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Aventura’s Cerrando Ciclos has been crowned the best Latin tour of 2024 by Billboard readers, earning more than 44 percent of the votes.
The trek — which once again reunited Romeo Santos with group members Henry, Lenny and Max — is followed by Santos’ solo stint La Formula Vol. 3 tour. Meanwhile, Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito tour and RBD’s Soy Rebelde tour landed at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, on the fan-based poll.
A week ago, Billboard published a poll with the Top 10 Highest-Grossing Latin Tours of the Year, including Luis Miguel, who topped the list, grossing $290.4 million across 128 shows, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. Bad Bunny’s Most Wanted tour, which grossed $211.4 million across 49 concerts, was also on the poll, in addition to Peso Pluma’s Éxodo tour, Don Omar’s Back to Reggaetón tour, Fuerza Regida’s Pero No Te Enamores tour, and The Trilogy Tour featuring Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin and Pitbull.
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In Cerrando Ciclos, produced by CMN Events, the timeless group known as the “Kings of Bachata” performed all of the fan favorites, including “Mi Corazoncito,” “Obsesión,” “Enséñame a Olvidar,” “Dile al Amor,” “Amor de Madre” and “Por Un Segundo,” to name a few classics.
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About the tour, Romeo Santos said in a statement: “This year there is something I must accomplish and conclude. I want you to join me on a journey where I will be definitively closing cycles. Because it is not the same to remember beautiful times as it is to be a prisoner of the past. We cannot stagnate in the nostalgia of yesterday, but rather move forward, discover new horizons, and show other facets.”
The 20-date trek kicked off May 1 in Sacramento and wrapped in Dallas on June 11, with two additional dates in Canada.
See the poll results below:
Spanish singer Raphael has been diagnosed with primary brain lymphoma while hospitalized at the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid, according to a report the medical center his manager shared with Billboard Español. Per the document, the “El Tamborilero” singer has begun treatment, which he will continue as an outpatient after he is discharged. […]
OG Maco died at 32 years old on Thursday (Dec. 26), his manager, Poppa Perc, confirmed to Billboard on Friday (Dec. 27).
Maco — born Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. — died while surrounded by friends and family at a Los Angeles hospital, according to TMZ, who was first to break the news.
His family later shared a joint statement confirming his death on his Instagram account. “With heavy hearts, we share the breaking news of the passing of our beloved Ben, known to the world as OG Maco. His life was a testament to resilience, creativity, and boundless love. Through his music, passion, and unwavering spirit, he touched so many lives and left a lasting impact,” they wrote. “While we grieve this immense lose, we also celebrate the extraordinary life he lived — one that will continue to inspire and uplift others. Maco’s influence, both as an artist and as a person, will remain forever etched in our hearts.”
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His family first revealed in a Dec. 16 statement on his Instagram that the rapper had been hospitalized. “We want to inform OG Maco’s fans, friends, and supporters that he is currently in critical but stable condition,” the statement read. “He is receiving the best possible care, and we are staying hopeful as he continues to fight.”
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While they did not share the cause for the rapper’s need for medical care, Poppa Perc previously told AllHipHop that the “U Guessed It” rapper had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The manager, who has kept fans updated on the rapper’s condition throughout the last few weeks, also appeared to post about the Atlanta rapper’s death on Friday. “We lost a legend last night,” he wrote to his Instagram Story with a broken-heart emoji.
OG Maco rose to fame out of Atlanta behind his viral hit “U Guessed It” in 2014. He signed a deal with Quality Control Music during the same year.
The OG Parker-produced “U Guessed It” peaked at No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a remix featuring fellow ATLien 2 Chainz. OG Maco’s last solo studio album, The God of Rage, arrived in 2021.
Read the full statement from OG Maco’s family confirming his death below:
Grimes is setting the record straight about her breakup with Elon Musk after Azealia Banks claimed that the billionaire “dumped” the “Oblivion” artist.
The interaction was sparked by, of all things, a misunderstanding over a piece of AI-generated Wicked artwork that portrayed Grimes as Glinda and Banks as Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West. When the Canadian musician jokingly tweeted that the casting “wouldve been kinda lit,” the New York rapper wasn’t happy.
“girl the way u are still trying to hold out on some weird a– innocent bulls–t years later after u got dumped, cheated on …,” Banks wrote on X Thursday (Dec. 26). “and still trying to paint me like the villian and act like ur above me … U can really quit mentioning me. I know you wish you could be my bestie but b—h….. it’s f–king boring as hell.”
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Grimes quickly responded, telling Banks, “It’s just a funny joke bro. not trying to paint u as a villain.”
“i didn’t ‘get dumped,’” the Elf Tech founder continued of her split from Musk, with whom she shares three children. “I bounced. My amazing baby is asleep in my bed beside me, I’m in love. no regrets. Life is as beautiful as u want it to be.”
“Ur insanely talented,” Grimes added. “even after all this, I want u to win. god bless Mlady.”
Later, the singer conceded that Banks is “the best hater on the planet” in a response to a fan. “The da Vinci of insults,” she added jokingly. “At a point I just gave up and accepted that I appreciate the madness of existence.”
Grimes and the Tesla businessman had an on-again, off-again relationship that lasted from 2018 to 2022. In 2020, they welcomed their first child — a son named X Æ A-Xii — and later became parents to daughter Exa Dark Sideræl (now 3) and son Techno Mechanicus (2). Musk is also Dad to seven children he shares with his first wife, Justine Wilson, and twins Strider and Azure, whom he shares with Neuralink director Shivon Zilis.
In November, Grimes alluded in a lengthy tweet to having struggled through a custody battle. “Spent a year locked in battle in a state with terrible mothers rights,” she wrote at the time. “having my instagram posts and modeling used as reasons I shouldn’t have my kids and fighting and detaching from the love of my life as he becomes unrecognizable to me, with a fraction of his resources (or iq/ strategy experience), all the while I didn’t see one of my babies for 5 months. And this is only what can be said publicly, since most of my experience these last years should remain behind closed doors.”
The X exchange isn’t the first time Banks has had things to say about Grimes and the soon-to-be co-chair of government efficiency, as newly appointed by president-elect Donald Trump. In 2018, the “Luxury” musician vented on her Instagram Story that she’d “been sitting at Elon Musk’s house alone for days waiting for Grimes to show up” so that the two musicians could collaborate.
“Staying at Elon Musk’s house has been like a real life episode of Get Out,” she’d added shortly afterward.
Dua Lipa‘s fans believe she may soon be levitating down the aisle, as they are convinced that the pop star is engaged to Callum Turner after about a year of dating.
Speculation that the two stars are planning to get hitched began after the “Houdini” singer shared a festive Instagram post chronicling her Christmas break Tuesday (Dec. 24), with a ring on that finger spotted in some of the snaps in the carousel. Then on Friday (Dec. 27), she shared another carousel of her Christmas. Wedged in between photos and videos of Lipa modeling a Santa hat, showing off her home-cooked turkey and watching old family tapes, a couple of snaps show the musician again wearing what appears to be a sparkly band on her ring finger.
That detail did not go unnoticed by Lipa’s fans, who flooded her comments sections — which have limited commenting on posts dating back to late September — with questions about her relationship status with the Fantastic Beasts star. “ARE YOU ENGAGED!? That ring on the first pic omg,” one fan commented on the Tuesday post.
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“are youuu engaged dua!? happy for you💙” another person asked on the Friday carousel, while another fan wrote, “Can we see the ring?”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Lipa and Turner for comment.
The pop star didn’t provide any further hints in the caption of her Friday post — “Christmas was vvvv cute 🎄 the turkey was some of my best work 👩🍳💋,” she simply wrote — nor did she feature the British actor in it. Turner did, however, appear in her photo dump two days prior, with Lipa sharing a sweet, semi-blurry selfie with her boyfriend captioned, “home for the holidays.”
Lipa and the The Capture alum first sparked dating rumors in January, when the former reportedly attended the latter’s Masters of Air premiere in London. In July, the couple went Instagram official, with the three-time Grammy winner sharing adorable snaps from Glastonbury with Turner at her side.
In addition to nurturing her romance with Turner, Lipa also dropped her third studio album this year. Radical Optimism arrived in May and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
In her December cover story interview with Billboard U.K., the “Levitating” artist reflected on 2024 being “the best year of my life.” “There came a point in the year where I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to sit down and write some new dreams and new plans and other things I wanted to do,’” she said at the time. “I feel like I ticked so many of my boxes this year. It’s amazing.”
The year is just days away from wrapping up, and to celebrate, Billboard has compiled the ultimate Latin playlist featuring 55 songs that formed part of the Billboard Latin charts in 2024. Dubbed “Adios 2024, Hola 2025,” the playlist is meant to get the party started on New Year’s Eve and to keep it going […]
It’s a rare condition, this day and age, to read any good news on the newspaper page — and yet Doechii is here to give you some great news before this day goes by. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Thursday (Dec. 26), the fast-rising rap […]
Rumors of a 50 Cent and Eminem joint album have been floated for decades, and the “Patiently Waiting” duo added fuel to the fire this week. The G-Unit boss responded to the headlines generated by Em, with 50 claiming he’s feeling inspired to get back in the booth, but not until he’s done with his […]
John Legend‘s daughter Luna Stephens, his eldest of four children with wife Chrissy Teigen, led her first interview — outside of a school homework assignment — with Dad, on behalf of Billboard Family.
Young Luna, age 8, conducted the on-camera Q&A like a pro for the latest episode of Billboard Family‘s new video series of kids interviewing their famous parents. Watch the father-daughter conversation in the video that’s seen above.
It all starts off with cute small talk, with Luna negotiating the age she’ll be allowed to get a smartphone (Dad’s leaning toward 16, while Luna’s eyeing 9), before focusing on Legend’s Grammy-nominated children’s album, My Favorite Dream.
“I wanted to make a children’s album because now that I have four kids, and I’ve watched all of you guys react to music and fall in love with music in different ways, I felt like I was inspired to write an album for my kids, and all the other kids that are out there and their parents too,” John tells Luna of the collection, which was released on Aug. 30 and is nominated for best children’s album in the 2025 Grammy Awards.
Luna comments on how cool that is and delves into Dad’s inspiration for the title of My Favorite Dream, his favorite part of making the album and more.
“My favorite thing was singing with my wife and my two oldest children, Luna and Miles. Do you know Luna and Miles?” John teases.
They all sing together on the album single “L.O.V.E.,” one of the original children’s songs he wrote for the album he produced with Sufjan Stevens. Recording vocals on the song “was fun” and somewhere “in between” hard and easy, Luna tells her dad during their convo.
Eight-year-old Luna not only sang on “L.O.V.E.,” but also designed the art for all the single covers for the My Favorite Dream. Her design work is also seen on hoodies currently available on John’s webstore.
“You and I, that’s one of the ways we bond with each other,” John reminds Luna in their interview. “We draw in the playroom together. It was very natural for you to design the single covers for the album. You killed it. You did a great job.”
“L.O.V.E.” is one of Luna’s three favorite songs on her dad’s album, along with “Always Come Back” and “Three Little Birds.”
John shares “Always Come Back” as a top pick. He’s candid about why the song is so personal to him in his Q&A with Luna.
“I wrote it for you guys,” he tells Luna. “I have to travel a lot for work. Mommy has to go away for work sometimes. But we’ve always been telling you since you were a little baby that Mommy and Daddy always come back. When I wrote that song, it was very emotional for me because the day I wrote it I was actually leaving to go away for a while, and I played it for you guys. It will always have that kind of sentimental feeling.”
“I try not to leave for more than two weeks because it feels so long when I’m gone for two weeks. I feel bad about it sometimes when I leave you. That song makes me feel better about it,” John says.
Watch Luna’s full interview for Billboard Family to hear John’s reaction to his children’s album being nominated for a Grammy, his thoughts on the 20-year anniversary of debut album Get Lifted, what he’s working on next (Broadway music!) and his favorite part of his job.
My Favorite Dream is available to purchase or stream now. It’s nominated for best children’s album at the Feb. 2, 2025 Grammy Awards alongside Lucky Diaz and The Family Jam Band’s Brillo, Brillo!, Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats’ Creciendo, Rock for Children’s Solid Rock Revival and Divinity Roxx and Divi Roxx Kids’ World Wide Playdate.
Japanese singer-songwriter Fujii Kaze released a concert Blu-ray & CD called Fujii Kaze Stadium Live “Feelin’ Good” featuring his biggest solo headlining shows so far by the same name that took place at Nissan Stadium in Kanagawa, Japan on Aug. 24 and 25.
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About 140,000 fans flocked to see the shows over the two days that vividly conveyed Fujii’s magnetism as an artist — exceptional musicianship, outstanding entertainer’s spirit, a laid-back, natural presence that makes you forget you’re seeing him in a stadium setting, and a loving mind that looks out for each person in the audience. This writer also attended one of the shows and the two-hour set was an experience that left a lingering sense of euphoria.
The package delves deeply into the concert experience from various angles. Those who went to the shows will be able to relive the excitement, and for those not familiar with Fujii Kaze will be able to understand why he is loved by so many.
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The Blu-ray is a two-disc set, with Disc 1 containing live footage compiled mainly from the show on Aug. 25. Kento Yamada, a filmmaker who also directed the show itself, helmed the visuals for the concert film as well. Disc 2 contains the approx. 70-minute Feelin’ Good (Documentary) film, which shows fans the behind-the-scenes of the shows. This doc directed by filmmaker Elizabeth Miyaji contains a new interview of the 27-year-old musician, who speaks candidly about the concept of the shows and his thoughts on the project. The CD contains 16 tracks personally selected by the singer himself. The following are some highlights from the visual and audio discs.
The concerts were full of various gimmicks and stage effects, and by capturing them on video, they become easier to understand and enjoy. The show kicks off with Fujii suddenly appearing in the stands. As cheers break out, he slowly walks down the stairs near the audience and heads for the grand piano placed on the grass in the center of the arena. The camera also highlights the genuine expressions of surprise and joy on the audience members’ faces.
The impressive stage set was like a theme park with a stairway, bridge, and garage covered with vegetation. Based on Fujii’s desire to create something that evokes a sense of nature, Yamada meticulously crafted the set down to the smallest details, including the texture of the soil and the small objects inside the garage. The huge LED screen behind the stage displayed images like city and sky, designed to help create the impression of a single world when fused with the layout onstage.
The dancers’ performances were also notable. In particular, the multi-talented artist and his dancers performed choreography that was perfectly in sync for “Kirari” and “Kiri Ga Naikara” in the middle of the show. While Fujii is well-known for singing along to his own virtuoso accompaniment on the piano, his dance performances also showcase his star power.
The “Nan-Nan” hitmaker says in the documentary that the keyword for this show is “youth” (seishun). Sharing the fresh energy of youth with the 70,000 people in the stadium, with live renditions of “Seishun Sick,” sung while swaying with his dancers arm-around-shoulder, and an 8-beat punk rock version of “Tabiji,” was also one of the highlights of the concert.
While the respective visual projects on the Blu-ray discs are quite close to perfection, the recording on the CD allows fans to enjoy the you-are-there vibe of the show. The band members consist of Yaffle on keyboards, who also serves as band master, TAIKING from Suchmos on guitar, Naoki Kobayashi on bass, Norihide Saji on drums, Takashi Fukuoka on percussion, and ARIWA from ASOUND and Emoh Les on backing vocals. The funky, danceable beat of “MO-EH-YO (Ignite)” and the rich harmonies of “Shinunoga E-Wa” are just some of the highlights of the live arrangements.
Looking back over this past year, Fujii took on many challenges and overcame them all. From May to June, he traveled to North America for his first solo headlining trek in the region called Fujii Kaze and the Piano U.S. Tour, selling out both shows in Los Angeles and New York. From October to December, he visited 10 cities in Asia and performed in arenas for his Best of Fujii Kaze 2020-2024 ASIA TOUR, which also ended on a high note.
Fujii released only two new songs in 2024 — “Michi Teyu Ku (Overflowing),” the theme song for Tomokazu Yamada’s first feature film April Come She Will that became his fifth track to rack up 100 million streams in Japan, and the A. G. Cook-produced “Feelin’ Go(o)d,” released in July — but appears to be actively working on other tracks. The stadium concerts and arena tour were like a culmination of Fujii’s career to date, and fans are looking forward to experiencing his new mode of expression in the coming year.
This article by Tomonori Shiba first appeared on Billboard Japan. Fujii Kaze is stylized in Japanese order, surname first.