Tag Archives: Interscope

Karol G Named Billboard’s 2024 Woman of the Year

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Karol G is a woman on top…

After a year of career-defining moments, including a history-making album, a momentous stadium tour, headlining Lollapalooza and her first Grammy win, the 32-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter has been named Billboard‘s 2024 Woman of the Year.

Karol GKarol G will be honored with the award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards on Wednesday, March 6, at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, and streaming March 7.

Karol G will also grace the stage for a special performance.

Hosted by award-winning actor and producer Tracee Ellis Ross, the annual event will recognize music’s rising stars and A-List artists, creators and executives for their contributions to the industry and community.

“With her immense talent, Karol G has created a movement for women across the globe due to her empowering lyrics and inspiring confidence,” said Hannah Karp, Billboard’s editorial director. “The release of her groundbreaking album Mañana Será Bonito has proven her a force to be reckoned with in both the English and Spanish charts. We are so excited to honor her as Woman of the Year.”

Over the past few years, Karol G has become a leading force in Latin music. Two years after releasing her breakthrough album KG0516 in 2021, Karol G became the first female artist to top the Billboard 200 with a Spanish-language album thanks to Mañana Será Bonito.

The follow-up album, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), then debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. On Sunday, she won her first Grammy, taking home best música urbana album for Mañana Será Bonito.

Last summer, Karol launched her own Bichota Records and inked a distribution deal with Interscope. Additionally, The Con Cora Foundation was established to continue the artist’s social work and mission to support women who lead households, at-risk youth, children facing chronic or disabling diseases, those dealing with teenage pregnancy, women deprived of liberty and post-penalty, as well as low-income women.

Past recipients of Woman of the Year include SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

Karol G joins the previously announced lineup of powerhouse women set for the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards: Kylie Minogue will receive the Icon Award; Maren Morris will receive the Visionary Award; Ice Spice will receive the Hitmaker Award; Charli XCX will receive the Powerhouse Award; Young Miko will receive the Impact Award; Victoria Monét will receive the Rising Star award; NewJeans will receive the Group of the Year Award; TEMS will receive the Breakthrough Award; and Luísa Sonza will receive one of Billboard’s new Global Force Awards.

Tickets to attend the Billboard Women in Music Awards are available to the public. Prices range from $89 – $279. Fans can watch the show on Thurs, March 7 at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET on billboardwomeninmusic.com; more details about the stream will be announced soon.

Xavi Earns First No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay Chart with “La Diabla”

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It’s a devilish first for Xavi…

The 19-year-old Mexican American Regional Mexican singer-songwriter and breakout star, who recently announced his first tour of the U.S., has earned his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart dated February 10 with his sophomore hit “La Diabla.”

XaviThe track races 17-1 on The chart, giving the Mexican-American singer-songwriter his first champ on a radio ranking.

The romantic corrido, released via Interscope, tops the overall Latin Airplay list with 9.6 million audience impressions, up 89%, earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 1, according to Luminate.

Notably, it’s the first No. 1 by a regional Mexican artist on Interscope. The label was last on top with another song in the genre, Karol G’s “Mi Ex Tenia Razon” for two nonconsecutive weeks last October and November.

“’La Diabla’ has topped so many charts that it’s been hard to keep up, but this one is particularly special,” Manny Prado, VP of Marketing and A&R, Interscope Geffen A&M tells Billboard. “The fact that radio has embraced Xavi’s innovative sound is a significant statement and validates that he is successfully pushing the boundaries of Mexican music.”

Xavi’s radio success follows the song’s domination on both Hot Latin Songs and Latin Streaming Songs.

On the multi-metric tally, “La Diabla” spends a fifth nonconsecutive week at the summit, powered largely by 15.4 million streams during the same period. That’s enough to hold its No. 1 spot for a fourth week on Latin Streaming Songs and its No. 9 ranking on the overall Streaming Songs for a second week.

Back on Latin Airplay, “La Diabla” ejects another regional Mexican track from the lead: Fuerza Regida and Marshmello’s “Harley Quinn” falls to No. 3 after one week in charge with 8.2 million, down 9%.

Beyond its Latin Airplay domination, “La Diabla” surges 8-1 on Regional Mexican Airplay for its first week atop the 40-deep song tally; also, a first champ there for the Phoenix-born artist. Sales too, contribute to the song’s rise across Billboard charts: “La Diabla” sold 1,000 downloads for a No. 2 on Latin Digital Sales for a third week (topped the list for one week on the Jan. 20-dated survey).

Elsewhere, “La Diabla” remains steady at No. 4 on the Billboard Global 200 chart for a fourth week after its No. 3 peak in January. Plus, it remains at No. 3 for a third week on Global Excl. U.S. following its No. 2 high also in January.

Thanks to its gain in all metrics (streaming, sales, and radio), Xavi holds strong at its at No. 33 peak on the Billboard Artist 100 for a second week, which measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption- album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming – to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Xavi Earns First No. 1 on Any Billboard Chart with “La Diabla”

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Xavi has a devil of a hit on his hands…

The 19-year-old Mexican American singer-songwriter is starting off 2024 in a big way, earning his first No. 1 on a Billboard chart, as his single “La Diabla” tops the Hot Latin Songs chart dated January 6.

XaviThe song rises 4-1 to become the first champ of the year on the multi-metric ranking. 

“Super grateful with everyone and the whole team; we’ve been doing everything with love, giving it our all to keep pushing our music and culture to new heights,” Xavi tells Billboard.

“La Diabla” takes the lead on Hot Latin Songs as the week’s Greatest Gainer in streams and sales.

The song logged 11.1 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week of December 22-28, according to Luminate; that’s a 24% gain from the week prior.

Plus, the sum pushes the track 4-2 on Latin Streaming Songs. Although sales still account for a negligible amount, “La Diabla” jumps 10-4 on Latin Digital Songs Sales with a 43% increase.

With “La Diabla,” Xavi earns his second top 10 on Hot Latin Songs, which blends airplay, digital sales, and streaming activity. The new champ joins “La Víctima” which advances 7-5 with 7.4 million official streams during the same tracking week.

Further, the singer-songwriter also makes progress through two other tracks: “Poco a Poco,” with Dareyes De La Sierra, jumps 26-18 and “Modo DND,” with Tony Aguirre, lifts to its new No. 21 peak.

Thanks to “La Diabla,” released November 30 via Interscope, the record label returns to No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs for its first champ of the year. Karol G and Peso Pluma’s “Qlona” was the label’s last leader, completing a fifth week at No. 1 on the October 14-dated ranking.

On a global scale, “La Diabla” takes Xavi to his highest-charting effort on Billboard Global Excl. U.S., peaking at No. 23. While the track dips 32-33 on Billboard Global 200, “La Víctima” climbs 79-64.

Elsewhere, Xavi stands strong leading the Latin Songwriters chart for a fourth consecutive week, tying with Ivan Cornejo for the fifth-most weeks in charge among regional Mexican soloists.

Both rank behind Peso Pluma’s 20 weeks at No. 1, Eslabon Armado’s Pedro Tovar with a 10-week domination, and DannyLux with six weeks atop.

Kali Uchis’ “Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios)” Returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums Chart

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Kali Uchis is back on top… 

More than a year after scoring her first No. 1 on a Billboard albums chart with her first Spanish-language set Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios), the 27-year-old Colombian American singer’s album returns to No. 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart.

Kali UchisThe album concurrently debuts in the top 10 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

Sin Miedo was issued on clear vinyl for Record Store Day’s June 18 drop via EMI/Interscope/IGA, which prompts the album’s 6-1 jump on Latin Pop Albums with 9,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending June 23, up 201%.

Of that unit total, album sales comprise 6,000 (up 6,857%), with nearly all of that figure in vinyl sales. Concurrently, the album debuts at No. 9 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

It’s Uchis’ second top 10 on Vinyl Albums. She captured her first entry — and first top 10 — with the English-language effort Isolation (No. 10 high, 2018).

Notably, Sin Miedo becomes the sixth Spanish-language album to secure a spot in the top 10 on the 25-deep tally Vinyl Albums tally since its inception in 2011.

Here’s the leaderboard:

Title, Artist, Peak Position, Peak Date
Ones, Selena, No. 1, July 8, 2020
Anniversary Trilogy, Bad Bunny, No. 1, Jan. 15, 2022
Buena Vista Social Club, Buena Vista Social Club, No. 10, Oct. 16, 2021 (debut)
El Último Tour del Mundo, Bad Bunny, No. 4, April 2022 (debut)
Motomami, Rosalía, No. 7, May 28, 2022 (debut)
Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios), Kali Uchis, No. 9, July 2, 2022

In addition, one more Spanish-language album has reached the Vinyl Albums chart (but didn’t hit the top 10) — Bad Bunny’s X 100PRE (No. 19 peak on March 20, 2021).

On Latin Pop Albums, Sin Miedo returns to No. 1 for the first time since the October 16, 2021-dated chart. In total, the set has spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks atop the list.

Out of its 9,000-unit sum, 6,000 stem from album sales (effectively all in vinyl sales). Streaming makes up most of the remaining sum, with 3,000 from that sector, equal to 4.1 million on-demand official streams for the album’s songs.

The album also rejoins the top 10 on Top Latin Albums, flying 30-4. It returns to the top 10 for the first time since the chart dated October 16, 2021, when it ranked at No. 7. Sin Miedo peaked at No. 3 for four nonconsecutive weeks that year — its highest ranking in its 84-week charting history (and counting). As in Latin Pop Albums, the set takes home the Greatest Gainer honors there.

Over on the all-genre Billboard 200, Sin Miedo re-enters at No. 122, its highest ranking in over a year.

Selena Gomez Teams Up with Camilo for New Spanish Single “999”

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Selena Gomez is back with new Spanish music…

The 29-year-old Mexican American singer/actress has joined voices with Colombian singer-songwriter Camilo for the new Spanish single “999.”

Selena Gomez

The new single comes after Gomez released her first Spanish-language EP Revelación in March — with which she became the first woman to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart since 2017.

Produced by Edgar Barrera and penned by Camilo, “999” — a rhythmic pop song that is a ballad at its core — marks the first collaboration between the former Disney Channel star and Camilo.

The track, which was released alongside a music video directed by Sophie Muller, finds the two artists, with Gomez donning colorful hair, trading verses about true love over a sparse drumbeat.

“I don’t want to go slow. I know you think of me … If you want to go at 1,000, I’m at 999,” they sing.

“Camilo is a fantastic songwriter and singer who proudly wears his heart on his sleeve which is something we connected on immediately,” Gomez said about Camilo. “I couldn’t have been more excited to collaborate with him.”

“Working with Selena Gomez is a huge honor. From the beginning, ‘999’ was written with the sound of her voice in mind and would not exist if it were not created dreaming of this collaboration,” Camilo added. “I’m so excited about the opportunity it represents for me and my career, a song as precious as this, with an artist whom I respect and have followed for so long. I couldn’t believe it because just two or three years ago they asked me in an interview with whom I dreamed of making a song and my answer was, ‘with Selena Gomez’ and now it’s a reality.”

“999” follows Gomez’s seven-track Revelación released March 12 via Interscope/IGA that marked the biggest week for a Latin album by a woman since 2017. The EP featured collaborations with rising Latin acts Myke Towers and Rauw Alejandro.

“I was the most nervous I have been in a long time because my heritage means so much to me and I have been talking about doing this for over 10 years,” Gomez previously told Billboard about Revelación. “I wanted it to be perfect. I am thrilled to see the response from my fans and also from people who might not have listened to my other music.”

Most recently, Camilo collaborated with Shawn Mendes on a remix for his ultra tropical love anthem “Kesi.” He’s currently on tour in Spain.

Selena Gomez’s “Revelación” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums Chart

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Selena Gomez is No. 1 with a bullet…

The 28-year-old Mexican American singer/actress has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with her first Spanish-language album Revelación on the March 27-dated survey.

Selena Gomez

Her album arrives with 23,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 18, according to MRC Data — marking the biggest week for a Latin album by a woman since 2017.

“I never go into anything expecting a No. 1 so I do not take it for granted,” Gomez tells Billboard. “It’s always a bit nerve racking before releasing any music because as artists we put so much of ourselves out there. For this EP specifically, I was the most nervous I have been in a long time because my heritage means so much to me and I have been talking about doing this for over 10 years. I wanted it to be perfect. I am thrilled to see the response from my fans and also from people who might not have listened to my other music.”

The Top Latin Albums chart ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week in the U.S. based on multimetric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

The seven-track Revelación was released March 12 via Interscope/IGA. Of its starting sum of 23,000 equivalent album units, album sales comprise 14,000 and the bulk of the remainder are SEA units (equaling 12.21 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs). Gomez’s debut Latin project boasts the biggest week for a Latin album by a woman in nearly four years, since Shakira’s El Dorado started with 29,000 units in its first week (chart dated June 17, 2017).

“Without a doubt the most challenging aspect was having to do all of the sessions over Zoom,” Gomez adds. “We started recording the EP right before COVID-19 shut everything down. In the beginning there were times I ended up canceling sessions because I found it so uninspiring not to be in the same room with everyone. I eventually was able to get past it and am extremely happy with how the music came together. [Producer] Tainy was very patient with me while I worked through my frustrations.”

Revelación is the first album by a female act at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums since Shakira’s El Dorado spent its fifth and final nonconsecutive week atop the list dated Aug. 5, 2017.

Gomez also notches the highest debut by a female solo act since Jenni Rivera’s Paloma Negra Desde Monterrey likewise debuted atop the list in November 2016. In between Rivera and Gomez, a collaborative set by two women launched at No. 1: Gloria Trevi and Alejandra Guzman’s Versus in July 2017.

As Gomez’s “Baila Conmigo,” with Rauw Alejandro, concurrently takes over the top spot on the new Latin Airplay chart, she becomes the first female act in over a decade to rule both charts simultaneously. The last woman to achieve the feat was Shakira when Sale el Sol and “Loca,” featuring El Cata, ruled both Top Latin Albums and Latin Airplay, respectively in November 2010.

Elsewhere, Gomez places a total of four tracks on Hot Latin Songs, all from Revelación — one of which debuts in the top 20: “Baila Conmigo” with Rauw Alejandro lifts 8-5, “Selfish Love,” with DJ Snake, is at No. 18, “Dámelo To’,” featuring Myke Towers, starts at No. 20, and “De Una Vez,” re-enters at No. 50.

“Releasing ‘De Una Vez’ as the first song was the perfect way to introduce the new music,” Gomez says. “It’s a song I really related to and I think it’s beautiful with a message of hope and healing. I think all of the collaborators bring different elements to the table. With Snake it was great because we have a history together so on a mere comfort level that was nice to have. On ‘Dámelo Tó’ Myke brings this smooth rap and it makes you crave for it to be summer because it has the kind of vibe. When we were recording ‘Baila Conmigo’ I  knew we needed a male voice on it and Rauw has the ideal sexy, soulful voice that really complements the song perfectly.”

Revelación concurrently bows at No. 1 on Latin Pop Albums and at No. 22 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.

J Balvin Earns 17th No. 1 on Billboard Latin Airplay Chart with “Loco Contigo”

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Make that 17 for J Balvin…

The 34-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer and rapper’s collaboration with DJ Snakeand Tyga, “Loco Contigo,”rises 2-1 on the BillboardLatin Airplaychart dated November 2. 

J Balvin

With the move, J Balvin goes into a four-way tie with Daddy Yankee, Ricky Martinand Romeo Santosfor the second-most No. 1s in the chart’s history , all with 17 (Enrique Iglesiascontinues at the helm with 30).

“Loco Contigo” arrives at the summit almost a year after DJ Snake claimed his first leader on the tally with “Taki Taki” (on the December 8, 2018-dated chart). Meanwhile, it marks the first No. 1 for American rapper Tygaon any BillboardLatin chart.  

The Spanglish track released via DJ Snake/Geffen/Interscopeon June 14, lands in the penthouse in its 14th week on the chart with 12.7 million in audience impressions (up 1%) earned in the week ending October 27, according to Nielsen Music.

Written by J Balvin, Tyga, Justin Quilesand DJ Snake, “Loco Contigo” is the sixth single off DJ Snake’s Carte Blanchealbum, which debuted at No. 2 on the Top Dance/Electronic Album Saleschart (August 10-dated list).As “Loco Contigo”  arrives at the pinnacle of Latin Airplay, it makes progress on other Latin rankings. The song climbs an equal 2-1 on both the Latin Pop Airplayand Latin Rhythm Airplaycharts.vaScript

Iglesias Leaving Universal for Sony Music

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Enrique Iglesias is switching teams…

The 40-year-old Spanish singer-songwriter has left his longtime home at Universal Music Group and signed with Sony Music, according to Billboard.

Enrique Iglesias

His albums will most likely be released by Sony Music Latin in Spanish and RCA Records in English.

Iglesias had a long and positive relationship with Universal, which released his albums in English and Spanish for more than a decade.

But Sony offered major international support and, according to inside sources, one of the biggest contracts offered to any artist in recent years in terms of advances and royalties.

Sex and Love, which was released in 2014 and includes the hit “Bailando,” was Iglesias’ last album under his Universal contract.

Earlier this year, as a free agent, he recorded the single “El Perdon” with Nicky Jam, who is signed to Sony. The track was released by Sony Music U.S. Latin in Spanish, and rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart (supplanting long-running “Bailando”). An English version was released in July as is being worked jointly with RCA.

There is no word of a new album yet.

Iglesias’ first record label was Mexican indie Fonovisa, where he launched his career as a Latin crooner. He then signed to Universal/Interscope and became a crossover star with equal success in both English and Spanish.

All told, Iglesias has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen, making him one of the biggest acts in the market, in any language. Worldwide, he’s sold over 100 million albums.

His top-selling album is Escape, which has sold over 3.5 million copies in the U.S. alone.

To get a sense of Iglesias’ clout, one also has to look at his streaming numbers. “Bailando,” for example, was recorded in four versions. Two of those videos — in English and Spanish — have over 1 billion views on Vevo.

Neither Sony nor Iglesias’ management had comment.

Blacc to Release Repackaged and Enhanced Edition of “Lift Your Spirit”

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It appears Aloe Blacc is ready to lift your spirits even further…

The 35-year-old Panamanian-American singer, riding high this year on the success of his third album Lift Your Spirit and the singles “The Man” and “Wake Me Up,” tells Billboard that he and his record label, Interscope, “are going to repackage the album” this summer for a uniform collection comprised of all the songs he released globally during the campaign.

Aloe Blacc

“I recorded about 40 songs, and you can only release 10 or 12 of them at a time,” Blacc explains. “The European version of the album had a different set of songs than the (American) version, a couple of songs that were different, so we’re going to get them all together and release all of the songs from across the world so that everybody gets every song and no territory is complaining about not having any particular song.”

Blacc adds that, “It was never my intention to release so many songs. I wanted to just have 10, but we had way more material than we expected that we considered worthy. But I think that’s OK. I think it’s OK to give people more than they expected.”

Blacc hopes to have the set ready “by the end of the summer or, probably, the beginning of the fall.”

Meanwhile, he says he’d like to release a follow-up to Lift Your Spirit “hopefully early next year” but acknowledges “maybe that’s too soon. It depends on what the label says. I’m definitely ready to release more music, because I’ve just got so much stuff recorded and so many other songs that I’m eager to record.”

Blacc has had no trouble staying busy outside of the study, with heavy touring — including dates opening for Bruno Mars — and a spot as a guest coach on Adam Levine‘s team during the latest season of The Voice.

He’s also featured on the track “The World is Ours” from the One Love, One Rhythm FIFA World Cup album, and he’s getting ready for his film debut in Get On Up, the James Brown biopic in which he plays Famous Flames guitarist Nafloyd Scott.

“That was a different challenge, it really was,” Blacc says. “Acting is something that requires a lot of patience, a lot of skill, a lot of internal reflection. It’s a whole new muscle I’m going to continue to develop, either writing screenplays and my own scripts or finding the best roles out there to challenge this new skill.” A dearth of information about his character, meanwhile, actually proved to be a blessing for Blacc.

“I had to learn it all,” he explains. “there isn’t much information about that time in (Brown’s) career available, no photos I could find of Nafloyd Scott on Wikipedia or anything. He wasn’t really part of the meteoric rise of James Brown — he quit the band because of personality conflicts, before it really took off. So it was all about having to learn from the script and some of the archival footage that was available. But it did make it a little bit easier to create my own character, which was nice for the first time doing this.”

Milian Joins Lil Wayne’s Young Money Crew

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It looks like Christina Milian will be making sweet music again…

The 30-year-old Cuban-American singer and actress—currently serving as the social media corresponded on NBC’s The Voice—has joined Lil Wayne‘s Young Money crew.

“The answer is….Yes. Let’s Get To Work! I Heart You Guys.. It’s Now or Never,” announced Milian on Twitter on Sunday.

Lil Wayne introduced Milian at the Cash Money pre-Grammy party on Sunday, according to Billboard.com, telling the crowd, “Y’all make some noise for Christina Milian… Young Money Christina Milian!”

The label—home to Drake and Nicki Minaj—is expected to release Milian’s much-delayed fourth album in the near future.

The new release has been a work in progress since 2008, and was formerly attached t oseveral  labels including Interscope and Radio Killa Records, the home of Milian’s ex-husband, The-Dream.

One version of the album, then titled “Elope,” was said to have been completed in 2009 under the helm of The-Dream and Tricky Stewart; where the project stands now remains to be seen.