Month: September 2023

This week, our New Music Latin roundup — a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums and videos recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — is powered by new music from Manuel Medrano, Juan Luis Guerra, Ricky Martin and Yandel, to name a few.

Singer-songwriter Manuel Medrano is reminiscing on a summer in New York in his new, sugary pop song “Verano en NY.” “Remember that summer in New York, when we walked hand in hand together?” Medrano sings. The track is accompanied by a music video in which Medrano takes on the role of a flower shop worker who falls in love with one of his customers.

Meanwhile, Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca has unleashed the riveting 10-track set La Gran Diversión, on which he intertwines R&B, rock and mambo. “[This is] the most personal record of my life,” Fonseca said in a press release. “It is a tribute to my roots and above all to traditional Cuban music due to the great connection and acceptance of the public from the ’30s to the present.”

On Wednesday, Shakira dropped her latest song “El Jefe” with Fuerza Regida. On the Mexican ska track, the Colombian superstar and Fuerza’s frontman JOP sing about being tired of their 9-to-5 jobs, especially their arrogant boss and the desire to quit and become their own bosses. 

Last week, Sebastián Yatra’s “Energía Bacana” won the poll with more than 48 percent of the votes, followed by Laura Pausini’s “Durar” as a second fan favorite. What’s your favorite new Latin music release of the week? Vote below!

Purchase tickets to the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week here.

When you bear one of the most well-known surnames in Italian music, the expectations of others (record companies, the public, the press) can be an unbearable burden. Yet one of the immediately noticeable qualities of 25-year-old Matteo Bocelli is an innate serenity, a perfect emanation of those polite manners that contributed to making his father Andrea Bocelli an icon of music and style famous in Italy and around the world.

For the Bocellis, music is a family matter. It was his father who launched Matteo’s career five years ago with the duet “Fall on Me,” a single from the album Sì, which debuted atop the Billboard 200. Not bad for his first public appearance.

Now Matteo Bocelli is ready to fly with his own wings. And he wants to do it in his own distinctive way: In the 12 tracks (14 in the deluxe version) of his debut album Matteo (out now via Capitol Records/Universal Music), his father’s operatic vocal style gives way to a clear pop approach that encompasses Ed Sheeran-style ballads (his great idol) as well as uptempo songs.

How did he come to find his own sound? How is he building his career? Billboard Italy met Matteo in Milan shortly before the album’s release.

Your artistic “baptism” was five years ago with the single “Fall on Me” in duet with your father. What did that moment represent for you, and what have the last five years of your life been like?

“Fall on Me” was unquestionably an important start. It was the spark that started everything, and these years were full of emotions and beautiful experiences. The song opened many doors, for example the possibility of signing a contract with Capitol Records in Los Angeles. The team supported me right from the start, allowing me to work on the project in the best way until reaching this first album. “Fall on Me” was a unique experience. Now it’s time to continue on my own two feet and start a new path with a project that I feel is totally mine.

Despite what one might expect from your surname, your project has a clear pop dimension. Over the years, how have you honed the sound you wanted to achieve?

I have always been close to opera and classical music, but the music I sang at home was pop. But that doesn’t mean you know exactly what you want. You need to work on things, to try, to experiment. These years were very useful in finding the sound I’m comfortable with. In recent years we wrote about a hundred songs, then we selected 14 for the [deluxe] album.

Talking about pop music, who are your idols from the past and the present?

I always say Ed Sheeran. He is not only an incredible artist, but also a beautiful person — at least that’s what I perceived the times I met him. Yes, I could say he’s an idol of mine. Plus, I’m a romantic, and he’s the king of ballads! But at the same time, he’s been able to achieve a huge success with more uptempo songs too. That has always been a dream of mine: to have slow and sentimental songs but also be able to make people jump at concerts. However, I have always listened more to the music of the past, especially Lionel Ritchie, Elton John, Queen, as well as the great Italian artists.

The album starts with “For You,” an uptempo track. Why do you think it is the best opener for the project?

In that case, I asked the record company for advice. Capitol Records focused a lot on that song. When I made a demo of it, I immediately understood that it was a song in which I felt really good from a vocal point of view. Also I perceived it as a “top” song for concerts.

“Chasing Stars,” written by Ed Sheeran with his brother Matthew, talks about their relationship with their father. It seems like a song tailor-made for you.

I met Ed when he released “Perfect Symphony,” the duet he did with my father. He then sent me a couple of ideas. “Chasing Stars” was the one that struck me the most. I was struck by the melody, because Ed has an unmistakable touch, and the message, perfect for my story. Even when a song is written by someone else, you have to see yourself in what you sing. When you sing certain words, you have to feel them. Yes, that seemed like a song written especially for me. We have in common the fact that we have a family that loves music and has encouraged their children to learn about it.

The songs are mostly sung in English but some are in Italian. Why did you want to use both languages?

Having signed the contract with Capitol Records in the United States, I also have to make music in English. But the deep reason why I signed with them is that I grew up singing in both Italian and English. So it has always been my desire to sing in English, and I knew that label would give me many opportunities to collaborate with great international songwriters. At the same time, it is important not to forget your origins. I consider Italian lyrics the deepest and most beautiful in the entire history of music. English-speaking songwriters consider us almost saccharine, excessive. But I think that’s the beauty of our language. We are romantic, there is nothing we can do about it!

Your project has a strong international projection. What idea of “​​Italianness” do you want to convey abroad?

To put it simply, I’m very proud to be Italian. I hope that beyond our national borders, people can appreciate the songs I sing in our language. Italy is so loved around the world; there is no need for Matteo Bocelli to push that.

In 2019 you performed at the Sanremo Festival in a duet with your father. Now your album is out: Is it the right moment to go there again, as a contestant this time?

It’s a question they’ve been asking me ever since… [Laughs] I understand that in Italy, the Sanremo Festival has a fundamental importance, it is the best thing an artist can aspire to. And I don’t deny that it would be a great emotion for me too to go on that stage — not alongside my father as a guest, but on the frontline as a contestant. But in my opinion you must go there when you are truly convinced, with a song that really identifies you.

Last year you collaborated with Sebastián Yatra. Do you also wish to step into the Latin market too?

One of my biggest fanbases is the Mexican one, so it’s important to keep an eye on that market. But you have to get there starting from the assumption that you must do what you like. I will never [do] something just because that’s what the market expects. If a collaboration with another Latin artist were to happen and convince me, then why not?

Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner are hanging out again in New York City, their second outing together this week amid the Game Of Thrones star’s split from Joe Jonas.

Just a couple nights after the two ladies were first spotted arm-in-arm outside Via Carota in the West Village, Swift and Turner were seen arriving separately at a restaurant in Tribeca Thursday evening (Sept. 21).

Fans on Twitter are absolutely living for the ladies’ repeated girls’ nights out. “taylor left dinner with sophie last night and was like ‘you know what? more of the girls need to hear the tea. are you free tomorrow’ and then boom,” joked one.

“Y’ALL. SOPHIE AND TAYLOR WERE TOGETHER AGAIN??” wrote another astonished fan.

It seems the pop star and actress are becoming fast friends IRL following years of supporting each other online, at one point crossing paths in 2019 as co-guests on The Graham Norton Show. The two do have a bit in common. For starters, they’ve both been in relationships with Jonas, who is rumored to be the subject of Swift’s “Mr. Perfectly Fine.” The pop superstar dated the Disney alum for a few months in 2008, and Turner married to him in 2019. After four years of marriage, however, the former couple posted a joint statement Sept. 6 confirming that they’d “mutually decided to amicably end” their relationship.

This week, in between spending time with Swift, Turner filed a lawsuit against Jonas, accusing him of preventing their 3-year-old and 1-year-old daughters from returning with her to their family home in England. Willa and her younger sister, whose name has not been made public, have been traveling with Joe and uncles Kevin and Nick on the Jonas Brothers’ ongoing world tour, a setup Turner insisted in her suit was “temporary.” In her filing, the actress also alleges that Jonas is refusing to relinquish their passports.

A rep for the musician denied Turner’s allegations in a statement to Billboard. “Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also OK with the kids being raised both in the U.S. and the U.K.,” the rep said. “This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending.”

Dolly Parton rolled out the latest song from her upcoming all-star debut rock record Rockstar (Nov. 17) on Friday (Sept. 22), a moving cover of the 1993 4 Non Blondes song “What’s Up?” And because the country legend was determined to make her first foray legit, she collaborated on the song with former Non Blondes singer Linda Perry.

The superstar songwriter/producer (Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Adele) also appears in the just-released video for the song, which was filmed at a Nashville elementary school on the hottest day of the year. “First of all, I love Linda Perry. Second of all, I love this song written by Linda,” Parton said in a statement about the song that perennially asks a question with no clear answer about the state of the world today.

“Third of all, I love being a part of this video to try to make people think about what’s going on in this world today,” Parton, 77, added. “Shout out to the little children that helped with the video! If our children don’t make it, then what will? Again, I ask ‘What’s Up?’ Enjoy.”

The visual for the poignant take on the tune finds Parton singing the song on a stage — with Perry gently strumming an acoustic guitar — as children from Nashville’s Eakin Elementary school sit at her feet. Parton has long supported childhood literacy through her Imagination Library project, which has distributed more than 200 million books since 1995.

“How is one supposed to react when the greatest and most prolific songwriter in the world wants to cover a song YOU wrote?,” Perry said in a statement. “Her version of ‘What’s Up?’ is so good. Her spin on it made me feel like it was her song. No surprise there. Being on set making the video was a comfortable easy experience. The vibe on set was chill and Dolly and I got to catch up and laugh a lot. I could go on and on, obviously I’m a fan!” 

The Perry track is the latest preview of the anticipated 30-song collection (21 covers, 9 originals), following last month’s Paul McCartney/Ringo Starr-assisted cover of the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” originals “World on Fire” and “Bygones” (featuring Judas Priest’s Rob Halford), as well as covers of Queen’s “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions”) and Heart’s “Magic Man.”

Among the rock world luminaries joining Parton on the album are: Sting (“Every Breath You Take”), former Journey singer Steve Perry (“Open Arms”), John Fogerty (“Long as I Can See the Light”), Joan Jett (“I Hate Myself For Loving You”), goddaughter Miley Cyrus (“Wrecking Ball”), Debbie Harry (“Heart of Glass”) and Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (“Heartbreaker”), among many others.

Watch Parton and Perry’s What’s Up? video below.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” breaks a pair of records on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

The single adds a 25th week at No. 1 on the ranking (dated Sept. 30), solely claiming the longest command for a song by a woman, surpassing Adele’s “Easy on Me” in 2021-22.

Meanwhile, with both hits on Columbia Records, “Flowers” passes “Easy on Me” for the longest Adult Contemporary reign for a song released by the label over the chart’s history.

Most Weeks at No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart:

The Adult Contemporary chart ranks titles by weekly plays on a panel of 85 adult contemporary radio stations. The tally began in Billboard‘s pages (as the “Easy Listening” chart) on July 17, 1961; once Luminate data began powering the chart exactly 32 years later (July 17, 1993; airplay is now provided to Luminate by Mediabase), lengthy reigns became much more common than before.

“Flowers” previously topped the mainstream top 40-based Pop Airplay chart (which began in 1992) for 10 weeks and the adult top 40-focused Adult Pop Airplay ranking (which dates to 1996) for 17 frames – the most atop the latter list among songs by women.

Notably, the single’s combined 52 weeks, or a full year, atop Adult Contemporary (25), Adult Pop Airplay (17) and Pop Airplay (10) mark the most for a song by a woman. Overall, only two hits have logged longer cumulative reigns on the three charts: The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (61 weeks) and Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” (55); 51 songs have led all three lists.

“Flowers” launched at No. 1 on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100 in January and ruled for eight weeks. It’s from Cyrus’ album Endless Summer Vacation, which debuted at its No. 3 best on the Billboard 200 albums chart in March, marking her 14th top 10.

All charts dated Sept. 30 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Sept. 26.