Month: March 2023

From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Los Tigres del Norte give back

Mexican supergroup Los Tigres del Norte announced that they’ve teamed up with venue SAP Center, in San Jose, Calif., to donate partial proceeds from the band’s upcoming hometown show April 1. The donations will benefit Local organizations Ayudando Latinos a Soñar and Hijas del Campo, who aid area farmworkers in the aftermath of recent floods and the Half Moon Bay shooting.

“It has also been important to us to show our gratitude by giving back to the community,” the norteño ensemble said in a statement. “Farmworkers already face many hardships in daily life and we could not stand by when so many people close to home have had to face these additional horrible events. We also encourage more people to join us once again in supporting this hardworking, but underserved community.”

Maná’s Alex González to be honored

Drum Workshop presented Alex González, Maná’s legendary drummer, with a DW Collectors Series Icon Snare, as a tribute to the musician. The snare drums, created by DW drum designer John Good, “pay tribute to some of the most iconic drummers in the history of rock,” according to a press release. Each snare is sized and configured to reflect the snare the artist plays and features an inlaid design made from “exotic wood veneers.”

“I am very happy and excited that my icon snare drum will be able to help others that are in need, that’s why my charity of choice is Nariz Roja A.C. that helps and supports low income children with Cancer in Mexico,” González said. “Thank you DW and thank you to those who have purchased my Icon Snare for your support and help! Big Hug!”

J&N Records receive special award

Executives Juan Hidalgo and Nelson Estévez received the Premio Soberano Especial from the Dominican Republic’s Asociación de Cronistas de Arte (ACROARTE). The special award honors their “productive” career as label executives and owners of J&N Records, which the brothers launched in 1981 in Queens, New York. Some of the artists they’ve worked with include Monchy & Alexandra, Tito Rojas and Johnny Ventura, among others.

“Thank you ACROARTE and to the many artists who’ve been with us for 43 years working for music,” Estévez expressed as they received the award at the Teatro Nacional in Santo Domingo.

Laura Pausini said “I do”

After 18 years with her partner Paolo Carta, Laura Pausini is a married woman. The longtime couple said “I do” on Wednesday (March 22) during a surprise wedding ceremony. The singer-songwriter and the Italian producer married in the city of Solarolo at Pausini’s parents’ house. Pausini and Carta exchanged vows with an original song “Davanti a Noi / Frente a Nosotros” penned by both. They then shared the special moment on social media.

Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro are engaged

Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía revealed that they are engaged in their “Beso” music video, from their three-track joint EP RR. The clip features a collage of moments the couple has spent together during their three-year relationship. At the 3:15 minute mark, a teary-eyed Rosalía appears flaunting her diamond ring while holding the box on the same hand. “Oh my god, and my mascara is all runny now. I love you,” she says before kissing her now fiancé.

Anitta sat down with Billboard News to to play a game, during which she let slip some fun details regarding her next album, which she describes as “very cultural” and “very Brazilian.”

The Brazilian pop star was tasked with playing a game with Billboard‘s Dance Director, Katie Bain, in which she would be asked a question or told a statement, and is required to share the first thing that comes to her mind. The first statement thrown at Anitta was “You’d be shocked to know that I’m a big fan of…” to which the she replied rock band “[The] Strokes.”

As for “the last song [she] listened to was,” Anitta treated viewers to a little vocal performance before answering the question. “That’s not my deal/ That’s not your deal…” she sang, before scrolling through her phone for the answer. “If you saw this playlist, you would be like ‘You Listen to this?’ You’d be shocked to know I listen to Chris Stapleton. The last song I heard was this [“Our Deal” by Best Coast].”

Bain then asked what Anitta has planned for the future for her music and touring plans, and while a tour is out of the question for now, fans will be delighted to know that a follow up to her 2022 smash, Versions of Me, is on the horizon.

“I’m working on new music for sure. Not touring [retches]. Jesus Christ, I never wanna tour ever again, but I do have new music coming,” she explained. “I working on this album, very cultural, very Brazilian but in English and Spanish, finally the album that I think really represents me as an artist, I finally got it ready. And now I’m just working on music videos, the nice part.”

Watch Anitta’s chat with Billboard News in the video above.

MUNA is one of the latest musicians to give a Celine Dion cover a try, opting for the ballad vocalist’s signature track, “My Heart Will Go On,” for triple j’s Like a Version cover series on Friday (March 24).

Members Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson turned the iconic into their own, taking up their respective positions at the acoustic guitar and piano to provide the song with an intimate and unique touch.

“Every night in my dreams/ I see you, I feel you/ That is how I know you go on/ Far across the distance/ And spaces between us/ You have come to show you go on,” Gavin delicately sings before launching into the track’s signature chorus. “Near, far, wherever you are/ I believe that the heart does go on/ Once more, you open the door/ And you’re here in my heart/ And my heart will go on and on.”

“My Heart Will Go On” was released as the lead single from the Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack in 1997. The track peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart, and is lauded as one of Dion’s greatest career hits.

“My Heart Will Go On” hit its 25 year milestone last year, while March 23, specifically, marked the 25th anniversary of Dion performing the track at the Oscars. To celebrate, she released a remastered 4K of the song’s respective music video. “To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Celine Dion’s biggest hit of all time, this performance focused music video has been reimagined, featuring remastered footage in stunning clarity,” the video’s caption on YouTube reads.

Watch Muna’s cover of “My Heart Will Go On” in the video above.

Bailey Zimmerman’s sophomore single “Rock and a Hard Place” ascends to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated April 1).

In the week ending March 23, the song drew 32.9 million audience impressions, essentially even week-over-week, according to Luminate.

“Rock,” released on Elektra / Warner Music Nashville / WEA, was co-written by Jacob Hackworth, Jet Harvey and Heath Warren.

For the 23-year-old Zimmerman from Louisville, Ill., “Rock” marks his second straight career-opening No. 1. It follows his rookie single, “Fall in Love,” which led the Dec. 10 ranking, becoming the first debut hit to lead in 2022.

“In my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d see my name or any of my songs on the Billboard charts, so the fact that I’ve now had two reach the No. 1 spot is mind-blowing,” Zimmerman says. “Thanks to everyone who has supported me and my music. I owe everything to y’all.”

Both “Fall” and “Rock” are from Zimmerman’s nine-song set Leave the Light On, which arrived on Top Country Albums at its No. 2 high in October and has spent its first 22 frames on the chart in the top 10.

Notably, nine months and one week passed between the Country Airplay debut of “Fall” (June 25, 2022) and the reign of “Rock” (April 1, 2023). Among acts that have led the list with their first two entries, that ties for the least amount of time that any act has needed between the debut of a first No. 1 and the coronation of a second since Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” debuted on Aug. 11, 2012, and “Get Your Shine On” hit No. 1 on May 18, 2013.

On May 10, Zimmerman will release his new 16-cut LP Religiously. The Album., which will also include his two Country Airplay No. 1s.

Songs ‘Didn’t’ Ever Do This Before

Brett Young’s “You Didn’t” lifts 11-10 on Country Airplay (16.7 million, up 1%) – completing a record 70-week trip to the top 10. The song, which entered the chart on Dec. 4, 2021, at No. 60 is also the first title to chart for as many as 70 weeks since the survey began in January 1990.

Travis Denning’s “After a Few” previously charted on Country Airplay the longest: 67 weeks, having hit No. 1 in June 2020. Meanwhile, LOCASH’s “One Big Country Song” formerly made the longest trek to the top 10: 59 weeks, on its way to No. 2 in August 2020.

“Didn’t” gives Young his eighth top 10, a sum that includes six No. 1s, through “Lady” in April 2021.

Additional research by Gary Trust

E-40 called his superstar friends to flaunt their “Bands” for his new video, which dropped on Friday (March 24). Shot at the renowned HBCU Grambling State University, E-40 shined over the truck-rattling anthem alongside the marching band. 

“Most people don’t know that I was part of a marching band for most of my childhood, so I definitely connected with this beat,” 40 tells Billboard. “But I just wanted to create another slap for my fans sprinkled in with a double entendre for everyone working hard to earn those bands. Shout-out to everyone at Grambling involved in making this video come to life.”

The star-studded cast features Floyd Mayweather, Future, Lil Baby, 50 Cent, Meek Mill, Offset, Gucci Mane, Lil Durk, Moneybagg Yo, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and Kodak Black flexing their exorbitant bands of wealth. While on campus, the Bay Area artist also showed off his altruism when he donated $100,000 to bolster the university’s marching band and build a recording studio. Grambling State then named the studio in his honor: Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens Sound Recording Studio.

Earlier this year, Billboard named E-40 one of the 50 Greatest Rappers of All-Time. Billboard credited the West Coast polymath, who clocked in at No. 41, for his longevity, noting, “His flamboyant rhymes helped him become one of the first West Coast rappers to sign a major deal when he signed with Jive Records in the early ’90s. And he hasn’t gone more than four years without releasing an album since 1993. E-40’s contributions, including his 2006 top 10 rap hit and hyphy movement anthem ‘Tell Me When to Go,’ helped bring the Bay Area into the hip-hop’s mainstream.”

Watch the music video for “Bands” below.