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Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito” leads another Billboard Latin chart as the track ascends from No. 9 to lead the Latin Airplay ranking dated Aug. 20. It comes just three weeks after Bad Bunny topped the list with “Moscow Mule,” which jumped 11-1 on the July 30 chart (it’s No. 4 on the new chart).
“Me Porto” rallies 9-1 on Latin Airplay in its fifth week, the fastest trek to the top between Bad Bunny’s collection of 18 No. 1s among 36 career appearances. On the tracking week ending in Aug. 14, “Me Porto” earned 9 million in audience impressions, up 35%.
With 18 leaders on his account, Bad Bunny breaks a tie with Ricky Martin as the act with the eighth-most No. 1s on Latin Airplay. Here’s the scoreboard:
35, J Balvin
32, Enrique Iglesias
28, Ozuna
26, Daddy Yankee
22, Wisin
21, Maluma
19, Romeo Santos
18, Bad Bunny
17, Ricky Martin
The song concurrently takes over Latin Rhythm Airplay with a 7-1 lift in its eighth week. The new leader gifts Bad Bunny his 18th No. 1 on both surveys. Meanwhile, Chencho Corleone scores his second Latin Airplay ruler and third on Latin Rhythm Airplay, dating back to his first offering, the five-week ruler which arrived through his featured role in Tito El Bambino’s “A Que No te Atreves,” in 2014.
In addition to the new chart-topper, Bad Bunny also ranks in the top 10 with one more song. Former champ “Moscow Mule” darts 5-4 after a 9% drop in weekly audience impressions.
“Me Porto Bonito’s” Latin Airplay coronation arrives 13 weeks after the song conquered the No. 1 spot on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, which blends airplay, streaming data, and digital sales. The song has since held steady atop the tally thanks to its continued streaming success. In the tracking week ending Aug. 11, the song generated 20.22 million U.S. streams, a 1% decline from the week prior, according to Luminate.
Despite its 1% streaming decline, “Me Porto” remains strong atop Latin Streaming Songs also for a 13th week (and counting). Further, it dips 2-3 on the overall Streaming Songs, after its two-week coronation for Bad Bunny’s first and only champ on that survey.
If The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent wins for outstanding variety special (live) at the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, Sept. 3, it would mark the first time the halftime show has ever won a top program Emmy.
Hamish Hamilton, who directed the show (and has directed every Super Bowl halftime show since The Who headlined in 2010), and Adam Blackstone, who served as music director (as he did on two previous halftime shows, starring Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez & Shakira), are justifiably proud of the show.
“It was one of, if not the greatest Super Bowl halftime shows ever,” says Hamilton, 56. “That [artist] lineup changed the world – they changed music, they changed politics, they changed the way that we dress, they had a seismic influence in music, culture and beyond and not one of them had been on a Super Bowl bill before, and all of a sudden they’re all on the same Super Bowl bill, and by the way it’s [near] Compton, where some of this started, where Dre started, literally this is his backyard.
“And, of course, you’ve got the home team in the final. It was a hip-hop L.A. Super Bowl once-in-a-lifetime moment. It just had everything extra going for it, from that first shot of Dre in his studio in Compton.”
Hamilton is nominated for two Emmys this year, a first for the British-born director. He’s up for outstanding directing for a variety special for the halftime show and outstanding variety special (live) as one of the producers of the Grammys. This brings Hamilton’s career tally of Emmy nominations to eight.
Hamilton gives a lot of credit to Jay-Z, who executive produced the halftime show (and is also an Emmy nominee, as are all the principal performers). “It was his vision ultimately,” Hamilton says. “When the bill filtered down to us, my first thought was ‘This is tough. How is that energy going to manifest itself?’”
This year’s halftime show was in some ways a long-overdue recognition on the part of the entertainment establishment that hip-hop is the music of a generation. “It was long overdue, but it was almost like the stars were aligned,” says Hamilton – “the location, the time, the lineup in the final.”
Blackstone, 40, is Emmy-nominated for outstanding music direction for his work on the halftime show. It’s his third nod – which means he has been nominated for all three of the shows on which he has served as musical director.
Blackstone thinks this year’s halftime show had both universal and specific appeal. “Our world is going through a lot right now,” he says. “People were excited to see people have fun. People were excited to see people interact with one another. We cannot [overlook] the fact that there was something cool about seeing hometown heroes be in L.A. and get to be celebrated as well.
“I was very excited to be a part of history that many kids, and specifically Black and brown kids, can see the potential of where you can go and where you can be. I don’t think when Dre and Snoop were growing up that they even thought there would be an [opportunity] for them to be on that grand stage. I try to be a part of history to give those dreams and aspirations to young kids, my children included.”
When Blackstone is serving as musical director on a show, he tries to put himself in the audience’s shoes. “I approach my musical direction with what would I want to see at a concert. What song do I want to hear? What catalog is the most powerful in the limited amount of time we are given?”
He enjoys the challenge of Super Bowls. “I look forward to [working with] these incredible artists each time. This one was even more special to me because I grew up listening to this music.”
He notes that this year’s Super Bowl halftime show is fundamentally different from most others, which are often highlights from their tour set lists. “We’re not preparing for a tour. You’ll never see that happen again. This is a one-off – and it happens to be the biggest one-off in the world. We had to execute it with precision. I hope it gets the flowers it deserves.”
Blackstone has worked with Hamilton on all three Super Bowl halftime shows he has music-directed and also a Stand Up to Cancer special. “As hard as I work on the music, without it visually looking cool, sometimes it doesn’t matter. Hamish’s vision for how he executes those shots is second-to-none. So, it’s a total team effort.”
Hamilton notes that because of its brevity, the halftime show doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. “It’s not just the 12 minutes of directing,” he says. “It’s the year of planning. … It’s a crazy exercise. It’s almost a military exercise. It’s a stress management exercise. It’s an absolute roller coaster.
“There is absolutely huge jeopardy. You are microseconds away from a complete disaster. Also, you’re in the middle of a massive game as well, so you can’t be doing anything to the turf. You can’t be dropping anything in the turf. Nothing can break. There are so many things that you don’t have to face on any other show that you will ever do. It’s totally unique and electrifying – but you cannot mess up. You’ve got to be on your game and you’ve got to deliver under excruciatingly difficult circumstances. … I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“The level of expectation for this particular Super Bowl was monumental. I’m proud of it. That’s going to live on forever as a real kind of moment in time.
“One of the most incredible things was the love – genuine family love that all of those artists had for Dre. I cannot tell you how many times I heard ‘We’re here for Dre.’ In a very mild-mannered way, he absolutely guided that show musically to a place that was absolutely sublime. It was just wonderful. Every artist left any kind of ego at the door and was there for Dre and to create something that had a greater good. They were there to make sure that the first hip-hop Super Bowl in history was an absolute throw-down to the world – and it was. It was everything that it wanted to be. It was everything that it needed to be and it will live on forever. It resonated in the hearts of so many people across not just music, but culture and politics.”
“In a way, it was long overdue, but it was almost like the location, the time, the lineup in the final – the stars are aligned.”
Hamish Hamilton
Hamilton on the Grammy Awards
Hamilton’s other Emmy nomination this year is as a producer of the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which is competing with the Super Bowl halftime show for outstanding variety special (live). It was Hamilton’s second Grammy show. He was also nominated for his first one in the same category. Hamilton also directed both shows. (He took over from Louis J. Horvitz as the director of the Grammy telecast in 2021.)
Hamilton says he had “mixed feelings” when his first Grammys was during the pandemic. “COVID that first year made it really difficult, but ultimately made it fantastic. The challenges and the parameters put on us by COVID also afforded us incredible opportunities and as a director, I loved it.
“I’ve done just about every other music show in the world. So when you get the call from the Grammys …you want to do it differently and you want to do it magically and you want to really make a difference. You definitely want to put your stamp and energy on it – and I’m big on energy. So COVID at first terrified me because you’re in a room with no energy. Then I [realized] that’s going to give me an intimacy that no other director who had done the Grammys before was given. So we were big on intimacy and the connection between the artists and artist community.
“[The 2022] Grammys was hard. Because how do you top [the 2021 pandemic show]? And you’re back in a big room [in this case, the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas]. I think a big room is difficult for a director. [But] I think that we absolutely nailed it. I think a lot of the performances that we did are quite cinematic.”
The current Grammys team is headed by three executive producers – Raj Kapoor, Ben Winston and Jesse Collins, plus Hamilton as director. “The team on the Grammys – Raj and Ben and Jesse – is really an amazing team of people and I’m very happy and very proud that they put me on the ticket,” Hamilton says.
“We all run rival production companies,” Hamilton notes. “We’re constantly pitching against each other for jobs, but we all come together on the Grammys. There is definitely a respect and brotherly love there. Everyone kind of lays down their tribal rivalry. It’s almost like an all-star game. The all-stars come together, and that’s new for the Grammys. It’s an incredible collaborative process and very respectful and everybody gives the space.”
“It’s a significant undertaking to direct the Grammys. My involvement spans probably nine months. So you’re really in there at the beginning. There’s only one Grammys. It’s the biggest and best multi-artist music show in the world.”
In addition to directing the Grammys twice, Hamilton has directed the Oscars three times and the Primetime Emmys four times. He is directing this year’s Emmy telecast – his fifth – on Sept. 12, nine days after the Creative Arts Emmys, where he is a double nominee.
Adam Blackstone
Blackstone’s Dream Year
Blackstone’s dream year began with the Super Bowl, included being music director on the Academy Awards in March, and will end being music director at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction gala in November. It’s Blackstone’s third time working on both the Oscars and the Rock Hall ceremony, but his first time, in each case, having the top job of music director.
Eminem, who was part of the halftime show, will be inducted into the Rock Hall, so Blackstone will both begin and end the year with the hip-hop icon.
Blackstone will also release his first album as an artist, Legacy, next month on Empire Records. He co-wrote all the songs and produced it as well.
“I would characterize it as progressive jazz – heavy on the big-band vibe. I’m a Maynard Ferguson/Count Basie fanatic, but also me coming from Philadelphia and being tapped in with The Roots crew, Jill Scott, some of it is coming from pop and hip-hop. I have a lot of those influences as well.”
Blackstone is also featured on-air on the NBC series That’s My Jam, starring Jimmy Fallon.
Since 2010, Blackstone has teamed with his wife Kaisha Blackstone in the company Basic Black Entertainment, which puts bands together for top musicians.
Blackstone counts Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Rickey Minor among his role models as music directors. This year, he’s competing with Minor for an Emmy. Minor is nominated for outstanding music direction for his work on the Kennedy Center Honors. Minor won in that category four years ago for his work on that same program.
“That’s a nice, full-circle moment,” Blackstone says, “where people that you look up to now become your peers.”
After nearly five years together, The Boyz have been able to rise and stand out from other K-pop boy bands by utilizing their large number of members and knack for vivid visuals; and the new summer single “Whisper” delivers on what TBZ does best.
“Whisper” is The Boyz’s latest feel-good pop single, letting the band’s 10 singers unite through a slew of harmony-heavy hooks. Sitting nicely alongside the group’s past bubblegum summer singles like 2019’s “D.D.D” and last August’s “Thrill Ride,” the new track offers a bit more of a mature edge, particularly in moments like Sunwoo and Juhaknyeon’s intense whisper-raps on the second verse.
The accompanying “Whisper” video brings TBZ into a colorful, pink-and-blue world with bunny rabbits, sparkly balloons and delicious desserts. But fans can also catch edgier moments like when member Kevin is first introduced to viewers while chained up by heart-shaped strings.
The music video also closes on a more mysterious note as the ending scene cuts to the set drained of vibrant color as captivating whistling plays in the background. Could it hint that a new (whistle-hook-laden?) track will be released soon?
“Whistle” is the lead track from The Boyz’s new Be Aware EP. Ahead of its release, the group also dropped a music video for the new song “Timeless.” Noted in the opening credit of the music video as a song “Only for The B,” addressing the group’s fandom name, the summery visual sees the boys enjoying a coastal vacation and making memories on a sailboat, around a campfire and with polaroid cameras.
Last year, The Boyz made their debut appearance on the World Digital Song Sales chart with the November single “Maverick.” After a U.S. tour this year, in addition to an appearance at the upcoming KCON festival this weekend in Los Angeles, “Whisper” looks primed to land another chart hit for the group.
Eighteen months after Timbaland and Swizz Beatz sold their popular Verzuz livestream series to Triller, the two are now suing the social media platform for allegedly failing to pay them a whopping $28 million that they’re still owed from the deal.
Triller, a TikTok-like service that allows users to create and share short videos, announced in March 2021 that it would pay an undisclosed sum in cash and equity to acquire Verzuz – a breakout hit during the pandemic in which two artists square off in a livestreamed music battle.
But in a lawsuit filed Tuesday (Aug. 16) in Los Angeles Superior Court, Timbaland (Timothy Mosley) and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Daoud Dean) say Triller has failed to actually pay for the company it purchased. After initial payments last year and early this year, the pair of hitmakers say the company has refused to hand over more than $28 million that they’re still owed.
“Defendants have failed and refused to respond to plaintiffs’ written notice and demand for payment,” the pair’s lawyers wrote in the complaint. “To date, defendants have failed and refused to make any payment to Mosley and Dean of the past due sums due and owing, and defendants continue in default of their payment obligations.”
A representative for Triller did not immediately return a request for comment from Billboard.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz launched Verzuz in March 2020, just days after the global shut-down from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it took off as peak quarantine entertainment – a virtual music battle between top artists, livestreamed to millions of users on Instagram and other platforms. Since the pair of producers squared off in the inaugural show, Verzuz has featured high-profile showdowns between T-Pain and Lil Jon, Alicia Keys and John Legend, DMX and Snoop Dogg, Brandy and Monica, and many other top names, often drawing millions of viewers.
After launching in 2015, Triller rose to prominence in 2020 as a competitor to TikTok when the Trump administration said it was considering banning the popular social media service from the U.S. market over its ties to the Chinese government. Triller — whose investors include Snoop Dogg, The Weeknd and Marshmello — made aggressive moves to compete with TikTok by courting influencers to the platform, but also experienced serious hiccups. Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, pulled its catalog from the platform in February 2021 over royalty issues before eventually resolving the matter and restoring the songs a few months later. The service also admitted to — and then denied — inflating user numbers just weeks before it was expected to go public as part of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger.
The SPAC merger didn’t happen, but recently Triller has been making another play to go public — meaning the Verzuz lawsuit is coming at a particularly bad time. After calling off a $5 billion proposed merger with video-tech company SeaChange International in June, the company submitted paperwork to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
According to Tuesday’s lawsuit, under the terms of Triller’s deal to buy Verzuz, the first cash payments to Timbaland and Swizz Beatz were due January 2021 and April 2021 – both of which Triller successfully made. But when another payment was due in January 2022, the producers say the company failed to pay.
The two sides quickly reached a settlement to avert a dispute by agreeing to a new payment plan, the suit says, and Triller made the first payment under that new agreement in February. But the settlement agreement required Triller to pay another $18 million by March 17, plus $1 million more per month for another 10 months – and Timbaland and Swizz Beatz say those payments have never been made.
“The aforesaid defaults constitute material breaches of the agreement by defendants,” the pair’s lawyers wrote. “By reason of defendants’ continuing uncured defaults, the sum of $28,095,000.00 is immediately due to be paid under the agreement.”
The lawsuit from Timbaland and Swizz Beatz isn’t the first time this year Triller has been accused of not paying its bills. In June, boxing reporter Dan Rafael reported that Triller had not fully paid several fighters from a May 2022 bout. And earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Triller had a spotty history of paying Black influencers that had been recruited to join the platform; the company strongly denied those allegations.
It’s also not the first sign of tension between Timbaland/Swizz Beatz and Triller. Back in February, Verzuz faced backlash when it was announced that the latest battle would be exclusively aired on Triller’s $2.99-per-month premium service. Later in the day, Swizz Beatz assured fans that the show would still be available on Instagram and other free platforms: “I was out of the country don’t ask me who did it,” he wrote with a laughing emoji. “It’s fixed.”
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and about 20 companies operating there are trying to fill more than 400 openings with a job fair Wednesday. The airport’s second annual jobs event, which … Click to Continue »
