From J Balvin’s hot dogs to Anuel AA’s “untouchable” diss track, here are five of reggaeton’s most memorable feuds, chismes and tiraeras.
Fans of the Walt Disney animated film Encanto – and there are a lot of them, evidenced by the soundtrack’s sprint from No. 110 to No. 7 in its fifth week on the Billboard 200 albums chart – are no doubt hoping that the witty and lighthearted “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” receives an Oscar nomination for best original song. The song, credited to Carolina Gaitan, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and the Encanto Cast, is the top new entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 50.
The tune is connecting, but an Oscar nod isn’t going to happen. “Dos Oruguitas,” another entry from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s song score, was the only song submitted from that film. That acoustic, Spanish-language ballad is on the shortlist of 15 contenders for best original song, which was culled by members of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences from a longer list of 84 eligible songs. Those same music branch members will vote again to winnow the list of 15 shortlisted songs down to the five nominees that will be announced on Feb. 8. All Academy voters will vote to determine the winners, which will be revealed on March 27.
So why wouldn’t the Encanto team have entered both songs in hopes of putting two songs on the shortlist and maybe even landing two nominations?
They could have. Filmmakers may submit up to five songs from any one film. But it’s risky. You can wind up splitting your votes. In 2014, multiple songs were entered from Boyhood, The Fault in Our Stars, Muppets Most Wanted and Rio 2, among other films. No songs from those films were nominated. The five nominees that year were the only songs entered from those films.
The Encanto filmmakers weren’t the only ones who were careful not to split their votes. An Academy spokesperson said that of the 15 films that had songs shortlisted for best original song this year, only two — Cinderella and Don’t Look Up – had more than one song in contention. In each case, two songs were submitted, one of which advanced to the shortlist.
It has been five years since the last film that had more than one best original song nominee – La La Land. “City of Stars” won. “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” was also nominated. Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul collaborated on both songs.
It has been 12 years since an individual songwriter achieved a double. In 2009, Randy Newman was nominated with two songs from The Princess and The Frog. “Almost There” and “Down in New Orleans” both lost to “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart.
The first film to receive two best original song nominations was Fame in 1980. Four films have spawned three nominated songs: Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), Dreamgirls (2006) and Enchanted (2007). One of the nominated songs from the first two of those films won, but Dreamgirls and Enchanted were shut out in the category. A new rule was instituted in June 2008 that a film could have no more than two songs nominated.
The Academy also has a rule to limit repetition on the shortlist. No more than two songs from any one film by the same writers may be shortlisted. If more than two songs from a film by the same writers make the top 15 on the music branch members’ tally, the two songs with the most votes will advance to the shortlist.
A lot is riding on the decision of which song from Encanto to enter. Miranda has just needed an Oscar to clinch EGOT status since 2014, when he won an Emmy to go along with his Tony and Grammy. (His collection of hardware has since expanded to include three Tonys, three Grammys and two Emmys.) While it’s nice to be just one award away from EGOT status, it’s nicer to nail it down already. Miranda was Oscar-nominated five years ago for “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana but lost to the aforementioned “City of Stars.”
“Dos Oruguitas,” which is performed on the Encanto soundtrack by Sebastián Yatra, has special meaning for Miranda. It was his first song written entirely in Spanish. (The title is Spanish for “Two Caterpillars.”)
“It was important to me that I write it in Spanish, rather than write it in English and translate it, because you can always feel translation,” Miranda told The Los Angeles Times. “There are masterful translators out there — I am not one of them. I was really proud of it, I felt like I pulled it from a deeper place within myself.
“I really had to go out of my comfort zone. My task was to write a Colombian folk song that feels like it’s always existed. So I’m imitating some of the folk songs from my culture, great songwriters like [Antonio Carlos] Jobim and Joan Manuel Serrat.”
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” isn’t the only song from Encanto that is off to a fast start. A second song from the film, Jessica Darrow’s “Surface Pressure,” is the second-highest new entry on the Hot 100 at No. 54. Both of those songs also enter Digital Song Sales, at Nos. 10 and 9, respectively. Two more Encanto songs enter Digital Songs Sales: “The Family Madrigal,” by Beatriz, Olga Merediz and the Encanto Cast, opens at No. 35, while Guerrero and Beatriz’s “What Else Can I Do?” enters at No. 42.
Miranda wrote both music and lyrics for all of the Encanto songs. Germaine Franco composed the score. (Her work was shortlisted for best original score. She is vying to become the first Latina to be nominated in the category.)
Encanto is the first soundtrack to reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in as few as five weeks since Frozen II made the top 10 in its second week a little more than two years ago. Frozen II vaulted from No. 15 to No. 3 on the Dec. 7, 2019, chart, on its way to No. 1 a week later.
In addition to its breakout move on the Billboard 200 following the film’s premiere on the Disney+ streaming service on Dec. 24, Encanto surges from No. 7 to No. 1 on this week’s Top Soundtracks chart. Disney’s Moana soundtrack, on which Miranda was one of the songwriters (along with Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i) held the top spot on that chart for a record-setting 61 weeks from 2016 into 2021. (Its run at the top was likely extended because the pandemic slowed the release of new theatrical films that might have provided competition.)
The idea that the smartest strategy in awards is generally not to compete against yourself isn’t limited to the Oscars, of course.
In the upcoming 64th annual Grammy Awards, of the 14 artists who are nominated for record of the year (three of the 10 nominated singles billed multiple artists), all but two were those artists’ only entries on the massive list of eligible singles and tracks (which numbered 1,172 entries). Even Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo, who released multiple strong singles in the Grammy eligibility period (Sept. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021), knew better than to flood the zone with multiple entries.
Artists and their labels know that, while it can be ego-stroking to submit multiple entries, you’re almost always better off taking what you think is your best “shot” — to borrow a word from an earlier Miranda song.
Kylie Jenner will soon be welcoming her second child with Travis Scott, and she took to Instagram on Thursday (Jan. 6) to give fans a glimpse at her growing baby bump.
“i am woman,” she captured the series of film photos, in which the makeup mogul is seen in jeans and a long sleeved white top, tied up to show off her pregnant belly. The caption, complete with a music note emoji, is in reference to the empowering song “I Am Woman” by Emmy Meli, which has been inescapable on TikTok in recent months.
See the snaps here. Jenner and Scott have yet to reveal the gender of the upcoming bundle of joy or the due date.
In September, Jenner announced in a video shared on Instagram that she and Scott are expecting. The sweet clip begins with a closeup on a pregnancy test that says “pregnant,” before moving on to a shot of the rapper hugging the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star around the belly.
The reality star simply captioned the video with a silver heart and pregnant woman emoji, and tagged the “Franchise” rapper.
The couple are already parents to three-year-old daughter Stormi.
James Corden announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
In an Instagram post shared Thursday, the Late Late Show host revealed his breakthrough diagnosis. “I just tested positive for covid 19,” Corden wrote. “I’m fully vaccinated, boosted, and because of this, am fortunate enough to say I feel completely fine.”
He also announced that CBS’ The Late Late Show “will be off the air for the next few days.”
Corden’s positive test follows fellow late-night hosts also revealing their breakthrough diagnoses. Late Night host Seth Meyers announced earlier this week that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was feeling fine thanks to his vaccines and booster. Meyers canceled his Late Night shows for the upcoming week.
“We are canceling the rest of the shows this week, so tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon revealed in an Instagram post that he had tested positive over the holiday break. The late-night host shared a photo of himself masked in an isolation room writing, “Hey guys, on the first day of our holiday break I tested positive for Covid. I was vaccinated and boostered which made me lucky enough to only have mild symptoms.” He also thanked NBC “for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job.” Fallon recovered in time for The Tonight Show’s Monday return from break.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Kanye West — who now goes by Ye — has been tapped to headline Sunday night at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and might also stage a second Sunday Service performance a source tells Billboard. Billie Eilish is also in talks to headline the event — likely Friday — sources confirms.
The headliner news comes after a chaotic 48 hours for festival organizer Goldenvoice as it moves artists in and out of the event’s three headliner slots, originally set for the 2020 iteration that was postponed several times during the pandemic. Billboard has confirmed that previous headliners Travis Scott and Rage Against the Machine will no longer headline the 2022 edition of the festival after originally being tapped for the 2020 show. Scott was effectively dropped from the lineup following the tragic death of 10 attendees at his Astroworld festival in Houston on Nov. 5.
Goldenvoice is also considering moving Swedish House Mafia out of the headliner slot, Billboard has learned, as organizers evaluate all of their options for the two weekend festival, April 15-17 and April 22-24 at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif.
Both Ye and Eilish’s agreements still have to be finalized, and while a Sunday Service-style performance is still being considered, a return of the church-like event after it first debuted at the festival in 2019 has generated significant buzz.
Ye previously headlined the 2011 edition of Coachella, while Eilish performed at the festival in 2019 — the last year the festival was held. Swedish House Mafia performed in 2012.
TMZ and Variety first reported the news of Billie and Ye’s bookings, respectively.
The 2020 edition – which Rage Against the Machine, Scott and Frank Ocean were slated to headline – was moved to October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being scrapped altogether; the 2021 festival was also canceled. In August, it was revealed that Ocean would instead headline the festival in 2023, leaving the third headliner slot open.
While Ye and Eilish are certainly big gets for the festival, some observers are now questioning the viability of Coachella’s April dates — which were set last June — amid skyrocketing coronavirus infections due to the highly-contagious omicron variant. Earlier Wednesday (Jan. 5), the Recording Academy postponed its 2022 Grammys ceremony, which had been slated for Jan. 31. Sources tell Billboard it may now be held sometime in the spring.