State Champ Radio Music
Page: 641
Two musical trios have joined forces for a harmony-drenched new song about heartbreak, with country group Rascal Flatts and sibling pop trio the Jonas Brothers blending their vocal talents on the new track, “I Dare You.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Flatts’ Gary LeVox launches the first […]
Latin Grammy-winning DJ and producer Michaël Brun has been churning out bangers for over a decade — but his latest single shifts him into history-making territory.
Out Friday (Jan. 31), “Touchdown” — the Haitian star’s new anthem – features Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper J Balvin, Jamaican dancehall legends Bounty Killer and Beenie Man, and rising Jamaican singer-songwriter Tasan, the daughter of reggae legend Papa San. Izy Beats, who helmed Koffee’s 2018 crossover hit “Toast,” helped co-produce.
A celebratory anthem, tailor-made for major sports victories, “Touchdown” beautifully marries the already closely intertwined genres of dancehall and reggaetón, using their shared DNA to combine contemporary Latin superstars with dancehall giants of eras past. J Balvin first premiered the track on ESPN as the network’s Monday Night Football ambassador, marking a rare usage of Caribbean music on the iconic sports brand’s broadcast. The cross-genre collaboration served as the official promotional anthem for the 2025 NFL Wild Card Weekend games.
Trending on Billboard
“Touchdown” previews a busy year for Brün that includes his first-ever arena show. On June 28, Brün will mount his BAYO! Festival at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The festival’s steady growth over the past half-decade is just one segment of Brün’s efforts to uplift Caribbean music around the world.
“I actually was part of the [Grammy] committee for best global music performance,” he exclusively tells Billboard hours before “Touchdown” hits DSPs. “At Spotify, I curate the ‘Haitian Heat’ playlist and help them with other Caribbean stuff.”
Last year, Brun prioritized collaborations, joining forces with artists spanning genres and generations, including Keyon Harrold (“Playa Noche”), Charly Black (“Jessica”) and John Legend (“Safe”). With an ever-growing festival and new music on the horizon, Michaël Brun caught up with Billboard to break down the making of “Touchdown,” his favorite Haitian artists and who he thinks will win the Grammy for best reggae album on Sunday (Feb. 2).
How did “Touchdown” come together?
This process has taken a couple of years. I’ve known J Balvin for years, and we’ve worked on a lot of projects together. My first platinum records and a lot of my No. 1s were with him. [Brun co-produced and co-wrote J Balvin’s Ed Sheeran-assisted “Forever My Love,” which topped Latin Airplay in 2022]. In the process of making some new songs together a couple of years ago, we started talking about the influence of dancehall in reggaeton and how much dancehall artists have influenced and shaped the global sound.
Then we had the idea to do something that honored [the songs] we used to listen to at parties. “Touchdown” came from the idea of that link between everything that’s happened in dancehall history and the way that Haiti has been influenced by the Caribbean, Latin America and our own local sounds.
Once we made that initial concept, I knew I wanted to tap in with some friends and icons from Jamaica. I reached out to Tasan, who sings the hook, and Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, who are two iconic dancehall artists from Jamaica. I also reached out to Izy – who produced iconic dancehall songs like Koffee’s “Toast” — to co-produce the song with me.
This is the first time Beenie Man and Bounty Killer have ever been featured on a track together, which is pretty monumental given their history. What does this moment mean to you as a dancehall fan?
I think that it’s really representative of what I believe in: [the power of] bridging different cultures and people. I want my music to make people feel good. I want you to feel that the culture is enriching you. I think that both of their careers have been incredible and have been so influential… not just in Jamaican sounds, but global sounds too.
We actually cut their verses around the time of their Verzuz battle [in 2020], it was literally that week that we started the process. It was really special. I’m grateful that we also got to link in Kingston and Miami. That’s all I care about: genuine cultural unity and authentic cultural portrayal.
Do you have any plans to get this performed live anytime soon?
I have BAYO coming up, and that’s been so much fun for me because it’s rooted in Haitian culture and history. I started it in Jacmel in the South of Haiti, but the music that I play and the artists that pop up for the show are from all around the world. Haitian music is very traditional — we have our genres like konpa and rara — but we also play music from everywhere. I’ve already had a couple of the artists on “Touchdown” pop up in past shows. We might get some really good surprises!
Talk to me a bit more about how BAYO! has grown over the past five years.
It’s been wild. The very first New York show we did was at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and there were about 500 people or so. BAYO! was such a crazy twist for me because, up to that point, I was a DJ doing electronic music and I wanted to set up this festival concept to bring the sounds that I love from the Caribbean and all the different global diasporas to New York and different parts of the U.S. Now we’re hitting Europe and Canada too. The energy at that first show was so special; it made sense to me as a concept, so to see it go from Irving Plaza to Brooklyn Steel and then to Central Park and Prospect Park has been a dream come true.
And the feedback I get from everybody that comes – whether it’s people flying from different cities or people in the New York community — is that it feels like a family. The show is the embodiment of my music. This is my claim, but BAYO! is the best party in the world!
Every festival has its own approach, but, personally, I love to be surprised. I work hard every year to surprise people with the lineup. We never announce who’s performing, so when you show up you might see Maxwell or J Balvin – anybody can pop up! This festival is my pride and joy.
It’s interesting to have a song like “Touchdown” arrive amid the ongoing “Dem Bow” copyright case. How do you feel the song honors and acknowledges the musical lineage of these genres?
We’re honoring icons for the work that they’ve done and creating new moments that incorporate different aspects of their lineages. We’re bridging culture-holders with modern-day and up-and-coming stars. Having these songs in these global moments is important for people to see. I feel like these cultures are very separate segments for a lot of people and if they’re not explicitly shown it, it’s hard for them to understand what the links are. This is my way of helping to create that mutual respect across the board and have all of us in community with each other. Everybody on “Touchdown” actually loves the other artists.
What’s the dream sporting event to perform “Touchdown” at?
Oh man, the Super Bowl! In terms of the song itself, it’s the perfect fit, and J Balvin has also already done the Super Bowl [as a guest of Shakira and J. Lo’s in 2020]. On a personal level, I really love football (soccer), so the World Cup too. Any stadium sporting event with people chanting works, that’s what the energy of the song was from the beginning. It’s also so cool to have Caribbean music on ESPN, I think it’s the first time they’ve ever done that! It’s pretty amazing to be part of that lineage now.
Is “Touchdown” leading to a larger project for you this year?
I’ve been working hard on a lot of stuff. There’s more music coming with some very special artists who I’ve been working with for the past few years, one of which everyone’s gonna be surprised about because she had such an insane 2024. I won’t reveal too much, but I feel like my entire bucket list has been checked off.
Who are some Haitian artists we should be keeping our eyes and ears on in 2024?
What Naïka is doing on a global scale with incorporating different sounds from Haiti — whether it’s twoubadou or konpa – is incredible. Her song “6:45” was pretty massive last year on socials and streaming. On the rap side, Baky is about to drop his new project which I know is gonna be crazy. One other person I think is fire is Rutshelle Guillaume; we worked on a song with John Legend together last year. She’s one of the big singers from Haiti. Everybody comes through to BAYO!, so you should pop out this year!
Who do you think will take home the Grammy for best reggae album on Sunday?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I think Vybz [Kartel] might take it, man. His comeback is a pretty big deal. It depends on the voter base, of course. What Vybz is doing right now is really important for the culture. I think it will probably go to [the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack] though because of the movie. If the culture voted, it would be Vybz, in my opinion.
Outside of BAYO and your new music, what else can fans look forward to from you this year?
I’ve been producing a lot of projects. I’m really close with Naïka; she’s working on her debut album right now, and it’s a really, really special project that incorporates so many influences from her Haitian heritage. There’s a lot of really fun stuff that I’ve been involved with that I think will be rolling out at different points throughout the year.
On a personal note, my mom passed away in December, which was a pretty crazy journey because she had cancer for three years. With this show and my music, my career is all about honoring her. She was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and she was very philanthropic. I genuinely want to ensure that I’m continuing to honor her through philanthropy and community building. We created the Sharon Andrea Lee-Brun Memorial for BAYO Fund at the end of the year as opposed to people sending flowers and stuff. We ended up donating $12,000 to different education and food sovereignty organizations in Haiti.
I’m in my next life now without my mom, so I’m trying to keep her in mind always.
After becoming the youngest winner of the Latin Grammy for best new artist in 2023, at the age of 19, Joaquina finally released her highly anticipated first LP, Al Romper La Burbuja, on Friday (Jan. 31). The album, released under Universal Music Latino and co-produced by the young singer-songwriter mostly with Julio Reyes Copello, represents a crucial moment in her artistic and emotional evolution, with a mature, authentic, and reflective proposal.
“I believe that with this project I found myself for the first time fully,” Joaquina tells Billboard Español. “This year marks five years since I released my first song, [‘Primer Amor’], and I think all these years have brought me to this moment. Obviously, incredible things have happened, but I feel that right now it’s like the real beginning, so I am very grateful for this.”
Trending on Billboard
Comprising 14 songs, Al Romper La Burbuja — which follows her Latin Grammy-nominated EP Los Mejores Años from 2023 — includes the previously released singles “Quise Quererte,” “Escapar de Mí,” “Desahogo,” and “Pesimista,” among others, as well as an alternative version of “El Alquimista” and six new tracks, mostly a fusion of poetic folk-pop and classic rock.
The album’s title (which loosely translates to “breaking the bubble”), is “a metaphor for what it means to take care of the things that make you who you are,” she explains. “Having your own stronghold, your escape where you can grow and be yourself and flourish while you take care of your heart, and being able to have that place in your mind that you return to when you need it most and where you can remind yourself of your purpose always.”
It opens with “Carta a Mí” (Letter to myself), which is the way she defines the set as a whole, and closes with “Gracias por Estar Aquí” (Thanks for being here), an ode to her friends. “I think there is a lot of nostalgia on this album,” the Venezuelan artist adds. “That’s like a prevailing factor throughout the project, which is very nostalgic.”
At 20, she feels she has learned a lot about herself, personally and professionally, in the last few years.
“I’ve learned to believe more in myself and to be true to my instincts and the things that move me,” she says. “And making this album I have grown a lot as a songwriter, but also in areas like production. It was always a dream for me to grow in that field. So as a musician, as a producer, I am very proud that this is just the first project.”
Below, Joaquina breaks down five essential tracks from her new album, Al Romper la Burbuja.
JOAQUINA ‘AL ROMPER LA BURBUJA’
Courtesy Photo
“Capricho”
It’s one of my favorite songs on the album because I feel like it talks about an emotion that took me a long time to put into words. It talks about that moment when you want to understand why a person hurt you, and about always connecting the dots to understand why things happened a certain way. I am a person who likes to understand things a lot and I need to be talking about it all the time, I need to be like dissecting it all the time — and I found myself in a situation where I was talking too much about this thing that had happened to me, and I was so tangled in the subject, I couldn’t let go…
One day in a conversation with my mom and my sister, I kept going and they told me: “Joaqui, this is not you, this person is bringing out the worst part of you, you can’t let this happen.” And I said, “No, but I want that person to ask for forgiveness because I don’t understand why things happened the way they did, and I don’t understand why this person had to act this way because I didn’t do anything.” And in the end they told me, “You don’t have to understand anything, you don’t have to understand everything.” And that really stuck with me. The song talks about that, about you wanting to repay the person in kind for the situation, but deep down you know that that’s not you and that it’s just a whim — because you want the person to ask for forgiveness and you want things to have happened as you would have done them. It is a very complex feeling, a mixture of pain, anger, and sadness. That’s why I love that song.
“Desahogo”
It is one of the cheekiest songs on the album. It’s a song about not understanding what you’re feeling for someone, about a past love that you let go and that deep down you regret but don’t want to admit, so you’re kind of analyzing the situation from the outside and saying, “Well, I don’t remember if I miss you or if I miss the attention you gave me, or if it’s just nostalgia, but this is just a relief.” It’s a bit of a reflection on what it means not to know what you’re feeling for someone, whether you miss the version of yourself that was with them in the past or if you really miss them. In terms of production, I think it’s a perfect mix between a more organic world and a more synthetic world. I think that’s the whole album, but “Desahogo” especially is one of the songs that best combines that. I use Auto-Tune for the first time as an instrument.
“El Alquimista”
“El Alquimista” is the existential doubt of the album, that’s what I call it. And it’s placed as track seven, because for me it’s the climax of the album, but also seven is a divine number, so it’s like a nod to that. It alludes to the book [of the same name by Paulo Coelho], although the story and what I tell is not at all similar. Literature inspires me a lot, so when I read this book and heard that they called God by this term — and that an alchemist is someone who turns mud into gold — it seemed so powerful to me, and I decided to make a literary allusion. “El Alquimista” is a very honest song; it’s an analysis of everything that surrounds us on all levels.
And the creation process was almost supernatural. I wrote all the lyrics first as a poem in one day. I went to Julio [Reyes Copello]’s studio and it’s a very funny story because he tells me, “Oh, I love the idea, but I don’t have time to write today. Can we meet tomorrow?” I’m like, “Yes.” And he says, “But read me the lyrics, what do you have? Can we do something like that with the harmony?” And I go, “Yes, we can do something like that.” “Ah, what do you think?” And he started playing on the piano and we got carried away. I mean, it was done literally in an hour, him on the piano and me doing all the melody and the lyrics, improvising with the lyrics I had. And it’s a song that means a lot to me because I posted it on social media and the video went way more viral than anything I’ve ever posted in my life.
In the album there’s a version that’s inspired by Venezuelan folk music; it has arrangements inspired by llanero music and joropo. The musicians who played on the song are Venezuelan: There’s a cuatro, there’s a harp, there’s a bandola. We made the arrangement thinking of making an allusion to my Venezuelan rootsm and that was always the idea from the beginning. So I’m excited that the demo version on the piano came out and now the complete and more produced version comes out.
“Matices”
It’s a song that talks about when life wants to put you in certain categories. I think that as a human being, but especially as a woman, the world usually wants to put us in boxes and say that you can only be one thing or another. This song is a bit of a fun way of complaining about that, of analyzing. I am a person who thinks that black and white do not exist, that is, that everything has nuances, that nothing is black or white — neither what you should be as a person, nor the way you see life, nor the answers. So in a way the center and the inspiration of the song is my discomfort with people wanting to put me in a box. But I do it from a fun place. It’s a concept that I’m very passionate about and being able to put it into words was nice.
“Gracias por estar aquí”
This song (whose title means “Thank you for being here”) I wrote for my lifelong friends. It happened that I was on a work trip super far away, it was one of my first work trips. I arrived [back in Miami] and I was exhausted, but I went to the beach with my school friends who were here, and I hadn’t seen them in a long time [because they’re in college]. It was the best day of my life in a long time — and I realized that sometimes you have to get away from home and the people you love to appreciate them again.
Before, I always wanted to leave Miami and see the world because I was tired of the superficiality of the city and the people. I never felt good in high school, really, I always felt very uncomfortable and I have many songs that talk about that. So I find it interesting that the opening track of the album, which is “Carta a Mí,” says that the world is bigger than this city, bigger than your room. And at the end “Gracias por Estar Aquí” is like, “Wait, no, but I want to be at home, I want to be in my room, I want to see my lifelong friends, I want to see my sister, I want to see my parents.” I think that’s why the album is a complete journey.
The song also has my favorite chorus of the whole album. It says: “Where will time have gone? Where will it be? Who will be the owner? Will it be floating through the air waiting for someone to catch it? And if one day I catch it, I will squeeze it tightly with white fingers and in the hand a fist.” I wanted to explain the idea of grabbing something like that with your hands — I’m very passionate about that idea of nostalgia and wanting to capture every memory you’re living in your life, every memory you’ve lived, being able to take a photo and have it with you forever.
Post Malone had the dream team backing him up on set for his fourth Super Bowl commercial with Bud Light, with the singer-rapper this year starring alongside Peyton Manning and comedian Shane Gillis for the beer’s game-day spot. In the 60-second spot that premiered Friday (Jan. 31), Posty and Gillis come to the rescue when […]
Frank Ocean has begun filming his directorial debut in Mexico City with Alien: Romulus and Industry star David Jonsson. According to Variety, the rising British actor will have top-billing in the currently untitled independent film whose plot has not yet been revealed.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
No other information is available about the latest project from the enigmatic Ocean, who has been mostly out of the public eye since he pulled out of the second weekend of Coachella in 2023 after suffering a leg injury during his first weekend headlining set.
At the time a rep said, “After suffering an injury to his leg on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend 1, Frank Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity. On doctor’s advice, Frank is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”
Trending on Billboard
The singer — whose most recent album was 2016’s Blonde — added in a statement at the time, “It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon.”
Since then, he’s released the 48-page booklet Mutations, a 2023 project featuring photos taken by Ocean that was printed on tissue-weight paper, and, in November of that year, a minute-long preview of an unnamed moody track. The latter was the first new music from the enigmatic performer who had not issued any new music since he surprise-dropped two singles, “Dear April” and “Cayendo” in 2020, followed by a never-released, untitled nine-minute song on the Christmas special on his Apple Music 1 Blonded Radio show in December 2021.
Ocean also dropped another unnamed snippet in December 2023, accompanied by a 24-second video in which he enthusiastically danced to a mid-tempo R&B jam. Producer Michael Uzowuru revealed in an interview last year that he’d been in the studio with Ocean in Miami working on new music, after collaborating with him on both Blonde and 2016’s visual album Endless. The singer described their relationship thusly: “Me and Michael’s careers exist post hip-hop — that genre, that culture, informs both of us greatly, but his appetite has grown; his vocabulary, musically, has grown so much over the time that I’ve known him.”
BLACKPINK‘s JENNIE is looking for love in all the wrong places on her moody single “Love Hangover.” The collaboration with Dominic Fike that dropped on Friday (Jan. 31) is the third single from the K-pop superstar’s upcoming Ruby (March 7) solo album and it finds the singer fighting an attraction to someone she hates to […]
Something Wicked this way comes on Jeff Goldblum‘s upcoming album, Still Blooming. The singer/actor’s latest jazzy LP with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra is due out on April 25 and it will feature duets with both of his Wicked co-stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The always-charming double-threat star previewed the collection on Thursday (Jan. 30) […]
Ahead of the monumental FireAid benefit concert on Thursday night (Jan. 30) across two venues – the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome – more than $60 million had already been raised from sponsorships and ticket sales. And just as the evening kicked off – with the Forum lineup starting promptly at 7 p.m. – another […]
As the final artist to take the stage at Thursday night’s (Jan. 30) FireAid benefit concert, Lady Gaga left her mark by debuting a brand-new song written with her fiancé, Michael Polansky, for the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. “Me and my friend Michael — my fiancé, my love — we wrote this song […]
Teddy Swims has officially taken over the ARIA Albums Chart, landing at No. 1 with I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2).
The Atlanta-born singer, whose mix of R&B, country, and soul has earned him a devoted fanbase, continues his upward trajectory following the success of I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1) last year. Swims’ breakout hit “Lose Control” became a global phenomenon, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Melbourne band Slowly Slowly continues their steady rise, scoring their third Top 10 album as Forgiving Spree debuts at No. 8. It follows Race Car Blues (No. 7 in 2020) and Daisy Chain (No. 5 in 2022), showing their continued momentum in the Australian rock scene. They also made a splash on the Vinyl Albums Chart, landing at No. 2.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
UK rapper Central Cee makes a strong entrance at No. 2 with his debut studio album, Can’t Rush Greatness.
Trending on Billboard
It’s his highest-charting release in Australia, surpassing his 2022 mixtape 23, which peaked at No. 6. Central Cee has already had massive success on the ARIA Singles Chart, spending seven weeks at No. 1 in 2023 with “Sprinter,” his collaboration with Dave.
Luke Combs is proving his staying power as his Australian tour boosts This One’s For You to a new career peak at No. 6. The 2017 album had previously topped out at No. 7 in both 2019 and 2022, but with country music’s popularity growing, Combs’ influence in Australia only continues to expand. Kane Brown, who performed at the ARIA Awards last year, also makes his mark this week, debuting at No. 41 with The High Road.
On the ARIA Singles Chart, English singer Lola Young claims her first solo No. 1 with “Messy,” jumping up from No. 3 last week. The track, which has gained serious traction on TikTok, has also gone to No. 1 in the UK, marking a breakout moment for the rising star.
Tate McRae makes her presence felt with “Sports Car,” debuting at No. 10. The track, co-written with Julia Michaels and produced by Ryan Tedder, is the third single from her upcoming album So Close To What. This marks McRae’s ninth Top 50 single, with her biggest chart success to date being “Greedy,” which peaked at No. 2 in 2023.
For the full ARIA Charts, visit ARIA.com.au.
