Carlos Vives & Camilo Reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay Chart with “Baloncito Viejo”

Carlos Vives’ latest single has reached the summit of another Billboard chart…

A week after rising to No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, the 60-year-old Colombian singer, songwriter and actor’s collaboration with Camilo has reached the No. 1 rank on the overall Latin Airplay chart as “Baloncito Viejo” rules the June 18-dated list.

Carlos Vives, Camilo,Vives and Camilo’s first collaboration lifts 2-1 in its 11th week with a 13% gain in audience impressions, earned in the U.S. in the week ending June 12, according to Luminate.

“Baloncito Viejo” becomes Vives’ 16th No. 1 on Latin Airplay, and first in almost three years.

He last achieved a No. 1 with “Si Me Das Tu Amor,” with Wisin, in August 2019.

In between, he’s scored four other entries, including “Canción Bonita” with Ricky Martin, the only other single — along with “Baloncito Viejo” — that appears on his latest studio album, Cumbiana II, which has secured a spot on the overall genre tally (the album debuted and peaked at No. 14 on the May 28-dated Tropical Albums chart).

Camilo, meanwhile, clocks his sixth leader and first of the year. It follows “Millones” which ruled for one week in July 2021. Along with “Baloncito Viejo,” Camilo also charts with “Pegao” on Latin Airplay, at No. 42 on the current chart week.

Elsewhere, “Baloncito Viejo” rises to a new peak on Latin Pop Airplay with an equal 2-1 ascent. The move marks Vives first No. 1 in almost six years, since “La Bicicleta,” with Shakira, topped the ranking for 12 consecutive weeks, starting the July 9, 2016-dated chart.

Notably, both artists capture their fifth champ on Latin Pop Airplay.

Further, “Baloncito Viejo” holds its No. 1 rank on Tropical Airplay for a second week.

Airplay gains likewise push the song up the all-metric Hot Latin Songs, which factors radio airplay, song sales and streaming into its calculations. “Baloncito Viejo” climbs 50-41 and takes home the Greatest Gainer/Airplay honors.

Ricky Martin Teams Up with Carlos Vives for New Single “Canción Bonita”

Ricky Martin is back with pretty music…

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actor has joined voices with Carlos Vives for their first-ever collaboration, “Canción Bonita.”

Carlos Vives & Ricky Martin

The dancetastic track, which celebrates Vives’ Colombian and Martin’s Puerto Rican roots, is an invitation to celebrate. It’s also a celebration of Puerto Rico, down to the video shot in Old San Juan.

“If anything, we’re more childlike than the new generation,” laughs Martin when asked what he brought to the table. “We’ll never change. We’re relaxed. We’ve achieved pretty things in life. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

“We don’t want to change. We want to be the same people. And this song is a declaration of love to a city I love,” adds Vives, who lived in Puerto Rico in the beginnings of his career. “And it’s one of Ricky’s cities. For me to have a piece of Ricky in this song … it’s total happiness.”

Ironically, the fact that “Canción Bonita” is a “happy” song led to it being put on indefinite hold for months after its inception. Written by Mauricio Rengifo and Andrés Torres, along with Rafa Arcaute, Vives and Martin, the song went back and forth between the two artists and was nearly finished when the pandemic hit.

“It was a party song. We couldn’t release it at that point,” says Martin, who was in “total lockdown” until Vives came back to him with “Canción Bonita” at the beginning of this year.

“Carlos Vives took me out of quarantine to film a video,” he laughs.

The video, directed by Carlos Pérez, was shot in Old San Juan, in the middle of streets still empty of tourists. Still, it was enough to remind Vives why he was now paying homage to the city.

“I came to live in Puerto Rico when Ricky’s career was taking off,” he recalls. “I was an actor with a hit series and I understood that special essence that the city has. This is my way of giving back.”