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There’s a magnetism to Carin León that instantly captures your attention, and his first Boca Chueca Tour date at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday (Sept. 19) was a reminder of how dynamic the Mexican hit-maker can be. Just before 9 p.m., León — clad in jeans, a t-shirt, cowboy boots and one of his signature cowboy hats — took over the stage, which he commanded for over two hours, honoring the past, the present and the future of música mexicana and beyond.
“Tonight, we’re leaving our sorrows behind,” he told a multigenerational crowd that mirrored the artist’s cowboy aesthetic. But it was clear that the sorrows would eventually creep back in at some point during the show since León is one of those artists that can’t help but get emotional, especially when he’s singing some of his most heartfelt songs that can mend broken hearts.

Whether you were ready or not, León took you on a roller coaster, perfectly capturing how nuanced regional Mexican music can be. “Genres no longer exist. Borders no longer exist,” he declared. León is among a new generation of Mexican music artists who have clearly defied expectations that have haunted regional Mexican artists for decades — limiting them to some extent.

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León, on the contrary, is pretty limitless and his setlist is a declaration of liberation. With a hefty live band in tow — that quickly adapted from banda to norteño to rock and country — he of course performed fan favorites including “Te Lo Agradezco,” “Según Quién,” “The One (Pero No Como Yo),” “Que Vuelvas,” “La Boda del Huitlacoche,” “No Es Por Acá” and “Primera Cita.”

And he also paid homage to the artists that have influenced him along the way, including Hombres G’s “Te Quiero,” Joan Sebastian’s “Tatuajes,” Banda Zeta’s “La Niña Fresa,” Mi Banda El Mexicano’s “Ramito de Violetas,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain,” and Banda Toro’s “La Noche en Que Chicago Se Murió.”

His versatility, which he put on full display during the show, is what has made León stand out in a crowded field of a new wave of Mexican music artists since he had a breakthrough nearly five years ago. That and his infectious hip-swiveling cumbia dance moves and mesmerizing zapateado stomping. Since then, León has only cemented his status as one of the most exciting artists of this generation.

“Long live regional Mexican music, Latin music, long live American music,” he said. “At the end of the day, music is what reunited us here tonight.” By this point, León — sporting a Chicago Bulls jersey — had already chugged down some beers and had emptied a Clase Azul tequila bottle, which he took shots from directly while sharing the wealth with his fans. Throughout the show, he handed over the bottle to someone on his team so they could pour tequila in fans’ cups.

“Qué rifados, Chicago,” he said, noting the crowd’s enthusiasm. “Thank you for always showing up for me.”

León’s back-to-back shows in Chicago come on the heels of his four Latin Grammy nominations, including album of the year for Boca Chueca, Vol. 1. Produced by CMN and AEG, the trek continues with stops in Washington, D.C., New York, Austin and Nashville.

For Seether frontman Shaun Morgan, it’s more exciting to be bringing out a new album — The Surface Seems So Far, which drops Friday, Sept. 20 — than it is to be celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary.

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It has been that long since Morgan formed Seether, as Saron Gas, in his native South Africa (bassist Dale Stewart joined in January of 2000 and has remained since). During the interim the group has released nine studio albums and netted 26 top 10 singles on Billboard’s various rock charts, including 10 No. 1 Mainstream Rock Airplay hits with the new album’s first single, “Judas Mind.” Seether was also Billboard’s No. 1 Active Rock Artist and Heritage Rock Artist in 2011, the same year “Country Song” was the top Active Rock song of the year.

“Sometimes it feels like 25 minutes, sometimes it feels like 250 years,” Morgan tells Billboard via Zoom from his home in Nashville — where, he acknowledges with a chuckle, “I’m 45 now, so it’s been a long time and I’m starting to feel it in the bones, all the respective ailments that slowly creep in with age. There’s always that reality check to let you know you’ve been doing it for awhile.

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“I guess for us the most exciting thing is still to be able to do it…at this level and with this kind of enthusiasm and this kind of fan base. Thankfully so far we’ve managed to keep on trucking and keep the band moving forward. That in itself, I think, is the achievement I focus on.

“I’ve toured many, many years with many, many bands that no longer exist, and they were bands I thought were better than us. We’ve certainly weathered some genres and trends and seen some go and return, and we’ve just sort of been trucking away in the background. Somehow we’ve managed to keep ourselves around and be relevant on some level.”

Seether’s continuing connection with its audience isn’t hard to figure out. The music remains a kind of timeless, high-powered brand of heavy rock, steeped in well-established traditions of classic grunge, metal and, occasionally, punk. As a lyricist, meanwhile, Morgan wears his proverbial heart on his sleeve, unafraid to mine dark emotions all the way back to early favorites such as “Fine Again,” “Gasoline” and “Broken,” the worldwide breakthrough single when it was re-recorded with Evanescence’s Amy Lee for 2004’s Disclaimer II album.

“I just try to write what I like to listen to and what I like to play and what makes me feel something on an emotional level,” Morgan explains. “I don’t try to overthink it; I just write what I’m feeling every time we do an album and try and write music that helps me get through situations, or darker days I guess. I try and always represent the music and myself in an honest and real way and be as vulnerable as I can without being trying to give away too much. I try and be as vague as I can, lyrically, so people can apply the songs to how they’re feeling and maybe get something out of it that way.

“So all of that combined would contribute maybe, to the fact we’re still here.”

Fans likely won’t have trouble relating to the 11 tracks on The Surface Seems So Far, either.

Written during an 18-month period during which Morgan’s wife gave birth to their third child, the songs stem from “a lot of existential crisis moments” he was experiencing during the 2020 pandemic lockdown, which came just a few months before the release of Seether’s last album, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.

“Obviously 2020 was a wash, and 2021 and ’22 weren’t much better,” Morgan explains. “I’d been told by the powers that be that I was not a relevant or important person and my livelihood was not important for a very long time.” And while he wasn’t sorry that “I got to sit and be with family and really enjoy being a dad and a husband,” Morgan also faced “moments of self-doubt and the genuine anguish of wondering, ‘OK, what’s next? Is this all that there is? Do I have to find something else I want to do for the rest of my life, where I feel more fulfilled and maybe don’t feel quite so expendable?’ There were many times I thought about quitting, yeah.

“Those were the biggest issues for me in writing this album.”

Those heavy questions can be felt throughout The Surface Seems So Far as Seether — Morgan, Stewart drummer John Humphrey and guitarist Corey Lowery — steam through the leaden dynamics of songs such as “Try to Heal,” “Same Mistakes,” “Semblance of Me,” “Paint the World,” “Dead on the Vine” and “Illusion,” while “Walls Come Down” stands out as a more melodic counterweight.

“It’s funny; this is the first album we’ve done that doesn’t have an acoustic (track) on it, which I didn’t realize until we were done,” Morgan notes. “I wrote about 20 songs and we ended up recording about 13 of them. But there was never really a thought about what I wanted it to sound like. Whenever I start writing for albums it’s sort of a fishing expedition; I don’t know what I’m doing and I have no direction, so I just start writing and the direction reveals itself to me.

“And the most powerful emotions of the past few years for me were certainly rage and anger, and in this particular snapshot of my life most of it was, ‘I need to get rid of this frustration and this anger,’ and that leads to heavier music, obviously.”

The Surface Seems So Far marks Morgan’s third consecutive album as producer, too, a task he first found “daunting” but that he’s grown more comfortable with over time. “There’s only one producer I worked with who I felt the experience was positive and I learned something from, and that was Brendan O’Brien,” who produced Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray in 2011 and 2014’s Isolate and Medicate. Morgan explains that, “I came out the other side of those albums with him and thought, ‘OK, I’ve learned enough about songwriting from him. I’ve learned enough about producing from him, the approach of making an album from him, and I’ve learned from the either guys what I DON’T want to do, so lemme give it a shot and see how it works out.’ And because of that these past three albums are actually the first time a high percentage of me is proud of how they sound.”

That said, Morgan doesn’t rule out working with someone else in the future.

“I’m not opposed to it,” he says. “I always had in my mind there would be this trio of albums I’d produce, and they’d all kind of be in a similar vein and have a similar kind of theme or a similar kind of sound, and when the next album comes it’s gonna be a brand new chapter…and maybe have somebody else come in and give me an opinion again from an outsider’s perspective. We’ll see.”

For now Morgan and Seether are excited to be getting back on the road. Dates have just started with Skillet, running into October with some festival stops (Louder Than Life in Louisville, Rocktoberfest in Oceanside, Calif. and Aftershock in Sacramento) and more ahead for 2025. The new album will be fresh, of course, but Morgan predicts that “‘Judas Mind’ will definitely be in the set list, and I might want to play ‘Illusion’ ’cause it’s one of my favorite songs on the album and is on the streaming platforms, so people can know it. You do want to play the songs that fans are there to see, right? So I do want to play all the classics, so to speak, and once the album’s been out a little longer we can start to play more of those songs and get a feel about those from the audience.

“We’re just happy to be getting back on the road, man. We are a touring band, and we haven’t been able to do as much in the last few years, so we’re really ready for this now.”

Future dropped his first solo project of the year Mixtape Pluto on Friday (Sept. 20) via Freebandz and Epic Records. The 17-track project contains “Too Fast” and “Lil Demon,” which he teased earlier this month, as well as “South of France,” which Travis Scott teased even though the tracklist didn’t credit any featured artists. 808 […]

It’s a woman’s world, and Katy Perry‘s in charge. The pop superstar unveiled her sixth studio album, 143, on Friday (Sept. 20).
143, which is code for “I love you,” marks Perry’s first album since 2020’s Smile, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The project features previously released singles “Woman’s World” and “Lifetimes,” as well as Doechii and 21 Savage collaborations on “I’m His He’s Mine” and “Gimme Gimme,” respectively. Other song titles include “Crush,” “Nirvana,” “All the Love,” “Truth” and “Wonder,” among others.

“I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message,” Perry previously shared in a statement about the project. On TikTok, she added, “143 is honestly a dance party. All fandoms, invited. And it’s high energy, lots of love, mostly lots of love and BPM, summer, sexy. And it’s for y’all.”

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It’s been an exciting month for Perry, who received the Video Vanguard Award at the 2024 VMAs. “I’ve heard a lot of do this, don’t do that, wear less, wear more now, don’t cut your hair… one of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is I learned how to block out all the noise, that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against, especially women,” she said during her acceptance speech. “I just want to say with my whole heart, do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and true to your art, turn off social media, safeguard your mental health, pause, touch grass, and do what you were born to do, just like I was born to do this.”

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Listen to Katy Perry’s 143 in full below.

In the wake of Atlantic Records’ reconstruction — which led to a number of layoffs — Nicki Minaj took to X to playfully share some advice for those who are now unemployed. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Dear fired executives & A&R’s: Don’t be mad, UPS […]

Karol G is back atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart as “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” jumps 2-1 to lead the chart dated Sept. 21. It’s her first champ, and fourth overall, since “Bichota” ruled for five weeks starting the Dec. 12, 2020 ranking.

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As “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” lands at the summit on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100, it ends Valentino Merlo and The La Planta’s “Hoy” 11-consecutive-week coronation,, the longest-leading song in 2024, so far.

With four No. 1s on her chart account, Karol G enters an exclusive group of women who have secured at least four rulers or more since the ranking launched in 2018. Here’s the recap of those female soloists with the most No. 1s:

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6, Maria Becerra5, Emilia5, Nicki Nicole5, TINI4, Karol G2, Shakira

Emanero earns his highest debut to date with “Si Un Día Estás Sola (Big One CROSSOVER #7),” with Valentino Merlo and Big One, as the song debuts at No. 20 with the Hot Shot Debut honors.

Big One, meanwhile, places four other simultaneous songs on the chart, starting with “Cuando Te Vi (Big One Crossover #5),” with Maria Becerra and Trueno, which dips 4-6. “A Dónde Vas Si Te Vas (Big One Crossover #6),” with Miranda! and Ciro, drops 31-33, “Un Finde (Big One Crossover #2),” with Ke Personajes and FMK, lifts 66-65, and “La Intimidad (Big One Crossover #1),” with Emilia and Callejero Fino, reenters at No. 94.

Salastkbron takes the week’s Greatest Gainer trophy as “Dimelo Mami” surges 21 spots, from No. 56 to No. 35, for the song’s new peak.

Elsewhere, Coldplay’s “We Pray,” featuring Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI, opens at No. 45. Plus, La T y la M’s “Amor de Vago,” with Malandro de América, arrives at No. 48.

Below the top 50, three other songs debut this week, starting with Argentinians Uriel Lozano and Un Poco de Ruido, who both score their first entry thanks to “Conmigo Le Gustó,” at No. 79. Argentinian rock band Los Piojos, likewise banks its first chart visit through “Tan Solo” at No. 89. Lastly, Migrantes, J Mena and Emanero’s“Como Si No Nos Amáramos” bows at No. 91.

The all-star Disney rock covers set A Whole New Sound debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Kid Albums and Compilation Albums charts (dated Sept. 21). The 12-track set boasts rock acts like Yellowcard (featuring Chrissy Costanza), New Found Glory, Simple Plan and Mayday Parade covering such classic Disney tunes as “A Whole New World” (from […]

ScHoolboy Q flooded the streets today by dropping three videos from his critically-acclaimed album Blue Lips. First, we have “THank god 4 me” (directed by Omar Jones,) which opens with someone wearing a wire as he gets ready to hop in a detective’s car. The rest of the video is a series of dream sequences […]

A$AP Rocky announced on Thursday (Sept. 19) that he will no longer be performing at iHeartRadio Music Festival 2024 this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“UNFORTUNATELY, I ENDED UP GETTING SICK & I WON’T BE ABLE TO PERFORM AT THE @iheartfestival. IM SORRY TO MY FANS & THANKFUL TO @iheartradio FOR THE OPPORTUNITY!” he wrote on his Instagram Story. “I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO PERFORMING SOME NEW MUSIC FOR YALL! ENJOY THE SHOW THE LINE UP IS [fire emojis].”

Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Gwen Stefani, Halsey, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboozey, The Black Crowes, The Weeknd, Thomas Rhett and Victoria Monét are still set to perform at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21, with a special appearance by Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

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Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the star-studded affair will also feature AJ McLean, Flavor Flav, Jacoby Shaddix, Lance Bass, Paris Hilton, Tiffany Haddish, Hugh Evans, Joe Gatto, Tara and Hunter Woodhall as presenters.

Rocky’s now-canceled iHeartRadio Festival performance might’ve featured new music from his highly anticipated fourth album Don’t Be Dumb, which he revealed in his recent Billboard cover story was pushed back from its original Aug. 30 release date to sometime this fall. He later explained on X that “LEAKS & SAMPLE CLEARANCES ARE DISRUPTING THE ALBUM. ITS BEEN 6 YEARS & I WANNA MAKE THE BEST ALBUM EVER. IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT.” He’s released three singles ahead of the album within the last two months: “HIGHJACK” (with Jessica Pratt), “Tailor Swif” and “Ruby Rosary” (featuring J. Cole).

David Gilmour lands his first No. 1 on Billboard’s 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart, as his first studio album in nine years, Luck and Strange, debuts atop the tally dated Sept. 21. The set, which also marks his third top 10-charting effort on the list, sold 30,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 12, according to Luminate.

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Gilmour has reached the Top Album Sales chart seven times as a soloist, beginning with 2006’s No. 6-peaking On an Island. He reached the top 10 a second time with 2015’s No. 4-peaking Rattle That Lock.

Also arriving in the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart are the newest releases from TZUYU, George Strait, Paris Hilton, LL COOL J and xikers.

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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of Luck and Strange’s first-week sales of 30,000, physical sales comprise 25,000 copies (14,500 on CD; 8,500 on vinyl and about 2,000 on Blu-ray Audio) and digital download sales comprise 5,000. The album’s first-week vinyl sales were bolstered by its availability across four variants, helping it debut at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart. The set was also a sturdy seller at independent record stores, with nearly 4,500 sold through that retail sector. It debuts at No. 2 on the Indie Store Album Sales chart.

Luck and Strange additionally starts at No. 3 on Top Rock Albums, No. 4 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums. Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums rank, respectively, the week’s most popular rock albums, and rock and alternative albums, by equivalent album units.

On the Billboard 200, Luck and Strange arrives at No. 10, marking Gilmour’s third top 10 set on the ranking. Gilmour is also a member of Pink Floyd, and all 10 of Pink Floyd’s top 10-charting albums on the Billboard 200 (from 1973’s No. 1 The Dark Side of the Moon through 2014’s The Endless River) reached the region after Gilmour joined the band in 1967.

TZUYU sees her debut solo project abouTZU arrive at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with nearly 23,000 copies sold. The TWICE member’s album sold 22,000 physical copies (16,000 on CD and 6,000 on vinyl) and about 1,000 digital downloads. The set’s opening-week sales was bolstered by its availability across 11 CD variants and two vinyl variants, all containing branded paper ephemera such as photocards, stickers, and posters.

George Strait’s Cowboys and Dreamers debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 22,000 copies sold. The set was available across three CD variants (two containing branded paper ephemera), a deluxe CD boxed set containing a branded T-shirt, three vinyl variants and a digital download.

Paris Hilton’s second album – and first in 18 years – Infinite Icon, debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales with 16,000 copies sold. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet slips 2-5 with 15,000 sold (down 45%). LL COOL J’s first studio album in over 10 years, THE FORCE, arrives at No. 6 with 12,000 sold, bolstered by the availability of signed editions.

Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess moves down 5-7 (11,000 sold; down 17%), LE SSERAFIM’s CRAZY falls 1-8 in its second week (10,000; down 74%) and Stray Kids’ former leader ATE dips 6-9 (8,000; down 24%).

Closing out the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart is xikers’ House of Tricky: Watch Out, 4th Mini Album, debuting at No. 10 with nearly 8,000 sold. It’s the third top 10-charting set for the group. Its first-week sales were largely driven by CD sales, enhanced by the set’s availability across 18 variants (all containing branded paper ephemera).