2024 Billboard Latin Music Week: Danny Ocean, Nacho, Elena Rose & More Unite for Venezuela Rising

Nacho, Danny Ocean, Elena Rose, Mau y Ricky and Lele Pons shared their Venezuelan pride during the Venezuela Rising panel on Wednesday (Oct. 16) at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week.

Moderated by Sigal Ratner-Arias, deputy editor of Billboard Español, the important and timely conversation captured a moment in time as a number of Venezuelan acts not only take over the charts but have become the voice of a generation that has been using their platform and artistry to echo a sentiment of hope for their country after perhaps one of the most consequential presidential elections that took place in July.

Below, find some of the best quotes from the panelists of Venezuela Rising:

Nacho: On a new generation of Venezuelan hitmakers: “I am very proud to see how the country shows that it has talent who have also been carrying all this knowledge that previous generations left us, particularly in what is Venezuelan pop music, we come from that formation even if many have not heard their music, all that has been mutating and evolving what is happening today.”

Elena Rose: On Venezuelan artist’s profound lyrics: “We want you to receive this love that we want to give you. Venezuela is such is a rich country in a thousand ways, especially because we share values such as faith and happiness and it is transmitted through any artist that comes from a country like Venezuela, it makes us unique to see life like this. Our generation has been exposed to adversity, the Venezuelan person is still fighting and looking for reasons to get ahead, they have purpose, intention, we want Venezuela to shine. There is nothing that will stop us, we are stronger. The country deserves to be happy and free.”

Ricky: On artists’ responsibilities to speak up and use their platform to call out injustices: “It is important to be responsible with the instinct that one has, mine and my brother’s (Mau), was to make Hotel Caracas and, apart from making an album, what we wanted was to show people why we are fighting, what we are defending. And it may be different from the responsibility that others felt. “

Lele Pons: On her role as social media influencer: “Everyone has a voice and it is very important to use it. As an influencer, I have done many things in my career. I told my mom and dad that this is the most important thing I can do. When Danny told me he wanted to do something, I said how can I not do it if it is our country. People did not know what was going on? Who is going to tell them? The most important thing I have done in my career is to be a voice for someone who needs a voice. And this was very important for me at that time.”

Mau: On returning to Venezuela after 15 years: “That trip changed my life. Leaving as a child and having people in your family who stayed, or even friends, say you are no longer Venezuelan because you left and you don’t deserve to say that you are Venezuelan or give your opinion on certain things, it fractures you. In time you begin to realize you have those wounds, also that begins to generate a domino effect because you begin to think that you really shouldn’t give you opinion about your country. One lives with anxiety thinking that one is not Venezuelan. This trip for us, we healed, and we went because there came a time when we could not keep postponing this. After the pandemic we were left with an identity crisis and we decided, despite the fear, to return because it was more than 15 years of accumulating that fear. The trip healed many things.”

Danny Ocean: On his momentous and deeply personal EP venequia.: “I needed to get those songs out of my system that had been accumulating inspired by Venezuela, it was the right time to say what I was feeling. My life changed since I released ‘Me Rehuso’ and I have always thought that moment was so drastic. venequia. is for the 8 million Venezuelans who are on the outside and what we crave: being able to spend time there.”

2024 Billboard Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.

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Nick Jonas Runs Offstage in Prague After Laser Points at Him

Nick Jonas had a scary moment while performing with the Jonas Brothers at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, on Tuesday night (Oct. 15).

In videos circulating social media, Jonas is seen sitting at the piano, where he was about to perform “A Little Bit Longer.” He then abruptly runs off the stage and down the venue aisle while making a “time out” sign with his hands. According to Variety, the show was paused for a few minutes due to the a “prohibited laser pointer” but the trio continued performing shortly after.

Billboard has reached out to Jonas’ reps for more information.

The safety of concerts has been a concern in recent years. Just a few months ago, in August, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Vienna, Austria, was canceled after a terrorist threat. At the time, Barracuda Music, the concert promoters for the Austrian shows said, “With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”

Bebe Rexha, Lil Nas X and Kelsea Ballerini are among the slew of artists who have had their shows interrupted by various objects being thrown at them onstage including, respectively, a phone, a sex toy and bracelet. Ava Max was also slapped by a fan who rushed the stage, and another concertgoer threw their mother’s ashes onto the stage during P!nk’s performance at BST Hyde Park in London.

In September 2023, Jonas himself dodged was looked like bracelets being thrown at the stage in Sacramento, Calif. At one point, he looks at the fan throwing the objects and shakes his head, telling them repeatedly to “stop” before he continued performing.

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Tyler, the Creator Teases His Next Era With ‘St. Chroma’ Video: Watch

Sound the alarms, the next chapter of Tyler, The Creator‘s career is here. It’s been over three years since his Grammy Award-winning Call Me If You Get Lost was released, and it appears a new Tyler era is upon us.

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Tyler took to social media on Wednesday (Oct. 16) to kick off his next chapter with the eerie “St. Chroma” video. The clip finds a person rocking a mask with a group of mesmerized soldiers marching to some whispered rapping through a barren desert.

The clip follows the group as they walk into a container emblazoned with the word “Chromakopia” on its side, before someone hits a detonator to blow up the box and splatter some color onto the screen. It’s unclear if this is the opening track of Tyler’s next era, but plenty of the rapper’s peers think so.

Solange Knowles, Lil Yachty, Gunner Stahl, IDK, Lil Dicky, Wolfacejoeyy, Laila!, Swizz Beatz, Doechii, Wynne, Montell Fish and more excitedly commented under his new clip. Some fans speculated that Chromakopia could even be the title of the next LP.

Since releasing his Goblin debut in 2011, Tyler has released an album every other year through 2021’s Call Me If You Get Lost. However, he broke the streak when 2023 came and went without an album. Although he essentially released a Call Me If You Get Lost deluxe with The Estate Sale in March 2023.

While he notched his first feature film role in an upcoming A24 movie alongside Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler has been quiet for much of 2024 on the music side.

With this teaser now out to the masses, the timing of rolling out his next project could make sense with his Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival set to take over Dodger Stadium for the weekend of Nov. 16 and Nov. 17 where he’ll be headlining.

Call Me If You Get Lost arrived in June 2021 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 169,000 total album units sold in the first week. The LP went on to win best rap album honors at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

Watch the clip below:

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Fuerza Regida’s JOP Reveals Secrets of Success During Publishing Icon Q&A at Latin Music Week

During the Sony Music Publishing Icon Q&A session with JOP (Jesus Ortiz Paz), the Fuerza Regida frontman sat down with his team of writers on Wednesday (Oct. 16) for Billboard Latin Music Week 2024 to offer a glimpse into his career and vision with his band and label Street Mob Records.

The session was introduced by Jorge Mejía, president/CEO of Sony Music Publishing Latin America and U.S. Latin, and moderated by Leila Cobo, chief content officer for Billboard Latin/Español. Here are the best quotes from the conversation:

JOP:

  1. “I’ve always wanted to be a businessman; after music, the first thing I wanted to do was get into business. Thank God I can sing.”
  2. “I knew that there was money to be made here [in the business]. I just bought a jet!”
  3. “I started alone, but two heads are better than one, and three or four [are even better].”
  4. “[Street Mob Records], we are a team and we almost always agree.”
  5. “Fuerza Regida is the best band in the world.”
  6. “Sometimes we hit the mark, other times we miss.”
  7. “A little trick is to work a lot. Hard work beats talent.”
  8. “I started singing in the streets of California.”
  9. “I don’t want to focus on hip-hop; I already diverged into dance (Jersey club), but we’re back [with corridos].”
  10. “I also sing about romance, but it’s explicit.”
  11. “How do I split my time? It’s business and art. I burp business, I s–t art.”

Armenta:

  1. “We have a working philosophy, and from working so hard came out, ‘Crazyz,’ ‘Nel,’ ‘Qué Onda?’”
  2. “We decided to do a different project for No Te Enamores.”
  3. “[Besides being a writer] I’m also a producer, I’ve been working since I was 14. We are not new in this business.”
  4. “We know that there we can walk without stumbling.”
  5. “We must keep growing [as a business]. We work hard here.”

Diego Millán (Calle 24):

  1. “If we are going to sit down [to write], we are going to make an anthem; and besides, we have a lot of fun.”

Cristian Avila García:

  1. “We have to share the pie.”

Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.

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6 Best Moments From Charli XCX & Troye Sivan’s L.A. Show: Kesha & Tate McRae’s Surprise Performances, More

Charli XCX and Troye Sivan played the first of two sold-out shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Tuesday night (Oct. 15), effectively turning the 17,500-capacity venue into a revved-up, sex-positive dance party that more than lived up to the tour’s Sweat moniker.

Given Charli’s grip on the culture this summer, there was predictably no shortage of Brat representation in the crowd, both official and unofficial — Brat green hats, Brat green T-shirts, Brat green accessories — not to mention a plethora of black knee-high boots and Troye-styled audience members in white tank tops and baggy trousers. On stage, the two stars traded off sets and occasionally came together (no pun intended) to perform, including on duets such as “1999” and the show-closing “Talk Talk.”

Thanks to the cultural juggernaut that was brat summer — an out-of-nowhere phenomenon that earned Charli nearly $10 million, according to Billboard estimates — it would be easy to over-emphasize the “Von Dutch” singer’s portion of the show. But in truth, the tour is a well-balanced affair that’s held together by the two stars’ easy camaraderie. Even when one of them ceded the stage to the other, the presence of the absent party was always felt (and often seen, thanks to an ingenious, multilayered stage setup).

The co-headlining stars touched down in L.A. as the tour nears the end of its run; after playing the Forum again on Wednesday, the duo is set to play just four more dates, concluding the tour at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on Oct. 23.

Here are the six best moments from the Tuesday night show.

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No Apologies Needed: Gracie Abrams’ ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’ Hits Top 40 and Helps an Older ‘Sorry’ Song of Hers in the Process

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 

This week: A new Gracie Abrams hit bumps a similarly titled old favorite, Lil Baby scores a viral hit with an unlikely guest verse and The Penguin starts to show its value as a TV synch source.

‘Sorry’ Not Sorry: Gracie Abrams’ Viral Hit Becomes Her Highest-Charting Hot 100 Entry

On Tuesday night, Gracie Abrams wrapped up the U.S. leg of her The Secret of Us tour in Philadelphia, which found the singer-songwriter playing to her biggest audiences yet following the June release of her sophomore album; three days after that final headlining show, she’ll be in Miami, back as an opener on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour through the stadium trek’s conclusion in December. Along with the two high-profile tours, Abrams has watched a pair of her songs — including her latest single from The Secret of Us — take off on U.S. streaming services, yielding what is now her biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit to date.

The lilting strum-along “I Love You, I’m Sorry” has been a topic of discussion on social media for weeks — first with pop fans arguing over the quality of its official music video and Abrams’ gentle performance on the song, then with a TikTok trend supporting Abrams’ vocal take (literally called “whisper allegation beater”), and finally with a Vevo live performance of the track that fans rallied behind following its Oct. 2 release. The chatter has helped the song’s weekly U.S. on-demand streams soar from 7.38 million during the week ending Sept. 5 to 11.35 million during the week ending Oct. 10, according to Luminate.

As those streams have helped “I Love You, I’m Sorry” streak upward on the Hot 100 — moving up from No. 53 to No. 31 on this week’s tally, Abrams’ first solo top 40 entry — an older Abrams song, “I Miss You, I’m Sorry,” has also benefitted, thanks to longtime fans championing the 2020 track that belatedly received a titular callback. “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” earned 2.5 million streams during the week ending Sept. 5, but in the most recent tracking week, that number had jumped to 3.73 million — a 48% gain over those five weeks, not too far off from the 53% jump for “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” – JASON LIPSHUTZ

No Hate for Lil Baby’s Guest Verse on Italian Rapper’s ‘Canzone D’Odio’

Just a couple years after unquestionably being one of the most ubiquitous rappers in popular music, Lil Baby’s mainstream presence has been a little more sparse the past couple years. But now he might be on his way back to another viral hit with as a guest rapper – no surprise there, except for the artist he’s supporting: Italian MC Lazza, whose Italian-language single “Canzone D’Odio” (in English: “Hate Song”) Baby has turned up on, with a verse in English. 

“Canzone” originally appeared on Lazza’s Locura album – the rapper’s third straight set to top Italy’s FIMI Albums Chart – before catching fire internationally online. Listeners were of course intrigued by hearing such a recognizable American voice on an otherwise Italian-language song, leading to the song climbing to No. 2 on Shazam’s United States top 200 chart. Fans have flooded the YouTube comments for the video in praise of Baby’s guest verse, with many wishing for a version of the song with just his part. 

The song has also begun to ignite on streaming services as well. The song has grown by over 300% in official on-demand U.S. streams each of the last two weeks, according to Luminate, and posted over one million streams during the past tracking week, ending Oct. 10. That’s not enough yet to really threaten a Hot 100 bow – but if the song continues to grow from here, the new collaborators may be “cin cin”-ing to Lil Baby’s 142nd career entry on the chart before long. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

‘The Penguin’ Synchs March to Greater Streaming Numbers

Back in the ‘90s, a big Batman placement for a pop song was one of the surest paths to pop success: Just ask Seal, who had his lone Hot 100 No. 1 hit with a Batman Forever soundtrack single (“Kiss From a Rose” in 1995). While the Christopher Nolan-era Dark Knight trilogy of the early 21st century wasn’t as interested in creating big musical moments, Batman refound its pop footing in 2022 with The Batman, which created a chart hit out of grunge legends Nirvana’s once-deep cut “Something in the Way” – even getting the 30-plus-year-old Nevermind-closing ballad onto the Hot 100 for the first time.

Now, the Gothamverse is aiding the music world again, thanks to the well-received new HBO crime drama The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell as the titular villain (anti-hero?) and taking place after the events of the 2022 Batman. The bumps for songs featured are thusfar more modestly scaled than “Something in the Way” post-The Batman, but synth-pop outfit Floor Cry’s cover of the Turtles’ 1967 pop classic “Happy Together” spiked 616% to nearly 93,000 weekly official on-demand U.S. streams in the two weeks after the moody rendition was featured over the end credits to The Penguin’s second episode. Similarly, EDM duo Bob Moses’ seething electro-funk banger “Broken Belief” was up 1,779% for the week ending Oct. 10, to nearly 81,000 streams, after being featured in an episode three montage. 

Given the muscle it’s already showing with its synchs, it might only be a matter of time before The Penguin finds the right hit, new or old, to put back over the top – “Earth Angel,” perhaps? – AU

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5 Best Moments From Stevie Wonder’s ‘Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart’ Concert

“Before I sing too much more, I just want to say thank God for this moment,” says Stevie Wonder as he makes himself comfortable at the head of the stage. He’s positioned in front of a deck of keyboards and beside a black grand piano. He’s flanked, on all sides, by a full 30-plus-person band. In front of him is a sold out Madison Square Garden with fans who are likely also thanking God for this moment and, waiting with bated breath to sway and croon aloud with the legendary musician.

This moment, according to Wonder, is an opportunity for the United States of America to cool the overcooked political climate and come together. To help that along he’s embarked on an eleven-date tour called “Sing your song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” based on his most recent single, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart.” It’s a plea that would come off callow if it came from any other superstar, but from Wonder the motivation feels sincere if slightly jejune. But, honestly, all that really matters is that one of the titans of popular music is on tour again. At 74 years old, Wonder is still spry and quick-witted. His voice, though slightly diminished, still shimmers with the emotional clarity and tonal fidelity that we all grew to love.

For over two hours on Thursday (Oct. 10), Wonder ran through a small selection of his hits, taking brief breaks to share stories from his past and pay homage to some of his favorite artists. Despite the theme, the night never felt heavy or burdensome. It instead felt like a big party, only instead of a DJ there was an enormous band and a living legend at the helm. It’s doubtful if a concert can fix our nation’s heart, but one this good can definitely get us to come together and momentarily forget about the caustic campaigning.

Trying to pick the best moments or takeaways from a Stevie Wonder concert feels a bit like trying to narrow down the things you love most about your significant other — but below are five things that really stood out about his show at MSG.

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Mariah Carey Reveals Her ‘Best Album,’ Despite the ‘Zero Accolades’ It Received

Mariah Carey is looking back at some of the most defining moments of her career.

The chanteuse sat down with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang for a new episode of the duo’s Las Culturistas podcast, where Carey revealed how much her sixth studio album, Butterfly, meant to her. “It definitely has very special significance to me. I think it’s probably my best album,” she revealed.

When Rogers replied that he doesn’t understand why Butterfly “doesn’t have all the accolades,” Carey agreed. “It has zero accolades, I think,” she joked, before adding, “I love that album. It has a certain feeling when you listen to it. It’s just got a lot of diversity. You go from ‘Breakdown’ to ‘Butterfly’ to ‘My All.’”

The collection was released in September 1997 and featured the singles “Honey,” “Breakdown,” “The Roof” and the title tracks. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album’s chart and was certified five-times platinum but the Recording Industry Association of America. While the project did not receive a Grammy, in 1998, “Honey” was nominated for best female R&B vocal performance and “Butterfly” was nominated for best female pop vocal performance.

Butterfly also represented a musical freedom for Carey, as she took control of her creative vision and began playing with hip-hop-influenced R&B to balance the pop and adult contemporary musical style fans were used to up until then.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2022, the superstar reflected on the project via social media, writing, “I will never forget the day I released this album to the world. I had never felt more exposed and vulnerable yet free and euphoric at the same time. It was a true EMANCIPATION (no pun intended!) of my spirit, soul and innermost feelings which I poured into every lyric and every note on every song. 25 years later, it’s still one of the proudest moments of my life & career.”

Watch Carey’s full Las Culturistas interview below.

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Real Boston Richey’s ‘Help Me’ Hits Top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

Rising rapper Real Boston Richey completes a career milestone by earning his first top 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with “Help Me.” The single ascends 12-10 on the list dated Oct. 19 thanks to gains in radio airplay while maintaining its steady streaming results on the multimetric chart, which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data for its rankings.

For the tracking week of Oct. 4-10, “Help Me,” released through Freebandz/Epic Records, generated 7.9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, down 1% from the previous week. Despite the decline, “Help Me” climbs 14-12 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart, where it achieved a No. 7 best in late September. The track sold a negligible number of downloads in the week and does not appear on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list.

In the airplay sector, “Help Me” registered 7.1 million audience impressions in the tracking period, a 12% improvement over the previous week. The increase aligns with the single’s 19-17 advance on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, sparked by a 16% boost for the week in format plays. “Help Me” repeats at its No. 23 best on Rhythmic Airplay, though it added 1% more plays.

Elsewhere, “Help Me” drives 9-7 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and 56-53 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. As on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the song marks the debut appearance for the 27-year-old rapper, who, despite his stage name, hails from Tallahassee, Fla.

Although “Help Me” secures Real Boston Richey’s breakthrough on the singles’ charts, the rapper has made inroads with prior mixtapes. His Public Housing mixtape debuted at No. 22 on the Top Rap Albums chart in 2022, while Public Housing 2 improved upon its predecessor and landed a No. 15 showing in January 2023. Later that year, his debut studio album, Welcome to Bubba Land, reached No. 42 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

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Lil Nas X Congratulates Kendrick Lamar & Shaboozey for Beating 2 of His Billboard Records: ‘It Was a Good Run!’

Lil Nas X‘s 2019 smash “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, has maintained some pretty impressive records on the Billboard charts. But five years later, he’s happily passing the torch to two other artists.

Last week, Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” broke the record for most weeks at No. 1 (21) on Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart — where it has now spent 22 weeks at the top, chart dated Oct. 19) — surpassing the 20-week streak of “Old Town Road.” “It was a good run ! the horses are officially actually in the back now! Congratulations to Kendrick!” Lil Nas X tweeted on Wednesday (Oct. 16) in response to NFR Podcast‘s post sharing Billboard‘s reporting.

But “Not Like Us” wasn’t the only song that moved past “Old Town Road” on a chart. On Tuesday, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — which has been No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks (and counting) — broke the record for most weeks at No. 1 (20) on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, surpassing the 19-week streak of “Old Town Road.” “It was a good run ! the horses are officially actually in the back now! Congratulations to Shaboozey!” Lil Nas X wrote on X in response to Chart Data’s post sharing Billboard‘s reporting.

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“Old Town Road,” which was the lead single from Lil Nas X’s major label debut EP 7, is still the longest-leading No. 1 in Hot 100 chart history, with 19 weeks at the penthouse suite.

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