Demi Lovato’s Clean-Bandit Collaboration “Solo” Joins YouTube’s Billion Views Club

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato has a billion reasons to celebrate…

The 31-year-old half-Mexican American actress/singer and Clean Bandit’s five-year-old duet “Solo” has become the newest member of YouTube’s Billion Views Club.

The electronic dance track’s music video has been watched more than one billion times on the video platform since it was uploaded in May 2018.

The wide-lens project finds Lovato, whose vocals are featured on the song, singing to the camera in between shots of Clean Bandit’s Jack and Luke Patterson cooking up a mysterious drug in a basement lab underneath a laundromat.

At the end, a patron played by Clean Bandit’s Grace Chatto tests out the drug on her boyfriend — who promptly turns into a rainbow-colored dog.

“Since you been gone/ I’ve been dancing on my own,” Lovato sings. “There’s boys up in my zone/ But they can’t turn me on.”

“Solo” bowed at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 about a month after it first debuted on the chart in July 2018. It was also that year’s most searched song on Shazam, with Nicky Jam and J Balvin’s “X” and Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa’s “One Kiss” following close behind in second and third place.

The song soared to No. 48 on the Streaming Songs chart in August 2018, showing 14 percent streaming gains that month. Shortly prior to the spike, Lovato was hospitalized due to a near-fatal overdose.

The “Cool for the Summer” singer is currently gearing up to release A Very Demi Holiday Special on Roku. The December 8 program will feature live performances from Lovato as well as guest appearances from Paris Hilton, Tiffany Haddish and Trixie Mattell.

Peso Pluma Earns Third No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs Chart with Gabito Ballesteros & Junior H Collab “Lady Gaga”

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Peso Pluma has another chart-topper…

The 24-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter’s “Lady Gaga,” his collaboration with Gabito Ballesteros and Junior H, rises 3-1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart dated September 30.

The song, one of 17 tracks from Peso Pluma’s Top Latin Albums No. 1 Génesis, gives Ballesteros and Junior H their first champ on the chart.

“Lady Gaga” advances to No. 1 on the multi-metric tally fueled by a streaming surge during the September 15-21 tracking week. According to Luminate, the song registered 13 million U.S. official streams; a 23% gain from the week prior. The gain pushes the song from No. 36 to No. 25 on the overall Streaming Songs chart and No. 2-1 on Latin Streaming Songs.

Sales also helped push the song up Hot Latin Songs: “Lady Gaga” gained a 33% in digital sales, to a little over 500 downloads sold, jumping 7-6 on Latin Digital Songs. Hot Latin Songs blends streaming data, digital sales, and airplay.

Ballesteros and Junior H nab their first No. 1s on Hot Latin Songs. Ballesteros previously reached No. 6 through the three-way collab “AMG,” also with Peso Pluma and Natanael Cano, in February. Junior H’s highest peaking song arrived with the co-billed “Luna,” likewise with Peso Pluma (chart dated July 8).

Pluma, meanwhile, claims his third champ and replaces himself at No. 1 as “Qlona,” with Karol G, drops 1-2, while “Ella Baila Sola,” with Eslabon Armado, falls 2-3.

Beyond its coronation on Hot Latin Songs, “Lady Gaga” rebounds 53-37 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 after its debut and peak at No. 35 in July, while concurrently ascends to a new peak on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, from No. 24-16 on the current chart.

Fuerza Regida Captures Its Highest Debut on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs Chart with “Sabor Fresa”

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Fuerza Regida can savor their growing popularity…

The Regional Mexican band, which hails from California, has captured its highest debut on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart with latest single “Sabor Fresa.”

The track starts at No. 3 on the ranking dated July 8.

The song follows Fuerza Regida’s “TQM,” which likewise debuted in the upper region just a month ago (No. 5, June).

With “Sabor Fresa,” the group picks up its fourth top 10 on Hot Latin Songs. Out of those, “Bebe Dame,” with Grupo Frontera — its first entry and highest-charting title on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 (No. 25 high in January) — marked Fuerza Regida’s first champ on Hot Latin Songs, which blends airplay, sales and streaming data, leading for two weeks.

“Sabor Fresa” starts at No. 3 on the multimetric survey fueled by a strong streaming activity. The song logged 15 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week ending June 29, according to Luminate. That figure makes for a No. 11 launch on the overall Streaming Songs and No. 2 on Latin Streaming Songs, Fuerza Regida’s highest debut on both.

Sales, too, power “Sabor Fresa’s” high start on Hot Latin Songs. While the song sold less than 1,000 downloads during the same tracking period, it was enough for a No. 3 launch on Latin Digital Song Sales.

On a global level, “Sabor Fresa” bows at No. 16 on the Billboard Global 200 with 37.2 million streams and at No. 25 on Global Excl. U.S. with 23.1 million clicks.

Plus, at its No. 26 entrance on Hot 100, “Sabor Fresa” nearly misses becoming Fuerza Regida’s highest-charting song there. “Bebe Dame” peaked at No. 25 on the January 28-dated list.

Peso Pluma Celebrating Historic Selection to Spotify RADAR Program

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Peso Pluma is on the radar…

The 23-year-old Mexican singer/songwriter, at the center of today’s Regional Mexican music wave, is officially part of the Spotify RADAR program, which is dedicated to spotlighting and supporting emerging artists at all stages of their development.

“It’s pretty big to me because I’m the first Mexican artist to do this. I’m so proud and very thankful,” says Peso Pluma of his selection. “It’s big for the country, the genre and the industry in general. We’re doing pretty good and we’re going to keep working to share our music.”

In the past, the program has provided a platform for artists across the globe, including The Kid LAROI, Zach Bryan, Doechii, Quevedo, PinkPatheress, and over 500 others since its start in in 2020.

For many, Peso Pluma appeared out of nowhere. “Ella Baila Sola,” Eslabon Armado’s smash hit with Peso Pluma, was as explosive a collaboration in the Spanish-language music space. Peso Pluma quickly became the de facto face of a movement overnight, much to his own surprise.

“I knew this was gonna happen, but I didn’t know at what level and what speed,” he tells Billboard. “I knew I was gonna do good in Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries, but this went worldwide [so fast]. I’m thankful for that.”

For his early fans, Peso Pluma has been creating earworm collaborative anthems for a handful of years, through early hits like “El Belicón” alongside Raúl Vega – which went viral on social media and brought in 10 million views on YouTube in a single month – and projects including his debut set, Ah y Qué?

To date, “Ella Baila Sola” has secured a number of firsts, most notably becoming the first regional Mexican song to reach the top 10 of the Hot 100 chart — peaking at No. 5 – and the first to top Billboard‘s Streaming Songs chart in its 10-year history.

Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado also broke a number of Spotify records, becoming the all-time most-streamed música mexicana track in one day globally and the most streamed Latin track in the U.S in one single day last month.

“Música mexicana is no longer regional – it’s global,” says Spotify head of U.S. Latin artist partnerships Eddie Santiago, noting the genre’s growth of 431% over the last five years. “It’s been incredible supporting Peso Pluma’s meteoric rise, and look forward to this next phase of his career.”

While the effect of “Ella Baila Sola” has led to unprecedented global attention on the regional Mexican space, it’s important to note that the regional Mexican genre isn’t exactly a genre. Encompassing an array of unmistakably Mexican styles of music, including norteño, corridos, banda, rancheras, mariachi and more, regional Mexican serves as an overarching umbrella term for a set of genres that had never before been afforded nuance on a mainstream level.

Growing up on artists like Ariel Camacho, Peso Pluma, born Hassan Laija, developed his love for música mexicana as a kid spending his early years growing up in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Later, the influence of hip-hop and reggaeton also found their way into the songs he’d write. Today, he painstakingly stitches together 19th century Mexican sounds with modern genres, bringing both to the Spotify stage ahead of his upcoming debut album, and a single that he’s been teasing on social media.

So what does Peso Pluma want to do next?

“I just wanna go to the Grammys and win something, you know? There’s too many things I wanna accomplish,” says the artist. “I want to have my album be welcomed by the people, I want it to have the same streams as singles do. I’m showing another part of la doble p to people.”

Miguel’s “Sure Thing” Rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay Chart 12+ Years After Initial Release

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Miguel has a sure hit on his hands…

More than 12 years after its release and its original chart run, the 37-year-old half-Mexican American singer, songwriter and actor’s single “Sure Thing” has risen to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart dated May 27.

The song, on ByStorm/Black Ice/Jive/Legacy/RCA Records, completes the longest ascent to the Pop Airplay summit from a title’s release, having first hit Billboard’s charts in February 2011, following its November 2010 release on Miguel’s debut LP, All I Want Is You.

An R&B/hip-hop radio hit in its original run, “Sure Thing” crowned the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, for a week in May 2011.

On the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, “Sure Thing” reached No. 36 over a 23-week stay in March-August 2011.

In 2022, the song resurged thanks to newfound attention on TikTok, where a sped-up version has soundtracked more than 4 million clips. It debuted on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart this January and ranked at No. 30 on the most recently published, May 20-dated chart with 10.6 million official streams in the United States May 5-11, according to Luminate.

On the May 20-dated all-format Radio Songs survey, “Sure Thing” rose 7-6, up 6% to 51.6 million in audience. On the Hot 100, it pushed 15-14, reaching a new best — as well as a new career high for Miguel, surpassing the No. 15 peak of Mariah Carey’s “#Beautiful,” on which he’s featured, in 2013.

Miguel previously tallied six Pop Airplay hits between 2012-22, rising as high as No. 12 as a featured artist on Kygo’s “Remind Me to Forget” in 2018, his best career rank prior to the revival of “Sure Thing.”

Meanwhile, the comeback to new heights for “Sure Thing” has been historic, as the single broke the record for the most weeks ever spent on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 78 (through the latest, May 20-dated survey, where it placed at No. 5, marking its first appearance in the chart’s top five since September 2011).

“We were keeping a close eye on the metrics,” says RCA head of promotion Keith Rothschild about the decision to promote the song to pop radio after TikTok sparked new interest in it. It debuted on the Pop Airplay chart dated Feb. 25, at No. 40, and hits No. 1 in its 14th week on the chart, up 7% in plays May 12-18.

While “Sure Thing” is far removed from its original release, “programmers were not hesitant at all,” Rothschild says, especially with other catalog songs recently finding new life on radio, whether from TikTok or synchs, including Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary” and The Weeknd’s “Die for You.”

“We knew the song was a hit, as it was a No. 1 R&B/hip-hop record when it was originally out,” says Rothschild of “Sure Thing.” “It was never worked at pop, so we asked programmers to put it into callout. The numbers came back massive, and we knew it was game on.”

Peso Pluma & Eslabon Armado’s “Ella Baila Sola” Becomes First-Ever No. 1 Regional Mexican Song on Billboard’s Streaming Songs Chart

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Life is but a stream for Peso Pluma…

The 23-year-old Mexican singer, wrapper and songwriter’s Eslabon Armado-collaboration “Ella Baila Sola” rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart dated May 13.

It’s the first regional Mexican song to top Streaming Songs in the tally’s 10-year history.

In the April 28-May 4 tracking week, “Ella Baila Sola” earned 34.6 million official U.S. streams, a 2% increase, according to Luminate.

The song is the first No. 1 on Streaming Songs for both acts.

For Peso Pluma, it’s his first in his premiere appearance on the ranking, while Eslabon Armado had charted once before with the No. 43-peaking “Jugaste y Sufri,” featuring DannyLux, in October 2021.

“Ella Baila Sola” marks the first Streaming Songs ruler either predominantly or completely in Spanish since Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito” crowned the survey for two weeks – July 30, 2022, and August 6, 2022.

Peso Pluma boasts two tunes in Streaming Songs’ top 10, with “Ella Baila Sola” joined by his Yng Lvcas collaboration “La Bebe” at No. 5 (21.6 million streams).

Concurrently, “Ella Baila Sola” reigns on Hot Latin Songs for a fifth week and remains at No. 4 on the all-format Billboard Hot 100.

The song’s parent album, Eslabon Armado’s Desvelado, also debuts at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 44,000 equivalent album units earned.

Bad Bunny Earns 60th Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs Chart with Grupo Frontera-Collab “un x100to”

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Make that an even 60 for Bad Bunny…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar’s Grupo Frontera-collaboration “un x100to” debuts at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, giving el Conejo Malo his 60th top 10 on the chart, extending his record among all acts.

It’s the highest debut on the chart for Grupo Frontera and the band’s fourth top 10 single.

“Un x100to” was released on April 17 via Rimas Entertainment, a surprise not only for fans, but for Grupo Frontera as well.

Bad Bunny’s vocals were incorporated as Edgar Barrera, composer of the song, revealed his participation as a surprise the day the norteño group shot the music video.

“We did not hear Bad Bunny’s part in the song until the day of the video,” Adelaido “Payo” Solis III, lead vocalist, shared during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “So when that part comes out and we were shooting the video, I froze. Having a song with Bad Bunny is just something that… It’s unexplainable.”

“Un x100to” starts at No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs, largely due to its surge in streams.

As mentioned, because the song came with the track’s music video on April 17, it joins the upper region of the multimetric ranking with only four days of activity for its chart debut. According to Luminate, it generated 20 million official U.S. streams during the April 14-20 tracking week.

That opening sum yields a No. 7 on the overall Streaming Songs chart, a first top 10 for Grupo Frontera there, and an equal No. 3 debut on Latin Streaming Songs.

“Un x100to” also registered 4,000 downloads in the same period, prompting a No. 1 launch on Latin Digital Song Sales. There, it becomes the third champ for Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s 13th chart topper.

Over on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, Grupo Frontera’s new single makes its top 20 debut, at No. 15, the highest ranking for the Rio Grande Valley-based group. For Bad Bunny, it becomes his highest chart appearance since “Moscow Mule” debuted and peaked at No. 4 in May 2022.

Back on Hot Latin Songs, “un x100to” marks Grupo Frontera’s fourth top 10. It follows “Bebe Dame,” with Fuerza Regida, which led for two weeks (January 21 and March 4-dated lists).

Elsewhere, Grupo Frontera also earns career highs on both global charts. “Un x100to” bows at No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200 with 67 million streams, while it shoots to a No. 4 start on the Global Excl. U.S. with 48 million earned during the same period.

The news of the collaboration’s debut across Billboard charts arrives on the heels of Grupo Frontera’s El Comienzo Tour, which kicked off in San Antonio, Texas, on April 20 and will take the sextet through the U.S. with its last stop on Nov. 25 in Los Angeles.

Melanie Martinez’s “Portals” Debuts at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums & Top Alternative Albums Charts

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Melanie Martinez is back at the top of the album charts…

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican & Dominican American singer, a former The Voice contestant, has snagged the top debuts on Billboard’s rock and alternative album charts dated April 15.

Martinez’s Portals opens at No. 1 on both the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums due to 142,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate.

Of that sum, 99,000 units are via album sales, while 42,000 come from streaming units, with the remaining 1,000 from track equivalent albums.

The sales and streaming counts are the best for any album on Top Rock & Alternative Albums in 2023.

Martinez notches her first No. 1 on the chart since it shifted to a model allowing for alternative-leaning albums not necessarily within the rock genre.

On Top Alternative Albums, Portals becomes her third ruler, following K-12 in 2019 and Cry Baby in 2015.

On the all-genre Billboard 200, Portals starts at No. 2, Martinez’s best rank, surpassing the No. 3 debut and peak of K-12. She also earns her first leader on Top Album Sales.

The album spurs multiple appearances on the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, paced by Martinez’s “Void,” which vaults 40-5 in its second week on the tally. In the March 31-April 6 tracking week, “Void” earned 8.7 million official U.S. streams and 100,000 radio audience impressions and sold 1,000 downloads.

The former count gets Martinez onto the all-format Streaming Songs list for the first time, at No. 42.

In all, 13 Martinez songs reach Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, with the top debut of the group being “The Contortionist” at No. 10 (5.4 million streams).

Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me” Becomes Her First Solo Single to Surpass One Billion Spotify Listens

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez has a billion reasons to smile…

The 30-year-old Mexican American singer’s blockbuster 2019 single “Lose You to Love Me” has surpassed a billion Spotify listens, a milestone she celebrated on Instagram on Wednesday (March 22).

It’s Gomez’s first billion streams track as a solo artist and fourth total.

The streaming service announced the news on social media, tweeting, “All the love for @selenagomez ❤️ Congratulations for 1 Billion streams on Lose You to Love Me #BillionsClub.”

Spotify also posted about the landmark on Instagram, which the “Calm Down” singer re-shared on her IG Story.

“Grateful,” she wrote, adding a heart emoji.

Gomez’ previous entries include collaborations on “It Ain’t Me” with Kygo, “Wolves” with Marshmello and “Taki Taki” with DJ Snake, Ozuna and Cardi B.

Released as the lead single off the Only Murders in the Building star’s third studio album, Rare, “Lose You to Love Me” marked Gomez’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was a streaming powerhouse from the very beginning, becoming the singer’s first song to top Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart shortly after its release.

“When I wrote the song ‘Lose You to Love Me,’ I was kind of a mess,” she told Billboard in early 2020. “It was really difficult for me. And by the time we shot the music video at the end of the year, it had a completely different meaning, and it was so freeing. It was actually fun for me – I think, because I let it go, it actually meant that I let it go within myself as well. And I couldn’t have asked for a better way to close a chapter in my life.”

Karol G Makes History as “Mañana Será Bonito” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Karol G is celebrating a historic moment…

The 32-year-old Colombian singer and songwriter’s new album Mañana Será Bonito is making an unprecedented splash on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated March 11, as the set debuts atop the tally.

It’s both the first No. 1 for the artist and the chart’s first No. 1 all-Spanish-language album by a female artist.

“I feel so very special. More than happiness I feel special,” Karol G tells Billboard, who spoke with her as the news was reported. “My last album did so well and had all those big hits, like ‘Bichota,’ so the bar was high. But I didn’t want to make music because I felt pressure. I wanted to make the music I wanted to make, and the fact that I’ve hit No. 1 with an album that is so personal is enormous.”

Previously, only two all-Spanish albums led the list, both by Bad Bunny. (Un Verano Sin Ti in 2022 and El Ultimo Tour del Mundo in 2020).

Mañana Será Bonito earned 94,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 2, according to Luminate. Its starting sum was largely powered by streaming activity.

Of Mañana Será Bonito’s 94,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 83,000 (equaling 118.73 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 17 tracks), album sales comprise 10,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. The album’s sales were largely powered by its digital download album (8,500), though there was a CD available in limited quantities, selling about 1,500 copies. The digital album was also offered in two alternative cover variants on Karol G’s official webstore.

Mañana Será Bonito logs the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a Latin album by a woman since the chart began measuring by units in December of 2014. (Latin albums are defined as those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart.) Further, as Mañana Será Bonito generated 118.73 million official on-demand streams for its songs, the set registers the biggest streaming week ever for a Latin album by a woman.

Mañana Será Bonito is also the first Latin album by a woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since 1995, when Selena’s posthumously-released, mostly-Spanish effort Dreaming of You topped the list for one week. (The 13-song Dreaming of You album has six tracks in Spanish, five in English and two duets that blend English and Spanish.)

Only three mostly-non-English-language albums by women have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – the all-Spanish Mañana Será Bonito, Dreaming of You and The Singing Nun’s all-French-language self-titled album in 1963.

Karol G made her Billboard chart debut in 2016 and has been a force on Billboard’s Latin genre charts ever since, notching 17 top 10 hits on the Hot Latin Songs chart – including five No. 1s (through the most recently published chart, dated March 4). On the Top Latin Albums list, she’s previously logged a trio of top two-charting sets, including one No. 1, her previous release, KG0516, in 2021.

Mañana Será Bonito is the fourth charting album for Karol G on the all-genre Billboard 200, but first to reach the top 10. She previously visited the list with KG0516 (No. 20 in 2021), Ocean (No. 54 in 2019) and Unstoppable (No. 192 in 2017). Preceding the release of the new album, Karol had logged five top 40-charting hit songs on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, but with three of them coming in 2022: “Mamiii,” with Becky G (No. 15), “Provenza” (No. 25) and “Gatubela,” with Maldy (No. 37). Both “Mamiii” and “Provenza” became Karol’s first top 10-charting hits on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, reaching Nos. 5 and 10, respectively. (Both “Provenza” and “Gatubela” are included on Mañana Será Bonito.)

With Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito replacing SZA’s SOS at No. 1, it’s the first time a woman has replaced another woman atop the list in over a year. It last happened when a trio of leading ladies traded off the top spot from November 20, 2021-December 4, 2021. Summer Walker’s Still Over It debuted at No. 1 on the on November 20 chart, Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) then opened atop the list on November 27, and Adele’s 30 bowed at No. 1 on the December 4 chart.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. 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.

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