Farruko to Take Part in This Year’s Billboard Latin Music Conference

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Farruko has been caught in a Trap…

The 25-year-old Puerto Rican singer and songwriter and urban superstar will take part in Billboard’s “The Latin Trap Panel,” which will take place at the annual Billboard Latin Music Conference in Miami.

Other speakers include up-and-coming reggaetón/trap artists like Ozuna and Noriel, Bryant Myers, Bad Bunny, Messiah, producer Santana and Jonathan Gandarilla, president of Ganda Entertainment.

The Billboard Latin Music Conference will kick off April 24 in Miami with other panels like “Superstar Q&A,” and marquee sessions including the “Divas Panel” and “How I Wrote that Song, the New Generation.”

Other confirmed panels include “Socializing Maluma,” featuring the Colombian superstar himself in a Q&A about social media, and Ednita Nazario, who will be joined by top agents in the panel “Me, Me, Me” — a discussion on why Latin stars are now a “hot commodity for memoirs and biopics.”

The Billboard Latin Music Awards are the culmination of the Billboard Latin Music Conference, taking place April 24-27 at the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach.

To register, visit www.billboardlatinconference.com.

Santana’s New Album Debuts in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Santana has another Top 10 album…

The 68-year-old Mexican musician and his Latin rock band have scored their 14th top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

Santana latest album, Santana IV, debuted at No. 5, selling 42,000 units; 40,000 in pure album sales.

The new album is the first to feature the group’s early 1970s lineup since the 1971 release Santana III. The latter set spent five weeks at No. 1.

The wildly anticipated studio album features Santana (guitar, vocals), Gregg Rolie (keyboards, lead vocals), Neal Schon (guitar, vocals), Michael Carabello (percussion) and Michael Shrieve (drums).

“It was magical, we didn’t have to try to force the vibe – it was immense,” says Santana of the project. “From there, we then needed to come up with a balance of songs and jams that people would immediately identify as Santana.”

Santana’s “Smooth” Named the Top-Ranking Track of the First 20 Years of Billboard’s Adult Pop Songs Chart

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Santana has smoothed his way into the history books…

The 68-year-old Mexican musician, considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, has the top-ranking track of the first 20 years of Billboard‘s Adult Pop Songs radio airplay chart.

Santana’s single “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas, is the ranking’s top all-time track, thanks largely to its record 25 weeks at No. 1 in 1999-2000.

The song placed as the second-biggest title of the Billboard Hot 100‘s first 57 years, as ranked in November 2015. Chubby Checker‘s iconic “The Twist” took the top spot.

The Nielsen Music-based Adult Pop Songs chart, measuring songs’ weekly plays on adult top 40, or hot AC, radio in the U.S., premiered in the Billboard magazine dated March 16, 1996.

The top all-time Adult Pop Songs titles and artists rankings are based on actual performance on the weekly Adult Pop Songs chart, from its launch through the survey dated March 12, 2016. Titles are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods. Artists are ranked based on the combined point totals, as outlined above, of all their Adult Pop Songs chart entries.)

Here’s a look at the top 10 songs on the Adult Pop Songs Greatest of All Time chart are:

1, “Smooth,” Santana featuring Rob Thomas
2, “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me),” Train
3, “Wherever You Will Go,” The Calling
4, “How to Save A Life,” The Fray
5, “Counting Stars,” OneRepublic
6, “Unwell,” Matchbox Twenty
7, “I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz
8, “You And Me,” Lifehouse
9, “All For You,” Sister Hazel
10, “Hanging By A Moment,” Lifehouse

Santana to Perform Instrumental Version of the National Anthem at the World Series

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Santana is ready to play ball…

The 67-year-old Mexican musician is among the entertainers scheduled to perform the National Anthem at the 2014 World Series, according to Fox officials.

Santana, a multiple Grammy winner considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, joins a roster that includes American Idol season 11 winner Phillip Phillips, Trisha Yearwood and Little Big Town.

Yearwood will kick things off Tuesday, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Game 1 when the San Francisco Giants face the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Phillips will make his second appearance singing at a World Series when he takes the mic before Game 2 on Wednesday. He last appeared in 2012, the year he won American Idol, when the Giants faced the Detroit Tigers.

The series moves to San Francisco on Friday with country group Little Big Town.

Santana then takes the 4 p.m. slot on Saturday for Game 4, when he performs an instrumental version of the song.

The games will air on Fox at 8:00 pm ET.

Carey Atop Time Magazine’s ‘Ultimate Pop Stardom’ List

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey is the ultimate pop star…

The 44-year-old half-Venezuelan American singe ranks at the top of Time magazine’s The Ultimate Ranking of Pop Stardom list of artists/musicians when it comes to generating hit songs.

The artists were chosen for this list based on their all-time chart performance and their contemporary significance.

Time looked at every song that’s been in the Billboard Top 10 since 1960, the number of hits by each artist present on that list, and how long those musicians’ careers have lasted, and used that information to determine which artists are ultimately the most successful pop-hit generators.

Carey – who stormed onto the music scene with her self-titled debut album in 1990, which landed four No. 1 songs on Billboard Hot 100 and earned her Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance honors at the 1991 Grammy Awards, tops the list with 1,901 points. Her best years include 2005 (341 points), 1995 (300) and 1993 (222).

Carey – a five-time Grammy winner – ranks ahead of Rihanna (1,800), Usher (1,778), The Beatles (1,537) and Madonna (1,414).

But Carey isn’t the only Latin artist to make the list…

Bruno Mars, who broke onto the scene in 2010, ranks No. 17 on the list with 882 points.

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter earned 410 points in his first year on the charts after lending his vocals to the songs “Nothin’ on You” by B.o.B, and “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy, as well as releasing his first two singles “Just the Way You Are” and “Grenade.”

Meanwhile, Fergie comes in at No. 25 with her Grammy-winning group Black Eyed Peas, earning 733 points.

The 39-year-old part-Mexican singer and female vocalist for the hip hop group and her fellow BEP members registered their biggest point haul in 2009 with their singles “Boom Boom Pow,” “I Gotta Feeling” and “Meet Me Halfway” earning a combined 355 points that year.

The final product is a colorful infographic that proves Michael Jackson had a consistently successful career from 1971 to 1995, while Santana’s career, though long, hasn’t been witness to nearly as many hits.

The artists are awarded points for each song of theirs that made it into the Top 10—for example, Michael Jackson gets 10 points for “Beat It” topping the chart at No. 1 while Taylor Swift gets three points for “Speak Now” peaking at spot No. 8.

Usher had the best single year out of everyone when, in 2004, he racked up 639 points for having five songs in the Top 10 for a combined 88 weeks, while Barbra Streisand made just two points in 1997 for “I Finally Found Someone,” which peaked at No. 9 and only had a one-week stay in the Top 10.

Head over to Time.com to see how other musicians, ranging from Cher to T-Pain, stack up against one another.

Here’s a look at all the Latino artists on the list:

No. 1 Mariah Carey (1,901)
No. 17 Bruno Mars (882),
No. 25 Black Eyed Peas (Fergie)
No. 30 Jennifer Lopez (658)
No. 36 Christina Aguilera (603)
No. 48 Santana (457)

Santana to Release Live CD/DVD Package for His Hit Spanish Project “Corazón”

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Santana is bringing his corazón to live…

Following the success of his first-ever all Spanish-language album Corazón, the 67-year-old Mexican musician and 10-time Grammy-winner is set to release a live CD/DVD package titled Corazón, Live From Mexico: Live It to Believe It.

From RCA Records/Sony Latin Iberia, the package will be released on September 9 and include a live CD and DVD, plus a documentary film shot in different Mexican locales.

The track listing for Corazón Live From Mexico includes many of the artists featured in Santana’s original Corazón, including Juanes, Gloria Estefan, Miguel, Romeo Santos, Lila Downs, Diego Torres and Niña Pastori.

But it has also been expanded considerably to include new versions of his standards like “Black Magic Woman” and “Smooth” and collabs like “Corazón Espinado,” featuring Fher Olvera (lead singer of Maná) and Cindy Blackman Santana.

The set will be available for digital download and in three different physical packages: DVD, DVD/CD and Blu-Ray/CD.

Corazón debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in April and spent six weeks at the top of the chart. It’s currently No. 6 on the chart and was the third top-selling Latin album for the first six months of the year, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

But the upcoming live version was conceived from the onset as part of the overall Corazón project. The album, with all its featured artists, was recorded in the studio and released last April, but a live component was always part of the proposal.

With sponsorship from Mexico’s Tourism Board, the live show was taped in December 2013 in Santana’s home state of Gaudalajara, a documentary was filmed in different locales and a special aired on HBO Latino both in the U.S. and Latin America in the spring.

Corazón was a seminal project on many fronts. The HBO airing marked the first time ever that HBO Latino (which operates in the U.S.) and HBO Latin America joined forces to premiere a concert event.

Shakira Performs “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a red-hot record-setting performance for Shakira in Brazil…

The 37-year-old Colombian singer performed “La La La (Brazil 2014)” at the closing ceremony of this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Banging on a Carnaval drum while sizzling in a red dress made up of sequined straps and a revealing fringe skirt, Shakirae was accompanied by samba dancers, Brazilian percussionists and Brazilian collaborator Carlinhos Brown, wearing a black tie and an Indian headdress.

It was the third consecutive appearance at the World Cup for Shakira, a first for a musical act.

Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” feat. Freshlyground, was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and she also performed “Hips Don’t Lie” at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Berlin.

Shakira was immediately followed by Santana, Wyclef and Alexandre Pires, who gave an inspired live performance of the official World Cup anthem “Dar Um Jeito (We Will Find a Way).”

By the time Brazilian superstar Ivete Sangalo came out to sing, the crowd was jumping in the stands.

A roar went up in the stadium at the end of the 20-minute show, which came before the final match between Argentina and Germany. As a finale, all of the artists danced together on the field, Shakira holding her toddler son, Milan.

The closing ceremony, though brief, was an appropriately celebratory kickoff for the last game of the global tournament. It was a bittersweet sendoff for Brazil, which suffered an embarrassing defeat to Germany and ended up in fourth place after a 3-0 game against the Netherlands.

After the unprecedented success of her 2010 World Cup South Africa anthem “Waka Waka,” Shakira made a bid for this year’s World Cup with the Brazil 2014 version of her single “Dare.” The song was not awarded official FIFA song or anthem status but was included as a cut on the World Cup album.

The video posted on Shakira’s Vevo channel has more than 220 million views, besting Pitbull’s “We Are One,” which has almost 189 million.

Santana’s Official 2014 FIFA World Anthem “Dar Um Jeito” Released

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Santana has found a way to get soccer fans excited about the upcoming World Cup…

The FIFA single “Dar Um Jeito” (“We Will Find A Way”), featuring the 66-year-old Mexican musician, Wyclef, Avicii and Brazilian singer Alexandre Pire, has just been released on digital music outlets and Vevo.

Featuring the Brazilian drum beats that have become the soundtrack theme of the 2014 World Cup, and Santana’s signature electric guitar, the single – the official 2014 FIFA World Anthem — instantly transports you to Rio de Janeiro.

Santana, Wyclef, Avicii and will perform together at the July 13 World Cup closing match in Brazil.

The anthem is not to be confused with the previously released official World Cup song, “We Are One,” featuring Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte.

Both songs will be included on the 2014 FIFA World Cup album, to be released May 12 on RCA in the U.S., which will include a total of 14 stadium-friendly tracks by artists including World Cup hitmakers Ricky Martin and Shakira, Sergio Mendes, The Isley Brothers and Bebel Gilberto.

Santana to Pen His Memoir

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

He ranks as one of the greatest guitarists of all time… And Santana could soon find his name on the New York Times bestseller list.

The 65-year-old Mexican-born rock guitarist has signed an agreement with Little, Brown and Co. to write a tell-all memoir, according to The Associated Press.

Santana, who has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight while living Mexico. Following his family’s move to San Francisco, he was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and folk music, and he witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s.

“The ’60s were a leap in human consciousness. Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Che Guevara, Mother Teresa, they led a revolution of conscience,” once said Santana. “The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix created revolution and evolution themes. The music was like Dalí, with many colors and revolutionary ways. The youth of today must go there to find themselves.”

Santana, currently locked into a two-year headlining gig at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, is expected to dish on the likes of Eric Clapton and Herbie Hancock as he recounts his mammoth career.

Santana’s book is expected to be released in 2014.

Four Latino Acts’ Works Added to Grammy Hall of Fame

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Tom Castaneda

So what do Freddy Fender, Santana, Sergio Mendes and Los Panchos have in common? Their works have been selected for the 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Recording Academy announced that Fender’s “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights (1975), Santana’s album “Santana” (1969), Los Panchos’ “Mexicantos” (1945) and Mendes’ “Herp Albert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66,” (1966) are among the works for
demonstrating “musical excellence.”

Selected works must be at least 25 years old and exhibit qualitative or historical significance, according to the Recording Academy.

“We are especially honored to welcome this year’s selection of some of the most influential recordings of the last century,” said The Recording Academy’s president Neil Portnow. “Marked by both cultural and historical significance, these works truly have influenced and inspired audiences for generations, and we are thrilled to induct them into our growing catalog of outstanding recordings.”

During Grammy Week in February, the works will be formally included in the academy’s collection, which dates back approximately 40 years.

The new additions bring the number of works recognized by the Recording Academy to 906.

Fender, who passed away in 2006, was born Baldemar Huerta, the son of a Mexican immigrant father and a Texas-born mother. Some of his best-known songs were “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and “Secret Love.”

Mendes is a Brazilian-born jazz musician.

Los Panchos was a trio that often performed ballads.

Santana, a group named after its leader, Carlos Santana, formed in 1966.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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