Carlos Vives Earns 14th No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay Chart with “Hoy Tengo Tiempo (Pinta Sensual)”

Carlos Vives is back in familiar territory…

The 57-year-old Colombian singer, songwriter and actor leads Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “Hoy Tengo Tiempo (Pinta Sensual)” as the song rises 10-1 on the chart dated September 22.

Carlos Vives

It catapults to the No. 1 spot with a 51 percent gain in audience impressions to 13.5 million in the week ending September 16, according to Nielsen Music.

It’s Vives’ 14th No. 1 on the chart, dating back to “Fruta Fresca,” which jumped to No. 1 on the January 8, 2000-dated chart, reigning for six weeks. He now ties Romeo Santos and Wisin for the third-most No. 1s, trailing only Enrique Iglesias with 30 and Ricky Martin with 17.

“We aim at making songs which reach people’s hearts, not really thinking about rankings,” Vives says. “It will always be a nice surprise to be No. 1 on Billboard.Thank you, all.”

“Hoy Tengo Tiempo” is Vives’ second leader of the year. It follows “Robarte Un Beso,” his collaboration with Sebastian Yatra, which led for one week (January 13).

Concurrently, “Hoy Tengo Tiempo” continues to lead the Tropical Song sairplay chart for a fourth consecutive week.

Vives Agrees to Global Deal with Kobalt Music Publishing & Kobalt Neighbouring Rights

Carlos Vives has a new publishing partner…

The 55-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter has agreed to a global deal with both Kobalt Music Publishing and Kobalt Neighbouring Rights.

Carlos Vives

The deal, effective immediately, includes Vives’ past hits, as well as future songs.

Vives’ latest hit “La Bicicleta,” with Shakira, is at No. 2 on this week’s Hot Latin Songs chart. It is also nominated for a Latin Grammy for Song and Record of the year.

The Kobalt deal, with its neighbouring rights services, is practical for an international artist like Vives, whose music tops many international charts.

Vives has had five No. 1s on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, dating back to 2000’s “Fruta Fresca” and up until 2012’s “Volví a Nacer,” which marked Vives’ return to recording after a nearly decade-long hiatus.

“I’ve always admired Carlos Vives’ extraordinary creative talent,” said Nestor Casonú, managing director for Latin America at Kobalt. “I value the authenticity he brings to the music of his country and the other native cultures, daringly incorporating contemporary instruments to his songs.”

When Casonú ran EMI’s Latin publishing operation, he signed Vives and worked closely with him on his 2001 album, Dejame Entrar, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. Vives also topped the chart with his two most recent albums, his 2013 comeback, Corazón Profundo, and 2015’s Mas + Corazon Profundo: Tour.

Vives’ credits the friendship as one of the reasons he decided to go with Kobalt when his contract with Sony/ATV ended.

“One of course comes to a company for the advantages and possibilities they offer to us as artists, but fundamentally one joins a company for the people, for the admiration they awaken in us and for the passion and mysticism with which they do their job,” he said in a statement. “It was with Nestor Casonu, a long time industry friend, that I found the motivation, the joy and the enthusiasm to continuously write new, quality songs. We are very happy to form part of the Kobalt family and we are fully committed with them.”

Vives was most recently signed to Sony/ATV as a songwriter. He is signed to Sony Music Latin as a recording artist.

Vives’ “Las Cosas de la Vida” Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay Chart

It’s Lucky No. 11 for Carlos Vives

The 54-year-old Colombian singer/composer leaps 12-1 on Billboard‘s Latin Airplay chart (dated March 5) with “Las Cosas de la Vida,” giving him his 11th career No. 1 on the list.

Carlos Vives

The song soars by 83 percent to 12.3 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music, earning Greatest Gainer honors.

Vives is now tied for the third-most No. 1s in the chart’s history with Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan and Romeo Santos. Enrique Iglesias leads with 25 toppers, followed by Ricky Martin (15).

Vives’ chart victory follows a star-studded performance on Univision’s awards show Premios Lo Nuestro (broadcast live Feb. 18), on which he was honored with the award of excellence. The singer invited several surprise guests to accompany him for a medley of his hits, all fellow Colombian musicians, including Juanes, J Balvin, Maluma and Fonseca.

Vives achieved his first No. 1 on Latin Airplay in 2000 with his longest-leading hit to date, “Fruta Fresca” (six weeks on top). 2001’s “Dejame Entrar” is his second-longest-ruling No. 1 (four weeks).

Following a seven-year absence from Billboard‘s charts (2005-12, as he took a hiatus from music), Vives returned with a No. 1 debut on Hot Latin Songs for “Volvi A Nacer” (Oct. 13, 2012), his fifth (and most recent) song to top the airplay/sales/streaming chart.