The 43-year-old Puerto Rican rapper’s collaboration with Sech “Definitivamente” has reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart dated May 30, the song vaulted from 4-1 after its previous No. 2 peak (on the May 16-dated list).
Daddy Yankee and Sech’s first collaboration ascends to the top despite a 3% dip in audience impressions (to 9.71 million) earned in the week ending May 24, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
“Working with Sech was very spontaneous,” says Daddy Yankee. “The creative process of the song was very much organic. As we met in the studio and listened to the intro of the song, the vibe we both felt made the song extra special.”
The track, released by El Cartel Records on January 31, has exceeded 200 million impressions to date.
Nicky Jam is bringing you into his home for a special concert…
The 39-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American singer-songwriter will provide some entertainment as one of this week’s Billboard Live At-Home guests.
Nicky Jam will go live at 1:00 pm EST from his own home on Thursday, May 28 via Billboard’s Facebook page as a way of connecting with fans during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Nicky Jam is the latest guest to perform as part of the BillboardLive At-Home series since its launch in late March. Previous Latin performers include Manuel Turizo, Feid, Natanael Cano and Ximena Sariñana, to name a few.
Each performer chooses a nonprofit partner to support with their live stream. Some of the non-profits have included My Friend’s Place, American Red Cross, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Meals on Wheels America, Direct Relief, National Coalition for the Homeless, Housing Works Inc., Downtown Women’s Center, MusiCares and more that are working overtime to help those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Check out more from the Billboard Live At-Home series here.
Tekashi 6ix9ine is making the most of his musical comeback…
The 24-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican Americam rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, is planning to release a new single this week.
6ix9ine released his comeback single “Gooba” in early May. It reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart last week.
This Saturday, the rapper took to Instagram to announce he’s releasing a new track before month’s end.
“May 29, another single,” he stated toward the end of the clip.
“THIS FRIDAY TROLLZ,” he captioned it, with many emojis. “ANOTHER ONE!!!!!! THEY WISH THIS WAS A NIGHTMARE!!!! IT CANT BE TRUE!! B—- I AM THE INTERNET.”
Earlier in the day, in a separate post, he announced, “MOST LIKED COMMENT WILL BE THE NAME OF THE SONG.”
The comment that got the most likes was 6ix9ine’s own, “Trollz.”
The 25-year-old part-Mexican American singer-songwriter has captured her third straight No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart as It Was Good Until It Wasn’t debuts at the summit on the list dated May 23.
The album arrives with 83,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 17, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, the highest one-week total of her career.
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, released on Tsunami Mob/Atlantic/AG, follows a pair of previous chart-toppers: SweetSexySavage in 2017 and last year’s While We Wait, which both ruled for one week.
Kehlani’s debut effort, You Should Be Here, debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Top R&B Albums chart in 2015.
“I’m grateful, I can’t believe it,” Kehlani tells Billboard. “Imma [sic] celebrate by laying in bed and getting some much needed rest with my daughter.”
It Was Good Until It Wasn’t marks her first album since the birth of her daughter, Adeya, in March 2019.
Beyond its R&B victory, It Was Good Until It Wasn’tconcurrently opens at No. 2 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Accompanying Kehlani’s Goodstart, nine of the album’s tracks debut on Hot R&B Songs, led by a No. 4 entrance for “Can I,” featuring Tory Lanez. The tune marks Kehlani’s highest debut on the chart and ties for her best peak with “Nights Like This,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
Here’s a full rundown of Kehlani’s new collection on Hot R&B Songs:
Activity surrounding Kehlani’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’thelps the singer-songwriter jump 40-3 on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart. The leap secures her first week in the top 10, after narrowly missing out (No. 11) upon SweetSexySavage‘s chart arrival in February 2017.
The 24-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican Americam rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, has logged his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart with “Gooba,” which debuts at No. 1 on the list dated May 23.
6ix9ine’s latest single debuts with 55.3 million U.S. streams earned in the tracking week ending May 14, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The song exceeds 6ix9ine’s previous best on the Streaming Charts: “Fefe” featuring Nicki Minaj, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the August 4, 2015-dated tally with 45.7 million streams.
Gooba also debits at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.
Anthony Valadez (a.k.a. DJ Valadez) is hitting the Southern California airwaves to celebrate Latin music.
The Latino deejay and radio host has launched KROQ‘s first-ever Latin show Alternalido from his makeshift studio at home in Venice Beach.
The two-hour show, the first of its kind for L.A.’s alternative KROQ-FM station (owned by Entercom), kicked off with the music of artists including Chicano Batman, Cuco, Ozomatli and Bomba Estéreo, to name a few.
“Last night I had a lot of anxiety,” Valadez, who serves as host and curator of Alternalido, tells Billboard. “Latin alternative means so many things to different people. You’ve got fans that love Maná and then you have new artists like Omar Apollo and Ambar Lucid who want to break rules and do their own things.”
In an effort to better serve the bilingual Latin community in California — which has the largest Latino population in the
U.S. — Alternalidoaims to spotlight an array of Latin alternative sounds from around the world.
“Think of it like it’s Anthony Bourdain behind the turntables taking you around the world through sound,” Valadez says.
While the idea of a Latin-centric show was floated around a few years ago, now was the “perfect time” to go live, according to Jeff Federman, Entercom’s regional president. “We are so much better than we were when we entered March because we were forced to catch up on technology and learn to be even more resourceful. It’s almost a renaissance for radio.”
Mike Kaplan, senior vp/programming at Entercom, echoes Federman. “It’s exciting to know that we’re evolving and taking it to the next step. It was needed in this station. There are no boundaries in music.”
It was precisely that that drew Valadez — who will keep his weekend show on KCRW— to be part of the show as a host and curator. “In a new space and a new era, there’s more room for experimentation. Latin alternative is not new — it’s been there and it’s been neglected. And for these guys to say, ‘Let’s showcase this,’ yeah let’s break rules, that’s super important to me.”
Valadez, who has hosted weekly radio programs for the past 20 years, says he’s not only excited to offer a new home for Latin alternative artists but to be able to create a sense of community in trying times.
“People need community more than ever,” Valadez says. “This is music that is hand-picked and that’s a beautiful thing. The show is very inviting, it’s created with love for everybody and no matter where you come from, you’ll hear something you like.”
Alternalido airs Sundays from 8:00 -10:00 pm PST on KROQ.
The 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer is looking to replace himself at No. 1, again, on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.
Bad Bunny’s surprise release Las Que No Iban a Salircould register more than 40,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 14, according to industry forecasters.
If it starts as projected, the new album (LQNIAS) will bump his own YHLQMDLGfrom the top spot on the tally next week, where it’s held the pole position for 10 straight weeks since its debut at No. 1 on the chart dated March 14.
The Top Latin Albums chart ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which comprises traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).
Las Que No Iban a Salirdropped without warning in the mid-afternoon on Sunday, May 10, so it will only have about four-and-a-half days of activity before the tracking week’s end on May 14. (Most new releases tend to drop on Friday each week, the first day of the tracking week. Bad Bunny has bucked this trend repeatedly with his earlier albums, opting to release them at varying times of the week.)
Assuming Las Que No Iban a Salir starts at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums, it will replace Bad Bunny’s own YHLQMDLG at the top.
It would not the first time Bad Bunny has replaced himself at No. 1. WhenYHLQMDLG debuted at No. 1, it bumped X 100PRE from the top. And, whenJ Balvin and Bad Bunny teamed up for the Oasis collaborative album, it opened at No. 1 on July 13, 2019, replacing X 100PRE.
Bad Bunny’s new 10-track album is effectively a compilation of previously unfinished songs.
The set includes, amusingly, simple-named songs like “Canción Con Yandel” with Yandel, and “Bad Con Nicky” with Nicky Jam.
Most of the first-week activity for Bad Bunny’s album will come via streaming services. (There are no merchandise/album bundles in play as of May 12.) The album has proven to be so popular out of the gate with streamers, that, according to Apple Music, it became the first Latin album to reach the top of Apple Music’s Top Albums tally. Apple Music’s Top Albums ranking ranks the most streamed albums within the service at any given point in time.
The Billboard Liveseries launched on March 19 with the help of JoJo, Josh Grobanand Russell Dickerson, who selected non-profits to support during their livestream to benefit those most affected by COVID-19.
Billboard Live At-Home series thus far has helped charities like Meals on Wheels America, Downtown Women’s Center, My Friend’s Place and more.
Here’s this week’s full schedule:
Monday (May 11) 1 p.m. ET — Loud Luxury
Tuesday (May 12) 1 p.m. ET — Natanael Cano & Junior H
The late Mexican American bandasinger has notched her third posthumous top 10 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplaychart as “Engañémoslo” rises 13-8.
The track was recorded by Rivera prior to her death in 2012 and co-written by Rivera alongside Espinoza Paz.
It’s also the theme song of a campaign launched by the Rivera family in support of women empowerment throughout Mexico and U.S.
“I assumed she didn’t get to record it,” Paz commented via a press release. “What a pleasant surprise to find out she did.”
“Engañemoslo” lifts to 4 million in audience impressions (up 14%) earned in the week ending May 3, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The song marks the second previously unreleased recording by the Rivera family following Rivera’s death. It follows the No. 7 peak (Sept. 7, 2019) “Aparentemente Bien” which was written by Erika Enderand Argentina’s Alejandro Lerner.
In between, “Que Me Entierren Cantando” (No. 38 peak) was released by her brother Lupillo Riverawhich includes pre-recorded vocals from the late banda singer-songwriter.
With the new single, Rivera has earned top 10s spanning three decades dating back to 2005 with the No. 7 high “Qué Me Vas a Dar.”
Since then La Diva de La Bandahas placed six top 10s in the 2000s six in the 2010s and her current hit at No. 8.
Following a two-week poll asking readers to choose their favorite quarantine-inspired Latin song, Billboard has revealed the fans pick: Adriana Rios.
In the midst of the COVID-19global pandemic, the rising Regional Mexican singer penned a heartwarming song called “Esta En Ti‘.”
The lyrics are a wake-up call to society, encouraging everyone to cooperate and stay at home.
In the track, Rios, one of Billboard’sLatin Artists To Watchin 2020, also recognizes all of the workers and health professionals who have been in the frontline during these challenging times.
Rios’ “Esta En Ti” nabbed more than 45 percent of the votes. The heartfelt song is followed by Ivy Queen’s“Antídoto” with nearly 30 percent of the votes.
Other fan favorites included Karol G and Anuel AA’s“Follow” and Abraham Mateo’s“Esta Cuarentena.”
