Music
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Bluey: Rug Island bows atop Billboard’s Kid Albums chart (dated Nov. 9), powered by vinyl sales of the set. The soundtrack was released Oct. 25 and is the companion to the hit animated series Bluey. The project includes music from all three seasons of the show, which premiered in 2018. In the United States, Bluey […]
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: The legendary Quincy Jones’ catalog sees a big bump after his passing, a ’70s hitmaker officially becomes one of the big names of spooky-season streaming, a 2003 pop-rock jam gets a big horror synch and more.
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Quincy Jones Catalog Explodes on Streaming Following Legend’s Passing
Late Sunday night (Nov. 3), Quincy Jones, a 28-time Grammy-winning giant who played a key role in some of the world’s most impactful works of art across the music, film, television and the stage, passed away surrounded by family in his Bel Air home. In commemoration of Jone’s near-unquantifiable legacy, fans have found solace in some of his biggest musical contributions.
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According to Luminate, Jones’ entire catalog is up 1,229% in streaming activity, earning nearly 1.25 million official on-demand streams on the first full-day following his passing (Nov. 4). On the Monday prior (Oct. 28), Jones’ catalog collected just under 94,000 streams.
“Just Once,” a Grammy-nominated single from Jones’ The Dude LP that introduced the world to James Ingram is up 632%, earning 77,000 official on-demand streams on Nov. 4 versus 10,500 streams on Oct. 28. “One Hundred Ways” — another Jones-Ingram team-up from The Dude (this one actually won its Grammy category) — saw a similar bump, jumping 626% in streaming activity from a little over 8,000 official on-demand streams on Oct. 28 to over 60,000 streams on Nov. 4. About two decades before The Dude, Jones composed the massively influential “Soul Bossa Nova” instrumental, which has been used as the theme song for everything from 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Streaming activity for “Soulful” leapt a whopping 755% from 11,500 official on-demand streams (Oct. 28) to just over 98,000 streams (Nov. 4).
Of course, “We Are the World,” the Billboard Hot 100-topping charity single that won record and song of the year at the 1986 Grammys, is a towering part of Jones’ far-reaching legacy. That classic is up 146% in streams from 37,500 official on-demand streams (Oct. 28) to over 92,000 streams (Nov. 4). With a career spanning seven decades, Jones hits also included Lesley Gore’s timeless 1963 Hot 100 chart-topper “It’s My Party.” That iconic track jumped 17% in streaming activity, going from 33,000 official on-demand streams (Oct. 28) to just over 39,000 streams (Nov. 4).
As a producer, Jones’ sprawling catalog also includes three of the most seminal albums in pop history: Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). Jones-related gains for Thriller and Bad are a bit complicated because both house Halloween anthems (the title track for Thriller and “Smooth Criminal” for Bad). Nonetheless, Off the Wall – Jackson’s first Jones-helmed LP – is up 10%, pulling 794,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (Nov. 4) versus 720,000 streams (Oct. 28).
Jones’ oeuvre also includes the classic soundtracks for The Color Purple and The Wiz. The former is up 290%, collecting over 41,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on Nov. 4, while the latter is up 219%, earning over 47,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the same day.
Jones passing is a particularly painful one for global pop culture, but he’s left behind an incredibly rich catalog for us to continue to revisit and learn from. – KYLE DENIS
Andrew Gold: The New King of Halloween?
Scan the Hot 100 this week and you’ll see some of the most familiar names long associated with Halloween music: Michael Jackson (“Thriller,” No. 20), Ray Parker Jr. (“Ghostbusters,” No. 28), Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers (“Monster Mash,” No. 30) and Danny Elfman – technically “The Citizens of Halloween” (“This Is Halloween,” No. 38). But finishing just below their ranks and outside the Hot 100 (for now) is a guy who is only come in recent years to be majorly associated with Spooky Season: ‘70s singer-songwriter and pop-rock hitmaker Andrew Gold.
For most of his career, Gold (who died 2011) in was primarily associated with two singles: The heartrending story song “Lonely Boy” (a No. 7 hit in 1977) and the heartwarming “Thank You for Being a Friend” (a No. 28 hit in 1978 – though better associated with a Cynthia Fee cover version, used as the theme to the timeless ‘80s sitcom The Golden Girls). But thanks to some TikTok trending that first started at the end of the 2010s, Gold is now best known to younger fans as the guy behind 1996’s “Spooky, Scary Skeletons,” a cartoon-y Halloween number that has been remixed and memed to death over the past half-decade.
“Skeletons” racked up 11.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Nov. 2, according to Luminate – a massive number, and a bump of 1,146% from the 898,000 streams the song notched six weeks earlier. It’s not the only song of Gold’s to see such gains, either, as his entire ‘96 set Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music is way up, including his version of the classic theme to The Addams Family – which amassed 2.1 million streams for that same week. All in all, Gold totaled 14.7 million streams for the week, up 1,040% from his 1.3 million total the week of Sept. 19 – proving that Gold is on the verge of becoming the standard for Halloween-week streaming performance. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Joé Dwèt Filé Eyes Stateside Konpa Hit With “4 Kampé”
The streaming era and increased globalization have largely leveled the playing field for more niche genres to make inroads in the U.S. market – and konpa could be up next. Popularized in the 1950s, konpa (sometimes spelled “kompa”) is a descendant of méringue music that is characterized by the prominent use of tanbou drum, buoyant horns and rhythmic guitars.
With “4 Kampé,” Joé Dwèt Filé — a singer, songwriter and engineer of Haitian descent – is eyeing a hit single with notable crossover potential. During the period of Oct. 25-28, “4 Kampé” earned over 393,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. By the post-Halloween period of Nov. 1-4, consumption activity for the track rose 13%, collecting over 446,000 streams.
Filé started teasing the song a week before its Oct. 25 release with a post that has since garnered over 1.6 million views and over 195,000 likes. Two more teasers followed, with each each video earning more views than the last. Currently, the official “4 Kampé” TikTok sound boasts nearly 190,000 posts, with many of them featuring users performing the kare dance that traditionally accompanies konpa music. In just 12 days, the official “4 Kampé” lyric video hit 3.4 million views on YouTube, while the track’s official music video crossed two million views in under a week.
Although it is still early in the song’s run, these gains for “4 Kampé” look promising. – KD
So Yesteryear: Time Cut Offers Big Bump to ‘00s Hilary Duff Classic
Netflix’s time-traveling slasher flick Time Cut is currently the streaming service top-ranked film, with its ending proving to be a source of controversy for viewers. But before that was a source of debate for the movie, social media users were busy arguing about whether a scene from the movie released as a teaser on Netflix’s channels – a high-school hallway montage, meant to reflect teenage life in the year 2003 – was actually all that reflective of the fashion and styles of the time. One choice was pretty inarguable though: the use of Hilary Duff’s 2003 pop-rock hit “So Yesterday.”
“Yesterday,” which only peaked at No. 42 on the Hot 100 in Oct. 2003 (but was much bigger on MTV and Radio Disney-type platforms), is featured as the slow-motion scene’s soundtrack, evoking the cultural moment fairly effectively. Unsurprisingly, the clip sent nostalgic viewers heading to streaming services to play the period classic – “Yesterday” totaled over 85,000 official on-demand U.S. streams combined for the first four days of November, a 49% gain over the previous four-day total in the prior tracking week. Not quite “Unwritten” numbers yet, but a good start for a song that has lived in the shadow of Duff’s bigger hit “Come Clean” for too long. – AU
Ten tracks are contenders for the coveted Song of the Year category at the 25th annual Latin Grammy Awards. The nominees include Daymé Arocena and Vicente García’s “A Fuego Lento”; Maura Nava’s “A La Mitad”; Elena Rose, Danny Ocean, and Jerry Di’s “Caracas En El 2000”; Jorge Drexler‘s “Derrumbe”; Shakira and Grupo Frontera‘s “(Entre Paréntesis)”; Gian Marco […]
Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” orders an eighth round at No.1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart. The song, which became the singer’s fourth leader on the tally in September, extends the third-longest command in 2024, and moves to within three weeks of tying the second-longest domination this year. Only two other […]
Moby has joined the chorus of musicians who’ve responded to Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. On Wednesday (Nov. 6), the producer and activist posted a video of himself outside in New York City, addressing the camera by saying “So obviously the election results are terrible and America and Americans have clearly […]
Emilia Pérez leads the 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards nominations with five nods. The HMMA honors composers, songwriters and music supervisors for their contributions over the previous year in music for film, TV, video games and more.
The 15th annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards will be presented Nov. 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood. That’s nearly a month before the Oscars announce their shortlists of 15 original songs and 20 original scores on Dec. 17. Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 17. The annual HMMA nominations are our real first peek inside what may be vying for music awards at other awards shows in coming weeks.
Two songs from Emilia Pérez (“El Mal” and “Mi Camino”) are nominated for song – feature film. That boldly imaginative French film is this year’s only film with two song nominees. The film is also nominated for score – feature film. Clément Ducol and Camille, a French couple, are nominated in both categories. They co-wrote one of their nominated songs, “El Mal,” with Jacques Audiard, the director of Emilia Pérez.
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Blitz, Challengers and The Six Triple Eight were also nominated in both the top song and top score categories. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were nominated for their score for the boxoffice hit Challengers. They were also nominated for co-writing “Compress/Repress” with Luca Guadagnino, the director of Challengers.
A third of this year’s nominated songs was co-written by the director of the film that contained the song. “Winter Coat” from Blitz was co-written by that film’s director, Steve McQueen, along with Nicholas Britell and Taura Stinson. Hans Zimmer was nominated for scoring the film.
Perennial Oscar hopeful Diane Warren is nominated for song – feature film for writing “”The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight. Aaron Zigman is nominated for scoring the film.
The HMMAs have five song categories and seven score categories. Their main song category lists nine nominees. Their main score category lists eight nominees.
One of the HMMA’s most compelling categories (which the Oscars don’t present) is song – onscreen performance. This year’s nominees are Cynthia Erivo for singing “Defying Gravity” in the film adaptation of the Broadway smash Wicked; Nicholas Galitzine and Anne-Marie for singing “The Idea of You” in the rom-com of the same name; Saoirse Ronan for singing “Winter Coat” in Blitz; Timothée Chalamet for singing “Blowin’ in the Wind” in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown; and Zoe Saldana for singing “El Mal” in Emilia Pérez.
As previously announced, legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin will receive the Outstanding Career Achievement Award. Taupin is also nominated for co-writing “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late, which is vying for song – documentary film. He cowrote the song with John, Brandi Carlile and Andrew Watt.
Several of the nominated songs will be performed live during the HMMA awards ceremonies on Nov. 20. Tickets are available now at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/2024hmmawards/1419072
Here are the 2024 HMMA nominations in film categories.
Song – feature film
“Winter Coat” from Blitz – Written by Nicholas Britell, Taura Stinson, and Steve McQueen. Performed by Saoirse Ronan.
“Compress/Repress” from Challengers – Written by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Luca Guadagnino. Performed by Mariqueen Maandig Reznor.
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – Written by Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard. Performed by Zoe Saldana.
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez – Written by Clément Ducol and Camille. Performed by Selena Gomez and Édgar Ramírez.
“Forbidden Road” from Better Man – Written and performed by Robbie Williams.
“Periyone” from The Goat Life – Written by A.R. Rahman and Rafiq Ahamed. Performed by Jithin Raj.
“The Idea of You” from The Idea of You – Written by Savan Kotecha, Albin Nedler and Carl Falk. Performed by Galitzine and Anne-Marie.
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight – Written by Diane Warren. Performed by H.E.R.
“Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters – Written by Luke Dick, Shane McAnally, and Lainey Wilson. Performed by Lainey Wilson.
Song – animated film
“Double Life” from Despicable Me 4 – Written and performed by Pharrell Williams.
“Beyond” from Moana 2 – Written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. Performed by Auli’i Cravalho.
“Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” from Moana 2 – Written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. Performed by Dwayne Johnson.
“Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot – Written by Maren Morris, Ali Tamposi, Michael Pollack, Delacey, Jordan Johnson, and Stefan Johnson. Performed by Maren Morris.
“Just as You Are” from Thelma the Unicorn – Written by Taura Stinson, Darien Dorsey, and Brittany Howard. Performed by Brittany Howard.
Song – documentary film
“Pain Has a Purpose” from Americans With No Address – Written by Cindy Morgan and Jonathan Kingham. Performed by Rachael Lampa.
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – Written by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt. Performed by Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
“Mis Cuatro Letras” from Night Is Not Eternal – Written and performed by San Miguel Pérez and Chad Cannon.
“Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece – Written by Pharrell Williams. Performed by Pharrell Williams, and Princess Anne High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers.
“Growing Up Is for Losers” from Red Herring – Written and performed by Xav Clarke.
“Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper – Written by Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig, and Josh Greenbaum. Performed by Kristen Wiig.
Song – independent film
“Wi Sabi Wi” from African Giants – Written by Justin Schornstein. Performed by Malik Mayne, Patrick Dillon Curry, and Justin Schornstein.
“City of Dreams” from City of Dreams – Written by Linda Perry. Performed by Luis Fonsi.
“Hold on to the Dream” from Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End. Written by Arli Liberman and Tiki Taane. Performed by Arli Liberman, Tiki Taane, and Louis Baker.
“Right Where He Ought To Be” from Kim Kahana: The Man Who Changed Hollywood – Written by Richard Lynch and Kenny Day. Performed by Richard Lynch.
“The Creatures of Nature” from Sasquatch Sunset – Written by Toto Miranda, Yvonne Lambert and Josh Lambert. Performed by Riley Keough.
“Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl – Written by Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, and Andrew Wyatt. Performed by Miley Cyrus.
Song – onscreen performance
Cynthia Erivo – “Defying Gravity” from Wicked
Nicholas Galitzine and Anne-Marie – “The Idea of You” from The Idea of You
Saoirse Ronan – “Winter Coat” from Blitz
Timothée Chalamet – “Blowin’ in the Wind” from A Complete Unknown
Zoe Saldana – “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
Score – feature film
Blitz – Hans Zimmer
Challengers – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol and Camille
Gladiator II – Harry Gregson-Williams
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – John Debney
Saturday Night – Jon Batiste
The Six Triple Eight – Aaron Zigman
Score – sci-fi/fantasy
Deadpool & Wolverine – Rob Simonsen
Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Tom Holkenborg
If – Michael Giacchino
Red One – Henry Jackman
Score – independent film (foreign language)
Girl You Know It’s True – Segun Akinola
Ka Whawhai Tonu- Struggle Without End – Arli Liberman, Tiki Taane
Mongrels – Hao-Ting Shih, Tae-Young Yu
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Karzan Mahmood
The Shadow of the Sun – Sandro Morales-Santoro
The Goat Life – A.R. Rahman
Score – independent film
African Giants – Justin Schornstein
In the Land of Saints and Sinners – Diego Baldenweg
Sasquatch Sunset – The Octopus Project
September 5 – Lorenz Dangel
The Room Next Door – Alberto Iglesias
Thelma – Nick Chuba
Score – horror film
A Quiet Place: Day One – Alexis Grapsas
Here After – Fabrizio Mancinelli
Longlegs – Zilgi
Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
Speak No Evil – Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
The Substance – Raffertie
Score – animated film
Dragonkeeper – Arturo Cardelús
Out 2 – Andrea Datzman
That Christmas – John Powell
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Lorne Balfe and Julian Nott
Score – documentary
Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge – Allyson Newman
Endurance – Daniel Pemberton
Frida – Víctor Hernández Stumpfhauser
Jim Henson Idea Man – David Fleming
October H8te – Sharon Farber
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Ilan Eshkeri
The Donn of Tiki – Holly Amber Church
WILL & HARPER – Nathan Halpern
Music-themed film, biopic or musical
A Complete Unknown
Back to Black
Better Man
Bob Marley: One Love
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Music documentary / special program
Elton John: Never Too Late
I Am: Celine Dion
Music by John Williams
One to One: John and Yoko
Piece By Piece
The Greatest Night in Pop
Music supervision – film
Dave Jordan – Deadpool & Wolverine
Frankie Pine – The Idea of You
LaMarcus Miller and Livy Rodriguez-Behar – Jim Henson Idea Man
Steven Gizicki – A Complete Unknown
Rachel Levy – Twisters
Susan Jacobs and Jackie Mulhearn – Out of My Mind
For the complete list, visit: https://www.hmmawards.com/2024-hmma-nominations/
In the wake of Donald Trump’s stunning win in the 2024 presidential election, singer-songwriter Ethel Cain is letting out her rage.
In a post to her Tumblr on Wednesday (Nov. 6), the “American Teenager” singer laid into the American political system, decrying the methods by which members of the electorate are turned against one another. “The problem is that America has beaten down its people for decades and gotten them weak and desperate and now promises a way out, a way to transcend and rise above, through selling out their fellow man,” she wrote. “An embarrassingly large chunk of white men are just straight up nazis these days as a way to dissociate from the rest of the carnage around them, even if they’re broke and uneducated and from an impoverished background themselves.”
Cain, who has been a vocal critic of both the Republican and Democratic tickets in the 2024 election, went on to say that modern political discourse has made everyone “so incredibly hateful,” and warned that the president-elect was far from the only issue in our current system.
“It’s not even about Trump at this point. He’s gonna get in office and do whatever he does and it’s gonna be a mess but whatever. This is indicative of deeper problem,” she wrote. “There is no solidarity and there is no love. Trump being in office or not doesn’t change the fact that America is a breeding ground for violent hatred … if anything COULD be done about it, Trump certainly wouldn’t do it. Honestly, Kamala probably wouldn’t have either. We are so deeply f–ked.”
The singer went on to deliver a direct message to any Trump supporters reading her post: “If you voted for Trump, I hope that peace never finds you. Instead, I hope clarity strikes you someday like a clap of lightning and you have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge and guilt of what you’ve done and who you are as a person,” she wrote.
As for the rest of her followers, Cain said that since “we can’t count on the government,” it would come down to them. “Just keep up the good fight in your own personal lives,” she wrote. “That’s literally the only thing to be done at this point. Stay safe out there. Maybe buy a gun.”
Cain joins a rising chorus of voices reacting negatively to Trump’s re-election. Cardi B wrote “I hate y’all so bad” after the race was called for the Republican nominee, while Billie Eilish said that his win represented “a war on women.”
Beef has been the flavor of the year for hip-hop in 2024. Ice-T is well-versed going to battle for his fair share of wars over his career with the scars to prove it, but the rapper-turned-actor doesn’t believe it’s smart for rhymers to engage in feuds with social media prevalent.
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The West Coast legend hopped on the Boss Talk 101 podcast on Monday (Nov. 4) where he compared today’s rap beef to his previous decades, and pointed to social media as an amplifier in spoiling the fun to raise tensions.
“The disses that’s going on, like, I can outrap you is one thing. But then when you take it to the next level, like, ‘When I see you it’s a problem,’” he said. “The problem with beef is that it can escalate away from you. Say I have beef with Treach and I’m talking s–t about Treach. I could run into one of his fans on the street who wants to get active.”
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Ice-T continued: “Having beef is just not smart if you can avoid it… They didn’t have social media, big difference. Social media is an amplifier to everything. It amplifies everything… It forces reaction that really could be squashed so much simpler.”
The 66-year-old explained that when beef goes to the internet and millions know about it, then it warrants a further response. “It forces reaction that really could be squashed so much simpler,” he added. “Why people have beef and take it to social media is beyond me, especially if you know a n—as’ phone number.”
When continually asked about the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud earlier this year, Ice-T brushed off the commentary and only offered up that he was concerned with securing the bag at this point.
“I’m sorry if I’m not interested in current Rap Beef or random Male Gossip. I’m a HUSTLER. I’m only focused on the Bag,” he said on X at the time.
In the same vein as social media amplifying beef, Ice-T revealed he cleared up any static he had with Jay-Z when speaking to Big Boy earlier this year.
Jay’s multi-platinum top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit “99 Problems” interpolates Ice’s 1993 track of the same name and Hov caught up with Ice at the 2024 Grammy Awards to show him love and make sure there was no issue.
“I’m at the Grammys and Jay-Z comes to me. He says, ‘Ice, you know I love you, right?’” Ice-T said. “I say, ‘Yeah!’ He says, ‘Well, it’s on the internet that you mad.’ I said, ‘I’m not mad! They’re bringing up all kinds of interviews about it and they asked me the story, and I told them the true story.’”
Watch the clip below.
The Viña del Mar International Song Festival has its host duo for 2025. The event’s production reported Wednesday (Nov. 6) that presenter and journalist Rafael Araneda will join previously announced host Karen Doggenweiler for its 64th edition, which returns to Quinta Vergara from February 23 to 28.
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This will be the first time that Doggenweiler serves as co-host of the Chilean festival, while Araneda returns after seven years, having hosted before between 2011 and 2018.
Produced this year by Bizarro Live Entertainment, the Festival de Viña begins a “new era” on the channel Mega, after having previously been broadcast on Canal 13 and Televisión Nacional de Chile.
“Today, it is an honor, it is a privilege, it is a gift that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to return in this new era of Mega and Bizarro doing the Viña del Mar Festival,” Araneda told Billboard Español this week. “[I have] great memories, and great expectations for the future.”
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“I am tremendously lucky to participate in this edition,” said Doggenweiler. “Viña is not only a festival, it is a global movement of music and entertainment, of human connection.”
With almost three decades of career in radio and television, Araneda has hosted journalistic spaces, primetime shows, realities and contests, in addition to his eight years at the helm of the Viña del Mar Festival. In recent years he has developed his career in Mexico City (TV Azteca) and Miami (Univision), where he currently hosts the show Enamorándonos.
Doggenweiler, with more than a quarter century on the Chilean screens, has also hosted entertainment shows in various formats, including primetime programs, morning shows, family shows, game shows, reality TV and festivals. Over the years she has had a close connection with the Festival de Viña, which she not only covered as a reporter, but for which she also served as a judge.
Launched in 1960, the Viña del Mar International Song Festival is held annually at the Quinta Vergara, a 15,000-seat amphitheater located in the Chilean city of Viña del Mar, in the central coastal region of Valparaíso.
Over six days, the event features a mix of superstars, emerging singers and local artists competing for Silver, Gold and Platinum “Gaviotas” (Seagulls). These awards are decided by a jury with the help of viewers from their homes, although the so-called “monster” — the audience present at Quinta Vergara — undoubtedly has great power of influence with its ovations and occasional boos.
Below, Karen Doggenweiler and Rafael Araneda, the official hosts of Viña del Mar 2025, answer questions from Billboard.
Karen, this is your first time as a host of the most important television event in Chile. How do you feel now that this moment is approaching?
I am tremendously fortunate to participate in this edition of the festival. Viña is not only a festival, it is a global movement of music and entertainment, of human connection. We are going to have cutting-edge technology, there is a commitment to sustainability as well and a show that we hope will illuminate the entire summer [in the Southern Hemisphere]. I feel that it comes at a very, very special moment in my career.
Together with Rafael, we hope to put our own stamp on it. We know that for 65 years other channels have had it too… and well, now we are here and of course we hope that it becomes an endearing festival in this new version that we have prepared, in this change of era that we are working with so much love and dedication.
Rafael, what does it mean to you to return to Viña as host after seven years?
Indeed, I was member of the jury on two occasions at the Viña del Mar Festival, and then I had the opportunity to host it in eight consecutive editions. It was an extraordinary experience, personally and professionally, given that we work with the best technology in terms of making television, of doing what we are passionate about. We work on a 360 multimedia concept where there are different audiences, not just the people on television — there is the radio, the written press, today social media is very strong, and also digital broadcasts that can even give you a personalized festival experience. In that sense, it was always a nice challenge.
Today, it is an honor, it is a privilege, it is a gift that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to return in this new era of Mega and Bizarro doing the Viña del Mar Festival. [I have] great memories, and great expectations for the future.
What would you say has been your favorite moment in Viña?
Karen: So many! I was able to go as a spectator when I was little with my mother, with my sister. I have also been part of the jury, and on related satellite programs, I participated as a reporter, waiting for the artists who arrived at the airport to interview them. For so many years I have witnessed it from different places. I think I was just missing being a host! So I think my favorite moment in Viña is yet to come. Although I treasure each of these other moments in a very important place in my heart, I think Viña 2025 is going to be my favorite moment in Viña del Mar.
Rafael: There are many particular moments, there are many behind-the-scenes emotions — but I stick with the prior preparation, on a personal level. And also observing from backstage, from a unique point of view, the nerves of world-class stars before going onstage — or when they are introduced — they look nervous, they look eager, you see them vocalizing, doing exercises, talking and refining details with their crew. And there you realize that we are all people, that we all want to give always the best version of ourselves, and that what happens there is unique, truly wonderful.
Karen, you mentioned attending the festival as a spectator with your mother and your sister. What does your family tell you now that you will be hosting Viña del Mar?
Karen: My family feels proud, happy, and of course supports me in this important instance. We experience the affection of each of the Chileans that we encounter every day, of our compatriots, in every step we take on the street, through the screens, through the radio. Of course our family also adds to that. And I am convinced that with Rafael it is the same. I know his family, I love them very much. And well, we are already working very closely to make it an unforgettable festival, so that we truly reflect this change of era, so that we can surprise, and so that everyone transforms each of these six nights in something that remains forever in the hearts.
Rafael, what is going to be different for you after seven years of absence?
Rafael: I think that the signature that Mega and Bizarro are going to give it. And in that sense, together with Karen — with whom I had the opportunity to work for many years on Chilean television in different formats, at different times, and we enjoyed it, we had a great time — I think that will be the hallmark. Having the possibility of meeting her again after so many years of accumulated experience is going to be very rich. Hopefully that chemistry and maturity that we have both gained over the years will come through. I have no doubt that this is how it will be.
But the signature will also be connected to energy, which is a central concept for Viña 2025. The energy generated by the music, the energy generated by the Viña del Mar experience, the energy generated by making a broadcast that each of us makes it our mission, not only the media. People today will have access to technological platforms to see the festival from wherever they want to see it, and however they want to see it. I hope they see it with their family — the lineup is going to be along those lines. It will be family-friendly crossover artists, and obviously and proudly massive. That’s Viña del Mar.
On today’s (Nov. 6) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we kick off the top five of our list with a pop star who lit up the entire music world of the late ’00s and early ’10s — with a string of chart smashes accompanied by blindingly brilliant music videos, live […]