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.
Juanes and NASA Join Forces
This week, Juanes formed part of the “Together We Persevere” broadcast hosted by Perseverance engineer Diana Trujillo. The show, which premiered on Thursday (Feb. 18), was NASA’s first Spanish-language broadcast for a planetary landing in honor of the agency’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission. “I’m to be able to witness one of the greatest achievements of humanity and that will also help us get closer to the red planet as a species, thus expanding our knowledge and consciousness,” the Colombian artist said in a statement. “I celebrate the contributions that so many Latinos have made to NASA’s effort.”
Leslie Grace on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’
Leslie Grace was a special guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week, where she talked about landing the role on the upcoming In The Heights movie and performed. The Dominican singer told Clarkson that she received the special call from Lin-Manuel Miranda on her actual birthday. “It was the best birthday gift I’ve ever received and will receive,” she recalled. Grace also performed her rendition of “Conga” on the show.
Guinness Records for Tropical Stars
In celebration of the 2021 Premio Lo Nuestro, Marc Anthony and Olga Tañon received Guinness Record titles. Marc for being the male artist to win the most PLN awards with 24 and Tañon for being the female artist with the most PLN nominations with 48. The Univision awards ceremony also broke the record as the longest-running Latin music awards show in history and in the world with a total of 31 years.
Camilo Wins Big at Premio Lo Nuestro
Camilo won big at the 2021 Premio Lo Nuestro, taking home five awards including new male artist and pop album of the year for Por Primera Vez. During one of his speeches, the Colombian singer-songwriter thanked his biggest supporters, including his wife Evaluna, his manager “Pepo,” and his fans La Tribu. “Thank you for allowing my songs to be a sign of happiness and hope during the moments needed the most … for always embracing my music and allowing me in your lives,” he said.
Shakira Flaunts New Merch
To celebrate her Black Eyed Peas-assisted single “Girl Like Me,” Shakira launched new merch. “I just received my Girl Like Me T-shirt!” she posted on social media sharing the tee with a cartoon design of Shak. She later posted a video explaining the backstory of the design, explaining it was a fan art created by Jesus Avila that she absolutely loved. “I contacted him, paid him for the illustration, and now it’s a shirt!” she said.
