Month: June 2023

Natanael Cano is living one of the best moments in his career. Earlier this year, he made his acting debut on HBO Max’s series VGLY, he’s been on tour in Mexico selling out multiple shows, and now, he’s dropped his new, corridos-powered album Nata Montana.

“I’ve loved all the moments I’ve been through, but right now, I’m really enjoying everything I do,” the 22-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter tells Billboard. “I’m enjoying every second I spend in the studio, every song that is born from the passion of making music. I especially love this album,” he adds. “It’s a reflection of how well I feel on a personal and professional level. I’ve put so much effort into all these songs.”

Featuring collaborations with fellow Mexican music hitmakers Peso Pluma (“Pancakes”) and Junior H (“Eres”), the 15-track set is a testament to his craftsmanship, intricate requinto solos and his knack for storytelling is as clear as ever in Nata Montana. The pioneer of corridos tumbados, Cano delivers hard-hitting, hip-hop infused tracks about the every-day hustle out on the streets and the challenges that come with fame — all while flaunting a lavish lifestyle.

“Corridos are a lifestyle. I love them because you really have to get into that mindset,” explains Cano, who broke out in 2019 following his unprecedented collaboration with Bad Bunny on “Soy El Diablo” remix. “Corridos are my life, it’s the style that keeps pushing me forward. When I first heard a corrido when I was a kid, it was love at first sight. Even as a kid I really enjoyed them. My cousins and I would listen to them and back then, you were considered ‘different’ for listening to corridos. And that’s what we liked, being different.”

Cano’s corridos tumbados album comes at a time when regional Mexican music has only grown in popularity on a global level. The rise is being led by artists such as Cano, Peso, Eslabon Armado and Junior H, who have evolved the legacy genre, modernizing its lyrics for a Gen Z audience. Regional Mexican music consumption in the United States jumped 42.1% year to date through May 25, according to Luminate. This week, 13 of the 17 Spanish-language tracks on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated July 1) are regional Mexican tracks, including Cano’s “PRC” with Peso.

“It’s really cool to see what’s happening with our music,” the Sonora-born artist says proudly. “People are recognizing good music, and are now understanding that feeling that only corridos can transmit. It also helps that we have great regional Mexican exponents right now. I’m one of them, and I feel part of the growth. If one of us grows, we all grow.”

Can also acknowledges the strength that comes from collaborations, which in return been key to growing the genre in Mexico, the United States and beyond. “These guys are all my compas (friends),” he says. “We really do love each other. We’re very united despite what everyone else thinks or says. They want to separate us, and sometimes we believe what we hear, but we can’t let that get to our head. We’re showing everyone what happens when we unite. Let’s continue to make good music, and money.”

Nata Montana follows Cano’s 2022 NataKong, which peaked at No. 12 on the Top Latin Albums chart. On the Regional Mexican Albums chart, he’s placed a total of four top 10 albums, two of which hit No. 1: Corridos Tumbados (2019) and A Mis 20 (2020).

Stream Cano’s new album below:

Ahead of the July 7 release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift has teased her re-recorded “Back to December” in a new trailer for season 2 of the Prime Video series The Summer I Turned Pretty.

“Crying (Taylor’s Version),” Swift captioned the trailer, which she shared via social media on Thursday night (June 29).

Swift is no stranger to the Prime Video series, based on the Jenny Han book trilogy of the same name: She debuted “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” — originally from her 2014 album 1989 — in the season 1 trailer for The Summer I Turned Pretty last year. Also, the first season 2 trailer, which arrived on June 8, features her song “August” from 2020’s Folklore, and Thursday’s new preview takes a trip through the calendar, transitioning from Swift’s “August” into “Back to December.”

As previously reported, “August” re-emerged on Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs at No. 17 following the first trailer premiere. It remains to be seen whether “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)” might be released early to capitalize on the new trailer.

“Back to December” was the second single from Swift’s 2010 album Speak Now, which Swift has re-recorded along with new “From the Vault” tracks and is set to be released next week, on July 7.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 hits Prime Video a week later, on July 14. Pretty stars Lola Tung as Isabel “Belly” Conklin, who is caught in a love triangle between two brothers: her best friend Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and his older brother Conrad (Christopher Briney). The new season sees the brothers grappling with losing their mom and possibly losing their childhood home as well.

Watch the new trailer below and see Swift’s post:

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts have been home to wide a variety of international hits, across many genres, cultures and languages. Dance music has been able to seamlessly float across cultural and geographic lines, including on the latest, July 1-dated rankings, as three artists, each from a different continent, debut with their own high-energy boosts.

Kylie Minogue, one of Australia’s most enduring stars, debuts on the Global 200 with “Padam Padam” at No. 190 while climbing to No. 169 on the Global Excl. U.S. list. Since its May 18 release, the thumping track has increased its weekly streams each week, culminating in a 17% bump to 9.6 million worldwide in the frame ending June 22, according to Luminate.

The song is Minogue’s first non-holiday entry on either global chart and continues to build months before the expected September release of parent album Tension; no tracks from her 2020 set Disco appeared on the surveys.

Elsewhere, South Korea-born, Germany-based singer, DJ and producer Peggy Gou makes her global chart debut, at No. 137 on Global Excl. U.S. with “(It Goes Like) Nanana.” The house single drew 9.6 million streams worldwide June 16-22, its first full week of release.

Plus, Germany’s Purple Disco Machine teamed with France’s Kungs on “Substitution,” new on Global Excl. U.S. at No. 199, up by 3% to 7.9 million streams around the world. Neither act has made the Global 200, but “Substitution” is the second entry for both on Global Excl. U.S., following the former’s “Hypnotized,” which hit No. 121 over a 23-week stay in 2020-21, and the latter’s “Never Going Home,” which reached No. 107 amid a 15-week run in 2021.

The burst of dance music on this week’s global charts is diverse, both geographically and stylistically. These tracks join others by chart mainstays including David Guetta and Calvin Harris, as well as such pop artists drawing from the dance world as Dua Lipa, whose “Dance the Night” holds in the Global 200’s top 40, and Jain, who jumps from 68-41 with 2016’s resurgent “Makeba” (which is now being promoted to pop radio).

If you’ve always wanted to have brunch with Charlie Puth, and if you want to support the Grammy Museum’s Grammy in the Schools education programs, you can do both at the same time on Sunday, July 16 when Puth performs at VERSE LA.

Puth is set to perform in the Grammy Museum’s second-ever Sunday Brunch With… program. Jason Mraz headlined the first, which was held on April 2 in the same restaurant. Tickets for Puth’s show are $350 each — same as they were for Mraz.

Guests will eat a three-course brunch while listening to music performed by Grammy in the Schools education program alumni. Following the meal, Puth will perform for 45 minutes. The brunch begins at noon, Puth’s performance begins at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets include an open bar and a three-course brunch (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and dairy free options available), along with complimentary valet parking. Tickets are partially tax deductible; receipts will be issued following the event.

Sunday Brunch With… is presented by City National Bank with support from Porsche Cars North America, Inc. This series is also supported by VERSE LA, which is owned by long-time Grammy Museum supporter and 13-time Grammy-winning mixer, Manny Marroquin.

Marroquin won three Grammys on Feb. 5 — record of the year for Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” best rap album for Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers and best Latin rock or alternative album for Rosalía’s MOTOMAMI. In addition, Marroquin has mixed all three of Puth’s studio albums to date — Nine Track Mind, Voice Notes and Charlie.

Puth has been nominated for four Grammys, though he has yet to win. He has landed four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including Wiz Khalifa’s No. 1 smash “See You Again,” on which he was featured.

The Grammy Museum’s music education programs annually impact more than 35,000 K-12 students and teachers across the U.S.

For tickets and more information on Charlie Puth’s performance, click here.