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30 Aug 2024

Sebastián Yatra, Christian Nodal & More: Which Is Your Favorite New Latin Music Release of the Week?

This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new music from artists including Luck Ra, Nicki Nicole, Elsa y Elmar, Jhayco and more.

Sebastián Yatra returns with his new ballad “Los Domingos,” marking his first solo release since early 2023. This romantic acoustic pop song captures the initial stages of a relationship: “Fate put us face to face/ I waited for you, and I waited long enough/ And now I do, I just need a yes, and just like that/ I’d start with a love song,” he croons in Spanish. The music video further complements this theme, creatively depicting the Colombian performer riding a motorcycle to meet a special someone, blending fantasy and optimism perfectly.

Another release this week is Christian Nodal’s seven-track Pa’l Cora EP. 01, with four new songs, including his collaboration with upcoming Cumbia pop singer Estevie on “Un Besito Más.” The track is an upbeat Tex-Mex-styled tune about the conflicting emotions of wanting to move on while still being drawn to a lover from the past.

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Mexican-American star Becky G is back with another corridos tumbados on “Cómo Diablos” which paves the way for an upcoming album Encuentros, due out October 10. The heartbreak single packs a punch with her unfiltered delivery, while blending traditional Mexican musical elements with a fiery passion. “Baby, what was it?/ Why the hell did you leave?/ If I gave you more than you asked for/ Explain to me/ How the hell did you do it/ To be happy when I’m still sad,” she sings in Spanish with gut-wrenching emotion.

Other new releases this week include Andrea Bocelli and Karol G’s “Vivo Por Ella,” Elsa y Elmar’s “Drogada de Emociones,” Jhayco’s “Grecia,” and more. Who should win the poll this week? Give these new releases a spin and vote on them below.

30 Aug 2024

What’s Your Favorite New Music Release of the Week? Vote!

Despite summer coming to an end, the music scene is still heating up thanks to this week’s new releases.

Big Sean dropped his sixth studio album, Better Me Than You, which boasts 21 tracks in total with features from Gunna, Charlie Wilson, Kodak Black, Bryson Tiller, DJ Premier, Cash Cobain, Teyana Taylor, Larry June, Eryn Allen Kane and more. There’s even a cameo from the iconic WWE superstar-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

A$AP Rocky, meanwhile, delivered the previously leaked “Tailor Swif” video. Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb album was slated to land on Aug. 30, but he revealed to Billboard that it’s been pushed to the fall. “Tailor Swif” follows Rocky’s August single “Highjack,” which debuted at No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Muni Long returned with a new album, Revenge, viaThe Muni Long Inc./Def Jam Recordings. The sophomore follow-up to Public Displays of Affection: The Album. It also arrives with two hits already in tow: “Made for Me” and “Make Me Forget.”

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That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as this week also featured drops from Tommy Richman, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monet with Usher and more — and we want to know your favorite music release. Check out our Friday Music Guide here, and let us know by voting below.

30 Aug 2024

El Alfa on His El Mejor Del Planeta Tour: ‘At a Show Level, I Have No Comparison’

El Alfa will soon hit the road for his 2024 U.S. trek “El Mejor Del Planeta,” which translates to “the best on the planet.”

The 16-city stint, presented by Loud and Live, kicks off Sept. 12 at Mesa, Arizona, and wraps Dec. 8 in Fairfax, Virginia. In between, he will make pit stops in Chicago, Atlanta and Miami, to name a few.

“Making dembow, putting people to dance and having fun, we’re the best at that,” El Alfa tells Billboard. “At a show level, El Alfa has no comparison. Whoever goes to one of my concerts, repeats. It’s a lot of fun. When El Alfa is at an arena, the arena moves a lot because of everyone jumping at the same time. It’s an unforgettable experience.”

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Ahead of his U.S. tour, the Dominican artist is enjoying the viral success his single “Este” is having—a catchy dembow with playful lyrics about “this or that.”

“It’s hard for urban music to have success right now […] I had gone about 12 months without having a strong hit like I do now,” he admits. “I’m enjoying the process and seeing how the industry is changing. I’m completely happy.”

With hits such as “Este,” “4K,” “Singapur,” and “La Mamá de la Mamá,” El Alfa has managed to become one of the most successful Latin artists on TikTok, but he assures he releases music without an actual budget or strategy plan. It’s all been organic. “I just do music so that everyone else can dance. I do things from the heart,” he notes.

Currently, the artist born Enmanuel Herrera is making the rounds with “Pararara” in collaboration with Chimbala. He also teased future collabs with artists from Mexico and Argentina, because “nowadays what is working is the freshness and genuineness with which a song is made,” he notes.

El Alfa Tour Flyer — El Alfa

Courtesy Photo

30 Aug 2024

Maren Morris Says Her Family Received ‘Scary’ Death Threats After She Called Out Morgan Wallen

Maren Morris went through a scary time period after she called out Morgan Wallen three years ago, especially where her young son was concerned.

In a new interview on the Work in Progress podcast posted Thursday (Aug. 29), the 34-year-old musician opened up about the backlash she received immediately after slamming the “Last Night” singer for using a racial slur in 2021. “I mean, the death threat portion for me as a young mother was obviously scary,” Morris told host Sophia Bush. “And it wasn’t death threats against me. It was against my son, too. So it’s like, ‘Oh, wow. Now we’re involving the kids, the ones that you cared so much about.’”

Morris’ son Hayes — whom she shares with her ex-husband, songwriter Ryan Hurd — was less than a year old when a video of Wallen using the N-word began circulating. The “Cut!” singer joined Kelsea Ballerini, Mickey Guyton and more country stars in admonishing the behavior by tweeting: “We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.”

“You’re like, ‘How are people this pissed over the criticism of cruelty?’” Morris reflected of the negative responses her tweet received on Work in Progress. “I think it’s because they’re not only defending the person that said this, but they’re taking it personally as if I’m criticizing them, which I think says a lot more about their interpretation of criticism — and what that content was — than me as a person calling out someone using the N word, or even transphobia s–t I’ve criticized in the past.”

For his part, Wallen apologized one week after the video went viral. “The video you saw was me on hour 72 of 72 of a bender, and that’s not something I’m proud of,” he said in a video statement. “I accepted some invitations from some amazing Black organizations, some executives and leaders, to engage in some very real and honest conversations.”

As for Morris? She stands by what she said. “I don’t regret it, I don’t apologize,” she added on the podcast. “I feel the exact same way as I did that day … Don’t be racist. Don’t be transphobic. Don’t be homophobic.”

Listen to Morris’ conversation on Work in Progress below.

30 Aug 2024

Stevie Wonder Calls for Unity in New Song ‘Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart’

Stevie Wonder wants us to come together. The legendary artist dropped a new track on Friday (Aug. 30), fittingly titled, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart?”

The track features a strong call for unity over an acoustic guitar as he demands in the hook: “Can we fix our nation’s broken heart?/ Are we brave enough to try?”

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While the song is not political in its lyrics, the track’s release is timely with the presidential elections coming up in November. Wonder took the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention earlier this month, sharing some powerful remarks for the audience before performing “Higher Ground,” off his 1973 album, Innervisions. “This is a moment to tell your children where you were and what you did,” he declared. “When we stand between history’s pain and tomorrows promises we must choose courage complacency.”

Throughout his career, Wonder has always stood up for injustices through song, most recently in 2020. He released two songs, “Where Is Our Love Song?” and “Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate.” “I keep thinking about how we can make the world better,” he told Billboard at the time. “I’m in this place where the more I’m seeing things like people dying in this pandemic, killings amid Black Lives Matter, social media negativity, anger … the more I’m a believer that respect is an action word and so is love. I also have a song with PJ Morton, “Where Did All Your Happy Go,” for his next album. It’s about not letting anybody steal your happiness or take your joy away. The driving force for me has to always be the goodness in our hearts.”

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Listen to Stevie Wonder’s “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart?” below.

30 Aug 2024

New Compilation Presents Rare Disco, Funk, Jazz & More From 1980s Soviet Central Asia

The former USSR might not be considered a musical hotbed, but a new compilation of rare music from the Soviet Union lifts the veil on the vibrant, dance-focused scene that existed there in the 1980s.

Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia, offers 15 ’80s-era songs from the region, with the project made after deadstock vinyl was discovered at a Soviet-era vinyl plant in Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent.

This rarely heard music — including loads of funk and Moroder-adjacent disco — is out digitally this week and will be available in physical formats on Sept. 24, via Ostinato Records.

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The music contained on the compilation came to life as a function of world events. In 1941, Stalin ordered a mass evacuation as the Nazis invaded the USSR, with 16 million people boarding trains to Central Asia. Many of them landed in Tashkent, with this group including the engineers who, four years later, would found the Tashkent Gramplastinok factory.

The 15-track compilation is forged primarily of vinyl discovered at this plant, with groups from all over Soviet Central Asia — Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, the Crimean Peninsula and beyond — traveling to Tashkent to record music.

By the mid-’70s, the Soviet disco scene was in full swing, with Latvian DJ Hardijs Lediņš writing a widely read manifesto urging, the album’s liner notes recount, that “greater professionalism amongst musicians was necessary because ‘like mushrooms after the rain, like the rain after a hot day, that’s how discos are springing up today.’ Lediņš echoed the sentiment of many young people who believed these clubs should play more than music imported from the West, where disco was exploded after being born in the clubs of New York City.

“Recognizing the futility of banning disco clubs outright,” the liner notes explain, “the authorities, ever mindful of ideological control, opened dance spaces exclusively through Komsomols (state youth leagues), requiring partygoers to sit through a one-hour lecture on the Soviet worldview before the music dropped”

The U.S.-born genre became so popular in the USSR that by 1976, the Latvian capital of Riga hosted the first week-long USSR-wide disco festival, with artists flying in from across the region to perform. “Almost 200 disco clubs were soon registered with the local Komsomol in Moscow and 300 in Riga,” the liner notes continue, “and eventually, according to data pieced together during our research, about 20,000 public discos were attended by 30 million people a year across all 15 republics in the union.

With discos raking in money, “Dances were now allowing black market trading to fester. ‘Western clothes and other hard-to-get items—vinyl, jeans, foreign cigarettes—were literally being sold under the table. Discos had become a space for early alternative culture, as well as private commerce.’”

Meanwhile, a so-called “disco mafia” emerged in many Soviet cities including Tashkent, with these entities controlling “a lucrative business model with multiple revenue streams. Propaganda and ideology officials began accepting bribes to turn away from clubs indulging in ‘bourgeois’ extravagance or music viewed as ideologically adversarial.

“But the impact of this music went beyond just entertainment or cultural showcases,” the notes conclude. “From the opening of these clubs in the 1960s onwards, the political ranks drew from what historian Sergei Zhuk called ‘The Deep Purple Generation.’ Disco and rock in the Soviet Union played a not insignificant role in the USSR’s unraveling, steering youth leagues and, in turn, future leadership towards attitudes far removed from Soviet gospel.”

The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, with Synthesizing the Silk Roads offering a relic from this perhaps unlikely moment in music history.

30 Aug 2024

Musicians Who’ve Slammed Donald Trump for Using Their Songs Without Permission

08/30/2024

In just a matter of days, the politician was told off by Beyoncé, Foo Fighters and Jack White.

08/30/2024

Donald Trump is a lot of things, but he’s definitely not a stranger to cease-and-desists.

Over the course of the former POTUS’ political career, he’s managed to tick off a slew of musicians whose songs he’s used at events and in campaign materials, allegedly without receiving permission. In the span of just two weeks in August 2024, for instance, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters and Jack White all expressed their dismay at Trump’s team appearing to use their work without authorization — but it’s a tale as old as the billionaire’s initial presidential run in 2016, when he first became a lightning rod for disgruntled artists.

After spending the following four years in the White House, he ran for the role of commander in chief once again, but lost to President Joe Biden in 2020. Another four years later, he launched his third campaign, making for 12 years total of collecting slaps on the wrist from unhappy hitmakers. That’s not to say he isn’t duly supported by other musicians, though. Jason Aldean, Ye, Kid Rock and Sexyy Red are just a few big names who’ve endorsed Trump; however, his 2024 Democratic opponent Kamala Harris has also received an outpouring of support from the music industry’s leaders.

Whether they’ve made public statements of condemnation, threatened to take legal action or followed through with a lawsuit — or maybe even all of the above — many musicians have objected to Trump’s use of their work since he first rose to power. Keep reading to see a comprehensive list below, in alphabetical order:

Adele

Election Year: 2016

When Trump used “Rolling in the Deep” as his walk-on song at multiple campaign rallies in 2016, Adele’s spokesperson fired back with a statement to Billboard: “Adele has not given permission for her music to be used for any political campaigning.”
Beyoncé

Election Year: 2024

After Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung posted a video of Trump stepping off a plane to the song “Freedom” — which Kamala Harris’ campaign had already adopted as its theme song — Beyoncé’s team sent the Apprentice alum a cease-and-desist. It’s also worth noting that the vocalist approved Harris’ use of the track in her campaign endeavors.
Brendon Urie

Election Year: 2020

Brendon Urie was not having it when Trump used Panic! at the Disco’s “High Hopes” at a rally. “Dear Trump Campaign, F–k you,” he tweeted in response. “You’re not invited. Stop playing my song.”
Celine Dion

Election Year: 2024

After learning that Trump had used “My Heart Will Go On” — seemingly without considering that the ballad famously soundtracks Titanic, a film about one of the most famous failures in history — Celine Dion’s team made it clear that the vocalist hadn’t approved of the usage and poked fun at the irony of the situation. “In no way is this use authorized, and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” it read. “…And really, THAT song?”
Earth, Wind & Fire

Election Year: 2016

Earth, Wind & Fire issued a brief, to-the-point statement after the house band at the 2016 Republican National Convention — where Trump formally accepted his nomination as the party’s candidate — played “September” without authorization. “Another unauthorized use (September) at the Republican Convention, against our wishes,” the band tweeted.
Foo Fighters

Election Year: 2024

When Trump played Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” while welcoming election dropout Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage, the band tweeted that it hadn’t granted permission for the use. In a statement shared with Billboard, a spokesperson elaborated, “Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” adding that “appropriate actions are being taken” and that any royalties received as a result of the campaign’s usage would be donated to the Harris-Walz campaign.

Shortly afterward, Trump’s team stated that they actually had obtained a license to play the song.
George Harrison

Election Year: 2016

George Harrison’s estate called Trump’s use of “Here Comes the Sun” at the 2016 Republican National Convention “offensive,” adding in a follow-up tweet: “If it had been Beware of Darkness, then we MAY have approved it! #TrumpYourself”
Guns N’ Roses

Election Year: 2020

Frontman Axl Rose had already been very open about his opposition to Trump when the latter’s campaign started using Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” at political functions. So when he became aware of the usage in 2018, he issued a lengthy statement on X blasting the then-president.

“GNR like a lot of artists opposed to the unauthorized use of their music at political events has formally requested r music not b used at Trump rallies or Trump associated events,” he wrote at the time. “Unfortunately the Trump campaign is using loopholes in the various venues’ blanket performance licenses which were not intended for such craven political purposes, without the songwriters’ consent. Can u say ‘s–tbags?!’”
Isaac Hayes

Election Year: 2024

In August 2024, Isaac Hayes’ estate sued Trump for using the late soul singer’s “Hold On, I’m Coming” without authorization at multiple rallies, after which a federal judge granted the plaintiffs an emergency hearing.

“Donald Trump, the RNC, Trump, Trump for President Inc. 2024, Turning Point and The NRA are required to appear in court September 3rd, 2024 at the Northern U.S. District Federal Court in Atlanta,” tweeted Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III. “See you in court.”
Jack White

Election Years: 2016, 2024

Jack White called out Trump for using The White Stripes’ music not once, but twice — and both times over the same song. In 2016, the Stripes responded to the politician’s use of “Seven Nation Army” in a campaign video by stating that they were “disgusted by this association.”

Eight years later, White again slammed Trump after the businessman’s deputy director of communications, Margo Martin, allegedly posted a video of him entering a plane as “Seven Nation Army” played. “Oh….Don’t even think about using my music you fascists,” he wrote. “Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.)”
Linkin Park

Election Year: 2020

A video ad posted by the White House’s then-director of social media, Dan Scavino, and retweeted by Trump, led Linkin Park to slap the former president’s team with a cease-and-desist thanks to its unauthorized use of “In the End.” The clip was also removed by X, citing a copyright complaint, while the band issued a statement distancing itself from Trump.
Neil Young

Election Years: 2016, 2020

After years of protesting Trump’s use of his music at campaign events starting in the 2016 election cycle, Neil Young finally sued the politician in August 2020 for allegedly playing “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” at a campaign rally without proper licensing. A couple months later, however, Trump lost his second White House bid, and Young decided to have the case dismissed.
Nickelback

Election Year: 2020

Nickelback seemingly took issue with Trump using “Photograph” in a video he posted on socials taking shots at future president Joe Biden, as the clip was removed from X and YouTube for copyright reasons. A spokesperson for X said at the time that the company responded “to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorized representatives.”
Ozzy Osbourne

Election Year: 2020

Sharon Osbourne slammed Trump in a statement on behalf of her husband when the then-POTUS used “Crazy Train” in a video on X. “We are sending notice to the Trump campaign (or any other campaigns) that they are forbidden from using any of Ozzy Osbourne’s music in political ads or in any political campaigns,” she wrote at the time.
Pharrell

Election Year: 2020

Pharrell was not enthused when Trump played “Happy” at a rally in Indiana — hours after the Tree of Life Congregation shooting in Pittsburgh, no less — the hitmaker sent the republican a cease-and-desist letter through his lawyer. “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose,” it read.
Prince

Election Year: 2020

Prince’s estate blasted Trump for using “Purple Rain” at campaign events in both 2018 and 2019, at one point writing on social media, “The Prince Estate will never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs.”
R.E.M.

Election Years: 2016, 2020

R.E.M. slammed Trump for playing “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” at a 2015 rally during his first run for president, then again when Trump used “Everybody Hurts” in a video posted on social media. By the time the billionaire played “Everybody Hurts” and “Losing My Religion” at his 2020 re-election gathering in Milwaukee, the band had had more than enough.

“We are exploring all legal avenues to prevent this, but if that’s not possible please know that we do not condone the use of our music by this fraud and con man,” bassist Mike Mills tweeted at the time.
Rihanna

Election Year: 2020

Rihanna made her stance on Trump using her 2007 single “Don’t Stop the Music” at one of his rallies very clear by issuing the following response on X: “me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies.”
Rolling Stones

Election Years: 2016, 2020

The Rolling Stones asserted their dislike of Trump using their music at campaign events multiple times throughout the politician’s 2016 run, but he continued playing tracks such as “Start Me Up,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Brown Sugar.”

When Trump again played “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at his Tulsa rally while running again in 2020, the rock legends ramped things up by threatening a lawsuit.
Tom Petty

Election Year: 2020

Donald Trump played Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” at a rally, and the late rocker’s estate essentially said, “We’ll see about that.”

Issuing a cease-and-desist to the politician, Petty’s estate added in a statement that “Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind.”
Steven Tyler

Election Years: 2016, 2020

Steven Tyler has protested Trump’s use of Aerosmith music numerous times over the years, from threatening legal action twice over “Dream On” playing at multiple campaign events in 2015 — Trump claimed it had been legal for him to use, but promised to stop playing it — to blasting the then-president for playing “Livin’ on the Edge” at a rally in 2018.

“What makes this violation even more egregious is that Mr. Trump’s use of our client’s music was previously shut down, not once, but two times, during his campaign for presidency in 2015,” a letter from the rock star’s lawyers explained following the latter instance. “As we have made clear numerous times, Mr. Trump is creating the false impression that our client has given his consent for the use of his music, and even that he endorses the presidency of Mr. Trump.”
Queen

Election Year: 2016

Queen cautioned Trump against playing “We Are the Champions” at campaign events multiple times during the 2016 cycle, with guitarist Brian May at one point stating that “permission to use the track was neither sought nor given … we are taking advice on what steps we can take to ensure this use does not continue.”

Eventually, Sony/ATV Music Publishing issued a statement on behalf of the band. “Queen does not want its music associated with any mainstream or political debate in any country,” it read. “Nor does Queen want “We are the Champions” to be used as an endorsement of Mr. Trump and the political views of the Republican Party. We trust, hope and expect that Mr. Trump and his campaign will respect these wishes moving forward.”

30 Aug 2024

Here’s How to Win Tickets to the Billboard Hip-Hop Live Concert Headlined by Teezo Touchdown, BossMan Dlow & BigXthaPlug

There’s a party going down in Brooklyn Friday (Sept. 6). Billboard‘s Hip-Hop Live concert series is coming to Bushwick venue Xanadu for a show headlined by Teezo Touchdown, with performances from BossMan Dlow, “Texas” rapper BigXthaPlug and DJ Miss Milan.

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Those still in need of tickets are in luck, as Billboard and the Billboard Unfiltered team is giving fans the chance to enter a sweepstakes on X to win a pair of tix to the show.

It’s very easy: All you have to do is reply to the official sweepstakes post on Billboard Hip-Hop’s X account with your favorite BossMan Dlow or Teezo Touchdown song. Doing that any time from now until Sept. 4 at 11:59 p.m. ET will give you an official contest entry. There is only one entry allowed per person.

One winner will be notified on Sept. 5, and they will have the chance to claim their two tickets to the show. If the winner does not reply to Billboard within 24 hours, another will be selected. To enter, you must be a legal U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old.

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. For those who don’t win, tickets are still on sale for the Xanadu roller rink show here for $32.

The winner may be required to provide a completed W-9 or W-8 form. Each winner agrees to Billboard’s use of their name, photograph, likeness, voice, biographical information, statements and address, and any information provided by Billboard for advertising and/or publicity purposes worldwide in all forms of media now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, without further compensation or authorization, to the extent permitted by law.

“I credit hip-hop as the foundation of my art, so I am honored and excited to perform in the birthstate at such a [prestigious] ceremony,” Teezo said in a statement.

BigXthaPlug was announced as an addition to the lineup on Aug. 28, when Billboard revealed he’s also Amazon Music and Rotation’s next Breakthrough Artist.

“BigXthaPlug has been one of the most exciting new voices in hip-hop, with an outsized sound that’s as big as his personality,” Alexis Cueva, artist relations for Amazon Music, told Billboard. “We’ve already seen our customers respond to his incredible music on Amazon Music, and as our next Breakthrough Artist, we’re excited to help BigX connect with even more fans.”

It all goes down Sept. 6 at Brooklyn’s Xanadu, with the show slated to start at 8 p.m. ET.

30 Aug 2024

How Kapo’s Mindset Took Him From Living at a Gas Station to Global Success

With two concurrent viral hits right now, “Ohnana” and “UWAIE,” Kapo is having a moment.

Far from an overnight success, the Colombian newcomer has been hustling in the music industry for 15 years. In fact, his first approach to music was at the age of 12, with música popular (Colombia’s version of regional Mexican music).

“I lived at a gas station in a small town called El Cabuyal, where that’s the only type of music that was heard,” he tells Billboard. “I sang at the small stores and parking lots near the truck stop, that’s how I debuted, and people would give me coins. I wanted to become a global artist.”

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At 13, Kapo recorded his first urban song, “Yo Tengo Un Sueño” (I have a dream), which became popular among his school friends. At 16, he sold his motorcycle, and with the money he moved to the capital, Bogotá, invested in a music video, and in a promo tour. He pursued a brief career in mass communication, but always with the itch to follow his dream as a singer.

The first person to support him was an artist from Cali called Big Daddy “El Negro,” who would take him to his shows to sing and connected him with other artist and producers in the industry. In search of extra income, Kapo participated on the reality show Yo Me Llamo, where he would imitate Puerto Rican rapper Cosculluela. For two years, he was also the background vocalist for Dominican-born, Panamanian-based artist Mr. Saik.

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In 2019, he inked a record deal with La Industria, Inc.,—home to Nicky Jam and Manuel Turizo, to name a few—and released songs such as “Pelinegra” with Nánpa Basico and “Bulevar” with Esteban Rojas and Pirlo, which gained traction locally. Still, Kapo was behind his global hit.

“I realized that I didn’t have to do what worked, but what moved me,” he notes. “I made romantic music all my life, but I kept it to myself. I have a very bohemian vein, an old soul. My mother always spoke to me about very beautiful things. She is a very humble lady, her vocabulary is not very advanced because she always worked in a restaurant, but she raised her son and her son looked for alternatives to succeed with the correct morals and principles.”

He analyzed the music industry, other artists, the songs that made him known locally — and realized that there was a lack of feel-good, reflective, romantic music. He changed the way he dressed and talked, he focused on his health, read books, and took yoga classes. But it was one precise trip to Jamaica, and a heartbreak, that changed his fate.

“Ohnana,” released this June, was born during a music camp where he was joined by dancehall artist Lion Fiyah and Colombian hitmaker Gangsta. “After I visited The Bob Marley Museum, I worked on the song, I was in a vibe, and in another tune with my vocal tones. ‘Ohnana’ means ‘trust everything will be fine.’”

And the suave Afrobeat with poetic lyrics earned Kapo his first global hit — one that he manifested for 15 years. “Ohnana” peaks at No. 21 on the Hot Latin Songs chart this week, and rises to a new peak on the Billboard Global 200, at No. 60. Plus rises to its No. 30 high on Global Excl. U.S.

Simultaneously, his recent single “UWAIE” — which means “I’m in love with you” in his very own “Kapito Language,” and is an ode to the women in his life — debuts at No. 35 on Hot Latin Songs and at No. 138 on Global 200 and at No. 81 on Global Excl. U.S. The song also counts over 1 million video creations on TikTok at the time of publishing.

“I started to declare everything. I started to talk positively to myself. I started to love myself, and not go where all the sheep go,” he concludes.

Below, learn more about this month’s Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise:

Name: Juan David Loaiza Sepúlveda

Age: 27

Recommended Song: “UWAIE”

Major Accomplishment: “Loving what I do and expanding what I do in music to nourish my life and my family. My mother is calm and can count on a son who is moving forward and giving love to the world. More than having hit songs, my mother feels comfortable that I can trust in me and not doubt my creativity. My voice is imperfect musically but in the end it transmits and reaches people. That is what makes me happiest, that through my gift I was able to support my family and connect with people in the best way possible… by being myself.”

What’s Next: “The ‘Ohnana’ remix and a salsa version of the song are coming. I would also like to do an English version with artists from Africa, but that’s a project I have in mind. I’m going to be on the remix of Greeicy’s ‘A Veces a Besos,’ and I’m going to release music with Maluma and J Balvin, but also a song of mine called ‘Sonrie’ (smile) that reflects everything I’m feeling at this moment.”

30 Aug 2024

Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Zedd, Swedish House Mafia with Alicia Keys, Tycho & More

This week in dance music: An all-star collection of French electronic artists including Jean-Michel Jarre, Breakbot, Busy P and Alan Braxe were announced as performers for the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics Games in Paris; Chase & Status’ Stormzy collab “Backbone” continued its run at the top of the U.K. Official Singles Chart; we spoke with The Blessed Madonna about her forthcoming album and aspiring to be “a little shard of glass in the industry’s foot”; Charli XCX teased a new project; artists including Tokimonsta and Louie Vega offered free music in exchange for participating in democracy; we spoke with producer Clams Casino; Clean Bandit & Zara Larsson’s “Symphony” hit No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50; ADE 2024 expanded its program; and we talked to the CEO of Burning Man, which is happening this week, about the more than 100 other official Burning Man events that happen around the world.

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And of course, there’s the music. These are the best new dance projects of the week.

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Zedd, Telos

There’s a barrage of different styles and influences on Zedd’s new album, Telos, but on every single one of the 10 tracks, you can hear the great ambition embedded in the project, and also the achievement of its lofty aspirations. The long-awaited follow-up to the producer’s 2015 sophomore album, True Colors — which along with his 2012 debut Clarity set him up as a wunderkind of the EDM era, with a special dexterity in that genre’s pop impulses that delivered a string of hits to the Hot 100 — Telos finds the artist born Anton Zaslavski flexing every one of his musical muscles. The project shows off his classical training and good taste across productions that span classical, jazz, cinematic maximalism, Middle Eastern sounds and electronic party music that nods to the EDM origins of Zaslavski’s career, but evolves his sound into a sophisticated, nuanced (but yes, still danceable) place.

The album features an all-star collection of collaborators, including Bea Miller, who’s on both lead single “Out of Time” and the hooky, punchy “Tangerine Rays”; John Mayer, who adds his singular laidback cool to the jazz fusion influenced “Automatic Yes”; stadium rock stars Muse, who lend operatic grandiosity to the album-closing, spiritual “Epos”; and even Jeff Buckley, who Zaslavski reinterprets with style and grace on his version of the late artist’s 1994 “Dream Brother,” which leans into Radiohead territory without being reductive and hits hard with its string-drenched drops. Altogether, Telos just doesn’t sound like anything else produced recently in the electronic world or, arguably, beyond.

But the artist explains the guiding principles here best, with Zaslavski saying that the Greek word “telos” has multiple meanings, one of them being “accomplishment” or “completion of human art. I’ve always dreamed of creating an album that, 30 years on, I can look back and be incredibly proud of. That will be just as amazing then as it is right now, because it’s not based on trends or sound design that might fall off — it’s based on music, just like the albums that shaped me growing up that I still adore to this day. With Telos, I created something I didn’t think I was capable of — it just took a bit of time to get there.”

Zedd soon to bring the album to a live format with a fall North American tour that includes shows at the L.A. State Historic Park, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Tycho, Infinite Health

Few producers capture the heady, sun-soaked psychedelia of NorCal as well as Tycho, who again takes us up the coast and into the redwoods with his seventh studio album, Infinite Health. The project is classic Tycho, offering tracks that are clean yet emotive and sophisticated while still getting the blood pumping, simultaneously capturing brightness and melancholy through often hazy, lo-fi IDM that contains thematic multitudes.

“‘Green’ and ‘Devices’ represent the conceptual bookends of the…album,” the artist Scott Hansen writes. “‘Green’ is an elegy to my childhood home, a once-rural town on the outskirts of Sacramento where I spent my youth forging a deep connection with nature. ‘Devices’ represents the struggle to stay connected to nature and our own humanity in the modern world. I wanted to illustrate this tension with a set of sonically contrasting songs.” The album is out via Mom + Pop Records in the U.S and through Ninja Tune in the rest of the world, and the 27-date Infinite Health tour will take Hansen across North America this fall.

Swedish House Mafia & Alicia Keys, “Finally”

Having woven their edit of Kings of Tomorrow classic into their sets for years now, it follows that Swedish House Mafia have now fully revamped the 2001 house anthem, bringing in none other than Alicia Keys for vocals and trading the brightly bumping bassline, hi-hat and warm keyboards of the original for a much bigger and more urgent swirl of strings. The track extends the XXL house vibe of their 2022 album Paradise Again, and nods to that album’s ambition to lean harder into the genre that the trio were so influenced by that they in fact name themselves after it.

Jon Hopkins, “part ii – palace/illusion“

Following his 2021 album Music For Psychedelic Therapy (the intention of which was stated right there in the title), English maestro Jon Hopkins returns with an album so deep and soothing that it could very well be used for the same purpose. “Designed,” Hopkins says, “to reconnect you to the deepest part of yourself,” Ritual is subtle, deep and often profound, with the project first sparking to life in 2022 when Hopkins was commissioned to work on an immersive experience, Dreammachine, that set the celestial sonic and visual aesthetic for the eight-track Ritual. The album is out now on Domino Records.

Caribou, “Come Find Me”

Other DJs might party harder, but is anyone having more fun that Caribou? The artist brings the playfulness that’s always defined the Canadian artist’s visual aesthetic to the video for his latest, “Come Find Me,” which finds a dancer in a tracksuit and oversized Snaith mask dancing alone in settings that include the bus, a city sidewalk and an open field. (Watch for a cameo from Snaith himself at the end.) The track itself is warm, gently building IDM — in other words, classic Caribou — and comes from the artist’s sixth studio album, Honey, coming Oct. 4 on Merge Records.

Andy C & Becky Hill, “Indestructable”

As drum ‘n’ bass extends its position on the U.K. charts, two of the genre’s key players link for the predictably walloping “Indestructible,” which gets an official release today on Astralwerks but dates back almost ten years, when Andy C first included an early version in his sets. With Hill possessing one of the defining voices of the genre and Andy C being one of its architects, the result is an acutely powerful meeting of the mninds, with Hill’s lyrics pointing to the success of genre itself.

“’How did we end up here, look how far we’ve come,’ say it all,” Andy C says. “It sums up my relationship with DnB, how popular the genre is right now as well as how huge Becky’s career is. It’s just so magical.”

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