When Kapo released “Ohnana” in summer 2024, his only expectation was to “create music for a niche.” He didn’t hope for much, other than to have a certain number of loyal fans and play shows across a few cities in Colombia.

“My vision was that, but when the song came out, it entered the commercial side in an incredible way,” he tells Billboard. “That’s why I wanted to give my new album a sensible name like ‘in case anyone is listening to us.’”

If “Ohnana’s” success is any indication (the song earned Kapo his first Billboard No. 1 on the Latin Rhythm Airplay last fall), a lot of people are listening.

On July 3, Kapo (real name: Juan David Loaiza Sepúlveda) will release his sophomore studio album Por Si Alguien Nos Escucha, home to “Ohnana” and its follow-up hit “UWAIE,” which entered the Hot Latin Songs, Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. last year.

The 15-track set — all composed of the Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae sounds and feel-good lyrics that made Kapo a household name — is a contrast to his debut album Tu OG Favorito (2023) that is more reggaeton-heavy. 

“For a long time, I’d been doing Afrobeat, but I didn’t dare,” the Colombian artist explains. “I had a lot of ideas and colors stored away. On the first album, I explored what I thought might work. … However, the songs that always worked for me were the ones that were very special, like ‘Pelinegra.’ The most personal songs are the ones that work for me. I began giving my music more meaning and to what truly made me feel most unique. This [new] album is a step forward, but more than that, it’s accepting and having the certainty that with my sounds I could achieve great things.” 

Por Si Alguien Nos Escucha includes notable collaborations with Myke Towers, Yandel, Manuel Turizo, Ryan Castro, Rels B, Lion Fiah and Feid on the focus track “X Ti.” 

“I feel like it’s a song that, besides being a great track, is a collaboration we’ve been working on for a long time,” he shares. “Feid is very passionate about music and has been giving us good vibes for a while. I told him a long time ago that I wanted to record a song with him. After ‘Ohnana,’ we managed to connect and get closer. He went into the studio and we created it. It’s a song that I feel will give a twist to what’s happening to me, and it’s one of those dream collaborations.”

Kapo is confirmed for the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Week taking place from Oct. 20 to 24, 2025 at the historic Fillmore Miami Beach. Spanning over 30 years, and recognized as the most influential week in Latin music, the event will once again celebrate the heartbeat of Latin music and culture with four days of panels, marquee conversations, roundtables, showcases, networking and activations.

“I really enjoy these spaces to meet with my colleagues, share cultures, experiences, and what’s happening to us. To talk about music and what we like. We’re going to enjoy that week, it’s going to be really cool,” he expresses.

Tickets are on sale now at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com. The full schedule and lineup will be revealed in the coming weeks.

In spring 1980, a makeshift group of students at what was then Nashville’s Belmont College performed a version of Boz Scaggs‘ driving “Breakdown Dead Ahead,” with the 19-year-old guitarist ripping through Steve Lukather‘s original solo like he did it in his sleep.

That 19-year-old was Dann Huff, who — before the decade was over — would become a significant Los Angeles session player, working on recordings by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. He would also become the frontman for rock band Giant, but ultimately returned to his native Nashville, where he emerged as one of the most significant country producers of the last 25 years, playing a key role in the careers of Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown, to name just a few.

On May 30, Huff quietly released an independent guitar album, When Words Aren’t Enough, that returned him to his musical foundations. But the album —stripped entirely of any lyrical content — also provides an insightful guide into the skill set and core principles that vaulted him to his role in the country world, where he has been nominated 41 times for Country Music Association Awards, winning three musician of the year trophies and two as producer of the single of the year, Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man” and Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”

“I heard this great statement the other day,” Huff says, looking back on the germination of Words. “In essence, the phrase was, ‘You’re trying to recognize your own soul through your art.’ And I just thought, ‘Oh, man.’ I was trying to recognize myself again, to see if I could recognize myself again.”

When Words Aren’t Enough reconnected Huff to the spirit in a string of instrumental (or mostly instrumental) albums that spun regularly on his turntable during his teen years. There was George Benson‘s Breezin’, received as a Christmas gift; projects by Nashville-based Barefoot Jerry and Georgia fusion band The Dixie Dregs; and guitar albums by Larry Carlton, Al DiMeola, Lee Ritenour and Jeff Beck, whose mid-’70s releases Blow by Blow and Wired were must-haves for many guitar wannabes in the era. Huff, of course, was the real deal, and he picked up a valuable lesson from Beck.

“What inspired me about him was that he wasn’t writing music or recording music that basically was an excuse to play a solo,” Huff explains. “It was predicated on melody. The melody was everything. It wasn’t an excuse to show off.”

Huff launched into Words while testing an amp at his home studio in early 2024. He grabbed some grooves he had created on his computer and began playing to them. Over the course of a couple of hours, he would end up with a fully formed song that he would label No. 1, No. 2, etc.,  until he had a full album’s worth of material. Initially, he planned to record them with a large cadre of session musicians he works with regularly, but drummer Jerry Roe and bassist Mark Hill connected with the material so deeply that they knocked out the core tracks in just a few days. 

Huff renamed those files before their release, titling them with descriptors that fit the mood, such as “Colorado Creepin’,” “Indefatigable Strut,” “Giant Free Fall” or “Southern Synchronicity.”

“Who the hell knows what you’re ever really trying to say in music,” he says rhetorically. “Especially with instrumental music.”

That points to one of the key tenets in Huff’s productions that’s detectable in When Words Aren’t Enough. He’s a “music first” guy in a genre where lyrics often dominate. But because he picks up on the sound of a song before the story hits home, he’s frequently connecting beneath the surface, recognizing the implicit feelings underneath the piece’s verbal cues.

“That’s the beauty of working with Dann,” Ashley Cooke says. “He’s such a ‘feel’ guy.”

Some other basic Huff traits are also evident in his new project. Even when the songs become adventurous, he’s careful to establish the basic melodic structure in the beginning, giving the listener a home base even as the music stretches out. The musicians are always working together as a unit — even though it’s a guitar album, the instrument doesn’t hog the spotlight. Additionally, there’s always an element of surprise: an unexpected chord, a change in instrumental textures or even a whole new melodic section. 

He is, as an instrumental soloist, the same guy who has overseen bundles of country hits and graced some old-school pop tracks.

“You can’t get away from yourself,” he says. “That’s the thing. I’m the same person in the derivations of all this stuff.”

When Words Aren’t Enough comes at a time when Huff, 64, is contemplating how he wants to spend the rest of his life. He intends to keep producing as long as there’s a market for his services, but returning to the spotlight is intriguing. At the urging of his musical peers, he expects to do some Nashville shows in the coming months, and he’s open to touring, too, if the interest is there. 

Ultimately, he seems intent on digging into music that connects at the soul level in whatever format makes sense. The future is wide open since he doesn’t have much left to prove. But he does have a better understanding of what his 19-year-old self was intuiting from those Beck albums: His technique is only a tool to help convey something deeper, even if he lacks the words to explain it.

“I used to play 12 hours a day,” he recalls. “That was it for decades, you know. For the last quarter of a century, I play guitar, but only in brief moments. I still know how to ride the bike.”

Just days before Ozzy Osbourne takes the stage for what is being billed as his final show with Black Sabbath, the Prince of Darkness has announced an upcoming collaboration with alt makeup brand Jolie Beauty. The metal icon known for rocking copious amounts of eyeliner has linked up with the Birmingham, U.K.-based brand for a collection of cosmetic and makeup products under the banner Ozzy Osbourne x Jolie Beauty, with the brand promising details on the range on July 9.

“We’re not slowing down, this collab’s a one-way ticket on the Crazy Train. No brakes. No rules. Just pure, unfiltered rock ‘n’ glam mayhem🤘,” Jolie wrote in an Instagram post announcing the limited-edition collab on Tuesday (July 1).

In a statement, Jolie Beauty CEO Jolie Cashmore said, “It’s such an honor that Ozzy and his team chose to partner with us — especially as an independently run brand from his home city. This collaboration is a testament to Ozzy’s impact on the gothic and alternative communities, and a celebration of his legendary influence on music, fashion, and creativity.”

In an accompanying Facebook video, Cashmore added, “The bat is finally out the bag. Ozzy Osbourne Jolie Beauty collab. I hardly believe it either, guys, and I’ve had a lot of time to process this. Tears have been shed when I got this news… I cried because this is an absolute honor for me. I am a lifelong Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne fan, and of course he’s from Birmingham. To be given this opportunity by the Osbourne team is just a dream come true. It’s so amazing that they’ve chosen an independent, small Birmingham brand for this.”

Back in 2022, Ozzy released the Ozzy Osbourne Collection, a 21-piece beauty set with a 14-shade “Ozzy Bat Palette” shaped like a flying nocturne as well as another in a coffin-shaped case featuring shades inspired by some of the rocker’s most beloved songs, including “Zombie Stomp” and “Iron Man.”

Osbourne and Sabbath are gearing up for Saturday’s (July 5) “Back to the Beginning” all-star show in Villa Park in Birmingham, which will feature the original Sabbath lineup playing together for the first time in 20 years, as well as sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and a supergroup made up of members of Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Limp Bizkit, Judas Priest and many more.

Check out Jolie Beauty’s announcement below.

Chart-topping R&B/soul singer Tems is launching a new program called The Leading Vibe Initiative in an effort to support young women who want to learn and get involved with the music business, Billboard can announce Wednesday (July 2). 

The singer, songwriter and entrepreneur from Lagos, Nigeria, is planning a two-day seminar for between 15 and 20 women in Lagos “to provide opportunities for participants to hone their craft, sharpen industry knowledge, and build community,” according to a press release.

The program, which will be held Aug. 8 and 9, will bring together participants with industry executives and creatives for meet and greets, training sessions on songwriting and music production, studio sessions, panel discussions, and tutorials on different aspects of the music business; participants will also receive production software and other resources, the release states. The mentors and speakers who will be part of the program will be announced at a later date. The program is intended to expand beyond Lagos to additional cities in Africa in the future.

Applicants can apply here by the July 13 deadline.

“My goal with the Leading Vibe Initiative is to help discover and support talented young women who have the potential to redefine the industry,” Tems said in a statement. “By providing access, tools and opportunity, we’re creating space for them to find their voices, step into their power and shape the future of music across the continent and globally.”

Tems is one of the most successful artists of her generation, with her mix of R&B, soul, Afrobeats, alté and more producing a singular sound that is distinct from many others in the crossover wave of African artists in the past half-decade. She’s racked up two Grammys — the first Nigerian artist with two — as well as two top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including one No. 1, and 10 top 10 Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs top 10s, including two No. 1s. She also has an ownership stake in the MLS franchise San Diego FC.

Post Malone took an unexpected tumble off the stage during a recent stop on his The Big Ass Stadium Tour — but didn’t miss a beat.

The fall happened during Malone’s performance of “Pour Me a Drink” at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Saturday (June 29). As seen in fan-filmed footage that quickly spread across social media, the singer knelt down to toast a front-row fan who had her plastic cup raised, when a piece of the stage gave way beneath him. Malone — still smiling and holding his own cup — suddenly dropped out of frame as the platform collapsed.

Despite the abrupt fall, the Grammy-nominated artist (born Austin Post) appeared unshaken. He reportedly got back onstage almost immediately, continuing to sing and raising his cup to finish the cheers, drawing cheers of his own from the crowd.

One fan posted the viral clip on TikTok with the caption, “I am SO sorry Austin. I love you! Such an amazing show,” referencing her role in the moment. Onscreen text read, “I didn’t mean to almost break your back,” in a playful nod to the song’s lyric: “I’ve been breakin’ my back.”

Malone’s quick recovery brought flashbacks to a more serious onstage accident in September 2022, when he fell through a trapdoor during a show in St. Louis and suffered bruised ribs. That incident led to a hospital visit and prompted the artist to promise fans he’d return to the city for a longer makeup show.

Malone is currently in the middle of the North American leg of his tour, which supports his F-1 Trillion album. The Arizona show was among his biggest of the summer, and he’ll continue the run with more stadium and arena dates before heading to Europe and Asia in August.

“Pour Me a Drink” — the track soundtracking the mishap — is a country-pop crossover duet with Blake Shelton. The song debuted during the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards and topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Oct. 12). The collaboration advanced by 5% to 27.9 million audience impressions Sept. 27-Oct. 3, according to Luminate.

The song, which Post Malone co-wrote, is his second Country Airplay No. 1, after “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, dominated for four frames beginning in June.

Both hits are from his introductory LP in the genre, F-1 Trillion, which motored in at No. 1 on the Aug. 31-dated Top Country Albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200 with 250,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States. The set earned 1.1 million units over its first six weeks of release.