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Billboard’s Producer Spotlight series highlights creatives currently charting on Billboard’s producer rankings. Whether they are new to the industry or have been churning out hit after hit, the intention is to showcase where they are now, and their work that’s having a chart impact.
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Regional Mexican group Fuerza Regida scores a historic week thanks to the arrival of its new album, 111XPANTIA. The project launches at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (dated May 17), behind Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, with 76,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its opening week (May 2-8), according to Luminate. It becomes the highest charting Spanish-language album in history by a duo or group, and sets a new mark as the highest charting regional Mexican album ever.
This week also marks the first in the 69-year history of the Billboard 200 in which Spanish-language albums hold the top two spots.
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The forces behind Fuerza Regida’s record-breaking debut include lead singer Jesús Ortiz Paz and producers Moisés López and Meñostyle.
Ortiz Paz, López and Meñostyle rank at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on Billboard’s Latin Producers chart, thanks to their work on the album. The group places 15 songs on Hot Latin Songs, including all 12 from the non-deluxe version of 111XPANTIA. (The three songs below not on the set are noted with an asterisk.)
Fuerza Regida on the May 17 Hot Latin Songs Chart:
No. 2, “Me Jalo,” with Grupo Frontera*
No. 3, “Por Esos Ojos”
No. 11, “Peliculiando”
No. 14, “Marlboro Rojo”
No. 16, “GodFather”
No. 22, “Aniesdad”
No. 25, “Tu Sancho”
No. 26, “Ayy Weyy”
No. 31, “Caperuza”
No. 32, “Como Capo,” with Clave Especial*
No. 34, “Nocturno”
No. 35, “Chavalitas”
No. 37, “Chaka”
No. 38, “Chufulas”
No. 40, “Coqueta,” with Grupo Frontera*
Ortiz Paz tops the Latin Producers chart thanks to his production on all 15 songs above, along with Clave Especial and Edgardo Nuñez’s “Tu Tu Tu” (No. 13). López ranks at No. 2, thanks to his work on 13 of the songs above (he didn’t produce “Como Capo” and “Coqueta”). Meñostyle follows at No. 3, with production on nine cuts above, including “Por Esos Ojos” “Peculiando” and “Marlboro Rojo.”
Additional collaborators on 111XPANTIA impact Billboard’s Latin Songwriters and Latin Producers charts. Miguel Armenta ranks at No. 7 on Latin Producers (and No. 4 on Latin Songwriters) via his production on six songs above, as well as Los Dareyes de La Sierra and Tito Double P’s “Vita Fer” (No. 33 on Hot Laton Songs); Jorsshh places at No. 3 on Latin Songwriters for co-writing nine Fuerza Regida tracks; and Daniel Gutiérrez places at No. 8 on Latin Songwriters on the strength of seven credits.
Ortiz Paz has helped Fuerza Regida play a key role in helping regional Mexican music cross over to the mainstream. The group became one of the first regional Mexican acts to appear on the Hot 100, when it debuted in 2023 with its Grupo Frontera collaboration, “Bebe Dame.” The band has now charted 13 songs on the Hot 100, part of a growing wave of regional Mexican acts finding mainstream success in the U.S. that includes fellow rising stars Gabito Ballesteros, Ivan Cornejo, Junior H and Peso Pluma.
Billboard launched its songwriters and producers charts in June 2019, including those for individual genres. The charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on their respective “Hot” or “Top” chart. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
The full Latin Songwriters and Latin Producers charts, plus those for other genres, can be found on Billboard.com.
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Rapper Kid Cudi has been well regarded as an actor, and now he’s taking the next step with a new movie project where he will be directing for the first time. The movie is called When The Light Dies, and it’s billed as a “horror-romance.” He shared details in a post on X, formerly Twitter, over the weekend and promised his fans a look behind the making of the motion picture. There is no date mentioned for the project’s release.https://x.com/KiDCuDi/status/1921298462852964458“Ive been wanting to direct movies ever since I was a kid, and i’m finally stepping into this new chapter,” he wrote. “I’m [going] to make a page on IG that’s dedicated to bringing u in on the journey. I’ve been doing test shoots, trying diff lighting techniques and trying diff lenses, and I wanna give u guys access to my mind. Who’s joining the journey?”The “Day ’N’ Nite” artist tried to take the leap to directing three years ago when it was reported that he’d be writing, starring, and directing in a film for Netflix called Teddy. That film was reportedly based on his 2009 hit “Pursuit of Happiness,” and The Harder The Fall director Jeymes Samuel and Jay-Z were on board as producers. (Cudi contributed to the Netflix western’s soundtrack.)Kid Cudi has an extensive resume in film and television, going back to his starring role on the HBO drama series How To Make It In America, as well as another popular series on that network, Entourage. He also starred in the series One Tree Hill. In terms of films, he created his Mad Solar production company, which was responsible for X and its prequel and sequel, Pearl and MaXXXine. The company was also behind Entergalactic, the hit Netflix animated movie featuring Kid Cudi and Shrinking actress Jessica Williams.
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With all the hype and anticipation amongst Marvel fans for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Beginning, many people forget that another Spider-Man film is on the way starring Nicolas Cage (no, seriously), and though details are scarce, we’ve finally gotten our first look at Cage in his Spidey suit. He looks pretty damn dope too.
According to Variety, Amazon’s Prime Video released their first pic of Nicolas Cage dressed as Spider-Man for their upcoming series, Spider-Noir. And truth be told, it looks very well done. After voicing the same Spider-Man variant in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Cage will once again be playing the character in a live-action adaptation of the Spider-Man Noir comic books. Set in 1930s New York, this alternate version of Spider-Man does have a faithful following. Judging from the first pics of the upcoming series, it’ll be going down the black-and-white cinematic setting similar to the cult classic film, Sin City, but won’t be confined to just black-and-white.
Per Variety:
Releasing in 2026, “‘Spider-Noir’ tells the story of an aging and down on his luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.” The show will be available in both black-and-white and color.
In addition to Cage, the cast includes Lamorne Morris, Brendan Gleeson, Abraham Popoola, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, and Jack Huston. Guest star cast includes Lukas Haas, Cameron Britton, Cary Christopher, Michael Kostroff, Scott MacArthur, Joe Massingill, Whitney Rice, Amanda Schull, Andrew Caldwell, Amy Aquino, Andrew Robinson and Kai Caster.
“Spider-Noir” will debut domestically on MGM+’s linear channel, then arrive globally on Prime video the next day.
Spider-Noir is set to debut sometime in 2026 and come in eight episodes deep. Will you be checking for Nicolas Cage’s iteration of Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments section below.
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The “She Wolf” is on the prowl again. Global superstar Shakira performed to a sold-out crowd at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday (May 13), kicking off the U.S. leg of her successful Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. As the tour slogan suggests, “women don’t cry,” they dominate stadiums! […]
Good news! Fans are finally getting their first looks at Wicked: For Good, with Universal Pictures announcing the release date of its first trailer while unveiling the film’s poster Wednesday (May 14).
As revealed first on the official Wicked Instagram account, the sequel’s official poster finds leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — who portray Elphaba and Glinda in the live-action musical duology, respectively — looking stoic as they stare each other down while standing on opposing rocky cliffs separated by a deep ravine. At the bottom, the franchise’s famous Yellow Brick Road leads the way to the Emerald City, which looms on the horizon in the center.
“You will be changed,” reads text on the poster, a play on the lyrics to Elphaba and Glinda’s “For Good” duet from the Wicked Broadway musical, on which the films were based.
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The poster offers fans their first visual of the sequel to Jon M. Chu’s first Wicked film, which hit theaters in November 2024 and has so far grossed $755.4 million worldwide — more than any other film adaptation of a Broadway musical — as of Monday (May 12). It also shows Erivo and Grande’s characters in brand new outfits, with the former embracing her persona as the Wicked Witch of the West in her signature pointy hat and an edgy black coat that billows out behind her, while the latter wears a tiara and multicolored ballgown.
But while the artwork is all viewers get for now of Wicked: For Good, they’ll soon get their first proper view of the November-slated installment. Shortly after unveiling the poster, the Wicked Instagram account announced that the sequel’s trailer will premiere in theaters on June 4 as the first film returns to the big screen for one night only in the United States and Canada.
“We know you’ve been waiting for this, and it’s finally coming,” Erivo says in a video sharing the news, standing next to the “Positions” singer.
“You will be changed …,” adds Grande before the Pinocchio star finishes, “For good.”
Tickets for Wicked‘s single-night return to theaters are on sale now. The announcement comes just two days after NBC revealed that a Wicked event special featuring Grande, Erivo and some “special guests” would both air on the network and stream on Peacock in November.
Modeling the arc of Act II in the Wicked stage musical, For Good is expected to pick up during the aftermath of the events of the first film. Elphaba is forced into hiding after the Wizard of Oz (portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) convinces the realm that she’s, well, wicked. Meanwhile Glinda assumes her role as people’s princess and government mouthpiece in the absence of her best frenemy.
“It gets messy,” Chu told Variety of the sequel’s plot in January. “I think if [audience members] are following the emotions of this movie, they’ll walk with us.”
See the new Wicked: For Good poster and trailer announcement below.
Source: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty
As the sex trafficking trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs continues, major media companies reporting on the matter have requested to review evidence at the center of the trial. A consortium of media brands filed the request earlier this week, which would allow viewing of the so-called “Freak-Off” footage mentioned in earlier reports.
As reported by Variety, the media companies include the Associated Press, Business Insider, Vox Media, Wall Street Journal, and more, all of which are requesting to view the footage of the parties infamously and allegedly masterminded by Sean “Diddy” Combs. During opening statements heard this week, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, mentioned the freak-off parties and accused Combs of ordering her and others to perform extreme sexual acts.
During her testimony, Ventura, who took the stand while in her third trimester carrying her third child, shared with prosecutors that she had handed over visual evidence via laptops that were in her possession.
“While the News organizations appreciate that some trial exhibits in this case may be sexually explicit and sensitive for the alleged victims, the public and the press should be permitted to view and consider this evidence (which lies at the heart of the Government’s case), consistent with the first Amendment right of access to criminal trials,” read a portion of the media companies’ filing.
Variety adds in their reporting that they are not asking for physical copies of the videos, instead only wanting to view the footage to inform their reporting. Attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who represents Ventura, has filed to deny the request, writing that the media companies “did not cite any case, and nor are we aware of any authority, granting this unprecedented request in a sex trafficking case to unseal videos depicting coercive sex acts.”
A decision on allowing the media companies to see the footage has yet to be made.
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Photo: Getty
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Benson Boone, Taylor Swift and Teddy Swims took top honors at the 2025 BMI Pop Awards, which were held on Tuesday (May 13) at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The private event was hosted by Mike O’Neill, BMI president & CEO; Barbara Cane, vp of worldwide creative; Samantha Cox, vp of creative, NY; and Tracie Verlinde, vp.
Boone was presented with the BMI Champion Award by O’Neill, who praised his “boundless talent and creativity.” Previous recipients include Peso Pluma, SZA, Jonathan McReynolds, Khalid, Mark Ronson, Residente, Sebastian Krys, Keith Urban and Lee Thomas Miller.
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After receiving the award, Boone thanked BMI, his team, family and the songwriters in the room, sharing “This is not my award, this is for everyone who has been a part of working on this project. To the songwriters, producers, to my mother and father… to my label to Warner Chappell, to everyone who has played a part… it takes a huge powerhouse of a team to do what I’m trying to do, and I have a wonderful team.”
Boone also paid tribute to his cowriter and collaborator Jack LaFrantz, sharing, “If you’re a songwriter or producing or have anything to do with the creation process of music, you understand how incredible it is when you find someone you really like to work with and work well with. I would just like to give a special thank you to Mr. Jack LaFrantz. Any of these songs that you hear you would not be hearing them without him. If you’re trying to release songs, find people that you love and make it something that you love. I promise you it is the best thing ever when you find gold in the room.”
Boone then took to the stage for an intimate three-song performance backed by piano. He started off with “Slow it Down,” followed by “Drunk in My Mind” and “Beautiful Things.”
In addition to his BMI Champion honor, Boone received two BMI Pop Awards for “Beautiful Things” and “Slow It Down,” with co-writer LaFrantz. The backflipping singer-songwriter received his first BMI Pop award in 2023 for “GHOST TOWN.”
Swift was named BMI’s Pop Songwriter of the Year, which ups her collection of BMI Awards to a staggering 72 – including the BMI President’s Award in 2009 and the BMI Taylor Swift Award in 2016.
This was the second year in a row Swift has been named Pop Songwriter of the Year. She co-wrote seven of the previous year’s most-performed songs: “Don’t Blame Me,” “Down Bad,” “Fortnight,” “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart,” “Is It Over Now?,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?.”
BMI’s Pop Song of the Year went to “Lose Control” written and performed by Teddy Swims with BMI co-writers Julian Bunetta, Marco “Infamous” Rodriguez and Mikky Ekko. The smash hit has spent a record-breaking 60 nonconsecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 1 in March 2024.
Universal Music Publishing Group was named Publisher of the Year for representing 28 of the previous year’s most performed songs, including “Agora Hills” performed by Doja Cat, “Espresso” performed by Sabrina Carpenter and “Houdini” by Eminem.
Throughout the ceremony, the 50 most-performed pop songs of the previous year in the U.S. were also awarded. BMI welcomed 61 first-time Pop Award winners, including J. Cole for “All My Life” by Lil Durk, Jesse Fink; Peter Finn for “Stargazing” performed by Myles Smith; Djo for “End of Beginning”; and Nevin Sastry for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey. This also marked the first BMI Pop award for country superstar Morgan Wallen for “I Had Some Help,” co-written with Charlie Handsome and other first-time BMI Pop winners Hoskins, ERNEST and Chandler Paul Walters.
For a full list of the 2024 honorees, visit the BMI site.
Megan Thee Stallion has shut down rumors she’s been banned from the Met Gala over using her phone from inside the venue at this year’s event. People caught up with the Houston Hottie on Tuesday (May 13), and she dispelled any notion of being banned for posting to social media from the Met Gala, as […]
The International Music Summit (IMS) will return to Dubai this fall. This will be the electronic music industry conference’s second time in the United Arab Emirates after debuting in Dubai in late 2024. The event will happen November 13-14 at 25hours Hotel One Central. At this year’s conference, IMS will gather industry figures from the […]
Celine Dion went back to the start on Tuesday (May 13). The singer sent a surprise video to the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest expressing her gratitude and love for the singers, organizers and viewers during the first semi-final round.
“Dear Eurovision family and contestants. I’d love nothing more than to be with you in Basel right now. Switzerland will forever hold a special place in my heart. It’s a country that believed in me and gave me the chance to be part of something so extraordinary,” Dion, 57, said in the video that was broadcast on a big screen on the main stage on Tuesday night.
“Winning the Eurovision song contest for Switzerland in 1988 was a life-changing moment for me and I’m so thankful for everyone who supported me,” she continued. “Now, 37 years later, it’s so beautiful and emotional to see Switzerland winning and hosting this incredible event once again. To the people of Switzerland, thank you for your love. This night is yours and I hope you feel as proud as I do.”
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Before she became a global phenomenon, Dion won the Eurovision Contest representing Switzerland in 1988 with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi.” Dion, who had already released more than half a dozen French-language albums at that point, issued her first English-language LP, Unison, two years later, in 1990.
Her message also included a French-language portion in which she said, “Music unites us, not only this evening, not only at the moment. Wonderful. It is our strength, our support and our support in the moments where we need it. I love you all, Europe and the rest of the world, of course. Kisses, I love you.”
Among the acts who made it through during Tuesday’s cut-down round are Norway’s Kyle Alessandro, Albania’s Shkodra Elektronike, Sweden’s KAJ, Iceland’s VÆB, the Netherlands’ Claude, Poland’s Justyna Steczkowska, San Marino’s Gabry Ponte, Estonia’s Tommy Cash, Portugal’s NAPA and Ukraine’s Ziferblat, with Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia and Slovenia getting eliminated. The next semi-final round will take place on Thursday (May 15) and feature performances from Armenia, Australia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Serbia, and the United Kingdom, with the top 10 advancing to the Grand Final.
According to CNN, after the Dion message aired a number of singers from last year’s contest performed a cover of the diva’s winning song from 1988.
The video from Dion was her latest appearance in the wake of a long lay-off due to the singer’s battle with the rare neurological disorder Stiff-Person Syndrome, which caused her to call off all live dates and resulted in a retreat from the spotlight for nearly two years as she battled the debilitating effects of the disorder. She made her triumphant return to the spotlight last summer when she performed at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics.
Check out Dion’s message below.