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The Viña del Mar International Song Festival has its host duo for 2025. The event’s production reported Wednesday (Nov. 6) that presenter and journalist Rafael Araneda will join previously announced host Karen Doggenweiler for its 64th edition, which returns to Quinta Vergara from February 23 to 28.
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This will be the first time that Doggenweiler serves as co-host of the Chilean festival, while Araneda returns after seven years, having hosted before between 2011 and 2018.
Produced this year by Bizarro Live Entertainment, the Festival de Viña begins a “new era” on the channel Mega, after having previously been broadcast on Canal 13 and Televisión Nacional de Chile.
“Today, it is an honor, it is a privilege, it is a gift that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to return in this new era of Mega and Bizarro doing the Viña del Mar Festival,” Araneda told Billboard Español this week. “[I have] great memories, and great expectations for the future.”
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“I am tremendously lucky to participate in this edition,” said Doggenweiler. “Viña is not only a festival, it is a global movement of music and entertainment, of human connection.”
With almost three decades of career in radio and television, Araneda has hosted journalistic spaces, primetime shows, realities and contests, in addition to his eight years at the helm of the Viña del Mar Festival. In recent years he has developed his career in Mexico City (TV Azteca) and Miami (Univision), where he currently hosts the show Enamorándonos.
Doggenweiler, with more than a quarter century on the Chilean screens, has also hosted entertainment shows in various formats, including primetime programs, morning shows, family shows, game shows, reality TV and festivals. Over the years she has had a close connection with the Festival de Viña, which she not only covered as a reporter, but for which she also served as a judge.
Launched in 1960, the Viña del Mar International Song Festival is held annually at the Quinta Vergara, a 15,000-seat amphitheater located in the Chilean city of Viña del Mar, in the central coastal region of Valparaíso.
Over six days, the event features a mix of superstars, emerging singers and local artists competing for Silver, Gold and Platinum “Gaviotas” (Seagulls). These awards are decided by a jury with the help of viewers from their homes, although the so-called “monster” — the audience present at Quinta Vergara — undoubtedly has great power of influence with its ovations and occasional boos.
Below, Karen Doggenweiler and Rafael Araneda, the official hosts of Viña del Mar 2025, answer questions from Billboard.
Karen, this is your first time as a host of the most important television event in Chile. How do you feel now that this moment is approaching?
I am tremendously fortunate to participate in this edition of the festival. Viña is not only a festival, it is a global movement of music and entertainment, of human connection. We are going to have cutting-edge technology, there is a commitment to sustainability as well and a show that we hope will illuminate the entire summer [in the Southern Hemisphere]. I feel that it comes at a very, very special moment in my career.
Together with Rafael, we hope to put our own stamp on it. We know that for 65 years other channels have had it too… and well, now we are here and of course we hope that it becomes an endearing festival in this new version that we have prepared, in this change of era that we are working with so much love and dedication.
Rafael, what does it mean to you to return to Viña as host after seven years?
Indeed, I was member of the jury on two occasions at the Viña del Mar Festival, and then I had the opportunity to host it in eight consecutive editions. It was an extraordinary experience, personally and professionally, given that we work with the best technology in terms of making television, of doing what we are passionate about. We work on a 360 multimedia concept where there are different audiences, not just the people on television — there is the radio, the written press, today social media is very strong, and also digital broadcasts that can even give you a personalized festival experience. In that sense, it was always a nice challenge.
Today, it is an honor, it is a privilege, it is a gift that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to return in this new era of Mega and Bizarro doing the Viña del Mar Festival. [I have] great memories, and great expectations for the future.
What would you say has been your favorite moment in Viña?
Karen: So many! I was able to go as a spectator when I was little with my mother, with my sister. I have also been part of the jury, and on related satellite programs, I participated as a reporter, waiting for the artists who arrived at the airport to interview them. For so many years I have witnessed it from different places. I think I was just missing being a host! So I think my favorite moment in Viña is yet to come. Although I treasure each of these other moments in a very important place in my heart, I think Viña 2025 is going to be my favorite moment in Viña del Mar.
Rafael: There are many particular moments, there are many behind-the-scenes emotions — but I stick with the prior preparation, on a personal level. And also observing from backstage, from a unique point of view, the nerves of world-class stars before going onstage — or when they are introduced — they look nervous, they look eager, you see them vocalizing, doing exercises, talking and refining details with their crew. And there you realize that we are all people, that we all want to give always the best version of ourselves, and that what happens there is unique, truly wonderful.
Karen, you mentioned attending the festival as a spectator with your mother and your sister. What does your family tell you now that you will be hosting Viña del Mar?
Karen: My family feels proud, happy, and of course supports me in this important instance. We experience the affection of each of the Chileans that we encounter every day, of our compatriots, in every step we take on the street, through the screens, through the radio. Of course our family also adds to that. And I am convinced that with Rafael it is the same. I know his family, I love them very much. And well, we are already working very closely to make it an unforgettable festival, so that we truly reflect this change of era, so that we can surprise, and so that everyone transforms each of these six nights in something that remains forever in the hearts.
Rafael, what is going to be different for you after seven years of absence?
Rafael: I think that the signature that Mega and Bizarro are going to give it. And in that sense, together with Karen — with whom I had the opportunity to work for many years on Chilean television in different formats, at different times, and we enjoyed it, we had a great time — I think that will be the hallmark. Having the possibility of meeting her again after so many years of accumulated experience is going to be very rich. Hopefully that chemistry and maturity that we have both gained over the years will come through. I have no doubt that this is how it will be.
But the signature will also be connected to energy, which is a central concept for Viña 2025. The energy generated by the music, the energy generated by the Viña del Mar experience, the energy generated by making a broadcast that each of us makes it our mission, not only the media. People today will have access to technological platforms to see the festival from wherever they want to see it, and however they want to see it. I hope they see it with their family — the lineup is going to be along those lines. It will be family-friendly crossover artists, and obviously and proudly massive. That’s Viña del Mar.
On today’s (Nov. 6) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we kick off the top five of our list with a pop star who lit up the entire music world of the late ’00s and early ’10s — with a string of chart smashes accompanied by blindingly brilliant music videos, live […]
Travis Kelce is, as expected, the biggest Swiftie! The Kansas City Chiefs tight end sat down with his brother, Jason Kelce, for a new episode of the duo’s New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast this week, where Travis opened up about his experience attending one more of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stops before it […]
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Nov. 16, we look at Shaboozey’s chances to have just the second single in chart history to spend a 17th week at No. 1.
Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (American Dogwood/EMPIRE/Magnolia Music): This week, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” reclaims the Hot 100’s top spot from Morgan Wallen’s “Love Somebody,” fending off a hard-charging “Die With a Smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga to claim its 16th week atop the chart. That 16th frame at No. 1 is already a record-tying one, matching the longest reign on the chart this decade, a record previously held solely by the aforementioned Wallen with the previous year’s “Last Night.”
Now, “A Bar Song” is going for week 17 – which would move it past “Last Night,” along with fellow 16-week No. 1s “One Sweet Day” (Mariah Carey & Boyz Men, 1995-96) and “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, 2017) into sole possession of the runner-up spot for the longest-ruling hit in Hot 100 history. A 17th week at No. 1 would not only set a new mark for this decade, it would be the longest run for a song with only one credited artist. From there, the only song remaining ahead of it in the history books would be “Old Town Road” (Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus), with 19 weeks at No. 1 in 2019.
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Will it get there? Well, its numbers continue to slip, but only very slowly, as it seems on pace to score a 15th week atop Radio Songs, and may rebound some on Streaming Songs with Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia album (released on a Monday morning, Oct. 28) now in its second(-ish) frame. As has long been the case with “A Bar Song,” the song is a steady performer enough that it is still unlikely to simply cede the throne; another song will likely have to come along and actively seize it from Shaboozey.
Tyler, the Creator feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne, “Sticky” (Columbia): Shocking – the biggest early breakout hit off Tyler, the Creator’s chart-topping (and pace-setting) Chromakopia album seems to be the one with all the rap hitmaker guest stars. “Sticky,” which features not only 2024 sensations GloRilla and Sexyy Red but one of the most successful rappers in Billboard history (and Tyler’s own hero) in the legendary Lil Wayne, has taken over as the album’s top-performing song on Apple Music and iTunes, and has been climbing the daily rankings on Spotify as well, looking to take over from “St. Chroma” (which debuts at No. 7 on this week’s Hot 100 this week) as the set’s best-performing Hot 100 hit.
Does that mean “Sticky” will be in the hunt for the chart’s top spot next frame in its first full week of tracking? Maybe not quite – it’s still got a long way to climb after debuting at No. 14 this week, and radio certainly will be little help, as the song’s mostly beatless first verse makes it a challenging full play on the airwaves (where Tyler has never had much success to begin with). But if it continues to grow at the rate it has been, it could be a major challenger to Shaboozey in the weeks to come – especially if hip-hop radio decides to latch onto the parts of the song with GloRilla and Sexyy Red, two of the year’s most reliable fixtures on the format.
Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga, “Die With a Smile” (Streamline/Interscope/Atlantic/ICLG): “Die With a Smile” took its shot at No. 1 this past week and fell just short, but that doesn’t mean it’s out of the race now. Even with the song likely to recede in sales and streams a little the week after the duo dropped new live and acoustic versions of it, it continues to grow in radio airplay, as it jumps 11-9 on Radio Songs this week and should remain a riser next week. Could the Grammy nominations, announced this Friday (with “Smile” a strong contender for a nod in multiple categories) be enough to put it over the top the week after next? Bruno and Gaga certainly didn’t get to where they are today by leaving potential No. 1s on the table, so another concerted push before the song’s chart run ends is always a possibility.
Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather” (Darkroom/Interscope/ICLG): Speaking of No. 2 hits – another single that “Bar Song” has held to the runner-up spot thusfar is Billie Eilish’s long-running Hit Me Hard and Soft smash, which catapulted to a silver-medal finish the week following the release of its official video, and which holds at No. 3 on the chart behind “Bar Song” and “Smile” this week. There’s nothing much new to talk about the song this week, but it remains a steady performer on both streaming and radio (as it’s led Pop Airplay for seven weeks and Adult Pop Airplay for three weeks) — and also could be a Grammy nominations beneficiary next week, with Billie being one of the most celebrated artists at the awards this decade.
America’s presidential election found the country at a peak in anxiety, angry on one side about immigrants and fearful on the other of a descent into dictatorship.
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In the midst of that tension, Drew Baldridge – on the heels of his first top 5 single, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” – targeted Nov. 4, Election Day Eve, as the add date for his new single, a litany of disasters and a celebration of resilience titled “Tough People.”
“What I love about this song is that it’s honest and it’s real,” Baldridge says. “It’s what our world’s going through. It’s what we’re all feeling.”
And, it suggests, we can all get through whatever crisis emerges – a tornado, cancer, a school shooting or a war.
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“Don’t give up. don’t stop loving people, don’t stop helping people out,” he says. “What you’re going through, you’re gonna come out better because of it. I think that’s the message that we want to share.”Baldridge was in a “David versus Goliath” mindset, he remembers, when he wrote it. He was about to self-release “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” to radio via PlayMPE on July 25, 2023.
The day before, he met up with fellow indie artist Adam Sanders and songwriter Jordan Walker (“When It Rains It Pours”) in writing room 2 at Sony Music Publishing Nashville. Sanders had heard, on Joe Rogan’s podcast, a version of “The Cycle of Man,” an assessment of generational changes from author G. Michael Hopf’s Those Who Remain: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
Sanders held on to the hook, “Hard times make tough people,” until he could write with Baldridge, who wasn’t afraid of difficult topics. Both of them were thinking about their own careers as they worked on it, inserting some optimism into the hard times. “It’s just always a fight and a struggle,” Sanders says, “but hey, if you keep going, you can achieve your dreams no matter what. That’s where that came from.”
Walker turned the “hard times” hook into “tough times make tough people” and started playing guitar in a drop-D tuning, ideal for power chords. “It’s emotional, it’s deep,” Walker says. “As soon as you hit that first note, it just hits you.”
The first image accomplishes the same thing. A Midwest town endures a tornado that leaves only a Baptist church and a baseball field standing. The tough people, of course, rebuild it, as they would after a flood or a hurricane. “In my little town, one year, the whole roof of the cafeteria got ripped off, and a couple farmers lost their barns,” Southern Illinois native Baldridge recalls. “The next morning, I woke up and I went out there, and my dad and other farmers – everybody was coming together to help fix stuff. And that just has really stuck with me.”
A four-year-old girl battling cancer in Memphis – presumably at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – follows the tornado in the text. “You want to talk about three guys in a room crying – Drew’s got a little boy and I’ve got two little girls,” Walker says. “We all got choked up, and that was probably, honestly, the hardest part of the song to write.”
Not that the rest of it was rainbows and unicorns. The final vignette reveals a soldier who returns home in a flag-covered casket, and another recognizes a police officer putting his life on the line at a school shooting. Nashville’s Covenant School incident had occurred just four months prior, scarring the entire community, and it was a natural subject. They debated including that particular tragedy, and decided to go for it.
“It’s one of the biggest problems in this country – it needs to be talked about,” Walker says. “I’ve got two little girls that are in daycare, and luckily, there’s a cop that sits in the parking lot every day, so that deters anyone from wanting to do anything ignorant. But I can’t imagine when these girls get in high school, middle school, just kind of dropping them off and praying you see them at four o’clock.”
All of those hard times, though, were offset by the chorus, beginning with a melodic lift. After a couple lines of lyrics that border on victimhood, it turns to self-determination – a series of “keep on fighting” mantras leading to the feel-good conclusion: “Hard work pays off, good beats evil/ And tough times make tough people.”
They cut a demo, though in retrospect, they missed the creative mark. “I just don’t think that we captured the right emotion,” Sanders says. “It just kind of felt a little stale. We turned the song in to our publishers, and I don’t think anybody said anything.”
But when Baldridge presented a handful of songs to producer Nick Schwarz, he knew “Tough People” had to be part of the next round of recording. “The school shooting line is what made me go ‘Holy moly,’” Schwarz recalls. “It’s so real.”
They recorded it in mid-December at the Sony Tree Studios, focused on making it sound tougher than the demo. A tremolo guitar helped establish some tension. “I’m a sucker for tremolo and slap back – I just love those two sounds,” Schwarz says. “So I asked for tremolo, and they were like, ‘Nick and his tremolo’ and laughed.”
But the recording took an unexpected turn. Sanders got a standing ovation when he performed an acoustic version of “Tough People” at the Franklin Theater. Based on that performance, Walker made a new acoustic demo, and it was so good that he played it on Dec. 29 for Luke Combs, who wanted to cut it. A few weeks later, Lainey Wilson heard it while visiting Baldridge, and she called Combs to ask if she could record it with him. They made their recording on Jan. 25. Combs re-wrote a couple lines in verse two, but he kept the school shooting in the piece.
“One of the responding officers [at Covenant] is the canine officer for Metro Nashville,” Walker says. “He actually lives on Luke’s property and trains dogs out there. So Luke was like, ‘If anything, that line is staying. He goes, ‘That guy’s a buddy of mine, and I think nobody talks about that.”
But when Baldridge partnered with BBR Music Group/BMG to market the follow-up to “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” the label insisted “Tough People” was his best option as an artist. Baldridge told Combs he thought he should take it back, and Combs agreed. And when the writers wanted to give Combs a songwriter credit for contributing a couple lines, he insisted on taking only 10% ownership, instead of 25%.
Schwarz subsequently worked more on the recording, cutting new parts and moving a lot of the existing instrumental support around to heighten the song’s drama and better emulate the acoustic demo’s spirit. Baldridge tried to match the story’s intensity in his final vocal. When he heard the results later, he went back in to re-cut the vocal on the second chorus and make that part more forceful ahead of the guitar solo. “I can’t sing the word ‘tough’ weak,” he reasons.
Stoney Creek released “Tough People” through PlayMPE on Oct. 25. While the hard times in “Tough People” might play into the issues of the day, Baldridge hopes he can remain neutral on the song’s controversies but still inspire people to be their best selves.
“I don’t want to have to do political interviews or anything,” he says. “This is where we’re at. Take it how you want to take it, and hopefully some good can come out of it.”
Ariana Grande may have become a superstar as a chart-topping pop star, but after pivoting back to musical theater while working on Wicked, the 31-year-old artist says she’s hoping to keep acting at the forefront in the future.
While speaking to her Wicked costar Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers on the duo’s Las Culturistas podcast on Wednesday (Nov. 6), Grande was candid about wanting to return to Broadway someday. “It is my heart,” said the R.E.M. Beauty founder, who got her start as a young teenager in 13: The Musical, followed by her role as Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s Victorious.
“I’m gonna say something so scary — it’s gonna scare the absolute s–t out of my fans and everyone, but I love them, and they’ll deal, and we’ll be here forever,” she continued. “I’m always going to make music, I’m always going to go on stage, I’m always going to do pop stuff, I pinky promise. But I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years.”
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“Reconnecting with this part of myself who started in musical theater, and who loves comedy, and it heals me to do that — finding roles to use these parts of myself and put them in little homes and characters and bits and voices and songs,” Grande added. “Whatever makes sense, or whatever roles we see fit, or where I could really do a good job or honor the material, I would really love to. I think it’s a lot better for me. I’m getting emotional.”
The podcast interview comes just a few weeks ahead of the Nov. 22 premiere of the first Wicked film, which also stars Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Golblum, Ethan Slater and more. Toward the end of filming last year, she recorded her first album in four years: Eternal Sunshine, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 following its March release.
Before Eternal Sunshine came 2020’s Positions, which Grande also spoke about on Las Culturistas. “When it came out, it kind of didn’t go so well,” she reflected of the LP, which also spent two weeks atop the U.S. albums chart. “I just mean as far as what my fans were saying … I just got like, ‘This is not what we want’ vibes.”
“That really put me in a cage of judging every piece,” she continued. “I scrapped so many things I was going to put out for it. And now people love it like it’s the best thing I’ll ever make! What is that? How is that fair? But I love them for it.”
Listen to Las Culturistas with Ariana Grande below.
As the world woke up to Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Billie Eilish summed up her thoughts in five simple words. Taking to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday morning (Nov. 6), the “Birds of a Feather” singer posted her message over a black background to her audience of 120 million followers. “It’s a […]
50 Cent is back on the Trump train. A week after boasting that he’d turned down a purported nine-figure payday to appear at former and now-future President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign stop, the “Wanksta” rapper appeared to be back in The Donald’s corner.
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“I don’t care how the fight goes, I’m leaving with the winner s–t,” 50 (born Curtis Jackson) wrote on Instagram on Wednesday morning (Nov. 6) in a post that featured two pictures of the rapper with Trump, who defied odds on Tuesday night to join Grover Cleveland as the only American to be voted into the nation’s top office to non-consecutive terms.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” 50 added along with a face palm emoji and “congratulations!”
In an appearance on The Breakfast Club last week, 50 claimed that he’d been offered $3 million to appear at Trump’s MSG rally. “Yeah. They offered me $3 million!” said 50, confirming co-host Charlamagne Tha God’s query about that event, as well as reports that 50 was also offered an undisclosed amount to perform his song “Many Men” at this summer’s Republican National Convention as well.
50 did not appear at either event, explaining to the Breakfast Club crew why he rejected the lucrative offer. “I didn’t even go far,” he said of the offers. “I’m afraid of politics, you understand? I do not like it. … It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, somebody passionately disagrees with you. Look, if you say ‘I stay away from religion,’ I stay away from politics. Religion, that’s the formula for the confusion that it sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things and now he can only go to Japan. So you know I’m like I don’t want to get in that, man.”
At the time, a Trump campaign source told Billboard that the story was not true, though they did not specify which part was erroneous — that Trump wanted 50 at the rally or that the offer was $3 million.
After a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s MSG event, a number of major Puerto Rican artists spoke out in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Tuesday’s closely contested election to the former reality TV star who has continued to deny that he lost his second bid for the White House in 2020 to President Biden.
During that failed 2020 bid 50 initially supported the twice impeached former commander-in-chief before retracting his endorsement after former girlfriend Chelsea Handler called him out. “F–k Donald Trump, I never liked him,” the rapper later said in a retweet of Handler’s appearance on The Tonight Show in which she criticized her ex for his support of Trump, 78, who will become the oldest man, and first convicted felon, to ascend to the nation’s highest office when he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
Flavor Flav has no problem uplifting those around him. He’s basically been on a tour giving fellow celebrities he adores their flowers, and now it’s Selena Gomez’s turn. Flav took to X on Monday (Nov. 4), where he applauded Gomez’s strength and how candid she’s been with her mental health publicly. “I don’t know her […]
Sabrina Carpenter said “Please Please Please” and voters definitely listened. According to HeadCount.org, the singer got more voters engaged in Tuesday’s (Nov. 5) election than any other artist the organization works with. HeadCount said that Carpenter, 25, helped inspire 35,814 voter registrations and got another 263,087 voters to take other actions outside of registering (including checking their registration status and polling location).
“Through our partnerships with over 100 top music artists — like Sabrina Carpenter, Green Day, Ariana Grande, and so many others — HeadCount had a record-breaking year, registering over 450,000 new voters and engaging over 3 million more people to make sure they vote,” said the non-profit’s executive director, Lucille Wenegieme, in a statement. “Our model works because musicians and celebrities have a cultural cache and an intimate connection with their fans, especially among young people, whose identity as a fan of a particular artist can be even stronger than other aspects of their identity, including affiliation with a political party or candidate. We are so grateful to our artist partners and their teams for inspiring their fans to take control of their future.”
HeadCount said that it had a presence at more than 3,700 events this year as part of its “Good to Vote” campaign, where they registered nearly half a million new voters, with almost half of them between the ages of 18-24. Carpenter’s impressive numbers on her Short n’ Sweet tour including activating voters through giveaways, in-person activations and video boards and mailers. The partnership also included a sweepstakes offering fans the chance to see the tour by checking their registration status, with winners slated to be flown out to the singer’s Nov. 9 San Francisco show.
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In addition, on their globe-hopping stadium Saviors tour, pop-punk legends Green Day broke HeadCount’s all-time record for the most voters engaged on a single tour, registering more than 7,900 new voters and engaging over 61,000 voters through in-person activations on the outing; those figures nearly double the previous record set by Ariana Grande on her 2019 Sweetener world tour.
HeadCount — which works with hundreds of other touring artists including 5 Seconds of Summer, Brandi Carlile, Alicia Keys, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Fall Out Boy, Billie Eilish, DRake, HAIM, Gracie Abrams, Harry Styles and others — has registered more than 1.5 million voters since 2004. This year, the group said it engaged over three million music fans to take action, another all-time record for the organization, with more than 80% of all voters it registered representing Gen Z or millennials.
