The 23rd annual Latin Grammys is a week away, where Bad Bunny is the top contender with 10 nods, including album of the year for his Billboard 200-topping Un Verano Sin Ti. The Puerto Rican artist is followed by Mexican hitmaker Edgar Barrera with nine nominations; Rauw Alejandro with eight nominations; Christina Aguilera and Rosalía with seven nods each; and last year’s top winner, Camilo, with six nominations.
But one of the most coveted awards of the night is best new artist. This year, the Latin Recording Academy recognized 11 up-and-coming talents from different regions of the world such as Mexico, Brazil, and Peru, and of ages ranging from 15 to 95 years old.
Cuban singer-songwriter Angela Álvarez, for example, becomes the oldest musician to ever be nominated for best new artist. “It was a very big but very beautiful surprise, and I thought afterward that all my dreams came true. At 95, but that doesn’t matter,” she previously told Billboard.
Meet all of this year’s nominees and vote for who should win below. (Editor’s Note: The poll is solely fan-based and not tied to any award decision.)
The Latin Grammy Awards — which “promise to honor the legacy, celebrate the present and embrace the future of Latin music, with deliberate consciousness, paying-it-forward to the next generations of music creators,” according to a press statement — will be held Nov. 17 at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and will air live on Univision beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The Latin Grammy Premiere, a non-televised ceremony in which the winners in most categories are announced, will take place before the broadcast.
More music from TOMORROW X TOGETHER is on the way! On Thursday (Nov. 10), HYBE CEO Jiwon Park announced during a company briefing that the K-pop group — which consists of members Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai — will be returning in January 2023 with brand new music.
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Though fans will have to sit tight for a little while before learning more about the project’s concept, title and release date, it will be the first music release the quintet has released since the arrival of its fourth mini EP, minisode 2: Thursday’s Child. That project was a hit for the K-pop stars. It spent a total of 14 weeks on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, where it peaked at No. 4. The mini album achieved even more success on the Top Current Album Sales chart, where it spent 20 weeks on the chart and hit No. 1.
Speaking about Thursday’s Child in a May interview with Billboard, Soobin looked ahead to the future. “As we have more years and even more albums under our belts, we’re getting better outcomes and better numbers,” he said. “We have [also] tried many genres in music. As we work on more and more albums, [I feel like] we don’t have any limits. We’ve taken this musical journey step by step.”
Up next for the group is a stop at the 2022 MAMA Awards. In addition to taking the stage for a performance, TOMORROW X TOGETHER is nominated for five awards in the best male group, best dance performance male group and song of the year (“Good Boy Gone Bad”), artist of the year and worldwide fans’ choice top 10 categories.
Philly rapper Tierra Whack was arrested at the Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday (Nov. 8) for possession of a loaded handgun. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office confirmed to Billboard that Whack, 27, was taken into custody at the airport after officials found a loaded firearm at a security checkpoint.
DA office spokesperson Jane Roh noted that Whack had a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and that she was charged with a summary offense for having a loaded firearms at an airport security checkpoint. TMZ reported that law enforcement sources said Whack’s bag was searched by Homeland Security at an X-ray checkpoint, where they discovered the weapon with six live rounds in the magazine and none in the chamber.
Authorities told TMZ they believed that the gun was mistakenly carried by Whack to the airport; the handgun was confiscated and Whack was issued a citation and released. A spokesperson for Whack could not be reached at press time.
Philly magazine noted that licensed handgun owners are legally allowed to bring a gun on a plane if they check it in a proper container at the ticket counter. If you try to bring it through the TSA checkpoint on your body or in a carry-on, however, that is a no go, even though it happens all the time. The magazine reported that according to the TSA, agents discover 17 guns a day at airports around the U.S., with strapped travelers setting a new record in 2021, when a total of 5,972 guns were intercepted by the TSA.
As for how often people try to fly with a loaded gun, the TSA said that during a single week agents discovered 64 guns in carry-on bags, 55 of which were loaded; agents confiscated 39 guns at Philadelphia International in 2021 and so far this year they’ve already taken away 38 guns, 28 of which were loaded.
BTS ARMY, this is not a drill: RM promised that a solo album would be arriving in the imminent future, and now a date has been set, along with the project’s official title. On Thursday (Nov. 10), the rapper dropped the news via Instagram, sharing a photo of a bright blue patch of denim, along with the LP’s details.
“‘Indigo,’” RM captioned the post. “RM 1st Solo Album, 12/2.”
BTS’ music label, BigHit Music, also shared the news to its respective feeds, along with a photo of a blue fabric swatch with the album title bleached in white. The label also added that Indigo will be released on Dec. 2 at 12 a.m. ET and 2 p.m. KT.
“Indigo recounts the stories and experiences RM has gone through, like a diary,” a press release said of the project. “The album will present a different charm of RM with various featured artists.” (None of the featured artists have yet been announced.)
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Though Indigo will be RM’s first full-length solo album, the rapper previously released two mixtapes. He was the first of the BTS members to share solo material, dropping his self-titled mixtape in 2015, which contained singles “Do You,” “Awakening” and “Joke.” RM then released a second mixtape in 2018 titled Mono. “Forever Rain” was released as the only single from this latter body of work, and the set debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
The announcement of RM’s solo album arrives shortly after fellow BTS member Jin released his own solo track titled “The Astronaut.” The track currently sit at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Bankroll Freddie was arrested in Jonesboro, Arkansas on Wednesday (Nov. 9) as part of a major federal drug and gun bust conducted across the state. The rapper (born Freddie Gladney III) and his father, Freddie Gladney Jr., were among more than 45 people swept up in the action according to a copy of the federal indictment.
The indictment claims that from March 2021 through Oct. 2022 the defendants allegedly conspired to distribute and possess cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana and that Freddie possessed an arsenal of firearms that included at least three 9mm pistols, two rifles and machine guns “in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.”
Prosecutors claim that the Gladneys and their co-conspirators allegedly trafficked guns and drugs between Arkansas, Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Oklahoma and that the arrests were the culmination of three different investigations. According to the Associated Press, a statement from the U.S. Attorneys office in Little Rock said that two FBI investigations into gang violence and drug trafficking and a separate DEA investigation uncovered methamphetamine and fentanyl being mailed from California into Arkansas and then distributed in Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Houston; weapons, including machine guns, cash and drugs were all seized as part of the investigation.
At press time a spokesperson for Gladney, 28, had not returned a request for comment.
KAIT 8 reported that the FBI investigations focused on two rival Arkansas gangs: the “Every Body Killas Gang (EBK) and the “Loady Murder Mobb Gang.” After Pine Bluff detective Kevin Collins was shot and killed in Oct. 2020 while serving a warrant on an EBK member while assisting federal agents in their investigation into the gangs the information gleaned from his work allowed federal agents to obtain 12 wiretaps through June 2022 that helped prevent planned crimes and led to the arrest of Bankroll, his father and others.
According to court documents, Quality Control rapper Freddie is facing at least 11 charges, which include: possession of cocaine, possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana, two counts of intent to distribute marijuana, knowingly and intentionally possession firearms, three counts of providing false/fictitious information on a gun purchase form, using guns for gun trafficking, using a telephone to traffic drugs and knowingly possessing one or more machine guns.
Freddie was arrested in Arkansas in April on multiple charges, including resisting arrest/refusal to submit to arrest/active or passive refusal, “simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms,” as well as a felony count of possession of a schedule VI controlled substance with the purpose to deliver, speeding and an additional possession charge.
Arkansas native Freddie joined the Quality Control team in 2019 after releasing his single “Drip Like This” and the Saved By the Bales mixtape, followed by 2020’s From Trap to Rap album, had features from Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Moneybagg Yo and Young Dolph. After singing to Motown Records in 2020, he dropped the 2021 single “Add It Up, followed by the Megan Thee Stallion collab “Pop It” from his 2021 album Big Bank. He released a collab with Icewear Vezzo, “Picking Sides,” around the time of the April arrest, followed by his From Trap to Rap 2 album.
Dermot Kennedy is gearing up to release his new album, Sonder, on Nov. 18, and the artist sat down with Billboard News to discuss his musical journey so far.
“I found the word ‘sonder’ a few years ago, the meaning being just the awareness that everybody is living a life just as important and as complex as your own,” he says of his sophomore LP’s title. “At that point, I didn’t really have any part of my life or career to attach it to, so it was just a word that I appreciated and it meant something to me.”
He adds that in the process of making his new album, he tried to “unlock the same honesty and power of a feeling” as his debut record. “You have to say something worth while and prove that you deserve to be around, and there’s added pressure in that sense,” he explains.
“These albums define the way I live, and I can already feel me putting pressure on myself in a healthy way,” he continues. “This album is about having empathy and being conscious of other people’s struggles and triumphs, so I can’t just say that and not live it.”
As for his writing technique, Kennedy says he captures a “time sample” of where he’s at in his life. “That’s quite a freeing, in a way, though,” he says, noting that it allows him to let go of the pressure to make an album that’s the best he’s ever created. “I should just trust what comes out of my brain, to some extent.”
Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Kennedy above.
A judge sentenced a Walnut Grove man to serve 22 years for a shooting death last year.
Court documents say 21 year old Lakota Tucker was sentenced to 17 years for second-degree murder, 15 years for unlawful use of a weapon and five years for armed criminal action in the death of Cory Estey.
On July 4, 2021, authorities found Estey dead from a gunshot wound in the 8700 block of North Farm Road 43 in Ash Grove.
Tucker later arrived and admitted to deputies that he was the shooter.
Luke Combs was the big winner at the 56th annual CMA Awards, which were held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday (Nov. 9). Combs won three awards – entertainer of the year for the second year in a row and album of the year (he won two awards in that category – one as artist and one as a producer).
Combs is the first person to win entertainer of the year two years running since Garth Brooks won his final two awards in the category in 2016 and 2017. (Brooks subsequently removed himself from future consideration in that category.)
And Combs is the first person to win entertainer of the year and album of the year on the same night since Taylor Swift in 2009.
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This is the 11th consecutive year that a male artist has won entertainer of the year. Swift was the last woman to win the award, in 2011. That 11-year stretch of nothing-but-male winners? It’s the longest since the 12-year all-male stretch between Reba McEntire’s 1986 win and Shania Twain’s 1999 victory.
There were several record-breakers among this year’s winners.
Chris Stapleton became the first six-time winner for male artist of the year. He surpassed Vince Gill, Blake Shelton and George Strait, each of whom has won in that category five times.
“Buy Dirt” became the first song in CMA history that was written by as many as four songwriters to win song of the year. The song was written by two pairs of brothers (Jacob and Jordan Davis and Josh and Matt Jenkins). The single rendition of the song by Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan became a No. 1 hit on both Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay.
Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde won musical event of the year for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” They were the first all-female collaboration to win in 28 years — since Reba McEntire with Linda Davis’ “Does He Love You” (1994).
As noted, Combs won album of the year for Growin’ Up, his first studio album since What You See Is What You Get, which won the award two years ago. Combs is the first artist to win this top award with back-to-back studio albums since Stapleton won with Traveller (2015) and From A Room: Volume 1 (2017). In all of CMA history, just four other artists have won album of the year with back-to-back studio albums – Charlie Rich, Brooks, Strait (who did it twice) and Tim McGraw.
Wilson, who led all nominees with six nods, won female artist of the year and new artist of the year. Wilson maintained the recent streak of first-time winners for female vocalist of the year. The last four winners in this category, Kacey Musgraves (2019), Maren Morris (2020), Pearce (2021) and now Wilson, have all been first-time winners in the category. Wilson is the first artist to win female artist of the year the first time she was nominated since Carrie Underwood in 2006.
Johnson’s “Til You Can’t” won single of the year and music video of the year. The single reached No. 1 on both Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay. Johnson’s video prevailed over strong competition that included Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” which features Stapleton. Swift is a two-time winner in the video category.
Brothers Osborne won their fifth award for vocal duo of the year, becoming one of just three duos to win five or more times. Brooks & Dunn (who were nominated again this year) lead with 14 wins in the category. Sugarland won five times.
Old Dominion won vocal group of the year for the fifth year in a row. Only The Statler Brothers (nine wins), Rascal Flatts (six) and Little Big Town (six) have won as many as five times. In accepting the award, lead singer Matthew Ramsey paid tribute to Alabama’s Jeff Cook, who died on Monday. Alabama won vocal group of the year three times, from 1981-83.
Fiddle player Jenee Fleenor won musician of the year for the fourth year in a row. She’s the first and only female musician to win in the category. Her win means that steel guitarist Paul Franklin came up short in the category for the 30th time. (Of course, you can’t lose 30 times in a category without being nominated 30 times in the category, an amazing achievement.)
Alan Jackson received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Jackson, 64, is by far the youngest recipient of the award. The last three recipients, Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride and Loretta Lynn, were in their 80s when they received the honor. Pride and Lynn died not long after.
The eligibility period for the 56th annual CMA Awards was July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.
They were just the right trio to take on the task, performing Lewis’ signature track “Great Balls of Fire” at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. King banged away on the piano keys as The Black Keys brought their blues-rock chops to the stage. With an alternately growling and wailing vocal, Keys leaned into her performance, even emblazoning the back of her black leather pants with Lewis’ nickname “The Killer” that could be seen every time she leaned into the keyboard just like the infamous showman.
Lewis died at age 87 last month.
It was fitting that the rock ‘n’ roll founding father was honored at the country awards show. A 2022 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Lewis is one of just 16 people to have been inducted into both the Country and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame. He was also the last living member of the very first class of inductees into the Rock Hall, who were honored back in 1986.
Lewis wasn’t the only late legend honored at the show: The CMA Awards kicked off with a tribute to Loretta Lynn, who also died last month, at age 90. Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire performed the tribute, each performing solo Lynn songs before coming together for her signature tune, “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
