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The first week of last November was bittersweet for funk instrumentalist and producer Alissia. On Sunday, Nov. 3, Quincy Jones passed away at age 91, and his life’s work of producing ingenious and timeless music made him one of Alissia’s biggest musical inspirations. But on Friday, Nov. 8, the Recording Academy announced the 2025 Grammy nominations, and Alissia became the ninth woman in the show’s 67-year history to be up for producer of the year, non-classical.
She’s in great company: Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow and Lauryn Hill are a handful of the other women who’ve been up for the honor, which has never been won by a woman before. And her competition this year includes fellow first-time nominees Mustard and Ian Fitchuk, while D’Mile is nominated for a third consecutive year and Daniel Nigro for a second. Alissia’s credits during this eligibility period include tracks by Rae Khalil, BJ the Chicago Kid, Jamila Woods and Lion Babe. She also worked on the Anderson .Paak and SiR-assisted “Do 2 Me” from Kaytranada’s Timeless album, which is nominated for best dance/electronic album, as well as “MoreOfIt” from NxWorries’ Why Lawd?, which is up for best progressive R&B album.
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“This nomination is so inspiring,” she tells Billboard. “I’ve been dedicating my whole life to music for 14 years. I’ve been working behind the scenes. Sometimes, it can be hard to keep going because this industry is not the easiest. You face a lot of challenges [like] stepping into rooms where I’m the only woman in that room. It took a long time for me to gain that respect.”
The Swiss-born, Italian-raised musician (real name Alissia Benveniste) has remained dedicated to reviving ‘70s funk for over a decade. She moved to the United States when she was 18 to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, and HuffPost touted the budding bassist as “the future face of funk music.” She fronted her own band, Alissia and the Funkateers, and dropped her 2016 EP Back to the Funkture, which she’s since removed from the internet to make way for her proper debut project. Over the years, Alissia has worked with Bootsy Collins – co-writing a third of his 2017 album World Wide Funk album – Calvin Harris, Mark Ronson, Nile Rodgers and many more. She earned her first Grammy nomination – for album of the year, no less – with the deluxe edition of Mary J. Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous after earning writing and production credits on the track “Love Without the Heartbreak.” Now with her own major Grammy nod, Alissia will continue to make a name for herself by releasing her first full-length album later this year.
“People like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Charli XCX – they’ve worked for years and years and years, and now they’re having their moment. I’m loving that for these boss ladies,” she says. “I see a lot of DMs from young girls or women who are like, ‘I’m giving up. This industry is so hard to navigate.’ We really have to empower each other.”
Billboard chatted with Alissia about her historic Grammy nomination, upcoming debut album, Prince’s Twitter DM about her cover of The Times and Bootsy Collins’ advice from their “life-changing” sessions.
What kind of music did you grow up listening to, and how does that inform the music you currently make?
My mom always had music playing around the house – lots of Motown stuff, Stevie [Wonder,] Earth, Wind & Fire. The moment I really, really clicked with music and was like “OK, that’s what I wanna do” is [when] I was in high school and I was heavily listening to Prince, Michael [Jackson]. Then when I moved to Boston, that’s when I really dove into all the ‘70s stuff, like funk soul, James Brown, P-Funk, The Brothers Johnson and Stevie again, but hearing it from a musician’s perspective. I feel like the love kept growing and growing, and it’s really what made me want to pick up the bass. I was like, “Oh, I want to play these basslines I’m hearing on all this Bootsy stuff and funk records.”
What was the first song you learned to play on bass?
“Good Times” by CHIC, but at the same time, it was also “The Payback” by James Brown. Those were the first two basslines, I kept going back and forth. It’s crazy because a year later, I’m in front of Bootsy Collins and Nile Rodgers, and they’re breaking down how they came up with it.
What instruments do you play?
I can get around on pretty much everything. Bass was my main instrument for a long time. People don’t even know I started on piano ‘cause I’m not prolific now, but keys is a safe space for me. I know how to edit myself on drums and guitar, I can get around synths. Around that same time I was digging into all those records, I was really inspired by what I was hearing and learning all the parts.
How did you become so fascinated by the ‘70s era of music, considering you’re not a ‘70s baby?
The richness of the music. A lot of times, I would go into sessions and people would be referencing songs from that era, [so] it made me dig deeper and deeper. The musicianship of it and the production is so outstanding.
And it’s timeless. One of my favorite albums from Michael, Thriller, came out 40-plus years ago, and we still listen to that album nowadays to reference or take inspiration from. And that’s something I always try to aim for – making timeless music that 40 years from now, people would still listen to it. One thing Bootsy told me, and I really, really keep it close to my heart now, is: Don’t follow the trend, set the trend.
Prince reached out to you after he saw your YouTube cover of one of The Time’s songs. Which song did you perform, and what did he have to say?
It was one video of me shredding bass on one of The Time’s songs, “777-93-11.” It was just for fun. [Prince] saw [the video]. He DMed me on Twitter and was like, “Hey, confidentially speaking, I see everything you’re doing. You’re amazing.” At first, I was like, “Is this really Prince?” I knew some of his band members, and John Blackwell, who I was already in touch with, was like, “Yeah, that’s him. He does all his Twitter.”
Another video that really went viral was this original song of mine, “Let It Out.” I randomly last minute put together a band because, at the time, I was already [musical directing] shows. I did this video and that’s what also opened a lot of doors. A lot of credible people reached out, artists and labels.
You’ve also interacted with another musical icon, Quincy Jones. You posted a sweet black-and-white photo of you two after he passed away in November. How has he impacted the way you approach music?
When I started producing, I would listen to so many records, and I kept going back to Michael’s stuff and Brothers Johnson. Quincy’s arrangements, production is so rich. The way he arranges strings and everything, I want to be able to do that, so I studied how to arrange for big bands and started getting into it so deeply. He surrounded himself with incredible musicians, like Greg Phillinganes and all those guys, [and] I was studying all of that.
When he passed, it was such a sad moment for the whole world. The whole music industry was really mourning because he contributed so much to music. I feel like he reinvented the term ‘pop music’ and what that looks like, especially with Thriller and everything he did with Michael. He made the biggest records in the world, but so rich musically. Aiming for really high-quality musicianship, yet making it digestible for everyone to enjoy, that is really rare.
I’ve watched [the 2018 Netflix documentary Quincy] three times. The third time I watched it was the day he passed. Every time I don’t really have inspiration, I will watch that and be like “Woah, there’s so much to learn!” I got to meet him, and it was just so incredible to sit down with someone you look up to so much. When we got to sit down in New York [in 2018], it was so special and so random because the first thing he asked me was “What’s your sign?” And I was like Oh Lord, is there a good or bad answer to this? What if I say the sign he hates? I was like “Leo?” And then he was like “Oh yeah, OK.” I was like “What does that mean?” He was like “No, I see it. You’re a go-getter.” He’s just the coolest, he’s so humble. And you can tell he’s a true music lover. I’ll cherish that forever.
What’s the sickest studio memory you have?
There have been so many special moments, but if I had to pick one that was really life-changing, I would say when I was working on the Bootsy album. I’m so grateful for that time because he really challenged me in different ways. I wasn’t really putting guitars in my production, and he was like “Try to put some guitars.” I was like, “OK.”
And then he would leave and come back and be like “Lemme hear what you got.” Or I wouldn’t really write at all or put melodies on tracks I was working on. And he was like “Alright, now try to put melody, try to write some stuff.” I was like “I can’t do it!” He was like “Even if it’s not it, just let me hear what you got. I’ll come back in a couple hours.” We were working at his studio in Cincinnati, which is so legendary. It’s all leopard and zebra patterns, Bootsy signs all over, his Space Bass, keys everywhere. It feels like you’re entering the P-Funk Mothership.
He really taught me so many things about more than music but also life and mindset. Just don’t overthink it, try to get out of your comfort zone. Try different approaches. Don’t take yourself too seriously, let the music come out the way it comes out.
What are your in-studio essentials? Set the scene for me if I were to walk into a session with you.
First and foremost, a positive mindset. [Laughs] If I’m going to a studio, or even at my studio, I’m listening to music. I’m burning some Palo [Santo]. I’m setting the vibes mentally and doing something that puts me in the right headspace. That’s usually if I have a session with someone. If I’m cooking by myself, a go-to, if we’re being a bit more materialistic, is obviously my computer, but a good synth, like a JUNO-106 or -160 or a Prophet. And then probably a bass and a guitar if possible. I always have my little portable MIDI controller, that’s also a must especially if I’m studio hopping. I love gear. I’m an analog type of person. I love experimenting with sounds, and I feel like the best sounds are always achieved through analog gear.
Outside of the gear, which production software do you use?
I’m a Logic user. I’ve been using Logic for years, and I’m really quick and comfortable at it as far as [digital audio workstations]. As far as plugins, I honestly love UAD stuff. They’re one of the few plugin companies that really replicate that analog sound well. I love Waves, I use Waves a ton.
You’re the ninth woman ever to receive a Grammy nomination for producer of the year, non-classical. What does it mean to you to be a part of this tradition?
It’s really humbling. Especially when I saw the Billboard article, I was like, “Oh my God.” It makes me want to go even harder. It’s really powerful to see women before me continue to move the needle. I’m going to do my best to push boundaries however I can to see a change. This nomination is so inspiring. I really feel like it’s bigger than me, for a producer that is a woman and also that’s a musician.
There are so many producers who are not using instruments. Prince would say, “We’ll end up sampling the sample of the sample of the sample.” When I talk with my friends who are producers and musicians, it’s really our job to keep musicianship alive. I look up to so many producers who are prolific musicians. They really spend time and dedication to shred their instruments. There’s so much to learn, and that’s the beauty of music.
Take me back through Nov. 8, 2024, when the 2025 Grammy nominations were announced. How did you react when you saw the news?
It’s crazy because I never watch the virtual [nominations announcement]. I’ve always looked [at the nominations] afterward. I worked on a lot of projects this year, so I was like “Let me tune in and let’s see. Maybe I’ll see one of the names.” I was just being hopeful. The second category that came on was producer of the year. My name came up first, and I was just so in shock. I was sitting in my chair and I just jumped, like, “Oh my God!” My phone started blowing up, my team FaceTimed me and I was like “Are we sure it’s me?” I had to triple check that it was really my name. I’m not gonna lie, I became emotional. I never really cry, but my eyes started getting wet.
If you were to become the first-ever woman to win the producer of the year, non-classical Grammy next year, what would that mean to you?
Oh my God, Heran, let’s speak that into reality! [Laughs.] I would be winning on behalf of the badass ladies. I’ll dedicate that to all of these badass women who’ve been going hard at it. The biggest thing I hope for if I do win [is] to inspire women and young girls and give them a sense of confidence and hope to keep going and living their dreams. When I started producing, I was always looking for a woman figure [to] look up to. There are some incredible women producers out there, but I would love to see more.
That’s why I say it’s way bigger than me. It’s always been about my love for music. I never really cared about being in the spotlight. For 14 years, I’ve been behind the scenes. I had a little bit of a moment where I had a project when I first started off and after that video. Labels were trying to put me in a certain box, like, “OK, well, you have to try and maybe sing a bit more and dress this way and now we’re going to put you in with these producers.” And I was like “No, that’s what I do. I produce.”
You’re putting out your debut solo album this year. Tell me more about it.
All I want to say is be on the lookout because I’m really proud of it. It’s really time to put it out in the world and for people to hear it. It’s been years of experimenting with stuff like “OK, what do I want my album to sound like? Musically, what do I want to say?” It’s coming out really soon. There are amazing, crazy features on it. I feel like people expect some of the features even if I can’t announce it.
Billboard actually premiered your single “On the Go” in 2015.
That’s funny because that was taken down a long time ago. [Laughs.] It was just me experimenting and putting random stuff out. [This album] is really my debut. Anything else before then… it was what it was. [Laughs] It’s been so many years that I’ve been making music. This project is just amazing music. There’s one thing that people might not expect that is on this project. There’s a new era of something that I’m going to present.
Karol G will host the inaugural Con Cora Land benefit charity gala, which will take place next month in Miami, the Colombian hitmaker announced on Tuesday (Jan. 21). According to a press release, the fundraising event will support Karol’s Con Cora Foundation and its Casa Con Cora initiative to empower “thousands of women” to pursue their dreams. […]
After fellow country star Carrie Underwood‘s version of “America the Beautiful” was delivered a cappella after two awkward minutes of silence at Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday (Jan. 20), the technical issues appeared to continue later that night during a shambolic set by Billy Ray Cyrus at the Liberty Ball.
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In video of the performance, a confused-looking Cyrus, 63, begins strumming his electric guitar after playing the video intro to Lil Nas X’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Old Town Road” on the screen behind him. As the audio from the song cued up, Cyrus attempted to play guitar and sing along, with his instrument and vocals inaudible as he looked around in confusion.
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At one point he turned his back to the audience for several seconds, then moved back to the mic to no avail in what turned into a bizarre lip synch ramble that went viral for all the wrong reasons. “I think y’all was just getting warmed up, to be honest. You wanna do a little more of it,” Cyrus croaked, as he strummed the song’s melody on his guitar and whistled the chorus through his teeth to a silent audience just after the video’s credits rolled behind him.
After singing the song’s chorus in a crackly voice and rapidly skipping back and forth across the stage while the crowd finally came to life and sang the lines back to him, Cyrus tried to get the audience to clap along to his a cappella singing, explaining, “they told me to kill as much time as possible,” and wondering if they knew the words to his signature 1992 breakthrough hit, “Achy Breaky Heart.”
“Is my guitar still on?” Cyrus asked. “I think they cut me off. I don’t hear my guitar anymore.” Looking around for help, while saying “check” into his mic, Cyrus said, “is anybody awake? I don’t hear it. Do y’all hear this? Where’s everybody at? Check. Is anyone back there? Can someone turn my guitar back on? We gonna sing a little bit more.”
As the awkward silence continued, Cyrus looked in vain for help, asking the crowd, “Do y’all want me to sing more or do you just want me to get the hell off the stage? I don’t give a damn.” A guitar tech finally came out and tried to remedy the sound problems with the guitar to no avail.
Cyrus then made reference to Underwood’s performance just hours earlier, where she sang without the planned accompaniment from the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club after a long, awkward silence during the swearing-in for Trump.
“I could try it like this… After what Carrie Underwood did today — wasn’t Carrie Underwood fabulous? — Carrie Underwood, you were amazing today,” Cyrus said, taking off his hat and bandana to mild applause. “They had technical difficulties too. And in life, when you have technical difficulties you just gotta keep going. Or as President Trump would say, you gotta fight!”
After another try, Cyrus asked his fans to “just snap your fingers” as he did a raspy a cappella bit of “Achy Breaky Heart” before leaving the stage. At press time it did not appear that Lil Nas X had reacted to Cyrus’ performance and Cyrus had seemingly not reacted to posts dubbing his set an “epic disaster.”
Cyrus did post a pic from his performance on Instagram, writing, “Honored to kick off the Liberty Ball at the request of our 47th President and Commander-in-Chief @realdonaldtrump. When you get knocked down, you get back up. You fight and persevere,” which followed up an earlier image from his sound check at Capitol One Arena.
Watch Cyrus’ performance below.
Suffice to say, Jade Thirwall and Harry Styles weren’t written in the stars. While serving as a guest on Louis Theroux’s podcast episode posted Tuesday (Jan. 21), the Little Mix star reflected on meeting the One Direction alum during their early days on The X Factor, revealing that they went on one date before a certain teen heartthrob ghosted her.
While talking about her career beginnings on Simon Cowell’s talent competition show, Thirlwall shared that she and Styles met — and hit it off — when both of them were auditionees. “I think we went on like one date when we were 16 or something,” she said. “He’d just got put in a band, and it was really funny, because we kept in touch. Then the minute they went on live shows, he didn’t message me back.”
“I thought, ‘That’s it, now he’s gone. He’s made it,’” the “IT Girl” singer continued, laughing.
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Thirlwall tried out for The X Factor in 2010, but didn’t make the cut. That same year, Styles also auditioned and was sorted into One Direction with bandmates Liam Payne — who died in October — Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. The boy band placed third on the show.
The next year, Thirlwall re-auditioned for X Factor, this time earning a spot in girl group Little Mix alongside Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson. After she made it onto the show — later winning the season with her band — the “Angel of My Dreams” musician says she ran into Styles again.
“He was like, ‘I’m really sorry I ignored you,’” she recalled. “I was so young, it didn’t really matter. But he was always very, very lovely. He’s gotten himself to where he is because he’s very talented and he’s very lovely. Very charming.”
Little Mix went on to release six studio albums between 2012 and 2020, notching three singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Nelson left the group at the end of 2020, and the remaining trio announced a hiatus the following year.
In 2024, Thirlwall finally kicked off her solo career with the release of debut single “Angel of My Dreams.” She’s since dropped the tracks “Midnight Cowboy,” “Fantasy” and “IT Girl.”
Listen to Thirlwall talk about Styles and Payne on The Louis Theroux Podcast below.
It’s a nice day for a white mocha. British rock icon Billy Idol announced his 2025 amphitheater tour Tuesday morning (Jan. 21) with a cheeky video starring breakout comedian Matt Rife. The bit has Rife popping up through out Idol’s day, riffing on some of his Idol’s biggest songs, such as “White Wedding” and “Rebel […]
Soulja Boy isn’t letting up on Drake. Big Draco went on another scathing rant about America and took some more shots at Drizzy over the weekend. “Drake you a b—h,” he began in a livestream. “You can’t even come to America and talk to the president. F–k boy, stay in Canada where your b— a– […]
Like any artist about to launch his music to the world, Bad Bunny was nervous on the eve of the release of his new album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, on January 5. But the Puerto Rican superstar had particular reason to feel on edge this time: He was releasing an album that, unlike any of his previous reggaetón and urban sets, prominently featured Puerto Rican rhythms and genres, including salsa — a major departure in sound and attitude.
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“The day before the album release, I was super anxious,” Bunny (real name Benito Martínez Ocasio) tells Billboard. “I couldn’t sleep, wondering if people would like it, if I did the right thing by including those kinds of songs, [worried about] the things that I said,”
Bad Bunny’s last three albums — El Último Tour Del Mundo (2020), Un Verano Sin Ti (2022) and Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (2023) — had all debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. But DeBÍ was being released on a Sunday, which meant Bunny would miss a full two days of sales tallies, as the chart’s tracking week runs Friday through Thursday.
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The gamble met with mixed results initially. DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS debuted at No 2 on the chart, behind Lil Baby’s WHAM. But instead of retreating, Bunny doubled down, co-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, busking on New York subway stations, hosting morning shows in San Juan and making impromptu appearances at the studios of well-known Puerto Rican podcasters like Chente Ydrach. Bunny, known for being furtive and press averse, was suddenly ubiquitous.
By now, his strategy has clearly paid off. This week, Debí rises to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Jan. 25, besting Taylor Swift’s reissued Lover: Live From Paris, proof that promotion works — but so does sincerity, as Bunny tells Billboard in an interview following his No. 1 achievement. Here’s how he claimed the top spot, for the fourth time — with a Spanish-language album that specifically honors his Puerto Rican roots.
This is your fourth No. 1 with a Spanish language album on the Billboard 200. What’s the importance of achieving this to you?
Man, obviously I’m thankful with the way the world has embraced this album. The thing is, this project… it isn’t mine. It belongs to many people: everyone who worked with me, it belongs to Puerto Rico, my friends, my family. This project belongs to all of us who feel proud of being from Puerto Rico and being Latin. So, having this project go to No. 1, besting all these other great artists and great projects makes it much more special.
To be very honest with you, and I’ve said it to everyone: I didn’t expect this. The day before the album release, I was super anxious, I couldn’t sleep wondering if people would like it, if I did the right thing by including those kinds of songs, [worried about] the things that I said. The vision had always been to enjoy the creative process and do something special for Puerto Rico. I always thought that in Puerto Rico, people would connect with me and enjoy the album. And Puerto Ricans outside the island too. But I never imagined the whole world would. That’s taken me by surprise.
You’ve never been one to do much promo with an album release. In fact, many of your albums are surprise drops. And yet, this time you were everywhere, doing all kinds of media in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. And you also posted heavily on social media prior to the release. Why?
I’ve always worked as a team. And for a long time, my team had asked me for presaves, countdown, pre-ads for other albums and I never had the opportunity to do it. This time I promised them I would. I let myself by taken along, as we say. And we wanted to begin paving the way in December and begin giving that vibe, connecting musically. That’s why the singles came out in December: “El Club” on December 6, and on December 26, “Pitorro de Coco.” I wanted people to connect with the album’s vibe. And I liked my team’s strategy of giving clues to fans little by little. It was something different from what we always do.
You’ve released albums on odd dates before, but January 5 felt very random. Aside from the fact that you missed two days of tracking, why choose that date?
This is a very special album, and part of its purpose was to bring together generations in a different way; have grandchildren sharing the music with their parents and grandparents and celebrate their culture in a special way. January 5 was a Sunday, which is the perfect day — and it was also the eve of Three Kings Day, a date where, at least in Puerto Rico, the family gets together. That was the purpose.
I want to be clear that I know the business, and I know releasing an album on a Sunday means losing nearly three days of streams, and that it affects my placement on the charts. But at no time was that of concern to me. My purpose wasn’t to compete with anyone. My purpose wasn’t to release an album that would interfere with someone else’s. My purpose was what I said: Bring an album with the essence of Puerto Rico that would unite generations, awaken love for the country and the culture, and that people would enjoy. That was it.
You did very varied promo, especially the past two weeks. What did you particularly love doing?
I really enjoyed talking with media in Puerto Rico, and going on Jimmy Fallon too. But musically, what most fulfilled me, and where I’m super impressed and happy and proud, too, is that the biggest songs in the album are salsa and plena [a traditional Puerto Rican rhythm]. Obviously, I made those songs with all the love in the world. But, knowing the market, one could have thought reggaetón would shine most and that these songs would go unnoticed.
And to see a plena [in “DtMF”] at No. 1 [on the Global 200], I didn’t expect that. I didn’t see that one coming. This past weekend, I saw everybody in the Fiestas de San Sebastian [an annual Puerto Rican festival that takes place in Old San Juan] singing “CAFé CON RON,” and that made me so happy. In fact, I wrote the chorus to that song a year ago during the festival. So, to see everyone singing it this year, as if it were the official anthem of Calles de San Sebastián, was beautiful.
Truly, of all my albums, this is the one that’s surprised us the most. Every album teaches us something, and this one has taught us a lot.
Like what?
More than taught — that album confirmed that doing things from the heart, without ambitions of position or money, always works in a positive way. It also taught me the importance of the feeling with which you record. Everyone who worked in this album […] put their heart into it, and man, it showed. It’s been one of the most beautiful album releases I’ve seen in a long time.
I also learned people want to hear music. Many people go into the studio thinking they’re going to create the next hit, looking for what’s trending, that’s hot. Everyone wants to do a two-minute song. And that’s not it. People want to hear music that’s real and heartfelt. That’s why a six-minute salsa track, and a four-minute plena are [the album’s two] top songs. This reconfirms to me that I don’t need to be any one way to have a hit. I need to be me, genuine, and do things from the heart.
There’s been talk for several years that salsa is going to make a comeback, but it hasn’t quite come to fruition. Do you think the success of this album, plus the success of Rauw Alejandro’s album late last year, can change that?
What I see with this album, and specifically with the song “Baile Inolvidable,” is that not only has salsa gone viral, but people [are] taking salsa lessons. I think the entire world wants to dance salsa. I’ve never been one of those people who says salsa is dead. Music doesn’t die; maybe it’s not done as much or it’s not as popular. But music stays for ever. Songs by Hector Lavoe, Frankie Ruiz, Ismael Rivera, they’re there forever. I’ve seen urban acts flirt with salsa since last year, and there’s a new generation of salsa artists who’ve been doing their thing for a long time.
But I think this song, more than giving salsa a push, will give a push to making more authentic music and will push artists to perhaps be more honest in their songs, make music from the heart and redefine what “modern salsa” means. This song has a classic essence, but at the same time it sounds new.
No one would have thought a six-mintue salsa songs [“Baile Inolvidable’] could be playing so much around the world right now. I think a lot of people would have said, ‘Let’s record a two-minute salsa so it’s a hit.” Papi, no. What’s good is good. For example, this song has a piano solo. A trumpet solo. I hadn’t heard a salsa with a solo in the longest time. It has an essence that resuces the beauty of old salsa. So, it’s aout motivating young musicians and showing that Sí se puede. It motivates people to do music from the heart again, regardless of numbers or going viral. Go into the studio and have fun. Create. Tell a story.
You spoke about salsa lessons, a theme in the “Baile Inolvidable” video. Are you a good salsa dancer?
The worst. But after two drinks I’m the best.
What can you tell us about your upcoming residency in Puerto Rico this summer?
Los Sobrinos will be playing with me. We’re trying to have as many [of the musicians in the album] as possible. The first shows are only for residents of Puerto Rico, so we want them to take away that experience of what Puerto Rico is, our culture, our music. We want to transmit the feeling, the energy of the album onto the live show. We want it to be magic.
All appears to be well in the Bieber household, even though Justin Bieber temporarily had fans wondering after his account unfollowed Hailey Bieber on Instagram this week. Shortly after the internet noticed that the “Baby” singer was no longer following his famous wife on the platform — prompting people to flood social media with questions […]
Garth Hudson, the inventive keyboard player whose soulful playing was a key part of 1960s/70s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group The Band‘s country-tinged Americana anthems has died at 87. The last surviving member of the group, Hudson died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday morning (Jan. 21) at a nursing home in Woodstock, N.Y., according to the Toronto Star.
Along with fellow Canadians Robbie Robertson (guitar/vocals), Rick Danko (bass/vocals) and Richard Manuel (piano/vocals) and lone American member, drummer/singer Levon Helm, Hudson was a key component of the unique sound the band explored during its initial 20-year run.
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He officially began playing with The Band in 1965, after they had served a two-year apprenticeship as the back-up group for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. The Hawks — as they were known — left Hawkins’ employ in 1963 after years on the road honing their sound. After meeting Bob Dylan in 1965, the group recorded the song “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” the next year for what would become Dylan’s beloved 1966 double album, Blonde on Blonde, which featured such classics as “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” “Visions of Johanna,” “I Want You” and “Just Like a Woman.”
Dylan toured with The Band as his backing group in 1966 and then joined him in the studio for a series of 1967 sessions that became The Basement Tapes. The fruit of those sessions recorded at the group’s legendary Saugerties, N.Y. home known as Big Pink, were not officially released until 1975. That home was the inspiration for the title of the Band’s 1968 debut album, Music From Big Pink, which spotlighted Hudson’s churchy organ playing on such earthy anthems as “Tears of Rage” and what is perhaps the group’s most well-known song, “The Weight.”
For those who saw the Timothée Chalamet Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown — which (spoiler alert) ends after the folk icon burns his bridges by going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival — it’s instructive to note that The Band served as Dylan’s backup group on his first official electric tour later that year.
Though they performed at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 — which took place about 90 minutes from Big Pink — they were not included in the final film due to legal issues. The rustic, black and white cover of their eponymous next album from 1969 was a visual metaphor for their rich, throwback sound, which incorporated dusty barroom laments, aching rock odes and urgent country balladry for a mash-up roping in rock, country and classic R&B. It was all anchored by a gritty, hand-made, sepia-toned quality that served as an antidote to the more expansive, paisley-colored psychedelic experimentation and bombast of the era.
Classically trained pianist Eric Garth Hudson was born in Windsor, Ontario on August 2, 1937 and played organ in his church (and at his uncle’s funeral home) as a young man as well as studying music at the University of Western Ontario in the early 1950s before dropping out to join the rock group the Silhouettes.
Equally adept at saxophone, trumpet, violin and accordion, among other instruments, Hudson was best known for playing the two-tiered Lowery electric organ, whose distinctive, church-like sound can most famously be heard on the Bach-esque intro to the Band’s 1968 classic “Chest Fever.” That song became a highlight of the group’s shows, during which Hudson reliable performed an extended, improvised solo that roped in bits of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor on its way to stops at classical, jazz and soul.
Hudson’s oscillating, bouncing sound can also famously be heard on another of the band’s most well-known tunes, “Up on Cripple Creek,” from the 1969 eponymous album. On that song he played a clavinet through a wah-wah pedal, giving it a distinctive, Jews-harp-like twang; that song reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The group would release a handful of albums through the mid-1970s, including 1970s Stage Fright (“The Shape I’m In”) 1971’s Cahoots (”Life Is a Carnival,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece”), 1973’s cover album Moondog Matinee, as well as 1975’s Northern Lights – Southern Cross (“Ophelia,” “It Makes No Difference”) and the final LP by the original lineup, 1977’s Islands, before substance abuse and intra-band quarreling led to their split.
As a final, grand gesture, though, they set their disputes aside for one final, blow-out show dubbed The Last Waltz. The all-star show featuring guests Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and many others, was documented by director Martin Scorsese for the live movie/album of the same name. The group would get back together in the 1980s — without key member Robertson — and released a trio of albums that did not reach the creative or critical heights of their early trio of classics.
In addition to his work on albums by Hawkins and John Hammond in his pre-Band days, Hudson could be heard on Dylan’s 1966 Blonde on Blonde album, as well as the soundtracks to Last Summer, Kent State, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy and Best Revenge. Throughout his career he was an in-demand session ace as well, recording tracks for albums by artists including: Bobby Charles, Eric Von Schmidt, Ringo Starr, Maria Muldaur, Paul Butterfield, Neko Case, the Secret Machines, Eric Clapton, Band-mates Danko and Helm, as well as Emmylou Harris, the Lemonheads, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, The Call, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Marianne Faithfull, Camper Van Beethoven and many more.
He released his first solo album, The Sea to the North, in 2001, and followed up with 2010’s Garth Hudson Presents a Canadian Celebration of The Band. Hudson was inducted into the Canadian Juno Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a lifetime achievement awards from the Grammys in 2008.
Check out some of Hudson’s playing below.
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” tops the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a 12th week. In November, the song debuted as the stars’ second leader on each list.
Plus, Bad Bunny charts five Global Excl. U.S. top 10s, all from his new LP, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which ascends to No. 1 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200 albums chart. (The set reigns following its first full tracking week of activity, Jan. 10-16; it was released Jan. 5.) With three new top 10s, he pushes his total to a record-breaking 23 since the survey began in September 2020.
The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“APT.” tops Global Excl. U.S. with 119.6 million streams (essentially even week-over-week) and 11,000 sold (up 5%) outside the U.S. Jan. 10-16. The only songs that have led the list longer are Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (14 weeks, since 2020) and Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (13 weeks, 2023) and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (13 weeks, 2022).
Bad Bunny boasts five songs in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10: “DtMF” (9-2), “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” (12-4), “NUEVAYoL” (10-5), “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR” (15-8) and “VeLDÁ” (21-10).
With three new Global Excl. U.S. top 10 hits, Bad Bunny ups his total to 23 top 10s – breaking out of a tie with Taylor Swift (20) for the most since the chart began.
Elsewhere in the Global Excl. U.S. top five, Lady Gaga and Mars’ “Die With a Smile” slips 2-3, following eight weeks at No. 1 starting in September.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Jan. 25, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 22, a day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Jan. 20. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.