In need of some new tunes from your favorite queer artists? We’re here to help — Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.

From Lady Gaga’s Joker-inspired new album to Willow’s new team-up with Kamasi Washington, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below.

Lady Gaga, Harlequin

From what little we’ve seen of Harleen “Lee” Quinzel in the upcoming film Joker: Folie à Deux, it’s safe to say that Lady Gaga’s character is not so easy to describe. Yet Gaga sets out to do just that on Harlequin, her freewheeling new album that explores Harley Quinn’s psyche through a blur of genre-defying songs. Blasting her way through modernized, reimagined versions of jazz standards and classic showtunes (“Get Happy,” “That’s Life” and “Good Morning” among them), Gaga also takes a moment to deliver deeply personal, emotive original tracks, like on album standout “Happy Mistake.” As fans keep waiting for the singer’s long-awaited seventh studio album, Harlequin offers a moment of respite in the chaotic soundscape of her twisted character’s mind.

Willow feat. Kamasi Washington, “Wanted”

One of the standout tracks on Willow’s new deluxe version of her excellent 2024 album Empathogen is “Wanted,” a flittering, frantic new song that perfectly encapsulates the singer’s experimental approach to her latest project. Calling up saxophone aficionado Kamasi Washington for an assist, “Wanted” sees the young singer flipping between tempos, genres and lyrical ideas as she insists that the “wanted to run” before falling back into the routine of a relationship: “I wanna be infatuated” she breathes on this head-spinning new song.

Sophie, SOPHIE

Trying to communicate all the Sophie was in a single album is a virtually impossible task — yet Benny Long, the late producer’s brother, does a commendable job on Sophie, the posthumous album comprising of 16 songs the pop iconoclast worked on up until her untimely death. Spanning techno, pop, R&B and industrial experimental sounds, this undulating project takes listeners on a journey all throughout Sophie’s many different sonic touchpoints, while offering slots to featured guests on the way — including Hannah Diamond, Kim Petras, Bibi Bourelly and more — to pay tribute to the icon one final time.

Michelle, Songs About You Specifically

Welcome to New York pop collective Michelle’s imperial pop phase. On their third album Songs About You Specifically, the group embraces the cult of personality built around boy bands and girl groups, alongside their off-kilter sonic stylings, to make a record that sounds like an instant classic from the moment it starts. The sweltering, talk-box assisted stylings of “Akira,” in particular, stand out as an all-timer in the band’s discography. Songs About You Specifically may not fit into a clean-cut genre, but that’s what makes Michelle’s new effort that much more fascinating to hear.

Towa Bird, “Rat Race”

In 2024, Towa Bird has been enjoying a new level of popularity among music fans — now, she’d like to talk about the work it took to get here. On “Rat Race,” the British guitarist goes out of her way to point out the troubling trend of streaming algorithms, label execs and nefarious external forces trying to dictate the way her career ought to go — “High notes when you’re singing my praise/ Low lows, I don’t get enough plays,” she seethes on the punk-inspired opening verse. Through fuzzy guitar lines and drum section that never relents, Bird makes her feelings clear: “Go f–k your stupid f–kin’ rat race.”

Katie Gavin, “Inconsolable”

When Katie Gavin said that she was inspired by Lilith Fair for her solo album, she was not joking. “Inconsolable,” the latest single off her forthcoming LP What a Relief, sees Gavin diving headfirst into the folk-forward singer-songwriter aesthetic, complete with devastatingly honest lyrics, beautiful banjo and fiddle orchestrations, and a vocal that conveys all the pain and wonder of choosing to keep trying in a relationship. Fans of MUNA’s stunning ballad “Kind of Girl” are in for a treat when they hear Gavin absolutely nail this gorgeous folksy ode.

Michaela Jaé, 33

Michaela Jaé is here to let you have it — on her debut album 33, the Pose and Loot star declares that she is a musical force to be reckoned with. Telling the story of her own journey of self-discovery through the lens of an android (named Model 33F7) re-integrating her own memories to find out who she truly is. Over a buffet of power pop (“I Am”), R&B (“Forever”) and funk (“Started From”), Jaé accomplishes her goal — and successfully re-introduces herself to the world.

Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

What if I told you that you could get 12 items of makeup essentials all in one convenient set? Sephora just released a new limited-edition holiday must-haves set that includes everyday best sellers from makeup to skincare. With Sephora Favorites Makeup Must Haves, you don’t have to worry about assembling it yourself. They’ve put together their best-selling makeup and skincare products into one easy-to-carry pouch, ready for you to enjoy.

This set includes Glossier Boy Brow Volumizing Eyebrow Gel-Pomade in Clear, Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Hydrating Makeup Primer, Makeup by Mario Soft Pop Plumping Blush Veil in Pinch Me Pink, Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Hair & Body Fragrance Mist, Olaplex Bonding Frizz Reduction and Heat Protectant Hair Oil, Grande Cosmetics GrandeLASH-MD Lash Enhancing Serum, Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Luminizer Highlight in Outshine, Tower 28 Beauty SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray, Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer in Riri, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Hybrid Lip Glaze Plumping Gloss in Guava and Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting Liquid Exfoliant.

This TikTok-viral set has everything you need, from clear eyebrow gel to skin-perfecting liquid exfoliant. With all these essentials in one place, you’ll be ready to achieve a natural makeup look while also taking care of your skin. TikTok users are going crazy over the cute makeup pouch and the essentials in it.

Sephora Makeup Must Haves Set: Where to Buy

Sephora Favorites Makeup Must Haves Set

Get ahead of the holidays with Sephora’s new limited-edition favorites makeup must-have set. This set includes 12 bestsellers from makeup to skincare. It also comes with a cute makeup pouch for all your goodies.


If that’s not enough, you’ll see a variety of full-size and mini makeup items. One Sephora customer said, “May I just say… Worth your money! You get many full sizes, mini sizes perfect for travel, and the bag is adorable! You need this! Purchase now!”

Sephora has multiple different makeup sets they’ve but together, but according to another Sephora customer, this is “one of the best sets they have done!”

For more product recommendations, check out this travel-friendly Rare Beauty puffy makeup bag, Selena Gomez’s makeup routine and alternative budget-friendly beauty finds.

Tee Grizzley has been on a good run.

First, he had Future on “Swear to God,” where the Atlanta rapper teased his recent mixtape by mentioning his alter-ego Pluto multiple times and starting the chorus off by rapping, “F—k your album, s—t ain’t slappin’ like my mixtape.” Then, Tee linked up with fellow Detroit rapper 42 Dugg on a song fittingly named after their hometown. And now he gets an insane feature verse from an energized J. Cole on “Blow for Blow.”

Directed by Jerry Production, the video shows Cole and Tee making their way through NYC as they put on an exercise in lyrical ability. Cole’s lines stand out the most, though. He starts his verse of with raps like, “Blow for blow, Cole flow just prestigious/Sweats and tees, no unnecessary accessories, the GOAT just from features/Proceed with throat-cut procedures,” reminding fans that he’s still one of the game’s best, even if he laid his sword down before the Battle of the Big 3 got a little weird.

Tee Grizzley did his thing, too. He sets his part off with, “OK, chain nastier than cow manure, bust down my shooter, saw more wires than a bomb defuser,” as he followed up Cole’s “Mo Money, Mo Problems” Mase homage on the chorus, where he spits, “Now, who hot? Who not?/Tell me, who flopped? Who sell out the tours/Who rap with trap n—as that wet up your doors?/Who go harder than them and never let off before?/Who got your wh—e pokin’ her head out the door?

Tee is expected to finally drop his fifth solo album, Post Traumatic, on Oct. 11.

This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new music from artists including new releases from Ryan Castro, Shakira and Rauw Alejandro, to name a few. 

Ryan Castro teams up with newcomer Hamilton for “A Poca Luz.” Produced by The Prodigiez, the track is a departure from Castro’s signature perreo and dives into the chill rhythms of Amapiano laced with house beats. “I promised the moon that before the sun comes out, she was going to be mine […] my beautiful flower that drives me crazy,” Castro sings in the heartfelt song.

Meanwhile, Daddy Yankee blesses fans with a new song that thrives on a message of resilience and faith. In “Bailando en la Lluvia,” which in English translates to dancing in the rain, the reggaetón titan fuses his signature percussion-laden beat with a vibrant tropical pop melody as he invites fans in the lyrics to face adversity with trust in God.

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Another new release comes by the way of Rauw Alejandro, who offers the third single from his upcoming fifth studio album Cosa Nuestra, set to arrive Nov. 15. “Pasaporte,” in collaboration with his longtime producer Mr. NaisGai, is a groovy, funk-infused dance track that captures Rauw’s innovative spirit.

Other new Latin releases this week include Shakira’s “Soltera,” Rosalía’s “Omega” featuring Ralphie Choo, Oscar Maydon and Fuerza Regida’s collaborative effort, titled “Tu Boda,” Sofía Reyes’ “Bi,” and Ha*Ash and Joss Favela’s “Nuestro Camino.”

Vote for your favorite new Latin music release of the week in the poll below.

The 35th anniversary of Billboard Latin Music Week, which is taking place Oct. 14-18 in Miami, will feature exclusive panels, conversations and performances by Latin music’s biggest stars. Tickets are available now at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.

Rod Wave is as consistent of an artist as they come. Having released a project every year since 2017, the Florida singer is checking off 2024’s box to continue his streak with Last Lap.

Wave announced on Friday (Sept. 27) that his Last Lap album is slated to arrive on Oct. 11 via Alamo Records. If he debuts atop the Billboard 200 once again, that will give Rod four consecutive chart-toppers.

On the heels of “Passport Junkie,” the 26-year-old unleashed the poignant “Fall Fast in Love” as well on Friday. The second single from his upcoming album finds Rod Wave exploring how falling for a romantic interest very quickly can be a dangerous proposition in life, but he’s willing to roll the dice.

“Fallin’ fast in love, it’s never been a safe thing/ Are you fallin’ fast enough/ They’ll tell you that we’re crazy/ If you’re not scared/ Yeah, I’ll be right here,” he croons.

Wave also released an accompanying visual to the sultry single, which delves into the puppy-love stages of a relationship in elementary school and grows into adulthood when the couple deals with life’s hurdles.

“Passport Junkie” served as the album’s lead single and notched Rod his 71st entry on the Billboard Hot 100 when it debuted at No. 61.

Following Last Lap‘s arrival, Rod Wave will hit the road for the Last Lap Tour with Moneybagg Yo and Toosii.

The North American trek kicks off in Phoenix on Oct. 19, and will make stops in Oakland, Sacramento, Houston, Dallas, Memphis, Lexington, Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn, Boston, Baltimore, Philly, Nashville and Orlando, before wrapping up in Ft. Lauderdale on Dec. 18.

Rod Wave is riding high off the success of 2023’s Nostalgia. Wave’s fifth studio LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 137,000 total album-equivalent units sold in the first week. All 18 tracks from the LP also made the Billboard Hot 100.

News that Bytedance will shut down its 18-month old TikTok Music on-demand music streaming service might have come as a surprise to some people. After all, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally and singlehandedly redefined music discovery by turning generation of smartphone users onto music-based, short-form videos.  

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But TikTok Music’s demise was entirely predictable. Building a sustainable on-demand music streaming service is incredibly challenging. The digital music graveyard is littered with streaming products that didn’t last — remember Rdio, Boinc, Guvera, Turntable.fm or SpiralFrog? Not even a well-funded platform from a corporate giant is guaranteed of success. Sony’s Music Unlimited didn’t last. Nor did Microsoft’s Zune. Xiami, founded by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, shut down in 2021 after 12 years.  

Bytedance’s uphill road was made more difficult when it took on a different role with TikTok Music. TikTok was an insurgent that built itself without the typical constraints facing typical streaming services. The app created a new use case for music in the same way the download succeeded the CD and streaming succeeded the download. TikTok Music, on the other hand, was constrained by the licensing terms that govern on-demand services.  

As a result of those rules, Bytedance built something more like Spotify than TikTok because it didn’t have any other choice, says MIDiA Research’s Mark Mulligan. “TikTok Music had massive potential to be these so many things that didn’t look anything like any other [digital service provider],” he says. “But they still ended up having to make something that looked pretty much like any other streaming service.” 

That TikTok Music resembled every other music streaming service was a problem, Mulligan argues, not a solution for a new market entrant. On-demand music has become a well-functioning utility like water service, he explains, but one that doesn’t build communities, drive fandom or create conversion — things TikTok does well and TikTok Music couldn’t. “We all really value the water that comes out of our taps, but we rarely go down to the local bar and talk to our friends about how great the water is that comes from taps,” says Mulligan.  

These aren’t just any utility companies TikTok Music has been competing against. Market leader Spotify, with its $76 billion market capitalization, is far smaller than the next three companies, Apple, Google and Amazon. These four companies, and even smaller ones like them, have spent years pouring resources into building products and features that keep people listening to music, podcasts and, in the case of Spotify, audiobooks.  

TikTok is great at creating engagement, too, but getting people to listen to full songs is different than feeding them a never-ending series of 15-second video clips, says Vickie Nauman, founder of CrossBorderWorks, a music tech and consulting and advisory firm. “You can’t necessarily translate that to something else.”  

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Things might be different if TikTok Music could differentiate itself on catalog by offering music not available on other music platforms. That’s how it works with on-demand video streaming. But global music services have, more or less, the same catalogs. Offering the world’s music has long been part of the music subscription service’s value proposition. So, music streaming services instead compete against one another on their user experiences.  

On-demand services “had to make [the user experience] so elegant, so intuitive, and really, really customize it to consumers,” Nauman explains. In her experience, people underestimate the difficulty of creating a great product and executing the technology that underpins it. “It’s incredibly challenging,” she says. “Not only the user experience,” she continues, but the technology required to manage many tens of millions of tracks. “I think a lot of companies just really misperceive it.” 

Changing consumer habits was always going to be a problem, too. It would be presumptuous to think anybody with a TikTok app would become a TikTok Music subscriber. Not every iPhone owner subscribes to Apple Music even though Apple offers a free trial to new iPhone owners and bundles the music service into a money-saving package, Apple One. Even though Alphabet owns both the Android operating system and YouTube, not every Android Phone owner subscribes to YouTube Music.  

“To some extent, I’m not surprised” by TikTok Music’s failure, says MusicWatch principal Russ Crupnick. When MusicWatch surveyed American TikTok users about their interest in a standalone TikTok streaming service, the reaction was “surprisingly low” and “very lukewarm,” he says. (TikTok Music never launched in the U.S.) “Getting most people to switch [subscription services] at this point is a bit of a challenge. You’re more likely to get people to use multiple services.”  

In the U.S., self-pay subscribers — not including free trials — have an overage of 2.3 music subscription services, according to MusicWatch. That includes Amazon Prime, which online shoppers buy mainly for free shipping, as well as satellite radio service SiriusXM. Asking people paying for multiple services to pay for one more music subscription plan is a tall order for a newcomer like TikTok Music. What’s more, MusicWatch found that Spotify ranks behind only Amazon Prime in terms of subscriber passion. When the economy gets rough, Spotify users are relatively unlikely to cancel their plans.   

Zoom out and the demise of TikTok Music reveals something else about the music streaming market. In 2024, the number of global platforms may have reached a steady state and new entrants are unlikely to appear (and, like TikTok Music, any attempts will be unsuccessful). Experts who spoke with Billboard don’t foresee there being another company with both the funding and the stomach to take on the demands of licensing and administering rights for a huge amount of music.  

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“We’re at a fork in the road where all of these broad catalog licenses are kind of exhausted,” says Nauman. Gaming companies have the money but don’t need to license entire catalogs, she adds. Fitness companies that had licensed large catalogs now “want simpler solutions.”  

If new entrants are going to find success, says Mulligan, it could be in “regional hubs” in which streaming services can license a smaller amount of local music and focus on markets where Western repertoire is less important. In China, for example, a market dominated by local music licensed by local rights owners, Tencent Music Entertainment has 117 million subscribers and Cloud Music had 44.1 million at the end of 2023 (the last figure the company made available). But regional services are being threatened by the bigger global companies. In some populous markets such as India and the Philippines, dominant Western companies have pushed aside local players.  

In the end, Bytedance doesn’t need TikTok Music to be an influential force in music. Mulligan thinks it’s possible that the “majority” of music activity — not revenue — will happen on TikTok within three to five years. Younger people want to create, not just consume, he says, and TikTok could become a self-contained ecosystem that captures more of its users’ time — at the expense of the kind of on-demand streaming business that Bytedance is now abandoning. 

Kylie Minogue just created some tension by releasing her lead single off Tension II with “Lights Camera Action.” Let us know what you think of her new single, upcoming album and tour in the comments below!

Tetris Kelly:
Kylie Minogue is on a roll, fresh off her Grammy win for her smash hit “Padam Padam” and her incredible Las Vegas residency, she’s given us the lead single off Tension II, “Lights Camera Action.” She’s got nine new tracks on the way, come Oct. 18, and an accompanying tour.  She’s announced dates for early next year, where she’ll bring the tension to Australia, Asia and the U.K. Aside from her sold-out show at the Venetian, Kylie hasn’t toured the States since her Aphrodite Tour back in 2011, and she’s in such high demand, she’s already added two additional dates to her U.K. leg. You know you’re a legend when Diplo, Orville Peck, The Blessed Madonna, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo all hop on your sequel album. No word on who may join Kylie on the road, but drop a comment with your home country if you’d like to see the Tension Tour make a stop in your area.

MarÍa Becerra announced a break from social media on July 30 amid the European run of her world tour. Despite positioning herself at the forefront of Latin pop over the past year — including scoring her first two No. 1s on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 and selling out River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in record time — the 24-year-old simultaneously needed a hiatus from the scrutiny that she, and many of her peers, face online every day.

“I understand that social media is necessary for our careers,” she says. “But the limit is reached when they start taking away my joy.”

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Why did you decide to take a social media break?

It was doing me wrong to read so much hate — I was really affected by comments that only had the intention to harm [me]. The attack on women’s bodies who are part of the [music] scene is constant: If I’m too skinny, if I’ve had a boob job, if I train too much, how I do my makeup, how I dress… We struggle internally trying to please everyone without losing our own identity. Do you know how draining that is? Then, I said, “Enough. I’m tired, this hurts.” Instead of enjoying a tour that I dreamed so much about, I was suffering because of someone who writes from behind a screen.

What advice would you give to artists who feel similarly?

I’m currently in the process of learning to take care of myself. Going to therapy is beneficial for me; it helps me to think about what my limits are, what I want to share about my private life and what I want to keep for myself. I am a public figure, and those who listen to my music expect to know about me and see me beyond the shows. With my team, we seek a balance so that this ecosystem functions.

How could the entertainment industry better support artists?

I don’t know if [the problem] is the music industry. Everything I said before about what’s expected of female artists affects our self-esteem and puts an overexertion [on us] that ultimately generates a very large emotional imbalance. But the social media phenomenon has produced something where everyone needs to give their opinions. People express whatever they want, whenever they want, and while I greatly respect freedom of speech, this has turned into both a personal and social compulsion.

What can be done to create more open discussions on this topic in the industry?

The problem is not about talking; it’s what we do about it. How do we raise awareness of what is going on? What tools do people have to ask for help? I have the privilege of being able to pay for a psychologist, a health plan. But what about young people who are victims of cyberbullying and have no one to turn to? Who helps them? Talking about this in the media with responsibility could be a start, but I don’t have the formula. I’m just now learning to take care of myself and protect myself, and all of that is a long process.

This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.

Musician and actor Jussie Smollett, who previously starred on Empire, is back with a new project called The Lost Holliday. Opening Friday (Sept. 27) in select AMC Theatres nationwide, Smollett’s latest acting, writing, directorial and production pursuit finds him teaming with the film’s star Vivica A. Fox in a story about family dynamics involving a same-gender-loving couple and the importance of acceptance. Portraying the character Cassandra Marshall, Fox plays mother-in-law to Smollett’s character, Jason Holliday.

Produced by A SuperMassive Movie, MegaMind Media and Monami Entertainment, The Lost Holliday also features new music penned by Smollett. In addition to recently released single “My Mind,” an accompanying soundtrack is on the way. “The music in this film is really very special,” Smollett tells Billboard in a new interview. 

Expanding further on the connection between writing music and screenplays, Smollett adds,  “I’ve been so blessed and a little lucky to be able to do certain projects that just so happen to have a musical component; particularly, obviously Empire,” Smollett shares. “That was just a perfect kind of marriage of so many of my loves. Music has always been the driving force behind everything I do.” 

Calling his breakthrough on Empire “the juggernaut that changed the trajectory of my life,” Smollett goes on to note the show “really was a great education for the music business: the good and the bad.” 

The multi-hyphenate, who made his film directorial debut with 2021’s B-Boy Blues, touches on several other topics as well, such as working with Fox, his next solo album and mental health in the wake of legal issues he’s faced. “I used to pray for humility every single day,” he says. “I still do. But I pray for discernment this time too.”

New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.

Rauw Alejandro & Mr. NaisGai, “Pasaporte” (Sony Music Latin/Duars Entertainment)

On the heels of making his MTV debut, Rauw Alejandro delivers the third single off of his upcoming fifth studio album Cosa Nuestra. “Pasaporte” in collaboration with his longtime producer Mr. NaisGai is a groovy, funk-infused dance track that best captures the carefree and adventurous era that Rauw’s in. “If I don’t answer/ I’m doing my own thing, send me a text/ My life is a movie, everyday I post photos and videos,” he smoothly chants. Honoring the title, which means passport, the music video captures Rauw dancing in a private jet and hanging out with his celebrity friends David Guetta and The Martinez Brothers in Ibiza. “Pasaporte” follows his singles “Déjame Entrar” and “Touching the Sky,” all part of his forthcoming set out November 15. — JESSICA ROIZ

Rosalía feat. Ralphie Choo, “Omega” (Columbia Records)

From its first steely guitar strums to Rosalía’s unmistakable vocal timbre with occasional flamenco-styled claps, “Omega,” featuring Ralphie Choo, captures vulnerability and strength. The texture, reminiscent of ‘70s power ballads, is both pristine and piercing. The song evokes nostalgia and delivers goosebumps, especially when the Spanish superstar intones “Sentimental” with raw emotion. “The more you move away/ Everything about you reminds me of you,” she sings poignantly. Released on her birthday, “Omega” is a celebration of completeness and true connection — captured in the line, “Tú eres mi omega,” signaling “you are my end-all.”  — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Shakira, “Soltera” (Ace Entertainment/Sony Music Latin)

Shakira is unapologetically reveling in single life bliss, and isn’t any accepting any sort of negativity surrounding her newfound independence. Powered by a joyful tropical pop tune fused with afrobeats, “Soltera,” which translates to single in English, is really a celebration of life. “I have the right to misbehave. To have a good time. I’m on my own and now I can do what I want to do. It’s good to be single,” the Colombian hitmaker declares. Penned by Shakira and her go-to songwriters, Keityn and Edgar Barrera, the credits also list Bizarrap as a songwriter, making this song an almost certified hit. “Soltera” follows the theme of independence and self-liberation that Shakira showcased in her latest album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which scored a Latin Grammy album of the year nomination. — GRISELDA FLORES

Ryan Castro & Hamilton, “A Poca Luz” (AWOO Corp.)

In a first collaborative effort, Ryan Castro reeled in newcomer Hamilton for “A Poca Luz.” Produced by The Prodigiez, the track steers away from Castro’s signature Medellín perreo sound and navigates through the chill rhythms of Amapiano Afrobeat with suave house beats. The track introduces the blissful musica proposal by Hamilton — a Cartagena-based emerging act — to a wider scale. Lyrically, it’s a love letter: “I promised the moon that before the sun comes out, she was going to be mine […] my beautiful flower that drives me crazy,” chants Castro. The music video was filmed in El Pozón, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Cartagena that best captures the port city’s rich culture and vibrant people. — J.R.

Daddy Yankee, “Bailando en la Lluvia” (El Cartel Records)

Reggaeton legend Daddy Yankee sends a message of resilience and faith in his new single “Bailando en la Lluvia” (“Dancing in the Rain”). In the song, the reggaetón icon fuses his signature style with a vibrant tropical pop melody, transmitting an invitation to face adversity with optimism and trust in God. “I learned that it’s one day at a time/ One battles or gives up/ You cry in the storm, or you dance in the rain,” goes part of the lyrics. On his social media, the artist shared: “I hope this song fills you with encouragement, strength and invites you to dance in the rain, which means ‘changing your attitude’ in the middle of the storm.” — LUISA CALLE

Listen to more editors’ Latin recommendations in the playlist below: