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“I was on my phone the whole flight and I got f—king sick to my stomach,” Milwaukee rapper DC the Don tells Billboard the day after the 2024 U.S. presidential election (Nov. 6). “That’s enough politics for the rest of my life… people are very insufferable on both sides.”
On the one hand, Milwaukee has had a banner year thanks to J.P. taking the city’s sound to a national level with his breakout hit “Bad Bitty.” On the other hand, Milwaukee – really, Wisconsin at large – has been under an increasingly dramatic microscope as America prepared to vote for its next president. Ironically, Milwaukee’s sonic energy is nowhere to be heard on DC the Don’s latest effort – and that’s just the way he likes it.
Rebirth, DC’s fourth studio album (which dropped in October) serves as the beginning of a new chapter for the 5-year-old rapper. Featuring previously released singles such as “God Level” and “Fly Enough to Be Virgil,” as well as collaborations with Hello Forever, Ambré and Damoyee, Rebirth finds DC revising the sounds that he fell in love with as a kid. From gospel-influenced choir arrangements to notes of punk, indie pop, Afrobeats and R&B, Rebirth widens the gap between DC and his peers. Ye looms large over the record – there are several glimpses of Yeezus and The Life of Pablo sprinkled throughout – but DC synthesizes all of those influences into an album that’s as honest as it is urgent.
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“Growing up, I had music that literally spoke to me,” he muses. “I don’t think a lot of kids today have had that.”
Rebirth is angsty record; it equally harnesses the innate high-octane emotions of adolescence, the overwhelming period that follows the frontal lobe fully developing, and the tension of the American people during election season. Across the set’s 18 tracks, DC is somehow able to make sure the record doesn’t crumble under its own weight – a testament to his growth and maturity as a rapper, producer and curator.
Ina far-ranging conversation with Billboard, DC the Don dissects Rebirth, gushes over his love for film and reflects on how his priorities and responsibilities as an artist have changed as he’s grown up.
Ye’s influence is all over Rebirth. Was he someone who you were specifically looking to while crafting this album?
In general, Kanye is the most influential artist of all time in my eyes. I really appreciate how much he cared about music because I shared the same feeling growing up and listening to music. The way that I felt when I heard his shit was a feeling that I wanted to bring back to my music. I wanted these kids to have that same experience that I had growing up with Graduation or when I first heard “Touch the Sky” and all those songs. That’s why I fell in love with music.
I lost sight of that because once I started getting buzz for my music and making a name for myself, I wanted to appease and please people versus actually making the type of music that makes me want to make music.
Going back to the sounds that I grew up with and sampling the “Black Skinhead” record… I think that brought more validity to what I do in my eyes. It helped me open my mind more as a creator. Kanye was my diving board.
The song structures across Rebirth are really dope and “Stella Rose” is a good example. What inspired that track?
I was going through a breakup, so that definitely helped. Every song on Rebirth points to a specific era of my life and the style of music that I was listening to at the time. The shit I was going through at the time helped me feel like I was fully explaining myself in a way that the audience had never heard before. I got to put out every version of myself. Right now, I feel that this is the most authentic project I could have put out. I grew up on R&B and soul. I grew up in church, so I was very influenced by the choir and that’s how you get that last section of “Will You Be Mine” where I’m belting vocals – I’ve never even done that before. It just felt natural, it was the type of shit I used to listen to when I was a kid.
I was just authentically being myself as much as possible. That’s why some songs are sporadic – that’s how it was in the moment. I had no sleep; we were at camps recording music at these Airbnbs for weeks. I would stay up for four days straight losing my mind and shit, and on the last day, we’d make the most insane song.
As you were revisiting those older parts of yourself, did you come across any sounds and styles that your forgot you used to enjoy?
I’ll say conscious rap. I used to live and die by Kanye West and Nas and J. Cole. And Kendrick Lamar! That f—king “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” song is one of my favorite songs of all time. That’s why I used parts of the lyrics that really spoke to me because I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking, “This n—a is a god.” I don’t know how he came up with that.
These are all the things that I love and I knew I would get some type of backlash for it, but I didn’t give a f—k. I wanted to feel a part of what I like. I wanted to borrow that energy instead of borrowing the energy of the bullshit everyone else does. N—as follow and copy these waves of shit that doesn’t mean nothing to anybody. Nobody’s gonna remember this growing up. Songs that remind you of an era of your life are a lost art. I haven’t had a song like that lately, and maybe it’s because I’m getting older. But I just wanted to give those kids that listen to me the same feeling that I got when people actually cared about the song structure and the way that the cover looked and the way that the mixing sounded and these different voice modulations and stuff. It’s not just about seeing how distorted we can make something sound or how we make a sound viral on TikTok. That ain’t gonna do nothing for these kids.
I’ll go back home and pick my brother’s ear like, “What are you listening to?” And he’ll put on some shit and I’m sitting there looking at him like, “This is what you listen to… first thing in the morning?” And it sucks because I [used to be] a victim to the mentality of making microwaveable songs and saying certain things that aren’t good for me or my people. I don’t want my little brother to hear me saying shit like that. I’m disappointed in a lot of the ways that I used to go about making music – and that was because I was a product of the shit that I’ve heard. I’m glad that I finally got to take a step back and look at the full scope of music and the full scope of my life and the shit that I liked when I was 16, 17 years old.
Was there a specific moment that triggered that switch in your approach to music? Or was that just a side effect of you getting older?
I think it’s both. The last year of my life was rough. I was unhappy in my career. The life that I wanted to create for myself didn’t pan out how I wanted it to. Not financially, but the way I felt mentally about my music. I didn’t like the way my career was going. If I looked at the artist “DC the Don” from an outside perspective [at the time], that’s not who I wanted to be. I wanted to represent what I feel an artist should be — especially when you have people that will buy every piece of merch that you put out, go to every show that they can, and fly to different cities to come see you. I’ve watched my crowds grow over the years, and those same 50 kids from a couple of years ago are still here. They grew up with me and I actually have some type of hold over their ear or their mental. Whatever time they allow me to have of theirs, I should be making it worth it. I want to do something that is fruitful for them to listen to because they changed my life.
I had songs on this album where I cried recording… that’s never happened before. Those are the type of moments that really made me realize this was the right way to approach what I’m doing. I gotta be honest in what I do. I can’t convince the world that I’m going to shoot up a club, but I can convince the world that I was heartbroken and dealt with it – just like you.
You’re from Milwaukee and spent a lot of time in LA growing up, but Rebirth feels very separate from those two music hubs. What do you think about those scenes, and do you want to incorporate those musical influences more on future projects?
I never really had overwhelming support from either city, so f—k them and they sound. I love my city to death, but f—k the sound. I am the sound. That’s how I look at it. I want to inspire these kids to make music like I’m making it. F—k going backwards and doing what they’re doing. I love Milwaukee music. I grew up on it, it’s a completely different vibe from what I do. There’s this artist named J.P., and he’s got an amazing vocal range; he reminds me of Teddy Pendergrass, I want him to sing a complete soul bridge or chorus on a record.
But it’s hard to convince people to understand what I hear in my head. I got some crazy ideas, and sometimes people don’t really share that same vision. God willingly, one day they will, and they’ll understand and trust me in my creative vision. Until we get there, I have no need to appease any sound for nobody. If they wanna come over here, it’s fun over here. I ain’t going back to y’all.
Hello Forever appears on two tracks on the album. How did you end up linking with them?
I met them while hearing them singing at a karaoke night at this bar my friends and I go to. [Samuel Joseph] has an amazing vocal range and they’re all very creative hippies. He may not be the biggest star in the world, but there’s no reason why I shouldn’t make music with him because it sounds so good and he’s a good person. It’s a lot of motherf—kers that don’t sound great, aren’t good people and people still jump through hoops to work them. I’ve done that and come out with a different perspective on those artists, I don’t want to work with them afterwards. I’d rather work with people like Hello Forever because they understand the process.
[Joseph] made five different versions of that outro on “Can You Breathe.” Me and him fought back and forth about me using the raw version of him singing on a voice memo I recorded with my phone. He made this overly produced version, but I thought [the voice memo] sucked the energy out of the room and really made people listen to the lyrics. The fact that he really fought for his preferred version means he cared about it; that’s all I ask for from the people I work with. Everybody was very into this project and that made me feel special. It made me feel more free in what I was doing.
Would you say this was your favorite album to make?
Easily, it’s not even close. I hate to feel like this, but in a lot of ways, none of my other albums count. I love everything that I did and I don’t regret no work that I put in, but none of those albums count because those weren’t fully me. I feel like [Rebirth] still isn’t fully me because there’s so much work I have left to do. This is just the start of showing the world who I actually am. It’s 100% a rebirth for me, but it’s also me showing myself who I am too. There’s a lot of things that don’t excite me anymore – partying, being codependent, situationships, doing things that hurt my soul for quick financial gain or enjoyment. I’ve been maturing, that’s literally all it is.
Are there any plans to tour this album?
Yeah, I’m going on tour in the spring. We’re working on a Europe run as well. There’s also another artist that I’m doing a co-headlining tour with. I can’t share details yet, but I am really excited about it.
Almost every song was made [with the live show in mind]. I’m a big ass kid, bro. When I’m rapping on certain beats, I hear it in the stadium with big reverb in mind. I sing it in a way where I could imagine 40,000 people singing it back to me. That’s always been a humongous part of why I like music: performing. I’ve taken a step back from that in this past year to hone in on my music, so I’m hella excited to get back out there. I have a ton of different ideas with acoustic versions and live arrangements and stuff.
What do you have planned in terms of visuals?
I directed a full short film for the album, and we’re dropping that in a month or so. It has every music video from the album plus more clips that aren’t going to be released as solo videos. We built this whole world to help people understand what this album is.
Film is another humongous part of myself that I finally got to explore. I’ve always wanted to be a director. My favorite film is The Grinch – it has undertones of racism, elitism, all types of s—t. As a kid, I might have missed some of that, but the more I watched it… that’s a good f—king movie!
I’m not the best lyricist yet – eventually I will be – so we put in film. I’m breaking out of the 2016 curse. And I loved 2016, that’s what made me really wanna do music; seeing the young n—as come out and be carefree was super inspiring. But hip-hop originated from something completely different than what it is today, and all of it is just as important. It’s lyricism that’s important, it speaks to people.
Lil Wayne and Jay-Z said they don’t write, so everyone stopped writing. I started writing more and it’s really therapeutic for me. On the flight after the election, I put on some calm beats and just started writing. We gotta honor the history of what hip-hop really is.
Is a new Doja Cat album on the way? A mysterious tweet is making fans think so!
The Grammy-winning star took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday evening (Nov. 11) to post and quickly delete what appears to be a track list. According to fans who took screenshots of the posts, the 13 songs include titles like “Break My Heart,” “Take Me Dancing,” “Anything,” “Ain’t News,” “Turn the Lights On,” “Slow Burn,” “Wood Holly” and “Appreciation.”
After deleting the track list, she sent out a series of cryptic tweets, including “ma vie mi vida mia vita” and “5 love languages.” Finally, she noted, “Songs are in no particular order. Starred my favorites.” The post is seemingly in reference to the song titles that were starred in the original deleted post, which included the tracks “Cards,” “Acts of Service,” “Make It Up,” “Did I Lie” and “Crack.”
Songs are in no particular order. Starred my favorites.— DOJA CAT (@DojaCat) November 12, 2024
She also shared a photo dump to Instagram captioned, “red 5,” potentially in reference to the upcoming fifth studio album. Among the pictures is a snap of her new foot tattoo, “Red” written in red ink.
Doja Cat’s last album Scarlet followed 2021’s hit-spawning Planet Her. The project was released in September 2023 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 2 on the Top Rap Albums chart. She also dropped Scarlet 2 CLAUDE deluxe edition in May.
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Billboard has reached out to Doja’s reps to confirm if the track list is for her fifth studio album, but fans on social media are already buzzing with excitement at the possibility of new music. See below for some of the best fan reactions.
Doja Cat seems to be teasing the tracklist for her fifth studio album in a new post! #DC5 is coming, and the excitement is through the roof! 🔥🎶
— AlbertBrown (@AlbertBrown8302) November 12, 2024
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But can you please not take too long please ma’am 😭 you started teasing scarlet wayyyy before the album release
— Dr TT (@doctorTeeTee) November 12, 2024
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ITS HAPPENING pic.twitter.com/O4yNYS7E9y
— angel 𓊍 (@zaynmilahq) November 12, 2024
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Mariah Carey thinks that she and Olivia Rodrigo might belong together.
In a new interview with BuzzFeed, the legendary vocalist played with puppies while answering questions about her forthcoming music, her most underrated song and wanting to get in the studio with the 21-year-old pop star — something she says “could be fun.”
When asked which artist she’d most like to work with in the video posted Tuesday (Nov. 12), Carey began, “I think it could be fun to collaborate with Olivia Rodrigo.”
“My daughter is a really big fan, and we went to her concert — that was great,” the Songbird Supreme said. “But I know she’s not working for the rest of the year. That’s what I heard.”
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The interview comes nearly four months after Carey and her twins — Moroccan and Monroe — went to see Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour concert in Atlanta. Backstage, the “Vampire” singer met with the family and gifted Monroe with a signed T-shirt reading, “Roe, all my love!”
Afterward, Carey posted photos from the meet-up and wrote, “We are OBSESSED with @oliviarodrigo” — a reference to both musicians’ hit songs of the same name. Rodrigo commented, “ur the absolute greatest!!! thank u sm for coming.”
Elsewhere in the BuzzFeed interview, Carey revealed which of her own tracks she thinks is the most underrated: “Probably this song called ‘Clown’ from Charmbracelet,” she said. “Just because, not everybody knows it, and I like that song. I think it’s clever and pretty.”
To the superstar’s point, “Clown” never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 — unlike 49 of her other tracks, 19 of which have hit No. 1 on the chart. Charmbracelet, Carey’s ninth studio album, reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
Carey hasn’t released a proper studio album since 2018’s Caution. However — in addition to kicking off her holiday tour in California Nov. 6 — the singer has confirmed that she’s working on new music, which she also touched on in the new interview. “I’m working on some new music, and I’m vey excited about it,” she said. “Now I just gotta get the time to do it.”
Watch Carey’s puppy interview above, and revisit “Clown” below:
The benchmarks just keep falling: A week after tying Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” for the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 of the 2020s, Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” moves into sole possession of the mark this frame with its 17th week atop the chart.
What’s more, the song now stands along as the second-longest-running No. 1 in Hot 100 history — just two weeks behind the all-time mark set in 2019 by Lil Nas X’s Billy Ray Cyrus-featuring “Old Town Road.” And Shaboozey may have gotten another boost in momentum with Friday’s (Nov. 8) announcement of the 2025 Grammy nominations, with the country hybrid artist picking up four nods, including best new artist and song of the year for “Bar.”
How surprised are we that “A Bar Song” has gotten this far? And do we see it going all the way at this point? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
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1. “A Bar Song” spends its 17th week atop the Hot 100 this week, moving it into sole possession of the second-longest run atop the chart in its history. On a scale from 1-10, how surprised are you that it’s lasted on top now for this long?
Rania Aniftos: 4, maybe? There haven’t been many chart-dominating releases that would dethrone “A Bar Song” since the summer. In quieter eras of music releases, it makes sense for the track to make its way back to the summit. It also plays at every bar, restaurant and on every radio station, so its popularity is clear.
Kyle Denis: 10, for sure. I was always extremely confident in this song’s ability to stay at No. 1, but I anticipated that it would begin to fall around the eight-week mark. I did not expect such a historic run at No. 1.
Jason Lipshutz: An 8. Sure, “A Bar Song” is a wildly catchy anthem from a charismatic new artist, with a sound that can cross over to different streaming playlists and radio formats… but chart circumstances are rarely conducive to a 17-week No. 1, and especially during a year that’s featured big hits from proven superstars (Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Morgan Wallen) and new A-listers (Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan). “A Bar Song” could have been a huge, multi-platform hit but been knocked off by one of those big names after a month or two on top; instead, Shaboozey can fending off all challengers, and stunningly, now owns the longest-leading solo hit in Hot 100 history.
Andrew Unterberger: It’s a 10. I remember being thrilled that the song grabbed a single week at No. 1, because even that didn’t seem like a sure thing until well into its chart run. The fact that it’s held on for over four months in total since then would’ve been totally unforeseeable — even when we started having the “could it…?” conversations at around the 12-week mark, I thought it was absurd. Not anymore though!
Christine Werthman: 10, although I probably shouldn’t be that surprised. Country is the genre of 2024, with everyone and their mother (aka Beyoncé, our matriarch) getting in touch with their twangier roots. And as someone who remembers quite well the power of J-Kwon’s “Tipsy,” which Shaboozey interpolates, at parties in 2004, it’s no wonder that “A Bar Song” has appealed to the masses and held onto that top spot.
2. Both of the songs to spend 16 weeks atop the Hot 100 this week have been country songs — why do you think a genre that rarely spun off Hot 100 No. 1s this century until a few years ago is now regularly spinning off such long-lasting chart-toppers?
Rania Aniftos: I think it’s a mix of things. For the first time in what feels like a while, there are exciting young stars in the genre like Morgan Wallen and Kelsea Ballerini, plus some long overdue diversity with people like Shaboozey and Beyoncé. On top of that, you have established pop stars like Bey and Post Malone dipping their toes into country, introducing the genre to an audience who might not have given it a shot previously. It’s a recipe for success.
Kyle Denis: With “A Bar Song,” Shaboozey was able to supplement his (and the song’s) crossover appeal with legitimate support on country radio, breaking Carrie Underwood’s record for longest-running No. 1 debut single on Country Airplay (seven weeks). Of course, it also helps that 1) country music is the sound of one of the year’s most dominant cultural aesthetics, and 2) the song mines early ‘00s nostalgia with its interpolation of J-Kwon’s “Tipsy.”
Wallen’s “Last Night” also draws on contemporary hip-hop motifs with its use of 808s, smartly positioning it for crossover appeal (it reached the top five on both Pop and Adult Pop Airplay) and placing it conversation with where hip-hop’s mid-to-late ‘10s dominance pushed the mainstream’s overall sound.
While these are certainly country records, both songs make a concerted effort to bridge the gaps between country’s sound and hip-hop’s influence on top 40 in a way that the genre’s previous Hot 100 chart-toppers didn’t necessarily do.
Jason Lipshutz: The shift we’ve seen in popular music over the past 10 years is the mega-hit that is able to combine country listeners and pop listeners, in order to form like Voltron and plop itself atop the Hot 100 for months on end. It’s happened with non-country artists making songs that appeal to Nashville listeners (like Lil Was X with “Old Town Road”) and country artists crossing over to pop fans (like Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night”). Both audiences have been sizable for decades on end, and while they’ve overlapped before to produce huge artists and albums, until recently, they did not combine at the top of the Hot 100. It’s a type of alchemy that has helped “A Bar Song” turn into a juggernaut, and one that we’ll surely be seeing more of in the near future.
Andrew Unterberger: Radio, radio, radio. Country has now fully made the crossover leap to pop radio — at least at the highest level of hits — and once you get both of those formats working for you, you can stay in the mix for the Hot 100’s top spot practically indefinitely. Consistent streaming and sales also have been part of the Shaboozey formula, of course, but without that continued radio support it would’ve been lucky to crack double-digit weeks on top, rather than pushing for the all-time Hot 100 record.
Christine Werthman: If I had a dollar for every time someone told me, “I love all kinds of music but not country,” or, “I like old-school country, like Johnny Cash, but not any of the new stuff,” I would be able to retire. But those responses have changed a lot over the past few years, and I think a lot of credit is due to Taylor Swift being a gateway to country (although she walked away from the genre), as well as Lil Nas X and “Old Town Road.” That song pushed country to a new audience and showed that “the new stuff” didn’t have to mean corny pop-country smashes. Other artists took note and are now reaping the benefits.
3. There was such turnover on the Hot 100’s top spot this spring — why do you think “A Bar Song” has seen such a lower level of competition in its late-year run?
Rania Aniftos: As I mentioned before, there weren’t really any summer releases that really dominated the charts the way we’ve seen in other years, besides Sabrina Carpenter’s new songs. I feel like the past few months on the Hot 100 have been a revolving door of the same few songs, because there haven’t been many album drops from big, established stars. So, unless a big release comes through this fall and shakes things up, the chart’s going to look the same for a while.
Kyle Denis: Few songs can compete with the crossover appeal of “A Bar Song.” The song has hit seven different Billboard radio charts and it’s still in the top five of several of those rankings. “A Bar Song” even reached a new peak on Adult Contemporary Airplay this week (No. 12, chart dated Nov. 16). While other songs have been juggernauts within their home genres, “A Bar Song” was able to outlast them by having a wider audience to pull support from.
There’s also something to be said about some of the year’s biggest pop songs facing competition from other songs on the same album. Sabrina Carpenter is juggling four different hits, “Good Luck, Babe!” is fighting for attention against Chappell Roan’s entire debut LP, and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of A Feather” is soaring alongside the steady growth of “Wildflower.” Though he’s pushed other songs post-”A Bar Song” — namely “Highway” and his BigXThaPlug-assisted “Drink Don’t Need No Mix” — none of them have emerged as a viable follow-up smash.
Jason Lipshutz: Coincidental timing, more than anything. In my opinion, a lot of the No. 1 singles from the first half of the year — “Like That,” “Fortnight,” “Lose Control,” “I Had Some Help,” “Not Like Us” — would have also hit No. 1 in the second half of the year, and cut into “A Bar Song’s” monster run, had their release dates and/or commercial rises been slightly shifted by a few months. The first six months of 2024 were stuffed with blockbuster singles, and a lot of them nestled in for extended runs in the top 10 of the Hot 100 throughout the summer and early fall, while “A Bar Song” kept outpacing them thanks to its own growth across formats.
Andrew Unterberger: I had hoped that the massive activity of this spring would be the new rule rather than just an exception to the overall early-year chart stasis we’ve seen in prior years this decade — but we just might not have enough songs and artists offering the excitement level to really shake up the top of the Hot 100 to spread out over a full year at this point, sadly. So we traded a boring spring for a boring autumn this year, and it’ll ultimately balance out for the full calendar. So it is.
Christine Werthman: The average time spent on the Hot 100 for songs currently in the top 10 is 25 weeks. Morgan Wallen and Tyler the Creator have newer songs at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively, but the top five average is even older at 32 weeks. Things are just moving slowly, and listeners like what they like and keep coming back to what they know. Play the hits, as they say!
4. Shaboozey was nominated for best new artist, and “A Bar Song” song of the year, at this year’s upcoming Grammys. Which Big Four category do you think he has the better chance of winning?
Rania Aniftos: The competition is tight in both categories, but I’m going to say best new artist. He’s up against some longtime Recording Academy favorites in the SOTY category, like Billie Eilish, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, so he might get luckier in the BNA category, highlighting his breakout year. Who knows though? The Grammys are always surprising.
Kyle Denis: A country song hasn’t won song of the year since Lady A’s “Need You Now” (2011), and that’s one of two nominations for country songs in this category in the past 10 years. Conversely, eight country artists have earned best new artist nods in the past decade, with Zac Brown Band being the most recent winner (2010).
Even though “A Bar Song” is easily the biggest chart hit nominated for song of the year, it’ll likely split votes with Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” (the other country song in this category) and lose some pop voters to Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, and Billie Eilish. What could work in Shaboozey’s favor, however, is his lack of a nomination in record of the year. Song of the year is the only place in the general field where the Academy can specifically honor the longest-running solo Hot 100 No. 1 single of all time.
On the other hand, as the sole country nominee in a best new artist field brimming with straightforward pop stars, Shaboozey could end up taking home that trophy. It’s still early in the race, but I think he’s got a better shot at winning best new artist.
Jason Lipshutz: Song of the year. While there are some huge names in both categories, my early guess is that best new artist will go to either Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter, considering that both artists have rattled off multiple major hits instead of one enormous smash. Because “A Bar Song” has become so year-defining, though, I think Shaboozey has a great shot in the song of the year race.
Andrew Unterberger: He’s not necessarily the favorite in either category, but I think best new artist is at least a possibility if the poppier nominees cancel each other out a little. That’s where I’d be exercising the most campaigning muscle if I was on his team, anyway.
Christine Werthman: I never guess these correctly, so let’s say, song of the year, knowing that it’ll probably be best new artist. Grammys: so mysterious!
5. Will “A Bar Song” beat the “Old Town Road” all-time record of 19 weeks atop the Hot 100?
Rania Aniftos: Very likely, especially as the Grammys approach and, if the song gets some wins, it might get yet another boost on the charts.
Kyle Denis: Barring any surprise drops or an earlier-than-expected surge in holiday tunes, yes.
Jason Lipshutz: I’ve been saying no for a while, and I will still say no. We’re two weeks away from a tie and three weeks from a new record, and with holiday music about to take over, it will be a photo finish either way. But 20 weeks (or more!) at No. 1 still boggles my mind to such a degree that I can’t count on multiple more weeks atop the chart. I’m rooting for Shaboozey at this point, but I were a betting man, I’d wager that “Old Town Road” remains on top.
Andrew Unterberger: I think it will? I never like betting against the unknown — which is why I’ve been betting on Shaboozey continuing on at No. 1 to this point — but we’re running out of time for surprises, and Christmas season probably isn’t going to get here quite quickly enough to block him. I can’t maintain my skepticism at this point; I think “A Bar Song” is gonna get to 20.
Christine Werthman: Holiday parties are coming up, and those playlists need to pop. I think “A Bar Song” will be a fixture and end up breaking that record. Everybody in the club gettin’ Shaboozey! [Whispers: Everybody in the club gettin’ Shaboozey].
Tyler, the Creator is giving his fans a peak behind the curtain in a new behind the scenes video. Shot and edited by Lazaro Rodriguez — who also directed Tyler’s “Hot Wind Blows” video and was the cinematographer for his “Heaven to Me” video — the new video titled Mask Is Off: Chromakopia sees Tyler […]
Kid Rock is bringing back his cross-country Rock the Country music festival. The “All Summer Long” singer took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday (Nov. 12) to announce the second iteration of the festival, which he will headline alongside Nickelback, Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd. “JOIN THE MOVEMENT,” he captioned the event poster. “Rock […]
Earlier this year, Mexican hitmaker Carin León made his Grand Ole Opry debut performing “Primera Cita” and “The One (Pero No Como Yo)” (his recorded collaboration with Kane Brown) on the revered Nashville stage, to an audience filled with adoring fans.
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The moment highlighted a convergence between two of the U.S.’s fastest-growing musical genres. According to Luminate’s 2023 year-end report, Latin music rose 24.1% year over year in U.S. on-demand audio streams, while country music rose 23.7% year over year.
The surge is happening with live music as well. Through Nov. 7, 24 tours in 2024 have grossed more than $100 million, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. Of those, four are by country artists and four are by Latin artists. At this point last year, only two country tours and one Latin tour had met those benchmarks.
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“Everybody wants to be a cowboy right now, everybody wants to do country right now,” León told Billboard earlier this year, noting how much of the roots of country music and cowboy culture are embedded in Latino culture. “We as Americans, as Mexicans, we want to feel proud of what we are for. We don’t want to emulate what everybody’s doing — these are our roots. Our hat is what we are, our boots are what we are. I’m very happy that people are looking to our culture in such a big way that is happening right now.”
Crossover collaborations between the two styles of music have always dotted the soundscape, but recently León, known for Billboard Latin Airplay hits including the four-week chart-topper “Segun Quien” with Maluma, saw his duet with Brown reach No. 48 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Country singer Carrie Underwood previously collaborated with David Bisbal on the bilingual “Tears of Gold,” and country singer Scotty McCreery, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, teamed with Gusi for “Why She Gotta Be Like That.” Brown also teamed with Camila Cabello teamed for “Never Be the Same.”
According to a preview of the Country Music Association’s upcoming fall 2024 Diverse Audience study, country music listenership has increased in the Latino community: 58% of Latino music listeners consume country music at least monthly, compared to 50% when the last study was conducted in 2021. The growth of weekly country music listenership among the Latino audience experienced an even greater jump, rising from 25% in 2021 to 36% in 2024, signifying a 44% growth.
Major country labels have also taken notice. Universal Music Group Nashville signed Louie TheSinger, while Warner Music Nashville inked William Beckmann, who told Billboard he chose from “six or seven different record deals on the table.” Singer-songwriter Kat Luna (formerly of the Latin-country duo Kat and Alex) is signed to Sony Music Nashville. BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville’s roster includes “Country’d Look Good on You” hitmaker Frank Ray.
“We all know that there’s a Hispanic audience that loves country music,” UMG Nashville chair/CEO Cindy Mabe recently told Billboard. “Leaning into it starts to change that and having intentionality about what we’re signing to bring to the table… For me, it’s about bringing in those people that actually can help me change that. That may be through joint ventures, or they may be partners. Whatever that looks like, I’m looking to bring it in so that we’re just widening.”
Other Latino artists who have launched country music careers in recent years include independent acts Angie K, former Sony Music Nashville-turned-indie artist Sammy Arriaga (who in addition to releasing country songs such as “Boat,” has found success online through performing Spanish-language versions of country hits from Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and others), Andrea Vasquez, Valerie Ponzio and Stephanie Urbina Jones. Texan Matt Castillo recently released his album Pushing Borders and has already made inroads on the Texas Regional Radio Report country chart — earning four No. 1s, including the bilingual songs “Te Necesito” and “Corazon.”
However, like many women, Black and LGBTQ+ acts in country music, Latino artists continue to face an uphill battle, especially when it comes to finding chart-topping success at radio. As noted in the 2021 Redlining Country Music report from researcher Jada Watson, Hispanic/Latinx artists represented .4% of artists with songs played on country radio (Mediabase reporting) from 2002-2020. Overall, songs by BIPOC country artists represented 1.5% of songs played on country radio during that same period, while songs by white artists represented 98% of songs played on country radio during that period.
Ray broke through in 2022 with his top 20 Country Airplay hit “Country’d Look Good on You,” and also charted with “Somebody Else’s Whiskey.” In March 2023, Ray was part of Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Showcase, performing alongside Jelly Roll, Priscilla Block, Jackson Dean and Nate Smith.
However, when Ray followed up at country radio with “Uh Huh (Ajá),” a song that incorporated more Latin music-influenced guitar and percussion, as well as Spanish-language lyrics, he admits candidly, “It flopped. I appreciate country radio for giving it a shot, and that, to me, kind of lets me know that maybe the country music fanbase isn’t quite ready for that much of an infusion. So, there’s a lot of different reasons why I think it’s important to continue to create music like that. Obviously, from a career standpoint, you’ve got to be very strategic about it. We need inclusivity to happen, and it’s got to be socially acceptable all the way around.”
With streaming, playlists such as Spotify’s Latino Country have offered platforms for artists, while a range of other initiatives have spotlighted Latino artists, such as CMT’s Next Women of Country and an ongoing Nashville songwriters round featuring several Latina songwriters and hosted by celebrated Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Pat Alger. Meanwhile, music publishers including Sony Music Publishing and Warner Music Publishing have held songwriting camps for country and Latin music songwriters.
“Growing up in Texas, I was often exposed to Tejano and Mexican music, and I have always believed there are similarities between country music and Mexican music,” Rusty Gaston, CEO of Sony Music Publishing Nashville, tells Billboard in a statement. “Our Nashville office recently coordinated two Mexican/Nashville writing camps over the past 18 months and we’ve seen amazing cuts and releases come from each of them already. We’ve only scratched the surface of what is possible.”
“They wouldn’t be pushing for it if they didn’t feel like there was an audience out there that would appreciate it,” Ray says. “I’m proud of what the country music industry‘s doing on the industry side where they’re seeing that the potential for the representation here, and more and more Hispanic artists are getting signed, getting songwriting deals or getting producer credits. So, Nashville is certainly trying [its] d–ndest to be as inclusive as possible.”
According to Luminate, one driver behind Latin music’s surge is Regional Mexican music, which encompasses a range of subgenres, among them banda, mariachi and Norteño — styles that have long been intertwined with country music.
“If you peel it back from a historical standpoint, regional Mexican music, especially corridos, are basically ballads,” says Del Rio, Texas native Beckmann. “A lot of them were these murder ballads specifically about drug cartel and that world. What I would compare it to is the murder ballad ‘El Paso’ by Marty Robbins, where it’s almost like a movie playing through song. Regional Mexican music and country music, a common thread between those two is the story and the storytelling aspect of it, how a lot of it is centered around lyricism.”
MŌRIAH, a Mexican-American musician, actress and producer who has worked on projects including the film Unsung Hero, and previously earned a top 10 hit on the Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart with her project Brave, just released the new single “Hasta Manana,” which is geared toward a country audience.
“We brought a mariachi band in from Juarez, Mexico, to record this, and I’m so glad they were a part of it,” she says. “My music director said at one point, ‘Mariachi is the folk music of Mexico, and country is the folk of America.’ So, it’s really, it’s not a long bridge to cross once you start kind of finding those connections.”
Much of cowboy culture in the United States comes from Spanish vaquero traditions, including cattle drives, cowboy hats, ranching, lassos and rodeos.
“Vaqueros were the first cowboys and a lot of the American cowboys’ traditions came from them,” says country singer-songwriter and California native Leah Turner, the daughter of a rodeo champion father and a first-generation Mexican-American mother. Turner released This Is Mi, which features bilingual songs, on Oct. 4. “I feel like country music has had such a love affair with the Mexicana culture, and they’ve been dancing for a really long time.”
“At quinceañeras, you’ll have a Tejano song, you have a country song, you have a Norteño song, you have a country song,” says singer-songwriter, journalist and historian Veronique Medrano, who released MexiAmericana in 2023. “We here in deep south Texas have always had a very close relationship to country music. That community that I have at these shows really brings everyone together. I do that very purposefully. I have English and Spanish and bilingual [songs], and I blend those in a set because that is how I walk through the world.”
Throughout the decades, artists with Latin roots have had success on Billboard’s country charts, including Sabinal, Texas native Johnny Rodriguez, who in the 1970s earned multiple Hot Country Songs chart-toppers including “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico” and “You Always Come Back (to Hurting Me),” and was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s entertainer of the year award in 1974.
Long before Ray, Rodriguez was also featured as part of the Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces of Country Music show, in 1973. Freddy Fender, who is the subject of an exhibit curated by Medrano at the San Benito (Texas) Cultural Heritage Museum, topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” which incorporated verses in Spanish. The song was named the CMA Awards’ single of the year in 1975, while Fender was nominated for male vocalist of the year (his album also earned a nomination for album of the year).
“Teardrop” also topped the Hot Country Singles chart, as did “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” “Secret Love” and “You’ll Lose a Good Thing.” Mexican-American singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt paid homage to her heritage with albums including Canciones de mi Padre and Mas Canciones. In the 1980s, Rosie Flores charted with songs including “Crying Over You” and “He Cares,” and was nominated for the Academy of Country Music’s top new female vocalist accolade.
In the 1990s, Capitol Nashville artist Emilio Navaira, known as the “King of Tejano,” placed songs on both the Country Songs chart (including his top 30 song “It’s Not the End of the World”) and the Hot Latin Tracks chart. That same decade, Rick Trevino saw his songs including “Learning as you Go” and “Running Out of Reasons to Run” become Country Songs chart hits, while The Mavericks broke through on the mainstream country charts with “What a Cryin’ Shame,” “O What a Thrill” and “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” the latter featuring Flaco Jiménez.
Beckmann hopes he and his fellow artists signal the beginning of a new wave of hitmakers of Latin heritage in country music. “You can probably count on one hand the Johnny Rodriguezes and Freddy Fenders and Rick Trevinos of the world, but it is one of those things where maybe it’s taken this long for it to be the right place at the right time,” he says. “I’m just excited that I’ve got an opportunity to not only put myself out there and showcase my songs, but also help represent the culture of where I’m from and how I was raised.”
Gunna certainly doesn’t lack in the confidence department while championing himself as “Him All Along” on his latest single. The Atlanta rapper returned to deliver the lavish visual to the Turbo and Yung Bleu-produced track on Tuesday (Nov. 12). In the clip, the YSL rhymer and Turbo head to Spain for an opulent vacation. The […]
Billboard-charting and award-winning artist Chiquis stopped by Billboard Latin Music Week for an intimate performance of her single “Que Siga Pasando” with Billboard and Walmart. The Mexican-American star and her band shared a special version of the stripped-down song in the backstage lounge, styled with and presented by Walmart. This year, Walmart joined the celebration […]
In the five years since rising hip-hop producer Powers Pleasant dropped 2019’s Life Is Beautiful, his debut studio album, life really has sucked. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the sweeping Black Lives Matter protests that rocked his hometown of Brooklyn, NY, this trying half-decade culminated in Powers’ sophomore effort, the thrilling Life Sucks, which he released on Oct. 4 as his first full-length project on Mass Appeal.
Featuring a plethora of hip-hop heavyweights, including A$AP Ferg, Denzel Curry, Joey Bada$$, Mike Dimes, Saba, Dro Kenji, Dc the Don, AG Club and Guapdad 4000, Life Sucks explores the dark introspection that characterized much of the last five years, as well as the boundless energy and verve that New York’s rap scene recently channeled into fusions of drill and Jersey club. From “That’s Tough” to “Bandoe,” Powers smoothly flips between these two modes, never dwelling in one emotional space for too long.
Life Sucks also features its fair share of women in hip-hop — such as Audrey Nuna, Armani Caesar, Tkay Maidza – putting the record in conversation with female rapper’s mainstream dominance in 2024. For Powers, collaboration is all about giving everyone a shot, hence the whopping 21 different artists featured across the album. “I don’t give a f—k about any of that,” he tells Billboard over Zoom as he rides through Mexico City ahead of Curry’s Club Mischievous Halloween livestream event. “I like dope artists, I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman. I work with people that are dope and I try to give them an opportunity.”
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To celebrate one month of his latest album, Powers Pleasant broke down five self-selected key tracks from Life Sucks.
“SMH” (feat. Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Nyck Caution and Aaron Rose)
This is a little bit of an older song. It’s with Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Nyck Caution and Aaron Rose. This song has such a place in my heart, it has a lot of the pros on it and it’s one of my favorite tracks on the album. I love how it sounds like a boom-bap song, it’s super vibey. We made that song together in Williamsburg. Everybody goes crazy on it, but Joey really killed that verse.
Most people don’t even know it’s him! He came out and performed it at my first headlining show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn and it was a special moment to have all of us onstage because we haven’t touched the stage together in quite some time. It was a special moment for the day-one fans and for me to touch my roots where I started.
“Bandoe” (feat. Denzel Curry, Meechy Darko & Soulja Livin Tru)
I made this one with Denzel Curry, Soulja Livin Tru and Meechy Darko at Dot da Genius’ studio, The Brewery in downtown LA – Denzel has a room in there. It was my first time meeting Soulja Livin Tru, and he just had this raw energy. He’s very authentic and true to himself. I think this was the first beat I played, and he just went in the booth and did the verse and the hook in one take. I was like, “Oh, nah this is f—king hard!” He had double entendres and his flow was f—king sick. I love highlighting lesser-known artists with bigger artists and making bangers together because it puts them in front of a whole new audience.
“Shmoke” (feat. A$AP Ferg & Armani Caesar)
I made this in LA with Ferg and Armani [Caesar]. Ferg was actually recording another track that I had already made. At the time, I played him every single beat I thought he would like. So, I was like, “Damn, I need something. I need some s—t right now.” I was going through my e-mail and found some s—t that had so much energy. I loved the horns. I knew I had 15 minutes to make the beat while Ferg was in the booth recording, so I had my headphones on going to work. He came out of the booth to hear [his playback], and he heard some of the new beat through my headphones and he was like, “This is fire, load that s—t up.” He just went in there and went crazy with Armani; their chemistry is so amazing.
That was my first time hearing Armani on a banger and she f—king slid on that s—t, it was just so organic and real. I love when songs just come together and you’re not trying too hard to make something, it’s just natural. “Shmoke” is the only song that has a sample — “Technologic” by Daft Punk. That s—t was expensive as f—k. We actually ended up interpolating it; we re-recorded it so we would just have to clear it on the publishing side.
I usually don’t sample that much, because of the business of it — but I do love samples. As an independent artist, I don’t always have the budget to clear certain things, so I like to work with a lot of sample-makers or co-producers to get my vision across. If it’s dope, it’s dope; I’m never gonna not make some s—t because there’s a sample. It’s all about what fits the vibe.
“Endtro” (feat. Denzel Curry & Hannah Mundine)
This is another one of my favorite songs on the album. I made this one with my bro Tim Randolph. For this one, I was thinking stadium status – big, grand toast music, but not necessarily just a banger. I wanted to incorporate different vibes, so the 808s are distorted on some trap s—t, but it’s not a trap beat, there are boom-bap drums and a heavy-ass guitar. When we were making the beat, [Tim] sent me the chords that became the hook – and he was actually starting a new beat at the time. But I was like, “This is f—king crazy how it goes from nice s—t to super hard s—t.” It’s kind of like day and night, the juxtaposition between those parts was stuck in my heart. I love how it goes from this serene, angelic vibe with Hannah Mundine on the hook, and then Denzel just goes crazy.
“Baby Boy Is Drunk” (feat. AG Club & Audrey Nuna)
It’s kind of a crazy beat — I don’t know what the f—k I was thinking when I made that s—t. [Laughs]. But it’s a banger! I like throwing weird sounds together. I was in the studio with AG and we made this together, and they slid on that s—t so smooth. I never really heard no s—t like that from them before.
I was nearing the completion of [Life Sucks] and this was one of the last few songs that wasn’t fully finished. I was like, “Damn, who would kill this s—t? Audrey. Her and AG Club would go crazy.” I sent it to her, she absolutely smashed it, and it became the song we know today.
With this album, I feel like I’ve grown as an all-around artist. I like to credit working with Dot da Genius and Dre Moon – who are both incredibly gifted, talented, award-winning producers. I’m more intentional with how I create now. Putting myself in rooms with people who I think are better and more talented than me makes me go even harder because I feel like I have to be at that level. I’m always pushing myself and striving to be the best, so I love working with other artists and getting out of my comfort zone. Being comfortable is dope, but you don’t grow in comfort. You have to put yourself in uncomfortable positions to grow and be amazing.
I never have a particular sound, it’s all me just wearing different hats. I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with the next record. I think this might be the end of the Life series for now; we’re gonna open a whole new chapter.