Belinda Signs Exclusive Record Deal with Warner Music México

Posted on August 8, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s an exclusive for Belinda.

The 33-year-old Spanish-Mexican singer and actress has inked an exclusive record deal with Warner Music México that will represent a new stage in her career 10 years after her last album release.

The official signing took place on Monday, August 7 at Warner Music Latina headquarters in Miami Beach, where Belinda was joined by Warner Music México MD Tomas Rodriguez and Warner Music Latina president Alejandro Duque.

“We are honored to welcome Belinda, one of the most important artists in Latin pop music, to our WML family,” Duque expressed in a press statement. “Her undeniable talent, versatility, and dedication to her art make her a unique and exceptional artist. We are excited to accompany her on this new stage of her career, confident that together, we will reach new horizons and make history in her return to music.”

The artist, born Belinda Peregrín Schüll, was only 10 years old when she was cast as the lead in the Mexican children’s telenovela Amigos x Siempre. In addition to her film and TV roles, Belinda has released four studio albums: Belinda (2004), Utopía (2006), Carpe Diem (2010) and Catarsis (2013) — all of which entered the top 10 of Billboard‘s Latin Pop Albums chart. Catarsis, her last set, peaked at No. 4 on the Top Latin Albums chart in 2013.

“Throughout my musical career I have been lucky enough to come across wonderful people but also difficult and unexpected situations that did not allow me to maximize my potential and stop believing,” said Belinda in an Instagram post. “I stopped believing in the industry and companies. Today, years later, I decided to believe again. Believing in myself, in my music, in my career and in a wonderful team, which at a time very different from the one I had to live in the past, is fully committed. Thank you for believing.”

Belinda will soon unveil her new music projects under the signing.

Cardi B’s Offset-Collab “Jealousy” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Cardi B is a trending queen…

The 30-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar’s collaboration with husband and rapper Offset, “Jealousy,” has debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, dated August 5.

Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by Twitter, tracks global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across Twitter, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday, with the latest tracking period running July 21-27.

“Jealousy” premiered in full on July 28, but its release was first teased on with a video posted to Offset’s social media on July 24 starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Two days later on July 26, its title – and Cardi B’s involvement – was revealed.

It’s Cardi’s second No. 1 on Hot Trending Songs, which began in 2021, after she was also featured on Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor Again” this April. Meanwhile, it’s Offset’s first solo appearance on the survey.

“Jealousy” reigns over a variety of songs from Travis Scott’s newly released album Utopia, which came out July 28, after the tracklist was revealed July 27. “Skitzo” leads the pack at No. 2, followed by “Meltdown” at No. 3, and “Modern Jam” joins the group in the top 10 (No. 6).

Bella Thorne’s “Divinity” to Have International Premiere at Italy’s Taormina Film Festival

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thorne’s latest film is preparing to have its first international showing…

The 25-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer’s feature Divinity, hailing from Bolivian American director Eddie Alcazar, is set to premiere internationally at the Taormina Film Festival on June 29th in Italy.

Writer and director Alcazar and stars Thorne, Karrueche Tran and Moises Arias will appear at the Teatro Antico for the celebration.

The feature, produced by Steven Soderbergh, was reportedly acquired at Sundance by Utopia and Sumerian for seven figures.

It will also screen in Germany at the Munich Film Festival and in Canada at Fantasia Film Festival this summer.

Divinity is set in an otherworldly human existence where scientist Sterling Pierce (Scott Bakula) is on a quest for immortality, slowly creating the building blocks of a groundbreaking serum named “Divinity.” Jaxxon Pierce (Stephen Dorff), his son, now controls and manufactures his father’s once-benevolent dream.

Society on this barren planet has been entirely perverted by the supremacy of the drug, whose true origins are shrouded in mystery. Two mysterious brothers (Jason Genao and Arias) arrive with a plan to abduct the mogul, and with the help of a seductive woman named Nikita (Tran), they will be set on a path hurtling toward true immortality.

“Divinity is a creative tour-de-force. We are fortunate to be screening the film’s European premiere after its success at Sundance. I look forward to welcoming Eddie Alcazar and the film’s cast to the premiere in Taormina. It will surely be one of the highlights of the Festival this year,” said Barrett Wissman, the Festival’s Executive and Artistic Director.

Prior to his success with Divinity, Alcazar directed The Vandal, executive produced by Darren Aronofsky, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Additionally, he directed the feature-length sci-fi thriller Perfect (2018), executive produced by Soderbergh through his company Brainfeeder Films and produced 2016’s Kuso.

Al Madrigal to Star in the New Feature “Drugstone June”

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Al Madrigal is headed to the drugstone…

The 51-year-old half-Mexican American comedian, writer, actor and producer has joined the cast of Drugstone June, a new feature from Utopia, All Things Comedy and Shout! Studios.

Madrigal is part of a cast of notable comedic talents that includes Esther Povitsky, Bobby Lee, Beverly D’Angelo, James Remar, Brandon Wardell, Danny Griffin, Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams, Miranda Cosgrove, Haley Joel Osment, Matt Walsh, Jackie Sandler, Nick Rutherford, Jon “Dumbfoundead” Park, Trevor Wallace, Bhad Bhabie, Steph Tolev, Jon Gabrus and Bill Burr.

The film, directed by Nicholaus Goossen, follows a self-involved young woman who decides to solve the robbery of a local pharmacy while struggling to get over her ex-boyfriend.

Goossen is directing from his and Povitsky’s script.

“The team on this film has been stellar. We’re all big Esther Povitsky fans and it’s her time to lead a feature film,” said Utopia’s founder. “With Nicholaus Goossen at the helm, her collaborator on the comedy special HOT FOR MY NAME, the two have established a fresh, unique and standout comedic style. Mix that in with this star-studded ensemble, and it’s exciting to think of what’s to come for the film!”

Desmin Borges to Star in the Military Thriller “Valiant One”

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Desmin Borges is a valiant one…

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor will star opposite Lana Condor, Callan Mulvey and Chase Stokes in Monarch Media’s thriller Valiant One, which goes into production in Vancouver this month.

The first feature directed by Monarch’s Steve Barnett watches as a U.S. helicopter crashes on the North Korean side of the DMZ. With tensions between the North and South already on the verge of war, the surviving U.S. Army non-combat tech soldiers must work together to protect a civilian tech specialist and find their way across the DMZ, without the possibility of U.S. military support.

Condor will play Selby, a hard-as-nails and highly capable but very inexperienced Medic Specialist who joined the U.S. military after becoming a citizen to give back to her new homeland.

Borges is set for the role of Josh Weaver, a civilian defense contractor who’s cocky, with enough smarts to back it up, and obnoxious until the weight of the danger settles in on him and he becomes part of the team.

Mulvey will portray Chris Lebold the square-jawed Delta Operative and poster child for American heroic iconography, who’s in a heap of trouble and pain when the team crashes but remains a leader throughout.

Eric Tipton wrote the script, which is based on an original idea by Barnett.

Borges is best known for turns on such series as The Time Traveler’s Wife, Welcome to Flatch, Utopia and You’re the Worst, having received an Imagen Award nomination for his work on the latter.

He’s also appeared in films including Private Life, Never Here, Carrie Pilby, Gabriel, All Is Bright and Compliance.

Also coming up for the actor is Lionsgate’s action rom-com Shotgun Wedding, in which he stars alongside Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, D’Arcy Carden, Jennifer Coolidge and others.

Romeo Santos to Release “Formula Vol 3” in September

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Romeo Santos will be sharing his winning Formula in less than a month…

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican-American singer, known as the King of Bachata, has announced plans to release his latest album Formula Vol 3. On September 1.

Santos revealed the release date of his new album with a 14-second teaser on social media on Monday, August 15.

The video featured a crown spinning at the guitar’s sound of what could be his next single as his voice says: “You don’t forget Romeo! Y yo, ni te recuerdo .”

The caption of the Instagram post read, “9.1.2022 FV3,” the date for the album’s release.

The new album comes eight years after Santos released Vol. 2 in 2014. Following the LP’s release, it became the best-selling Latin album to move 100,000 copies in the first week, making it the best debut for a Latin album since teen pop group RBD’s Celestial in 2006. Since the last Formula album in 2014, Santos has released Golden (2017) and Utopia (2019).

Throughout his career, Santos — also the leader of bachata supergroup Aventura — has scored a total of 43 entries on the Hot Latin Songs chart, the fourth-most among tropical acts, trailing Marc Anthony’s 60, Gilberto Santa Rosa’s 48 entries, and Victor Manuelle, who’s had a total of 47.

Santos has had a total of seven No. 1s — including his highest charting title at No. 1, “Odio,” feat. Drake, which topped the list for 13 weeks — making him the third-most among tropical acts, right behind Gloria Estefan, who has 15, and Anthony’s eight entries.

Additionally, Santos has scored 20 total top 10s, tying Juan Luis Guerra for the third-most among Tropical acts, behind Anthony and Estefan.

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Santos is confirmed for this year’s Billboard Latin Music Week, set to take place September 26-30 at the Faena Forum in Miami. Other confirmed artists to speak at the conference include Camilo, Ivy Queen, Chayanne, Nicky Jam, Eslabon Armado, Bizarrap, Blessd, Ovy on the Drums, Luis R. Conriquez, among many others. Registration is now open at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.

Cheech Marin to Star Opposite Jennifer Lopez in Action-Comedy “Shotgun Wedding”

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Cheech Marin is the father of the bride…

The 74-year-old Mexican-American actor and stand-up comedian will star in the Lionsgate action-comedy Shotgun Wedding, starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel.

Mark Hammer and Liz Meriwether penned the screenplay, Jason Moore is directing the film.

In the film, Grace (Lopez) and Tom (Duhamel) gather their lovable but very opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding just as the couple begins to get cold feet. And if that wasn’t enough of a threat to the celebration, suddenly everyone’s lives are in danger when the entire party is taken hostage. “Til Death Do Us Part” takes on a whole new meaning in this hilarious, adrenaline-fueled adventure as Grace and Tom must save their loved ones — if they don’t kill each other first.

Marin will play Robert, Grace’s father.

Other cast members include Lenny Kravitz, D’Arcy Carden, Selena Tan, Desmin Borges and Alex Mallari.

Borges’ character is Ricky, the permanently whisky-buzzed, embarrassing childhood best friend of Tom.

Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina are producing for Nuyorican Productions.

Production is slated to commence this month.

Marin is best known as one-half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong.

Borges’ credits include You’re the Worst on FX, Amazon’s Utopia, and the Netflix limited series Living with Yourself.

Desmin Borges to Appear on Fox’s Series “This Country”

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Desmin Borges is heading to this country…

The 36-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor has landed a recurring role in Fox’s This Country, Jenny Bicks’ and Paul Feig’s remake of the BBC comedy.

In the half-hour series, a documentary crew goes to a small town to study young adults and their current concerns. Their focus is the daily lives of cousins Kelly (Chelsea Holmes) and Shrub Mallet (Sam Straley) and their idiosyncratic surroundings.

Seann William Scott, Aya Cash, Taylor Ortega, YouTuber Krystal Smith and Justin Linville also star.

Borges will play Jimmy Jameson, the rival editor to Cheryl (Cash) in the town next to Flatch. Borges will join the series, currently filming in North Carolina, beginning in Episode 2. Feig is directing the series’ first three episodes.

This Country is based on the eponymous BBC Three series, which ran on the British public broadcaster’s youth-skewing network for three seasons from 2017-20. The BAFTA-winning series, which was written by and starred Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper, was set in the Cotswolds in rural England.

The role reunites Borges with Cash, his former You’re the Worst co-star. Borges portrayed Edgar Quintero on five seasons of the FX comedy-drama. He also stars as Dan on the Netflix limited series Living with Yourself opposite Paul Rudd, as well as in films like Private Life, alongside Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch and Denis O’Hare. Borges most recently can be seen as Wilson Wilson in Amazon’s Utopia, co-starring John Cusack and Rainn Wilson.

This Country is produced by Lionsgate, BBC Studios, Fox Entertainment and Feigco Entertainment.

Amazon Prime Releases Trailer for Desmin Borges’ Comic Book Conspiracy Series “Utopia”

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Desmin Borges has found his utopia…

The 36-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor is starring in Amazon Prime’s eight-part comic book conspiracy series Utopia, which will hit the streaming platform on September 25.

The series,written and executive produced by Gillian Flynn,explores the danger that ensues when fiction and reality collide.

The show, inspired by the British series of the same name, follows a group of comic book fans hoping to avoid the end of humanity after finding clues about world destruction and biological warfare hidden in the pages of the titular series.

The trailer for the new Amazon show sees the group of conspiracy theorists, played by Borges, Ashleigh LaThrop, Dan Byrd, Jessica Rothe and Javon Walton, face additional threats from government leaders and health industry giants, as if the threat of fatal diseases wasn’t already intimidating enough.

“We can fight it, we’d just be going into the bell of the beast, practically begging to be slaughtered,” Rainn Wilson, who plays the show’s Dr. Michael Stearns.

Additional actors joining the Utopia cast are John Cusak, Sasha Lane, Farrah Mackenzie, Christopher Denham and Cory Michael Smith.

Prince Royce’s “Alter Ego” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums Chart

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Prince Roycenow has a handful of chart-topping albums…

The 30-year-old Dominican American singer has earned his fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart dated February 22 as Alter Ego debuts at the summit.

The set earned 11,000 in equivalent album units in the week ending February 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of that sum, 8,000 were in album sales, while the bulk of the remainder was generated by streaming activity.

The double album consisting of the chapters Genesis and Enigma is the first set by a tropical music act to bow at No. 1 since Romeo Santos’ Utopíadebuted atop the tally nearly a year ago (April 20, 2019-dated chart.)

“I made this double album to give the fans a different musical journey,” Royce tells Billboard. “It feels great that people have embraced it, that it has debuted at No. 1.”

Royce’s sixth studio album, released via Sony Music Latin on February 7, got a sales boost in its first week thanks to eight in-store appearances the artist made during its release week in Florida, New York, Los Angeles, Illinois and Texas.

It’s the biggest sales week for a Latin album since Santos’ Utopía, which sold 9,000 units in its opening week (April, 20, 2019-dated chart).

Top Latin Albums ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Alter Egoregistered 3,000 SEA units, which equates to 4.8 million on-demand streams for the set’s tracks in its debut week.

Alter Ego is Prince Royce’s fifth No. 1, and third consecutive set to debut at No. 1. He previously hit No. 1 with Five(March 18, 2017), Soy El Mismo(October 26, 2013), Phase II (April 28, 2012) and his self-titled album (April 23, 2011). HIs only charting album to miss the top was a greatest hits package titled #1’s, which peaked at No. 3 on December 8, 2012.

The new album was preceded by four songs on theHot Latin Songs chart, which blends airplay, streams and digital sales, starting with “El Clavo,” featuring Maluma (No. 13 high, September 2018), “Adicto,” with Marc Anthony(peaked at No. 33, December 2018), “Cúrame,” with Manuel Turizo (No. 31, July 2019) and “Morir Solo” (No. 35, October 2019).

“It also feels great that I will soon be performing these songs in more than 40 U.S. cities on my Alter Ego Tour,” the 30-year-old adds. “All of this happening 10 years into my career is a wonderful blessing.“

Beyond its Top Latin Albums coronation, Alter Ego concurrently debuts at No. 1 on Tropical Albums, the first No. 1 debut of the year on the chart.

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