with her 10th studio album today (Friday, Sept. 13), and in the process, she’s revisiting and celebrating her Lone Star State roots even as her career propels forward, as her new album is her first since signing with Republic Records, in conjunction with Big Loud, earlier this year.

For more than two decades, Lambert has been defiantly and triumphantly carving her own sonic territory, setting herself apart by skillfully writing and recording songs that detail life’s idyllic and messy moments, capturing both blazing zeniths of confidence and hazy shadows of doubt — always with a tumbleweed spirit. The result has been seven Billboard Country Airplay No. 1s, and and seven albums that have reached the pinnacle of the Top Country Albums chart.

On previous albums, this three-time Grammy winner has veered from country’s glam-rock edges to its moody, soulful precipices. But on her latest, she’s in classic Lambert form — though the spunky, something-to-prove edge of her early albums has cemented into a surefooted, calm-yet-keen creative spark, as she bends every note and lyric in her distinct Texas twang.

The sounds emanating from this project’s 14 songs are entrenched with stinging wit and shot through with unadulterated frankness, as Lambert worked at Arlyn Studios in Austin, co-producing the album with longtime collaborator Jon Randall. On her latest, Lambert and her collaborators etch detailed imagery of the neon-lit honky-tonks, homey back porches, pastures and stretches of open spaces that embody where the album was created.

Many of the songs here center on loving and leaving, acknowledging free-spirit ways, while it’s understood that allegiances to country music and the Lone Star State are likely to outlast just about everything else.

“I have not made a record in Texas since I was 18, my little independent album, so this is full circle – coming back home to the root, to kind of start fresh with a new label and sound and some new band members I haven’t played with,” Lambert said via a release before the album’s drop. “Being back home and really remembering why I love country music, it’s already leaning way more country which I love.”

Billboard ran through Postcards From Texas upon its arrival on streaming services, ranking all 14 tracks from the project below.

13 Sep 2024

How U.S. Construction Workers Fueled Luis R Conriquez’s Rise

There’s a uniqueness to Luis R Conriquez’s humble beginnings. The gas station worker-turned-hitmaker, now known as the king of corridos bélicos, began writing songs for an unlikely group of early listeners who turned into some of his first clients.

Soon after writing his first corridos in his early 20s, the Sonora-born artist started getting direct messages on Instagram from construction workers in the United States who were wondering if he could write corridos about them.

“If it wasn’t for Instagram I wouldn’t have been known. Instagram was how I got my first jobs,” Conriquez told Billboard‘s Griselda Flores in his latest cover story. While an odd request to get, it was, after all, a source of income for Conriquez, who worked at a gas station and made music on the side. “I asked them to send me a short summary describing themselves so I could get inspired,” he continued. “I’d write, record and send it to them.”

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Conriquez admits he didn’t even know how much to charge them. At the time, he explained, “I was my own manager at the time, my own distributor, collecting my own money.” So, initially, he charged $150 per corrido, but as demand grew, he tripled his fee. “The most I asked for was $1,000 for a corrido.”

The “Si No Quieres No” singer-songwriter has since only fueled the regional Mexican music movement after catapulting to stardom once he signed with Kartel Music in 2019, an also up-and-coming indie label based out of Santa Maria, Calif. Its founders, Alfredo “Freddy” Becerra and Leonardo Soto, discovered Conriquez at an audition in Mexicali, Baja California.

Today, Conriquez has become a go-to collaborator for regional Mexican and nonregional Mexican acts alike, including Nicky Jam, Ryan Castro and Peso Pluma. With 1.42 billion on-demand official streams in the United States, according to Luminate, he has 20 entries on Hot Latin Songs, and most recently scored his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with “Si No Quieres No,” a collaboration with up-and-comer Neton Vega. His Corridos Bélicos, Vol. IV, released in January, earned him his first entry and top 10 on any albums chart, debuting at No. 5 on Top Latin Albums and No. 3 on Regional Mexican Albums. It also became Conriquez’s Billboard 200 entree with a No. 36 debut.

He is set to headline the RUMBAZO 2024 event in Las Vegas this weekend. Conriquez will perform on Saturday, Sept. 14. See the schedule here.

Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with confirmed superstars Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.

13 Sep 2024

LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes & More Remember Fatman Scoop at Celebration of Life Ceremony

To those closest to him, he was Isaac Freeman III, but around the world, he was renowned as Fatman Scoop. Hip-hop’s premier hype-man and entertainer, Scoop died on Aug. 30 after collapsing on stage at a show in Connecticut doing what he loved — rocking the crowd. He was 56.

Less than two weeks later, Scoop’s peers, friends and family gathered not far from the Harlem projects he was raised in, at the famed Apollo Theater on Thursday (Sept. 12) for a celebration of life ceremony.

Hundreds filed into the legendary venue and felt the full spectrum of emotions. There were laughs shared from funny stories, heartfelt moments, tears shed and some partying to music along the way.

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While Scoop showed up for so many whenever called upon in his decorated life, plenty of recognizable faces returned the favor to be in attendance at the ceremony. For perhaps the final time, Scoop and his recognizable bark brought people from different walks of life together for one last party.

Sway Calloway played MC for the night, while fellow Harlem native Teddy Riley, Jim Jones, A$AP Ferg, Busta Rhymes, DJ Webstar, Angie Martinez, Kid Kapri, Ron Browz, DJ Enuff and more either spoke or performed in some capacity throughout the evening. Other familiar faces spotted in the crowd included LL Cool J, Maino, DJ Self, Treach, Datwon Thomas and more.

Beyond the hits such as “Be Faithful,” Grammy award wins and working with the likes of Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey, there were a few characteristics that continued to pop up in people’s pensive stories on Thursday, which spoke to Scoop’s infallible nature as a great human being past his art.

For one, he was always a phone call — or voice note text message — away and came through for his friends, even if it didn’t come with a bag. Two, Scoop doesn’t get enough credit for how prolific of an MC he was before charting a different path as a trailblazing entertainer. “[Scoop] told me one story how he was supposed to be the first Biggie. And, like, Biggie jacked his style,” Ferg said, which drew laughs from the audience.

Three, he never had issues or beef with anyone in the industry. “Fatman Scoop is probably one of the most beautiful human beings I’ve ever met on this planet,” Busta Rhymes declared. “I don’t think I’ve ever ran into Fatman Scoop having an off day. I’ve never seen him angry, I’ve never seen him upset, I’ve never seen him perspire and worry about things outside of when he was on that stage busting a–.”

And four, the man stayed fresh and kept a bottle of Scope mouthwash on him at all times. “We had a crowd of people around and some girls were around, and Scoop was around and all the girls gave him the attention,” Teddy Riley said. “Why? He had the cologne. He had the cologne game on lock, but he had the Scope game on lock, and that’s why girls wanted to be around him. He didn’t have bad breath. I said to myself, ‘If I do that, would I be biting?’”

Fatman Scoop’s contributions to Missy Elliott and Ciara’s “Lose Control” earned him a Grammy award and a top five Billboard Hot 100 hit (No. 3) in 2005. Outside of music, he made waves as a reality star and overnight host at Hot 97, where he claimed to bring the first video camera into the station.

Hip-hop will be a bit quieter without Fatman Scoop’s signature raspy and resonant shout, but his life of the party legacy is etched into rap lore. Scoop is survived by his two children — Torrance and Tiana Freeman — and brother Kendall “Young Sav” Freeman.

13 Sep 2024

Chart Rewind: In 2014, Charli XCX Thundered to No. 1 With ‘Boom Clap’

A decade before Brat summer, Charli XCX roared to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart with “Boom Clap.”

The song began a three-week reign on the list dated Sept. 13, 2014, and marked her first No. 1 on her own and second overall. She first led as featured on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” for three weeks beginning that June.

Powered by their explosive choruses, the songs became Charli XCX’s second and third Pop Airplay top 10s, after Icona Pop’s fellow anthemic hit “I Love It,” on which she’s also featured, rose to No. 3 in June 2013.

On the multimetric Billboard Hot 100, “I Love It” hit No. 7; “Fancy” dominated for seven weeks – and earned top honors on the season-ending 2014 Songs of the Summer chart; and “Boom Clap” stormed to No. 8.

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Notably, “Boom Clap” marked the fourth consecutive Pop Airplay No. 1 by an artist in a first chart visit as a lead act, following three fellow enduring hits: Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” Magic!’s “Rude” and Nico & Vinz’s “Am I Wrong.”

“Discovering new artists is one of the many things that keeps radio great,” Tommy Chuck, senior vice president of programming for iHeartMedia’s Tampa and Sarasota, Fla., stations, told Billboard upon the chart coronation of “Boom Clap.”

New acts or not, “great songs win,” said Erik Bradley, Audacy brand manager. “And hits like ‘Rude’ and ‘Boom Clap’ are incredible songs.”

“Boom Clap” was released from Charli XCX’s album Sucker, which reached No. 28 on the Billboard 200 in January 2015. The song was also fueled by its synch in the hit film The Fault in Our Stars.

In 2016, the Cambridge, England-born artist hit the Hot 100’s top 10 as a co-writer of Selena Gomez’s “Same Old Love,” while in 2019, her co-write “Senorita,” recorded by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, spent a week at No. 1, marking Charli XCX’s second leader as a writer, after “Fancy.”

In 2022, Crash became Charli XCX’s first Billboard 200 top 10, peaking at No. 7. This June, Brat bounded in at its No. 3 best. The Atlantic Records release has yet to depart the chart’s top 15 and has earned 585,000 equivalent albums in the United States through Sept. 5, according to Luminate. (Meta moment, especially for this post: “I used to never think about Billboard/ But now, I’ve started thinking again, wondering about whether I think I deserve commercial success,” she muses on the set’s reflective track “Rewind.”)

Meanwhile, Brat single “360” becomes Charli XCX’s first Pop Airplay top 10 since “Boom Clap,” rising a spot to No. 10 on the Sept. 21-dated chart. In addition to notching her fourth top 10 on the tally, she scores the list’s highest new entry, as fellow Brat track “Apple” debuts at No. 36.

Looking back for Billboard’s July cover story, Charli XCX called Sucker “an attempt at what Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour was able to do much better. My vision wasn’t fully realized. I was 19 years old. Whilst I think a lot of the songs that I was doing then were good songs, I wouldn’t necessarily have listened to them if it was another artist releasing them. I think I knew that at the time, but I also think I knew that that was OK. At that time, I was writing for a lot of other people, and I wanted to be doing that. I knew I probably wouldn’t have been in those [writing rooms] had ‘Boom Clap’ and those songs not happened the way they happened.”

13 Sep 2024

Donald Trump Releases Knock-Off Taylor Swift Eras Tour Shirts as ‘Trump Era’ Campaign Merch

Donald Trump doesn’t have Taylor Swift‘s support in the 2024 election, but that isn’t stopping him from using her brand to boost his campaign.

On Thursday (Sept. 12) — two days after the 34-year-old pop star emphatically backed Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential race — the Republican candidate’s team announced that it was selling “Trump Era” T-shirts inspired by the tiled graphic design on much of Swift’s Eras Tour apparel. Featuring a grid of photos of the twice-impeached president, each tinted with almost the exact same colors arranged in the very same pattern as the “Karma” singer’s design, the politician’s new clothing item is selling for $36.

“Calling all Swifties for Trump,” reads a tweet from the former president’s headquarters. “Get your Trump Era shirt today.”

Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.

Though the pop star hasn’t reacted to the former president’s new merch, Swifties have. “This is a disgrace of a shirt. I hope she strips Donald of everything he has for infringement. @taylorswift13 @taylornation13 GET HIM!” one person tweeted in response to the campaign’s post about the shirt.

“im excited for trumps new era, i heard it’s called the ‘lawsuit era,’” another responded.

“This deserves a cease and desist!” yet another Swiftie tweeted, tagging the pop superstar, official fan page as well as her publicist.

Trump isn’t the only party in the 2024 election capitalizing on Swift’s popularity, with the Harris-Walz camp also recently unveiling Eras-inspired friendship bracelets on the Democratic ticket’s website. One key difference, however, is that the VP’s campaign actually has the support of the 14-time Grammy winner, who broke her silence on the election Sept. 10 with an Instagram post praising Harris for being a “steady-handed, gifted leader” who “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”

Swift also cited Trump’s past use of AI-generated images falsely portraying her as a MAGA supporter — another way he’s tried to exploit her image this election — as one of the reasons she felt it important to speak out. In response to the pop superstar’s endorsement of his opponent, the ex-POTUS said, “I was not a Taylor Swift fan, it was just a question of time.”

He added at the time: “But she’s a very liberal person, she seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”

See Trump’s new merchandise inspired by Swift’s Eras Tour below.

13 Sep 2024

How Reggaetón and Regional Mexican Music Found Surprising Common Ground

Back in October 2019, Bad Bunny, already a huge star, posted a video of himself on Instagram, drinking tequila and singing along to a song in Spanish set to strumming guitars. It was “Soy el Diablo” by Natanael Cano, the then-18-year-old making waves in regional Mexican music with his corridos tumbados, a subgenre blending hip-hop swagger with traditional música mexicana instrumentation.

That Bad Bunny would gravitate toward the sound at first seemed counterintuitive: Reggaetón, built on beats, tracks and loops, ostensibly has little to do with regional Mexican music, which is created mostly with live instruments.

But upon further consideration, it made complete sense. Corridos tumbados, like Bad Bunny’s blend of trap and reggaetón, are as much about attitude and lifestyle as they are about music. Within weeks, a remix of “Soy el Diablo,” featuring Bad Bunny, hit No. 16 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart.

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The unlikely pairing at the time was revolutionary, and it set off a wave of collaborations between reggaetón and Mexican music acts that’s still going. Since “Soy el Diablo,” at least 14 songs that blend both genres have entered Hot Latin Songs — including Karol G and Peso Pluma’s “Qlona,” which shot to No. 1 in September 2023. And now, this year’s Rumbazo festival — taking place Sept. 13-14 in Las Vegas in partnership with Billboard — will reflect the kinship between the two genres; headliners Nicky Jam and Luis R Conriquez released a single together, “Como el Viento,” in 2023.

For Jimmy Humilde, the founder and CEO of powerhouse indie label Rancho Humilde (home to Cano and Fuerza Regida, among other Mexican music artists), Mexican and urban music are like brothers from another mother, and the new wave of Mexican music, much of it spawned on the West Coast, is inextricably linked to hip-hop and, by extension, to reggaetón.

“Hip-hop was my heart,” Humilde told Billboard last year of his upbringing, like that of many of his artists, in Los Angeles. “I was a huge fan of old-school hip-hop.” But Humilde was also a huge fan of bad boy Mexican corridos sung by the likes of Chalino Sánchez. Early in his career, when he started working with corridos singer Jessie Morales (also raised in L.A.), he had a simple yet brilliant idea: Instead of donning the traditional garb of boots and cowboy hat, “I told him, ‘Bro, why don’t you dress hip-hop, how you really dress? You don’t have to come out with a hat or a suit.’ ”

The notion of inserting hip-hop style into Mexican music slowly but surely became the norm for a new generation of artists that now includes Cano, Fuerza Regida, Junior H, Peso Pluma, Eslabon Armado and Yahritza y Su Esencia, who all dress more like rappers than singers of traditional Mexican music.

Actual cross-genre collaborations, however, only began in earnest after the Bad Bunny-Cano remix. In 2020, they went even further when Snoop Dogg (another Angeleno and a longtime fan of banda music) recorded “Que Maldición” with Banda MS (which went to No. 4 on Hot Latin Songs) and later joined the group onstage in L.A.

Then, in 2021, Colombian superstar Karol G released “200 Copas,” a veritable ranchera ballad. Colombians in general (and Medellín natives like Karol, in particular) have long been die-hard fans of ranchera and mariachi music — and later that year, Karol’s fellow paisa and reggaetón star Maluma also recorded a ranchera: “Cada Quien,” with Grupo Firme, which became his first No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart.

“Being on a Mexican chart in the U.S., well, that’s a big deal,” Maluma told Billboard at the time. “I always dreamt of that. When I travel to Mexico, it’s like being at home. I feel part of it, and I am very grateful to Grupo Firme for making this possible.”

The growing list of urban/Mexican collaborations also includes the cover stars of this issue of Billboard. And while Nicky Jam and Conriquez’s “Como el Viento” didn’t chart, for Conriquez, it’s a sign of the future.

“If we’re intelligent about it, there will be more songs like this, because it’s an opportunity to bring the two genres together and for one to get into the other’s world,” says Conriquez, who has also already recorded with reggaetonero Ryan Castro. “I always thought reggaetón was global. But now, regional Mexican is global too.”

Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with confirmed superstars including Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.

13 Sep 2024

Chappell Roan Crowns Pop Airplay Chart With ‘Good Luck, Babe!’

Chappell Roan rules Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart with her first entry on the survey as “Good Luck, Babe!” ascends to the top of the list dated Sept. 21.

The track, released on KRA/Amusement/Island Records and promoted to radio by Republic, gained by 9% in plays Sept. 6-12. (The Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on over 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.)

The singer-songwriter, who first reached Billboard’s charts in October 2023, when she entered Emerging Artists and her album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess debuted on the Billboard 200, among other rankings, lands her first leader on an airplay chart with “Good Luck, Babe!” (a stand-alone single).

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The song has additionally risen to No. 6 on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100. It has drawn 404 million in radio audience and 357 million official on-demand streams and sold 48,000 through Sept. 5.


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“Good Luck, Babe!” also marks a first for Island Records: As the song supplants Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” after two weeks at No. 1, the label links back-to-back leaders for the first time in the Pop Airplay chart’s 32-year history.

Plus, Island boasts four Pop Airplay No. 1s in 2024; prior to “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Please Please Please,” Carpenter led with “Espresso” for three weeks in July and “Feather” for a week in April. Island had previously logged as many as two No. 1s in a single year (in 2005 and 2017).

Meanwhile, Republic has promoted seven Pop Airplay No. 1s this year, the most among all labels; in addition to Chappell Roan and Carpenter’s hits, it led via Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen (two weeks, August); Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” (two weeks, May-June); and Taylor Swift’s “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” (one week, March).

Chappell Roan is concurrently scaling Pop Airplay with “Hot To Go!” The track, from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, jumps 22-17 (up 15% in plays).

All charts dated Sept. 21 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Sept. 17.