Month: October 2022

Are you ready to squad up? Some of your favorite rappers and pop stars are.

On Sunday, Call of Duty released a trailer for the newest installment of its video game series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and enlisted a few music industry heavyweights to get fans inspired to play.

The trailer kicks off in an airplane hangar, with Lil Baby as a drill sergeant, corralling troops with a cry of “left, left, left, right, left.” His troops — on motorcycles with their engines ready to roar — head out as he shouts “Squad up!” into the hangar. From the interior of a monster truck, Lil Baby sings, “It don’t matter where you’ve been/ Modern Warfare is back again.”

Kane Brown then swoops in for the assist, from a vastly different setting. The country singer takes a break from an intimate set at a dive bar and tells all the patrons in attendance — who line-dance to the beat of the track — to “drop on in/ no time to waste,” before Nicki Minaj, appropriately dressed in a camouflage-printed skirt, effortlessly spits “pull up with the Barbz/ superheroes, no capes” with a squad of girls as backup.

Athletes, actors and video game streamers also made appearances in the promotional short too, with Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson, English soccer player Bukayo Saka and more getting face time in the ad. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II — which is notably not a reboot of 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — will become available for purchase on Oct. 28 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, PC and Xbox One. Players who preorder the game digitally, however, can start playing the new campaign starting Oct. 20.

Watch the video game trailer below.

The Chicks took the stage to headline Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday night (Oct. 7), and the group took a moment to show their support for Texas gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke.

The group took to Twitter to share a clip from their performance, in which Natalie Maines is seen wearing a t-shirt with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on it, passionately telling the crowd, “Do you have a mother? Do you have a daughter? Do you have a sister? Do you have a girlfriend? Vote Beto! If there is a female in your life that you care about, vote for Beto.”

“#Texas! The registration deadline for the Nov. 8th election is TOMORROW, Oct. 11th. Make sure you are registered!” the caption reads, along with the link to register to vote in Texas.

O’Rourke, who is challenging incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the Nov. 8 general election, was a Democratic candidate for president of the United States in 2020. In 2018, O’Rourke was a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas. Incumbent Senator Ted Cruz defeated O’Rourke in the general election by a margin of just three percentage points.

Last week, Harry Styles also voiced his support for O’Rourke during his Love on Tour Austin concert, rocking a black-and-white sticker on his guitar’s bottom right corner that read “Beto for Texas.”

With his unmatched prowess on timbales and cheerful pan-Latin rhythms, Tito Puente rewrote the Latin pop playbook for half of the 20th century. Earning the nickname the King of Latin Music, the multi-hyphenate musician put Caribbean styles — like mambo, salsa, boogaloo, cha-cha-cha, rumba, guaracha and Afro-Cuban jazz — on the global map. His upbeat tropical compositions have endured well beyond their years. 

In celebration of Latin/Hispanic Heritage Month, Google commemorates Puente in today’s charming new Doodle video, created by New York-based Puerto Rican illustrator Carlos Aponte. “Tito was part of my musical experience growing up in Puerto Rico. My aunt introduced me to Tito Puente via La Lupe, a famous singer in Puerto Rico and New York,” says the illustrator. “Tito was like a Svengali for talents like Celia Cruz. He was a household name. So Tito was part of my Puerto Rican soundtrack.”

Featuring the lively “Ran Kan Kan,” the animated clip takes viewers back to Puente’s childhood at 110th Street and Third Avenue in Spanish Harlem, where the budding artist bangs on pots and pans in his room bedecked with a Puerto Rican flag. It follows Puente’s various stints as a musician, showing him as a Navy ship’s bandleader (he served during World War II) up to him ruling over New York City nightlife as the undisputed King of the Timbales. 

The Google Doodle also celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Tito Puente Monument, which was unveiled in his hometown of East Harlem, New York, on this day (Oct. 10), located on the northern end of Central Park. In 2000, the same year the musical legend died, 110th Street was renamed Tito Puente Way.

Born Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr. on April 20, 1923, in Spanish Harlem to Puerto Rican parents, the young Nuyorican musician grew up surrounded by the rich Latin diversity the city is known for. He led his first orchestra in the late ‘40s, and by the 1950s, he became an unrivaled master of timbales and vibraphone. In 1969, he was bestowed the key to New York City.

In his lifetime, he released an immense discography that includes more than 100 full-length albums that showcased his propulsive dance rhythms and jubilant brass melodies. He penned timeless hits such as “Oye Como Va,” which was famously covered by Santana, “Mambo Gozón” (1958), “La Guarachera” (1966) with Celia Cruz, and many more. In the late ‘60s, Tito Puente joined New York’s maverick troupe Fania All-Stars, also starring Eddie Palmeri, Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz. 

His journey began with “Ran Kan Kan,” his first recorded track, which is featured in the Google Doodle. In 1992, “Ran Kan Kan” entered the top 10 of Billboard‘s Dance Club Songs chart. In 2010, “Guantanamera” by Celia Cruz, featuring Puente, landed at No. 2 on the World Digital Song Sales chart. In 1995, Puente was given the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award.

Last year, Google Doodles honored Latin culture independence days, celebrating Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico. Another Doodle celebrated a Chilean holiday with a drawing of a huemul, represented on the country’s national shield.

Illustrator Aponte has also provided artwork for the Latin Recording Academy, The New Yorker and The New York Times. He currently teaches drawing at the Fashion Institute of Technology. With his Doodle, he hopes people will take away this message: “Love what you do, train, study, and be the best you can be. If you excel, everything else will fall into place. There are no shortcuts. Those who make it easily don’t last long. Tito was a perfect example; he was the best!”

Billboard Latin Music Week invited music fans to daytime panel discussions throughout the week from industry hitmakers and executives, who continue to successfully explore and navigate the Latin music genre. In the evening, goers enjoyed exclusive live performances from chart-topping artists and Wednesday night were treated to an intimate En Vivo concert from Justin Quiles. 

For the evening, the Faena Theater on South Beach transformed into a marigold oasis, with presenting sponsor, Smirnoff, pairing the evening’s live entertainment with the bold flavors of its Spicy Tamarind and a variety of Lemonades. Across the remainder of Latin Music Week at Oasis Wynwood, Smirnoff amplified the vibes and served up “flavor for the People” with cold refreshments and multiple photo moments for all of the (21+) Billboard Latin Music Week goers (21+) to enjoy. It was a vibe!

Before the Puerto Rican-American star took the stage, fans enjoyed a robust line up of perreo-filled sets from DJ Negra Fabulosa; the Venezuelan pioneer taking Miami’s dance scene by storm and DJ Bonnie Beats; the Miami-based, by way of New York City tastemaker, before closing out the pre-show with a set from Dímelo Flow, the award winning Panamanian DJ/producer and Quiles’ labelmate on RichMusic .  

The 32-year-old artist, known not only for his charting hits, but for penning smashes for chart-toppers Anitta, J Balvin, Becky G, Daddy Yankee and Rosalía, took the stage and delivered an upbeat seventeen tracked setlist, including hits “Jeans,” “Colorin Colorado,” and “Que Más Pues,” with a surprise marriage proposal to close out the night. 

Check out the photos from the multi-day activation HERE.

To honor World Mental Health Day on Monday (Oct. 10), Imagine Dragons shared a new music video for their Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 track, “I Don’t Like Myself.”

“Stand up, tired of being a victim / You only on the outs if you with ’em / Only hurts if you give ’em credence / Give ’em reasons / They’re not better than you,” the band’s frontman Dan Reynolds sings in the powerful pre-chorus, walking down the street in the black-and-white vignette.

Along with the music video release, Imagine Dragons has partnered with Crisis Text Line, encouraging fans to support the organization and their work through fundraisers available on the band’s social media platforms. Crisis Text Line works to provide free, text-based mental health support and crisis intervention throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, in English and Spanish. The organization’s services are available 24 hours a day, every day. 

“I wrote this song at a very low point for me,” Reynolds said of “I Don’t Like Myself.” “I struggled quite a bit with self-love over the years. I was in a deep rut of depression and turned to music for refuge. I’ve since spent many years in therapy working on self-love. I believe therapy is the reason I am still alive today. If it’s ever a question of whether or not you should go to therapy. The answer is always yes. Stay alive.”

“We’re grateful to join forces with Imagine Dragons to bring awareness to the growing mental health crisis,” added Dena Trujillo, CEO of Crisis Text Line. “Our research shows that music is the most frequently mentioned coping mechanism for young people in emotional distress. “I Don’t Like Myself” will bring comfort to many, as it embodies the hope and empathy that we all need at different times in our lives. Our volunteer Crisis Counselors are here 24/7 to provide free and confidential support to anyone in need—a crisis to you is a crisis to us.”

Watch the “I Don’t Like Myself” video below.