Bad Bunny to Perform at This Year’s American Music Awards

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is coming to the American Music Awards.

Show organizers have announced that the 27-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar will perform on the awards show.

Bad Bunny joins a roster of performers that includes BTS and Megan Thee Stallion, and Olivia Rodrigo.

Bad Bunny, a two-time AMA winner, will undoubtedly get the place bouncing with the world premiere television performance of “Lo Siento BB:/.”

Nominated for five awards this year, the rapper and singer last graced the AMAs stage in 2018 alongside J Balvin and 2021 AMAs host Cardi B for a performance of “I Like It.”

As previously reported, Cardi B will make her hosting debut at the 2021 AMAs, set for Sunday, November 21, at 8:00 pm ET/PT on ABC and streaming the following day on Hulu.

The show will air globally across a footprint of linear and digital platforms in more than 120 countries and territories. MRC Live & Alternative and Jesse Collins Entertainment are producing.

Bad Bunny Leads Latinx Pack of American Music Awards Nominees with Five Nods

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny continues his American music takeover…

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican superstar is the leading Latinx contender for the 2021 American Music Awards.

Bad Bunny has earned five nods, two less than top nominee Olivia Rodrigo. The Weeknd received six nominations.

Bad Bunny ties Doja Cat and Giveon with five nods each.

He’s nominated in the Collaboration of the Year and Favorite Latin Song categories for his chart-topping single “DÁKITI,” featuring Jhay Cortez. He’s also up for Favorite Male Latin Artist, Favorite Latin Album for El Último Tour Del Mundo, and a second nod in the Favorite Latin Song category for his single “La Noche de Anoche,” with Rosalia.

Cardi B is nominated for three AMAs…

The 29-year-old half-Dominican American rap superstar is up for Favorite Music Video and Favorite Hip-Hop Song for her No. 1 single “Up,” as well as Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist.

Bruno Mars has picked up three AMA nods…

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer is nominated in all three categories for his work with Silk Sonic, his group with Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic.

Mars is nominated for Favorite Music Video and Favorite R&B Song for Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open,” as well as Favorite Pop Duo or Group.

Maluma has earned three nods, including Favorite Male Latin artist. He’s also up for Favorite Latin Album for Papi Juancho and Favorite Latin Songs for “Hawái (Remix),” featuring The Weeknd.

Kali Uchis has picked up her first-ever AMA nods…

The 27-year-old Colombian American singer/songwriter earns nods in the Favorite Female Latin Artist, Favorite Latin Song (“Telepatía”)and Favorite Latin Album (Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)) categories.

KAROL G is nominated for two awards, including Favorite Latin Album for KG0516 and Favorite Female Latin Artist.

Other nominees include Rosalia (with two), Rauw Alejandro (2), J Balvin (1), Ozuna (1), Natti Natasha (1), Becky G (1), Farruko (1), Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga (1), Calibre 50 (1), Eslabon Armado (1), La Arrolladora (1), Banda El Limón De Rene Camacho (1) and Los Dos Carnales (1).

With this year’s continued expansion of the Latin field, there are now as many awards for Latin (five) as there are for pop and country. That’s remarkable because there weren’t any categories for Latin at the American Music Awards until 1998, when Julio Iglesias took the first award for favorite Latin artist.

The nominations announcement kicked off Thursday with reveals on ABC’s Good Morning America and Spotify’s morning show The Get Up, with the remaining nominees announced via the AMAs Twitter account.

Nominees are based on key fan interactions — as reflected on the Billboard charts — including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partner MRC Data, and cover the time period September 25, 2020, through September 23, 2021.

Voting for all awards is now open. This year, for the first time, fans can vote for all AMA categories on TikTok by searching for AMAs in-app. Fans can vote once per category per day.

The American Music Awards bill themselves as the world’s largest fan-voted awards show.

The show will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 21, at 8:00 pm ET/PT on ABC and stream next day on Hulu. The show will air globally across a footprint of linear and digital platforms in more than 120 countries and territories.

MRC Live & Alternative and Jesse Collins Entertainment are producing

Here’s the complete list of 2021 American Music Awards nominees:

Artist of the year:
Ariana Grande
BTS
Drake
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd

New artist of the year:
24kGoldn
Giveon
Masked Wolf
Olivia Rodrigo
The Kid LAROI

Collaboration of the year:
24kGoldn ft. iann dior, “Mood”
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, “DÁKITI”
Chris Brown & Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
Doja Cat ft. SZA, “Kiss Me More”
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon, “Peaches”

Favorite trending song:
Erica Banks, “Buss It”
Måneskin, “Beggin’”
Megan Thee Stallion, “Body”
Olivia Rodrigo, “drivers license”
Popp Hunna, “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)”

Favorite music video:
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak), “Leave the Door Open”
Cardi B, “Up”
Lil Nas X, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”
Olivia Rodrigo, “drivers license”
The Weeknd, “Save Your Tears”

Favorite male pop artist:
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Justin Bieber
Lil Nas X
The Weeknd

Favorite female pop artist:
Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

Favorite pop duo or group:
AJR
BTS
Glass Animals
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak)

Favorite pop album:
Ariana Grande, Positions
Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
Olivia Rodrigo, SOUR
Taylor Swift, evermore
The Kid LAROI, F*CK LOVE

Favorite pop song:
BTS, “Butter”
Doja Cat ft. SZA, “Kiss Me More”
Dua Lipa, “Levitating”
Olivia Rodrigo, “drivers license”
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, “Save Your Tears (Remix)”

Favorite male country artist:
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen

Favorite female country artist:
Carrie Underwood
Gabby Barrett
Kacey Musgraves
Maren Morris
Miranda Lambert

Favorite country duo or group:
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Lady A
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band

Favorite country album:
Chris Stapleton, Starting Over
Gabby Barrett, Goldmine
Lee Brice, Hey World
Luke Bryan, Born Here Live Here Die Here
Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album

Favorite country song:
Chris Stapleton, “Starting Over”
Chris Young & Kane Brown, “Famous Friends”
Gabby Barrett, “The Good Ones”
Luke Combs, “Forever After All”
Walker Hayes, “Fancy Like”

Favorite male hip-hop artist:
Drake
Lil Baby
Moneybagg Yo
Polo G
Pop Smoke

Favorite female hip-hop artist:
Cardi B
Coi Leray
Erica Banks
Megan Thee Stallion
Saweetie

Favorite hip-hop album:
Drake, Certified Lover Boy
Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die
Megan Thee Stallion, Good News
Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon
Rod Wave, SoulFly

Favorite hip-hop song:
Cardi B, “Up”
Internet Money ft. Gunna, Don Toliver & NAV, “Lemonade”
Lil Tjay ft. 6LACK, “Calling My Phone”
Polo G, “RAPSTAR”
Pop Smoke, “What You Know Bout Love”

Favorite male R&B artist:
Chris Brown
Giveon
Tank
The Weeknd
Usher

Favorite female R&B artist:
Doja Cat
H.E.R.
Jazmine Sullivan
Jhené Aiko
SZA

Favorite R&B album:
Doja Cat, Planet Her
Giveon, When It’s All Said and Done… Take Time
H.E.R., Back of My Mind
Jazmine Sullivan, Heaux Tales
Queen Naija, missunderstood

Favorite R&B song:
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak), “Leave the Door Open”
Chris Brown & Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
Giveon, “Heartbreak Anniversary”
H.E.R., “Damage”
Jazmine Sullivan, “Pick Up Your Feelings”

Favorite male Latin artist:
Bad Bunny
J Balvin
Maluma
Ozuna
Rauw Alejandro

Favorite female Latin artist:
Becky G
Kali Uchis
KAROL G
Natti Natasha
ROSALÍA

Favorite Latin duo or group:
Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
Calibre 50
Eslabon Armado
La Arrolladora Banda El Limón De Rene Camacho
Los Dos Carnales

Favorite Latin album:
Bad Bunny, El Último Tour Del Mundo
Kali Uchis, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)
KAROL G, KG0516
Maluma, Papi Juancho
Rauw Alejandro, Afrodisíaco

Favorite Latin song:
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, “DÁKITI”
Bad Bunny x ROSALÍA, “LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE”
Farruko, “Pepas”
Kali Uchis, “telepatía”
Maluma & The Weeknd, “Hawái (Remix)”

Favorite rock artist:
AJR
All Time Low
Foo Fighters
Glass Animals
Machine Gun Kelly

Favorite inspirational artist:
CAIN
Carrie Underwood
Elevation Worship
Lauren Daigle
Zach Williams

Favorite gospel artist:
Kanye West
Kirk Franklin
Koryn Hawthorne
Maverick City Music
Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Favorite dance/electronic artist:
David Guetta
ILLENIUM
Marshmello
Regard
Tiësto

The American Music Awards are produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC.

Disney+ Renews Frankie A. Rodriguez’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” for a Third Season

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Frankie A. Rodriguez is preparing for an encore…

Disney+ has renewed the acclaimed original series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, starring the 22-year-old Mexican American actor/singer, for a third season.

Created and executive-produced by Tim Federle, season three will follow the Wildcats as they leave the hallways of East High for the ultimate summer at sleepaway camp, complete with campfires, summer romances and curfew-less nights.

Production for the third season will relocate from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles and begin later this year.

“We are overjoyed to be heading to the great outdoors for season three, and grateful to our partners and friends at Disney+ for their continued support of our next-generation Wildcats,” said Federle.

Seasons one and two are set at East High School, the setting and filming location of the original movies. In season one, the series follows members of the drama club and their faculty advisors as they work their way to opening night of their school’s first-ever production of High School Musical: The Musical.

Season two culminates in a performance of Beauty and the Beast.

The soundtracks for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season one, season two, and High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special have drawn 1 billion, 438 million combined streams to date.

Seasons one and two of the GLAAD Media Award-winning series are currently available on Disney+.

In addition to Rodriguez, who plays Carlos Rodriguez, the series also stars Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett and Sofia Wylie.

Camila Cabello Performs Cumbia-fied Cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U”

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is offering the world a cumbia-fied Good (4 U) time…

The 24-year-old Cuban and Mexican singer/actress covered Olivia Rodrigo’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single “Good 4 U” during an appearance on BBC‘s Radio 1 Live Lounge, giving the track a major Latin vibe.

Just before performing the track, Cabello talked about how much she enjoys Rodrigo’s music, which is why she selected “Good 4 U” as one of the covers for the set.

“[I’m] So excited to perform this. I love that song,” Cabello explained. “I think she’s a really amazing artist and I love so many of the songs that she’s released, so yeah I’m happy to do this song in a new way. We were really inspired by, obviously, Latin music and making it kind of like a cumbia version.”

“I feel like she’s such an incredible vocalist, Cabello continued. “This song was a challenging song to practice. It’s really high and demands a lot of breath, and I was excited to do it because I like her punk rock vibe.”

This isn’t the first time that Cabello has gushed over Rodrigo’s talent. In May, the “Havana” singer shared on her Instagram Stories that she was listening to Sour, and wrote a message to Rodrigo.

“This album is truly gorgeous. So honest, so vulnerable! I’m inspired @oliviarodrigo, ” she wrote. “This one [‘Jealousy, Jealousy‘] and ‘Favorite Crime‘ are my favorites.”

In addition to covering “Good 4 U,” Cabello performed her new song, “Don’t Go Yet,” from her upcoming third album, Familia, during her BBC 1 set.

Cardi B Makes History on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart with “Up”

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Cardi B is makin’ history on the Billboard charts…

The 28-year-old half-Dominican American rap superstar’s “Up” knocks down every current challenger on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as the single debuts at No. 1 on the list dated February 20.

With the start, Cardi B posts consecutive chart-topping debuts while she also claims a feat unseen on the Billboard Hot 100 in over 20 years.

With “Up,” Cardi B lands consecutive No. 1 debuts on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, after “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, likewise opened on top last August as it began a 10-week domination.

The combo makes Cardi B the first artist to post two straight No. 1 debuts on the chart as a lead artist, and second overall performer after Drake, whose consecutive starts came from a feature spot on Rihanna’s “Work” and his own single “Summer Sixteen” in 2016.

In all, “Up” is Cardi B’s sixth No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, notably with at least one in each of the last five years. Here’s the full collection:

Song Title, Artist (if other than Cardi B), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” six, Sept. 16, 2017
“Finesse,” with Bruno Mars, one, Jan. 20, 2018
“I Like It,” with Bad Bunny & J Balvin, one, July 7, 2018
“Please Me,” with Bruno Mars, one, March 16, 2019
“WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, 10, Aug. 22, 2020
“Up,” one (to date), Feb. 20, 2021

Elsewhere, “Up” begins at No. 2 on the all-genre Hot 100, behind Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License.” Still, the song’s arrival makes for a Hot 100 achievement that hadn’t happened in more than two decades.

Until “Up,” no woman had debuted higher on the Hot 100 with a song with no other billed artists that also made Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart since Lauryn Hill‘s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998, the only other single in the club.

As implied in the prior stat, “Up” also debuts at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.

“Up” arrives with, no surprise, a high streaming sum. The track, released February 5, registered 31.2 million U.S. streams in the week ending February 11, according to MRC Data. The total allows for a No. 1 start on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart, where it becomes Cardi B’s fifth leader of her career.

The No. 1 debuts keep coming as “Up” launches as Cardi B’s seventh song to reach the summit on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart thanks to 34,000 downloads sold in the week ending February 20.

For the final metric that contributes to the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, radio airplay, “Up” is not No. 1 – no song is this early in its arc – but does establish some personal bests for Cardi B’s career. The track’s No. 24 debut last week (on the chart dated Feb. 13) marked her highest entrance among 20 singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, while its 24-18 increase on the current chart ties “Motorsport,” her collaboration with Migos and Nicki Minaj, as her best second-week rank of those entries. “Up” ascends as it registers 8.7 million in audience impressions in its first full tracking week on the radio format, which wrapped on February 14.

Elsewhere, “Up” rallies 17-9 on Rap Airplay in its second chart week and flies 31-17 on Rhythmic Airplay.

Disney+ to Release Frankie Rodriguez’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special” on December 11

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Frankie Rodriguez is hopin’ to spread a little holiday magic this year…

Disney+ is set to release High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, starring the 21-year-old Mexican American actor, on December 11.

Cast members Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Rodriguez, who portrays Carlos Rodriguez on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Joe Serafini, Mark St. Cyr and Kate Reinders will perform their favorite Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s songs and recall their favorite holiday memories during the 45-minute special.

Bassett, who portrays Ricky Bowen, will debut an acoustic version of his original song for a sneak peek performance from the series’ highly anticipated second season.

“The holidays remind us of the universal importance of family and loved ones,” said Tim Federle, executive producer and director of High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, in a press release. “The cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is its own kind of family, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to share their favorite holiday music and traditions with our viewers.”

High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special: The Soundtrack will highlight the holiday songs from the special. It’ll be available on November 20 on all digital and streaming platforms.

Rodrigo Starring in Disney Channel’s Live Action Comedy Series “Bizaardvark”

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Olivia Rodrigo is one BIZ-y bee…

The Latina Hollywood newcomer is starring in the Disney Channel’s new live action comedy series Bizaardvark.

The series centers on best friends Paige and Frankie who take the video blogging world by storm with their quirky online comedy channel.

Rodrigo (American Girl’s Grace Stirs Up Success) and Madison Hu (Best Friends Whenever) star as Paige and Frankie, respectively. Also starring are Vine sensation Jake Paul (YouTube Red’s Dance Camp) as the loveable and wild Dirk Mann, DeVore Ledridge as Southern DIY diva Amelia Duckworth, and Ethan Wacker as the overly confident Bernard “Bernie” Schotz.

Guest stars include Calum Worthy (Austin & Ally), popular YouTuber Meredith Foster, Vine sensation Logan Paul and Instagram star JiffPom.

Bizaardvark will premiere on the Disney Channel on Friday, June 24 at 9:45 pm ET.

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