J Balvin Lands Two Singles on Spotify’s “Billions Club” Playlist

J Balvin is officially in special company…

Spotify has launched its “Billions Club” playlist to highlight the music of the members of its Billion Streams Club, including two of the 36-year-old Colombian singer/songwriter’s most iconic singles.

J Balvin

According to Spotify, the new playlist — which currently features more than 150 songs — highlights the megahits that have surpassed the one billion streams mark. Included on the new playlist are J Balvin’s “Mi Gente” with Willy William and his collaboration with Cardi B and Bad Bunny, “I Like It.”

In all Cardi B has three singles on the playlist. Along with “I Like It,” the other singles are “Girls Like You” with Maroon 5, and “Taki Taki,” her collaboration with Selena Gomez, Ozuna and DJ Snake.

Selena Gomez has three singles. Along with “Taki Taki,” her other singles on the playlist include “We Don’t Talk Anymore” with Charlie Puth, and “It Ain’t Me” with Kygo.

Bruno Mars has three singles on the playlist “That’s What I Like” and “Just the Way You Are,” as well as “Uptown Funk” with Mark Ronson.

Other Latin artists appearing on the playlist include Karol G, Danny Ocean, Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello and Luis Fonsi.

“Spotify has long celebrated artist milestones and we wanted to find a unique way to honor the artists and songs fans can’t stop listening to,” Ashley Graver, Global Head of Creative Artist Partnerships, tells Billboard. “The Billions Club playlist is a natural evolution of the plaques you have seen from multiple artists, and we are excited to give fans a one-stop destination to enjoy some of the most streamed songs in the world.”

Also in celebration of the newly rounded up collection of songs, Spotify created a video sharing how various artists have reveled when learning of the milestone and receiving their One Billion Streams plaque from the streamer.

Prior to the launch of the “Billions Club” playlist, some artists have marked hitting the billion streams achievement by doing more than just showing off their shiny new plaques on social media. Several have literally eaten off the platter-shaped badge of honor: Halsey dug into some Cheetos and candy, Joe Jonas dined on some McDonald’s, and Quavo ate some scrambled eggs and waffles with plenty of syrup, for example. (See Billboard’s gallery.)

Spotify has been busy this year launching new features beyond the just announced “Billions Club” playlist.

In April, the streaming service started adding some livestream events to artist pages, and in late May, partnered with Driift for tickets to a virtual concert series.

Cardi B, “I Like It,” featuring Bad Bunny & J Balvin
Cardi B, “Girls Like Me,” with Maroon 5
Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like”
Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are”
Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk,” with Mark Ronson
Fifth Harmony, “Work From Home,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign
Karol G, “Tusa,” featuring Nicki Minaj
Selena Gomez, “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” with Charlie Puth
Selena Gomez, “Taki Taki,” with DJ Snake, Cardi B & Ozuna
Selena Gomez, “It Ain’t Me,” with Kygo
Camila Cabello, “Senorita,” with Shawn Mendes
Camila Cabello, “Havana,” featuring Young Thug
Luis Fonsi, “Despacito – Remix,” with Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber
Luis Fonsi, “Despacity,” with Daddy Yankee
J Balvin, “Mi Gente,” with Willy William
Danny Ocean, “Me Rehuso”

Kid Cudi Taking Part in Amazon Prime Day Show with ‘Out of This World’ Performance

Kid Cudi is getting primed…

The annual Amazon Prime Day Show will feature a streaming music performance by the 37-year-old half-Mexican American singer/songwriter and actor, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.

Kid CudiIn addition to Kid Cudi, who appeared this March as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, Billie Eilish and H.E.R. will also perform.

The events will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video for 30 days starting June 17, with Amazon Prime Days set for June 21 and 22. The streaming is available to all without a Prime subscription needed.

The special will offer performance and storytelling, inspired by Paris, the Dunbar Hotel, and outer space.

“Working with Billie Eilish, H.E.R., and Kid Cudi to bring their music to life through these imaginative experiences has been incredible,” said Ryan Redington, VP of music industry at Amazon Music. “Watching these globally renowned artists create three shows from the depths of their imagination has been unlike anything we’ve ever done before. We’re thrilled to bring fans along with us to celebrate these three remarkable artists and Prime Day.”

“These iconic artists have not only broken new ground in music but are inspired storytellers, culture creators, and visionaries,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “We’re thrilled to partner with Billie, H.E.R., and Cudi to bring these authentic and deeply personal specials to fans around the world as we celebrate Prime Day.”

Kid Cudi will depart earth to establish a new community on the moon in his performance. Featuring music from his album, Man on the Moon III, he collaborates with the International Space Orchestra, the world’s first orchestra composed of space scientists from NASA Ames Research Center, the SETI Institute, and the International Space University as his backing band.

The Prime Day Show with Kid Cudi is produced by Fremantle, Wolf + Rothstein, Mad Solar, and Amazon Studios, and is directed by Sam Wrench. Ashley Edens served as executive producer, along with Chad Wolf, Fam Rothstein and Sam Wrench as co-executive producers. Runtime is approximately 25 minutes.

Beginning today, Amazon Music subscribers and Prime members can access the official Prime Day Show playlist here or by asking, “Alexa, play the Prime Day Show playlist,” to stream Billie Eilish, H.E.R., and Kid Cudi. The Prime Day Show will also be available to stream on Twitch, IMDb TV, and on Amazon devices including Fire TV, Echo Show, and Fire tablets on Prime Video.

Chiquis Becomes First Latina Act to Release Own Digital Collectible

Chiquis is off the (block)chain…

The 35-year-old Mexican America Regional Mexican artist  is set to release her first-ever NFT in partnership with crypto gaming company AnRKey X, according to Billboard.

Chiquis Rivera

The digital NFT (non-fungible token), a one-of-a-kind cryptographic token that exists on a blockchain, will come in the form of a gaming card inspired by her “Spiritual Gangsta” persona, which will be able to be used in AnRKey X’s game Battle Wave 2323 – a blend of cyberpunk, hip-hop and Marvel universe-inspired game characters.

“‘Spiritual Gangsta’ is in my Instagram bio – part Chiquis and part Janney,” the Latin Grammy-winning artist told Billboard. “I’ve always seen [that] character as an alter ego and thought that it would even be perfect for a video game character!”

Only a handful of Latin acts, like Ozuna and Rudy Mancuso, have experimented with this once-considered niche method of cryptocurrency, and Chiquis becomes the first female Latin act to release her very own digital collectible.

“It is so exciting to be on the forefront of new technology and bring my fans and followers along for the ride,” the “Anímate y Verás” singer says. “There is so such a vast space for incredibly creative and innovative ideas in the NFT and crypto world. You all know me as an artist, TV personality, philanthropist and business woman so I see there are big possibilities ahead in this sector.”

Demi Lovato Launching New Podcast “4D with Demi Lovato”

Demi Lovato is certainly in rapid cadence

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American actress, who recently appeared in the YouTube Originals docuseries Dancing with the Devil, will launch 4D with Demi Lovato with podcast company Cadence13.

Demi Lovato

“Building upon the success of the documentary, we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner again with Demi through our audio division, OBB Sound, and continue to champion Demi’s voice using the powerful medium of audio,” added Michael D. Ratner, Founder, President and CEO, OBB Media. “We have incredible partners on this show in both SB Projects and Cadence13, and look forward to sharing this project with the world.”

Manolo Cardona’s “Who Killed Sara?” Declared Netflix’s Most Popular Non-English Language Title Ever

Manolo Cardona’s latest project is making streaming history…

The 43-year-old Colombian actor’s Mexican thriller series Who Killed Sara? has become Netflix’s most popular non-English language title ever with an estimated 55M subscribers tuning in since its launch last month.

Manolo Cardona,

The series stars Cardona as Alex Guzman, a man hellbent on finding out who killed his sister Sara after spending 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and on getting revenge on the Lazcano family.

It launched on March 24 and the streamer revealed the figures as part of its first quarter financial results.

Other international highlights include feature film Below Zero from Spain, which was watched by 47M in its first four weeks.

“Another goal is to create great, locally authentic stories in countries all around the world. It’s why our priority for local language titles is to have a big impact in the home territory so we don’t sacrifice local impact for travelability. But we’re increasingly seeing that these local titles find significant audiences around the world, which supports our thesis that great stories are universal: they can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere,” it noted.

Cardi B Rewrites Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Triller U.S. Chart

Cardi B is trill standing tall…

The 28-year-old half-Dominican rap superstar has rewritten the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Triller U.S. chart, as “Up” spends its fifth week at No. 1 via the April 10-dated tally.

Cardi B

The Top Triller U.S. and Top Triller Global charts highlight the biggest songs on Triller based on a formula blending the amount of views of videos containing a respective songs, the level of engagement with those videos and the raw total of videos uploaded featuring each song, according to Triller.

Data for the charts is represented on a Friday-Thursday tracking week, with the latest period running March 25-April 1.

With its fifth week atop the tally, “Up” breaks out of a tie with Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cry Baby,” featuring DaBaby, and Dixie D’Amelio’s “Be Happy” for the most weeks at No. 1 in the history of Top Triller U.S., which began in July 2020.

“Up” first crowned the ranking dated February 27 and has since spent every week on the chart either at No. 1 or No. 2.

Concurrently, the song spends its second straight week at No. 2 on Top Triller Global after leading for two weeks last month.

According to Triller, the top video on the platform to use “Up” in the March 25-April 1 tracking period was a March 7 upload from user don22ovan.

https://v.triller.co/62XXzY

“Up” is No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside its return to No. 1 on Top Triller U.S. The song earned 22.4 million U.S. streams on digital service providers like Spotify, Apple Music and more; accumulated 34.5 million audience impressions on radio; and 8,000 digital downloads.

Ozuna & Manuel Turizo’s “Vaina Loca” Enters YouTube’s Billion Views Club

The third year’s the charm for Ozuna and Manuel Turizo.

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican urbano singer and the 20-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer have entered YouTube’s Billion Views Club with their 2018 hit “Vaina Loca.”

Ozuna & Manuel Turizo

On Wednesday, the video platform announced that Ozuna and Turizo’s collaboration crossed the billion views mark almost three years after its launch.

This becomes Ozuna’s “ninth entry in the Billion Views Club as a lead, featured artist or collaborator — putting [him] one entry behind J Balvin,” highlights an official statement from YouTube.

“Vaina Loca,” released on June 28, 2018, is an uplifting reggaeton about a special girl, and forms part of Ozuna’s sophomore studio album Aura.

The song hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart dated October 6, 2018.

Ednita Nazario Launches New “De Corazón a Corazón” Podcast

Ednita Nazario’s latest project has a lot of heart

The 65-year-old Puerto Rican star has made her debut as a podcaster, with the new podcast titled De Corazón a Corazón that will air on her Facebook, YouTube and Spotify.

Ednita Nazario

In the podcast, Nazario will “open her heart to talk about life with special guests that could range from personal friends to celebrities,” according to a press release. A new episode will be released across all the aforementioned platforms every Tuesday at 7:30 pm ET.

“This podcast will allow me to show fans another side of me and it will be a good opportunity to be close to all of you,” the singer-songwriter said in a statement. “I am so excited about this new project that I will pour all my heart into.”

https://twitter.com/EdnitaNazario/status/1370405911571931143

Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” Video Hits 1 Billion Views Mark on YouTube

It’s a slow blow up for one of Bruno Mars‘ original hits…

The 35-year-old half-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer/songwriter’s music video for “Grenade” has reached 1 billion views on YouTube a decade after its 2010 release.

Bruno Mars

It’s now Mars’ sixth music video to have reached this milestone, following “Just the Way You Are” (1.5 billion views, 2010), “The Lazy Song (2 billion views, 2011), Uptown Funk with Mark Ronson (4 billion views, 2014), 24K Magic (1.3 billion views, 2016), and That’s What I Like (1.8 billion views, 2017).

Released as the second single to Mars’ 2010 debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, “Grenade” earned the singer his third Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit. It was nominated for record of the year, song of the year and best pop solo performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards, and “Grenade” was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) last October.

In the visual, Mars depicts the unrequited love he has for his girlfriend by lugging a piano through Los Angeles as a sign of the lengths he would go to for her, only to find her at home with another man, leaving him devastated.

 

The video’s new feat after his partnership with Anderson .Paak as Silk Sonic and the band’s inaugural release, “Leave the Door Open,” on March 5.

The Recording Academy has left the performance lineup open for these two past Grammy winners to join them for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards this Sunday.

Ricardo Arjona to Livestream Concert, Titled “Hecho a la Antigua,” from His Native Guatemala

Ricardo Arjona is ready to illuminate your world…

The 57-year-old Guatemalan singer-songwriter will livestream a single concert from the historic city of Antigua, in his native Guatemala.

Ricardo Arjona

Hecho a la Antigua,” a play on words that translates to “Made the Old Fashioned Way,” will livestream at 9:00 pm on April 10.

Tickets to the show go on sale on Wednesday, March 10.

Known for tours that feature stunning staging and visuals, Arjona is looking to push the envelope with “Hecho a la Antigua.” Beyond the exquisite locale — Antigua is famously beautiful — the actual concert will stream from the circular patio of the 18th century church and convent of Las Capuchinas, with special care taken to work with the natural acoustics of the monument.

More than 30 musicians will be flown in for the performance, and, most impressive of all, the show’s lighting will be provided entirely by more than 5,000 candles. According to Arjona’s team, there will be no artificial lighting used at all.

Tickets will be priced at $15, and those who purchase their tickets the first week of on-sale will also be able to partake in a conversation with Arjona following the concert.

Arjona, who’s been releasing his music independently on his own label, Metamorfosis, for the past few years (distributed by The Orchard) has also built a loyal online following and regularly releases music and premium content exclusively to subscribing fans on his website. That strategy may translate very successfully to strong ticket sales for his first-ever livestream.

Arjona regularly fills arenas in the United States, but his top touring markets are Argentina and Mexico, both places where live shows have been shuttered since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Hecho a la Antigua” is being produced by Fenix Entertainment Group in partnership with Metamorfosis. The concert will stream for a single time on hechoalaantigua.com.