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This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new music, including new albums by Ela Taubert (Preguntas a las 11:11), Grupo Firme (Evolución), and Majo Aguilar (Mariachi Mío), to name a few. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
Leon Thomas’ breakthrough hit “Mutt” hits a new peak of No. 15 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 – over nine months since Grammy-winning multihyphenate first unleashed the hazy, bass-driven tune. As he approaches the second summer of the Mutt album cycle at a new career peak, Thomas has meticulously readied a 10-song deluxe edition of his acclaimed record.
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Out on May 30 via EZMNY/Motown Records and subtitled Heel, the deluxe edition of Mutt will include collaborations with several hip-hop and R&B heavyweights, including Marsha Ambrosius, Big Sean, Kehlani and Chris Brown – the latter of whom appeared on March’s “Mutt” remix. Last month (April 18), Halle Bailey lent Thomas an assist on “Rather Be Alone,” a psychedelic rock-tinged soul ballad that served as the first taste of Heel. Featuring reimagined versions of select Mutt deep cuts (“Yes It Is” and “Vibes Don’t Lie” both get updates), Heel also revives songs from studio sessions dating back to Electric Dusk, Thomas’ 2023 debut studio album (“Party Favors,” which now includes a Big Sean guest verse).
Inspired by the juxtaposition of his current career momentum and the space needed to truly experience life — as well as by Michael McDonald’s insights from 2024’s Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary — Heel finds Thomas stepping into his healing era, to better understand his emotional state in the original world of Mutt.
“I think music should reflect life,” he explains to Billboard. “Personally, I’m in a place of being really single right now. I was emotionally in that place while making [“Rather Be Alone”], I wasn’t really in a party mood, yet. Summer’s on the way, but I had a little bit of emotional spring cleaning to do first.”
The announcement of Mutt Deluxe: Heal comes the same week that Thomas earned his first two career BET Awards nominations, as he will vie in the best new artist and best male R&B/pop artist categories at the June 9 ceremony. With viral NPR Tiny Desk and Late Show performances and a headlining tour already under his belt, Leon Thomas’ Mutt era is only picking up steam as its one-year anniversary draws nearer.
In a revelatory conversation with Billboard, Leon Thomas breaks down several new Heel tracks, details funk icon George Clinton essentially knighting him during Coachella and explains why Halle clearly “graduated from the Beyoncé school of vocal production.”
When did you know that you wanted to turn Mutt into a deluxe album?
While I was on my headlining tour for Mutt, I started talking to my manager about everything that’s going on with the Grammys [eligibility cycle], not being able to be nominated [last year] because of the timeline. We were trying to figure out healthy ways to breathe life back into [the record]. We ended up discussing different features, and by the end of that conversation, we were like, “Well, it sounds like it’s deluxe season.”
I was really inspired by [SZA’s] Lana and how she gave us a whole new energy. I even saw a resurgence of “Snooze” right after that drop, on the production and songwriting side, which was really good. It all made sense.
I started digging back in at the top of the year. I went out to the same Atlanta studio that OutKast used to do a lot of records in and linked with [“Mutt” co-writers] Robert Gueringer and David Phelps. We set up hella instruments, wrote a bunch of songs, and none of them made it to the deluxe. But it was a good bonding experience. We were all really excited about the success of “Mutt” and where things were headed.
Did any songs from the original Mutt sessions make it to the deluxe?
Yeah, there was actually a song I wrote the same day I wrote the first track for Electric Dusk, actually. It was a song I always loved called “Party Favors.” I played it for my boy, Big Sean, and he loved it, so I had him hop on that. There were a couple of old gems like that.
Big Sean is on two deluxe tracks. What is it about your relationship with him that makes y’all such fruitful collaborators?
I always do that with artists, if I’m trying to collaborate with them — because sometimes, artists send me just one joint, and I may or may not be into it, even if I’m down to work with the artist. I try to give every artist an opportunity to shoot different things. You never know what they’ll end up getting attached to.
[Sean] ended up writing [verses] to both [“Party Favors” and “Vibes Don’t Lie”], and then he was like, “Well, if you don’t put [“Party Favors”] on the deluxe, I’m gonna drop it tomorrow.” I was like, “Well, no, sir!” [Laughs.] That’s how it is dealing with rappers, man. They’re just like, “Let’s drop tomorrow!” And I’m like, “Let me get a marketing budget first, my boy!”
Marsha Ambrosius is also on the deluxe — which is fitting, since you’ve interpolated Floetry’s “Say Yes” into a few live performances of “Yes It Is.” How did that one come together?
She doesn’t remember, but we wrote a whole song together like seven years ago — but I wasn’t tripping on that when I met her officially at the BET Awards. She was showing so much love to Electric Dusk, and her husband gave me her information, and we stayed in touch. A good friend of mine named Ali [Prawl] — who played keys on “Yes It Is” and produced it with me – used to play in her band, and is a Philly legend, so he reached out to her. Next thing I knew, I had a Dropbox full of vocals from Marsha Ambrosius.
It was really fun to mess around within the mix and try to protect the integrity of “Say Yes.” A lot of it was me playing off the success of the Tiny Desk and how much people loved that mashup. I wanted to give people something on wax that was a bit more polished.
How do you go about maintaining the integrity of the original record while giving audiences something new and fresh?
I think it’s a matter of not adding any extra overproduction to anything, and really staying true to my creative process. I’m known to overthink — in class, I would get a 92% on a test and could have had a 100%, but you could see me erase the right answer because I was overthinking. In music, I put myself in a position to literally just go with my first mind. “Safe Place” was a first take, “I Used To” was a first take with few edits, “Mutt” was a first take, and I just punched in certain things.
I wasn’t overthinking on this record. Even with the way we added features… I didn’t want to have them do a bunch of takes or versions. Just give me your first mind.
What was the “Rather Be Alone” studio session like?
D. Phelps was in the studio with us, and I actually stole him from Halle’s session – I’m real selfish with my guy! [Laughs.] We had no plans of doing a record that day. So, Halle pulls up to the studio, telling everybody to put the blunts out, and we started listening to records. We weren’t frustrated around that time, but we were definitely at a creative wall. I was like, “Okay, we got a label that wants us to do features, but I’m kinda anti-social, so who do I lock in with without it being awkward?”
Then, I had a little light bulb moment, and asked Halle to hop on the song. She really liked the song, but I had to kinda pressure her to get in the booth. She got in there, felt comfortable, wrote her verse very quickly, and really did her thing. You can hear that she came from the Beyoncé school of vocal production in the way she attacks things and enunciates and emotes. That put me in a great headspace as a producer as well.
When it comes to bringing in new voices, like Halle and Kehlani, how do you ensure that the chemistry feels natural and not forced?
Me and Kehlani have been writing together for years. For Ariana [Grande’s] Yours Truly album, we had Kehlani do the demos for some of the songs Ariana ended up cutting. Because we were so tight, we would write all the time. She’s my real friend. Writing with her isn’t even a session, it’s just talking.
She told me she was really feeling [Mutt] and wanted to make something for her own record. I wasn’t even sure if “Dirt on My Shoes” would be for my deluxe; I was just writing from the standpoint of either of us singing it. It was a very open-ended session. My boy, Khris Riddick-Tynes, also added some things to make it fit the sonic space of the Mutt album. Me and Kehlani are always gonna be super tight and supportive of one another.
Did you pull from your whirlwind past six months while writing these deluxe tracks? Or did you have to put yourself back in the mental space of the original Mutt sessions?
It’s funny, life is moving really fast, but I haven’t been living a lot of life. It’s been very: wake up, get to work, go to sleep, repeat. I’m not really pulling from too much emotionally. If anything, the absence of real emotional growth has been something that I can pull from. Also, the longing for something real – not that I haven’t had it, but I’m trying to figure out how to take care of it in the midst of a very busy schedule. I’m looking forward to looking back at these records because it’s a time stamp of my mental space.
Would you say this deluxe is a general expansion of the world of Mutt, a specific extension of the story the original tracklist tells, or something else entirely?
I almost feel like Heel is a bit of a meditation. I’m looking back at a lot of things and seeing where I was in my life during the Mutt era. It was pretty chaotic. The title of the deluxe has multiple meanings. From the “heel” command of learning to follow to healing in real life – that’s why a lot of the records aren’t bop-y, straight Power 106 vibes. Right now, I’m in a space of healing and learning… how to be a good boy. [Laughs.]
“Mutt” is right outside the Hot 100’s top 10 (No. 15). Did you expect to be here in April 2025 when you dropped this song in August 2024?
I don’t want to sound cocky or anything, but like when I made the record, it was the first time I’ve ever been like, “I’m making a single today.” I didn’t let anyone talk me out of rolling with it as the first single. And there was a moment where everybody thought I should lead with “Far Fetched,” and I was like, “I love Ty, I love the song, but I really feel like we should lead with ‘Mutt.’” There was this feeling I had about it.
Did I think we would still be seeing it on the charts right now? N—a, to be real, no, I didn’t know that! We were pretty hyped when it got to 15 million streams; we were like “Oh s–t, we’re not failures.”
I was at Coachella, and when I finished performing, my homie told me that Tyla was singing my song word for word. I know what we have is definitely contagious and good for the culture. I’m glad that people are supporting that because it doesn’t always happen.
Tell me more about your Coachella experience this year.
It was awesome. My big bro, Ty Dolla $ign, brought me out there to perform on his stage. He’s a gracious artist who’s always chosen to support me and put me on a pedestal. Shoutout to Muni Long, who also gave me an opportunity to share her stage. She had no incentive to do that, outside of just really enjoying the music and being an awesome human.
On Sunday, I performed with George Clinton, and it was this whole moment… It’s 4/20, and I get a knock on my trailer and it’s Ty. He’s like, “George wants to talk with you.” We get into the trailer, and it’s literally a cloud of weed smoke, fam. Mind you, I don’t really smoke weed like that no more! So, I’m just in there, hotboxed to hell as George Clinton does this whole speech.
He’s like, “I’ve got a present for you, man. You the kid with the dog song, right? Yeah, I like that joint. I made you this hat.” And it’s an all-white hat with rhinestones, a dog face on it and a fox tail at the end of it. I’m like, “Wow, this is really elaborate and amazing.” He said, “Before I come out and perform ‘Atomic Dog,’ I’m going to give you the crown.” My parents were in a wedding band playing “Atomic Dog,” so I know it. I’m really tapped in!
That was an amazing moment for me, because I feel that funk can find its way back into popular culture right now. “Mutt” isn’t a super-Ohio-Players, funk-driven record, but it’s got those notes with the Bootsy Collins bass and real live drums. I really respect George Clinton, and I’m thankful that he even thought of me in this way.
It’s (still) like that, y’all! Mariah Carey took to social media on Friday (May 8) to continue the festivities surrounding the 20th anniversary of her landmark 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi.
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“Reliving the splendor of The Emancipation of Mimi with a few more of my favorite moments!” the icon captioned a carousel of memories from the era, adding the hashtag “Mimi20” along with a butterfly and red heart emoji.
Among the photos in Carey’s post were snaps of the R&B legend performing on stage in a glittering silver gown with mic in hand and walking her beloved Jack Russell terrier, Jack, in a yellow bandage dress, as well as a behind-the-scenes shot with Snoop Dogg from the set of the “Say Something” music video.
Mimi also included throwback clips of her performance of lead single “It’s Like That” alongside Jermaine Dupri and Fatman Scoop to open VH1 Save the Music’s 2005 benefit concert and an interview where she broke down the album’s many vibes on the press tour.
“I think each song on the album, Emancipation of Mimi, not necessarily has a different message, but has a different mood and has a different feeling — you know, evokes something different depending on who’s listening to it and at what time,” the superstar lays out in the latter video. “‘Don’t Forget About Us’ could kind of give you a good, happy memory or you could be miserable crying, listening to it over and over.
“But I think all in all, it’s always good to have music that you can sort of live vicariously through, and that’s what a lot of people have told me this record is for them,” she concluded.
Speaking of “Don’t Forget About Us,” Carey marked Mimi‘s major milestone in April by releasing a new remix of the No. 1 hit by Kaytranada. The re-envisioned version of the smash will be featured on the massive 40-track 20th anniversary reissue of the album, which is scheduled for release May 30.
Check out Mariah’s latest Emancipation of Mimi-era memories here.
This week in dance music: The long-awaited reopening of Brooklyn Mirage has been delayed “indefinitely” after permitting issues ahead of the club’s opening weekend. This delay forced the cancellation of Sara Landry’s back-to-back opening weekend shows, with the hard techno producer and her team scrambling to relocate the performances and the 12,000 people meant to […]
The eye-opening documentary about Colombian superstar Karol G, Tomorrow Was Beautiful (on Netflix now), can be summed up in one poignant moment that showcases the complicated dichotomy of fame.
“I remember one particular concert at MetLife Stadium,” said the film’s director Cristina Costantini of a surreal scene that unfolded before both her eyes and lens. “She looked like she was living her best life on stage, performing for 90,000 people. This should be the best day of her life. But when she gets offstage, she cries for like an hour. And that kind of whiplash, of the public Karol and the private Karol, was really fascinating to me, and a real privilege of being able to witness.”
The documentary was filmed in the wake of Mañana Será Bonito, her boundary-breaking fourth studio album which became the first Spanish-language album from a woman to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. During the barrier-bashing tour that followed (where that aforementioned scene occurred), the documentary peels back the curtain on the private life, creative process and fame that turned the former teenage Colombian X Factor contestant into a giant of reggaeton and an icon of her homeland.
When Costantini spoke to Billboard, she was fresh off a plane from attending the film’s world premiere in Medellín, the Colombian metropolis in a mountainous province where Karol was born and raised.
“It was surreal and I think it’s a once in a lifetime thing for a filmmaker to see 3,000 people all come together in great spirits to watch a documentary,” she says, noting she was among everyone from Karol’s childhood friends to music teachers who all showed up to support the global superstar. “It was a very lovely, very special and a very pink event.”
Costantini’s road to getting a front-row seat with a camera in hand during an auspicious time in Karol’s life has its roots in her directing a slate of acclaimed documentaries. Her Emmy-nominated Science Fair turned heads in 2018, and Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado, a 2020 portrait of the famed Puerto Rican astrologer, garnered equal acclaim.
“Two years ago I got a call that Karol was interested in making a movie about both her tour and her life and would I be interested,” Costantini remembers. “So I said ‘Yeah, let me talk to my husband first, who is not Latin.’” The problem is, her husband hadn’t heard of the star, so Costantini, who had recently given birth, had him speak to their nanny, Jasmine, to get her perspective.
“Jasmine said to him, ‘Oh my God, if Cristina doesn’t do this movie, I’ll die. My hair is red right now because of Karol.’ She started crying and talked about how Karol meant everything to her and how her music got her through a hard relationship. So he said, ‘Um, okay. I think you have to do this movie.’”
While Karol was no doubt popular at the time, she hadn’t turned into the indomitable global superstar who transcended borders just yet.
“I mean, I’m Latina and I listen to reggaeton, so I’ve been following Karol since she released ‘Tusa’ [her 2019 collab with Nicki Minaj],” notes Costantini. “But what made it interesting to me is that she wasn’t as well known in the Anglo community then, so it felt like a really interesting time to jump on board.”
Costantini and her crew shot 50 days in total with the promise that Karol wasn’t interested in a fluff piece, but rather a warts-and-all mediation on modern celebrity. “At first we had a much bigger footprint, with a lot of gear and people. But she wasn’t quite being herself, so we shrunk it down to these cameras you’d normally not shoot on because we had a sense we’d get way more footage and access, and that wound up being the case.”
“For the last two and a half years, I’ve had cameras around me like I was living in a reality show, trying to ignore, overlook or avoid them,” Karol G told Billboard‘s Isabela Raygoza on the red carpet for the film’s premiere in New York. “It was hard — sometimes I did feel a little frustrated, like I was being watched too much. There were plenty of times when I’d ask for a bit more privacy, to be a little more alone, to spend more time with my family and friends.”
Eventually, she came to trust the process; the end result is Karol splayed on a couch, pouring her heart out into the lens. “This is basically like a mini reality show squeezed into an hour and 48 minutes,” she cracked.
The result are raw scenes where the superstar ruminates on the pros and cons of fame. “Everyone could see I was at the top of my career,” she says at one point in the film in her native Spanish. “But inside, I felt like I was losing who I really was. As much as I’d like to explain how difficult it was, I wouldn’t have enough time.”
“I have so much respect for her ability to really go there and put herself out like she has,” Costantini explains of the superstar’s vulnerability. At one point in the film, Karol talks about being sexually harassed when she was 16 by a former manager, leading her to take a pause from her dreams of pursuing music and move to New York.
Costantini said she didn’t need much prompting to mine her darkest memories. “Like the story about her [former] manager, she’s never gone there before, but we had talked about that and she was clearly very ready to go there,” the director says. “It takes an immense amount of trust and faith to be as vulnerable as Karol has been.”
“I can assure you that no woman who respects herself would allow being harmed in order to achieve something,” an emotional Karol said.
She also touched on her relationship with the Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA, with whom she collaborated on the songs “Follow” and “Secreto.” The two, who met on the set of their collab “Culpables,” became engaged in 2019 before calling it quits in 2021. In the film, she calls the whirlwind love affair and brutal breakup “a nightmare” and “hell,” admitting she “felt worthless as a person.” In its wake, she also is honest about her more positive times with her boyfriend, the Colombian star Feid.
Costantini also had her camera on moments where Karol’s tenacity shines, including a day when she went through a grueling eight hours of tour rehearsals with the famed choreographer Parris Goebel (who most recently was the architect of Lady Gaga’s Coachella set), during the same period she swam in New York’s East River.
The dip in the water “didn’t mean much to Colombians; I don’t think they understood what the East River was,” Costantini says of the notoriously murky New York waterway. “But the American team was like, ‘I don’t know if we should be doing that.’ And then of course she gets sick, so watching her just press on in the face of all of this was incredible.”
In fact, Karol’s hands-on approach made the biggest impression on Costantini, who noted that the singer is involved with even the most granular details of her career. “We know she writes, sings and dances with that pop star skill set, but she also has this incredible business mind which I’ve seen up close. She just opened two restaurants and a nightclub, and she’s overseeing all of the menus. Meanwhile, when she’s on tour she’s asking questions like, ‘Why do the bracelets at the stadium cost this much if they’re only doing these certain functions.’”
For Costantini, she chalks it all up to her “obsession of being perfect.” She explains: “You see that her success is not a mistake. She’s been working at this for years and years and years and it’s the product of really hard work.”
Naturally, that obsession seeped into the production of the documentary itself. “She can (tell you) ‘this is where the camera should be, this is where the lights should be, this is how I wanna look.’ But she can also be very soft, very sweet and very kind, too.”
So what did the perfectionist think of the Costantini film? “I think there are some parts that are really hard for her to watch or tough for her to stomach,” says Costantini of Karol’s impression following the film’s premiere, while conceding that Karol is “also the kind of person who is onto the next thing: ‘What do we do now, what’s next, how I am going to completely flip the script of what I just did?’
“But in the end, what’s great about a documentary is that it lets you stop and think for a moment. She expressed that idea quite a bit: that it forces her to stop and say, ‘Hey, I did that.’”
De La Ghetto presents his new production, Daylight, a seven-track set that marks the first EP of his 20-year career and part one of a full-length album dropping later this year.
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“This all happened last October in Medellín,” he tells Billboard. “A promoter friend rented an Airbnb and invited me to a music camp. The first day I went, I never left. We did 10-12 songs that week. Something that started as a single or two, turned into a whole album. I decided to do a double EP, like in the ’80s and ’90s, because right now we’re living in an era where music is going too fast. People don’t have time to listen to 20 songs.”
“Loco,” a saucy Afrobeat song that dropped in March, was the first taste of the EP and set the tone for the project. “I wanted to give my fans something short and spicy with beachy vibes, chill and laid-back,” the Puerto Rican artist born Rafael E. Castillo Torres notes.
On Daylight, De La (also known as De La Geezy or GZ), worked with different music creatives such as Los Hitmen, Arboleda “Blaine,” UVE, and Hydra Hitz, who brought to life a refreshing sound that blends reggaetón with jazz and funk (“Phil Jackson”), reggae with perreo (“Acerola”) and even some sensual flamenco guitars found on the Blessd-assisted “Organic.”
GZ also reeled in Spanish newcomer JC Reyes for the hard-hitting trap song “RMPR T,” a record he admits was not meant to be on the album.
“I felt like I met De La Ghetto from 2008. There’s this rawness with him and I love what he’s doing with the hip-hop scene in Spain,” he expresses. “This song came to me by surprise. It was the perfect song to close Daylight. Can you imagine if I didn’t put a trap song? My fans were going to go crazy. Being an artist with 20 years in the game, this album has a little bit of everything with my essence, that GZ essence.”
Listen to Daylight below.
Akon has chimed in on the tension between 50 Cent and Black Mafia Family co-founder Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory.
During a recent appearance on the BagFuel podcast, he talked about his relationship with BMF and Jeezy during the mid-2000s, and was eventually asked about Meech falling out with his business partner 50 Cent once he got out of prison. “Actually, me and Meech had some talks about that,” Akon revealed. “He does feel slighted ’cause he felt that, you know, him and 50 should’ve sat down and had a real conversation as men because he’s been in [prison] for 20 years. He don’t know the feud that’s going on with 50 and whoever else. All he know is that, when he got out, [Rick] Ross came through, showed some love. While he was locked up, Ross made a big ass song that was, you know, ‘They think I’m Big Meech, Larry Hoover.’ In his mind, Ross is just paying homage.”
He added that the former music executive and drug kingpin wasn’t fully aware of the music business politics that would “warrant what Fif’ did.”
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The “big ass song” Akon is referring to Rick Ross’ 2010 street anthem “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” featuring Styles P, which peaked at No. 60 on the Hot 100. The same song Rick Ross once told Billboard that he would clear for the show if 50 agreed to help promote Ross’ Wingstop franchises after the G-Unit boss expressed interest in using the track in another Billboard interview.
50 Cent and Big Meech have been in business together with the former producing a docuseries and a TV series for Starz about the latter’s rise to power alongside his brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory in the Detroit underworld during the late ’80s, eventually turning BMF into a national crime syndicate and influential record label that was instrumental in breaking Jeezy’s solo career.
However, things turned sour when Meech and Rick Ross were seen together on social media, causing a back and forth between the Miami rapper, 50 and Meech’s son, Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., who plays his father in the BMF series.
The fourth season of BMF is set to premiere on June 6.
Riley Green’s “Worst Way” becomes one of three new top 10s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, dated May 17.
The track hops from No. 11 to No. 8 on the survey, up 10% to 16.6 million audience impressions May 2-8, according to Luminate.
With the song — from Green’s LP Don’t Mind If I Do, which entered Top Country Albums at its No. 8 best last November — he banks his sixth Country Airplay top 10. It follows his duet with Ella Langley, “You Look Like You Love Me,” which led for a week in December, becoming his second chart-topper. He first led as featured on Thomas Rhett’s “Half of Me” for a week in November 2022. “There Was This Girl” became his first top 10 (No. 3, 2019).
Notably, Green wrote “Worst Way” solo. It’s the first Country Airplay top 10 by one author since Cody Johnson’s “Dirt Cheap,” penned by Josh Phillips (No. 5 peak in August 2024). “Worst Way” is the first top 10 solo-penned by the artist who recorded it since Chayce Beckham’s “23,” which led for a week in April 2024.
Big ‘Heart’
Corey Kent lands his second Country Airplay top 10 as “This Heart” rises 12-9 (16.4 million, up 12%). The song, from the Bixby, Okla., native’s album Black Bandana, released last fall, follows “Wild as Her,” which hit No. 3 in May 2023.
‘Wind’ Blows In
Ella Langley achieves her second Country Airplay top 10 as “Weren’t for the Wind” gusts 13-10 (15.5 million, up 12%). The single, from her 2024 LP Hungover, follows her chart-topping Riley Green team-up “You Look Like You Love Me” (see above).
Ongoing ‘Problem’
Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” dominates Country Airplay for a fourth total and consecutive week (30.7 million, up 1%). The song marks the fifth of his 17 No. 1s to rule for four or more frames. His longest-leading hit, “You Proof,” reigned for 10 weeks beginning in October 2022. It’s tied for the longest command in the chart’s 35-year history with Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” (2023-24).
‘The Giver’ Debuts
Chappell Roan makes her Country Airplay debut as “The Giver” enters at the chart’s No. 60 anchor spot (512,000 in audience, up 1%). The pop star’s country turn launched at its No. 5 best on the Billboard Hot 100 in March and reached Nos. 32 and 37 on Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay, respectively, in April.
All charts dated May 17 will update on Billboard.com on May 13 (Tuesday).
SEVENTEEN announced plans on Friday (May 9) to perform later this month on Seoul’s famed Jamsugyo Bridge in honor of their tenth anniversary as a group. The special performance, which will mark the first time a K-pop group has ever performed on the South Korean landmark atop the Hangang River, is set to take place […]
New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
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Majo Aguilar, Mariachi Mío (Fonovisa/Universal Music Mexico)
Majo Aguilar’s Mariachi Mío bridges tradition and innovation, fusing mariachi — a centuries-old genre rooted in northwestern Mexican heritage — with the modern tumbado movement that’s rapidly reshaping música mexicana. The result is a personal album that expands the storied genre’s boundaries while preserving its essence. Crafting eight of the ten tracks and involved in production, Aguilar showcases her artistic evolution and cultural pride.
The opener, “No Pidas Perdón,” reflects post-breakup closure through lilting violins and mournful vihuela strums. The focus track, “Que Te Vaya Bien,” offers a mellow kiss-off enriched by harp, brass, and layered rhythms, while “Mala Mala” injects drama into a more traditional framework. Of its two collaborations, Alex Fernández lends vocals to the ranchera “Cuéntame,” while rapper Santa Fe Klan contrasts with a tumbado-infused blend on “Luna Azul.” With her new release, Aguilar reclaims mariachi as her own, remaining rooted in its foundational spirit to forge a fresh path forward. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Debi Nova, Leonel García, “Se Va” (Sony Music Entertainment Centroamérica y Caribe)
Debi Nova and Leonel García join forces on this delicate heartbreak ballad about a relationship that is slowly fading. Driven by a mournful guitar riff, the Costa Rican singer-songwriter and the Mexican musician begin by almost narrating their feelings before harmonizing on intimate verses like, “Today I understood that dreaming only lasts a moment, and I’m sorry/ If you don’t embrace the one who is there, they will leave/ If you don’t take care of that flower, it will wither.” In an Instagram post, Nova shares that she met García 12 years ago when they both participated in a Franco De Vita tour, and that ever since then she “had always dreamed of doing a collaboration with him.” It took more than a decade to make it happen, but it was worth the wait. – SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
J Balvin & Omega, “KLK” (Capitol Records/Sueños Globales/UMG Recordings)
In the midst of his Rayo Tour, J Balvin dropped “KLK” in collaboration with Omega — a tune that could easily become the next summer banger of the year. Produced by Jorge Milliano, the track perfectly blends the Colombian artist’s urban swagger with the Dominican act’s mambo essence, bringing to life an energetic merengue electrónico backed by ferocious güira and conga beats. “KLK,” which is Dominican slang for “que lo que” and loosely translates to “what’s up,” is a celebration of the vibrant Latin culture — the music video, filmed in the barber shops, colmado (mini market), and streets of New York City and the Dominican Republic attests to that. “Que lo wa, qué lo que,” says the catchy hook. — JESSICA ROIZ
Marco Mares, ¿por qué corres? ya estamos ahí (Rebeleon Ent./Universal Music Latino)
Mexican singer-songwriter Marco Mares unveiled his highly-anticipated third studio album, ¿Por qué corres? Ya estamos ahí, which translates to “Why Are You Running? We Are Already There.” This poignant title serves as a heartfelt reminder to embrace the present moment and savor life’s experiences. The album consists of 10 tracks that radiate uplifting vibes, reminiscent of sun-soaked tropical islands. Among these, you’ll find bachata rhythms in “A 150” and “Amor Chiquito”; and an infectious merengue track in “digo que no, pero si” in collaboration with Sabino—all which beautifully showcase Mares’ ability to blend traditional sounds with a contemporary flair. ¿Por qué corres? Ya estamos ahí was produced by Sebastián Krys and Eduardo Cabra, and co-written by Mares with several songwriters, including Raquel Sofía from Puerto Rico, Valentina Rico, Alberto Arcas, and Juan Pablo Vega. Collaborations include Zoe Gotusso, Bebo Dumont, Carlos Sadness, and Sabino. — INGRID FAJARDO
Karol G, “Milagros” (Bichota Records/Interscope Records)
Fresh off the release of her documentary, Tomorrow Was Beautiful on Netflix, Karol G is gifting fans a new feel-good song. “Milagros,” or miracles, opens with bright quena (Andean flute) notes that quite literally sets the tone for the joyful track about the miracles of life. “When I wake up I realize how blessed I am, I go through the world doing my thing, opening doors and closing wounds … what more miracle than to be breathing?” she sings in her velvety voice. Produced by Edgar Barrera and Lexus, the song goes full pop with elements of Peruvian folk incorporated throughout, a new style for the Bichota who is known for her reggaetón hits. “Milagros” is Karol’s first release of the year and fans can hear it at the end of her documentary. — GRISELDA FLORES
Check out more Latin recommendations this week below:
