Every month, Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors spotlight a group of rising artists whose music we love. Think “diamantes en bruto,” or “diamonds in the rough.” These are newcomers who have yet to impact the mainstream — but whose music excites us, and who we believe our readers should make a point to discover.

Our latest edition of On the Radar Latin includes a wave of emerging artists, who we discovered either by networking or coming across their music at a showcase, and beyond. See our recommendations this month below:

Artist: Emmanuel Cortes

Country: Mexico

Why They Should Be on Your Radar: In recent months, Emmanuel Cortes has captivated the social media realm with his viral “Amor.” In true fashion, I discovered Cortes while scrolling on TikTok, where his catchy norteño-cumbia track backed by his smooth tenor vocals has garnered nearly 500k video creations of couples of all ages dancing to the feel-good bop. Boasting over 180K followers on TikTok and more than 70K on Instagram, with only one post on the latter, Cortes marks the new wave of Música Mexicana gems. On his YouTube channel, you will only find one music video (“Amor,” with over five million views), but on his Spotify, you’ll come across his nine-song album Memorias <3, where he has a selection of romantic corridos and sad sierreños. — JESSICA ROIZ

Song for Your Playlist: “Amor”

Artist: HeyBroders

Country: Venezuela/Nicaragua

Why They Should Be On Your Radar: During a spontaneous visit to the studio of my friend and producer/composer Frank Santofimio, I had the chance to happily witness the debut of a talented young group based in Miami but hailing from Venezuela and Nicaragua called HeyBroders. Made up of Ignacio Mendoza, Michael Reyes, Antony Tijerino and Juan G Dominguez, the emerging “boy band” mixes refreshing cumbia rhythms and tropical pop. Their latest single, “La Influencer,” in collaboration with the talent and charisma of the Venezuelan singer Briella, fuses modern cumbia rhythms with social criticism and a dose of melancholy. The song is helmed by renowned producers DeMasters, Frank Santofimio and Ender Thomas, creators behind hits from Camilo, Sebastian Yatra, Anitta, Ricky Martin and Sting, among others. — INGRID FAJARDO

Song for Your Playlist: “La Influencer” (feat. Briella)

Artist: Las Prez

Country: Mexico

Why They Should Be on Your Radar: Las Prez was put on my radar thanks to a close friend from Guatemala, who also happens to be their long-time producer. I was instantly captivated by their ability to create unique versions of popular songs and was charmed by the sweet, harmonious quality of their voices. Twins Valentina and Regina helm the project. They were born in Mexico City, graduated from Televisa’s children’s CEA, started their careers in acting, dancing, voice-over, and music, and were part of popular children’s groups. Las Prez’s latest single, “Traicionero,” brings together Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Guaynaa, and the Mexican group Fullbrand in a cumbia fusion with Reggaeton-Mexa beats, creating a perfect blend of thumping rhythms. — I.F.

Song for Your Playlist: “Traicionero” (feat. Guaynaa, El Gudi, Jey F & Alan Dazmel)

Artist: MAR

Country: Mexico

Why They Should Be on Your Radar: Earlier this month, Mar released “No Te Vaz,” a buoyant pop-cumbia enriched with sparkly synths in true grupera fashion — a subgenre of regional Mexican music popularized globally by her father, Marco Antonio Solís. Although I first noticed her during a heartfelt performance at the 2022 Latin Recording Academy’s Person of the Year Gala honoring her the Mexican icon, Mar swiftly captivated attention on her own merits. Her prowess was evident with her song “Más Que Tu Amiga,” which climbed to No. 12 on the Tropical Airplay chart in January 2023.

“No Te Vaz” is particularly compelling — an energetically catchy and emotionally charged track equipped with heartfelt lyrics about reclaiming self-worth after a disappointing love affair. The playful music video showcases the Monterrey-born singer and her friends in stylish ranchera outfits, enjoying a spirited day out at a rugged ranch. Mar is a rising star with a bright future ahead, blending legacy with her cheeky artistic flair. — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Song For Your Playlist: “No Te Vaz”

Artist: Marky

Country: Cuba

Why They Should Be on Your Radar: A former pastor-turned-singer, Marky is a Cuban-born, Florida-based artist with the mission of shedding positivity and light with his musical project. On his debut EP, Verdades (Truth) — helmed by Latin hitmakers Nando Pro and La Companioni — Marky delivers seven songs packed with optimistic and motivational messages about life and praise. Sonically, the album includes an array of genres from Cuban reparto to reggaetón-with-flamenco fusions to electronic and rap music. On the focus track “Me Siento Bien” (I feel good), Marky taps into breezy, tropical Calypso melodies to narrate the story of a person who feels blessed to be alive. “With the same smile and stronger than yesterday/ I feel good/ My moment is today,” he chants. — J.R.

Song For Your Playlist: “Me Siento Bien”

Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with confirmed superstars including Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.

Playboi Carti snatches his first top 10 as the sole lead artist on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “All Red” arrives at No. 3 on the list dated Sept. 28. The track rides a massive streaming wave to the top tier and extends his streak of consecutive top 10s – either in lead or featured capacities – on the chart.

For its debut on the multimetric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart — which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data for its calculations — “All Red” opens with 19.5 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week of Sept. 13-19, according to Luminate. The total sparks the single’s No. 1 debut on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart and No. 10 entrance on the corresponding all-genre Streaming Songs ranking.

Streams power virtually of the “All Red” debut on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The track also sold 500 digital downloads – below the threshold of the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart – and registered negligible airplay in its first week of release.

“All Red” gives Playboi Carti, a recent cover star for Billboard, his seventh top 10 hit on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Here’s a review of his collection:

Song Title, Artist (if other than Playboi Carti), Peak Position, Peak Date

Notably, Playboi Carti extends his streak of consecutive top 10s, as all five of his chart visits since “FE!N” have reached the region.

Elsewhere, “All Red” begins at No. 2 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and at No. 15 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

“All Red” previews Playboi Carti’s forthcoming album, which will mark the 29-year-old’s first album since 2020’s Whole Lotta Red. The set debuted at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200.

As the countdown continues to the 58th annual CMA Awards, set to air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 20, country music fans will be anxious to see who takes home the evening’s top prize — entertainer of the year. This year, the nominees are Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson.

Luke Bryan, a two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner himself, is offering his thoughts to Billboard on who could potentially take home this year’s EOY accolade.

“I look back at when I won CMA entertainer of the year and in my opinion, that’s always been about who has sold the most tickets and has been kind of the most impressive thing out there in the touring world,” Bryan says.

Each of the nominees has been selling out headlining shows in venues ranging from amphitheaters and arenas to stadiums: Wallen on his One Night at a Time Tour, Combs on his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour, Stapleton with his All-American Road Show Tour, Jelly Roll with his Beautifully Broken Tour and Wilson with her Country’s Cool Again Tour.

“When I look at what Morgan Wallen’s doing out there, selling out multiple [stadiums], and I know Luke Combs is doing that too, and obviously, they’re just both great entertainers,” Bryan says. “I don’t know who to sit there and put my endorsement on, but I have just been in awe watching Morgan Wallen go from being on some of my stadium tours and hanging on the bus with me, to watching him just really put up Garth Brooks-like stadium shows, has been pretty incredible. So, I think certainly it’d be something really, really great if Morgan might get him one or two, or three or four the next couple of years. But I think they’re all worthy of it. Lainey won last year, and that’ll probably put her in the front-runner spot, too, but it is a hot seat kind of thing. They all got my vote.”

Wallen, who scored his third CMA entertainer of the year nomination this year, leads this year’s overall CMA nominees with seven nods. Meanwhile, Stapleton earned his eighth nomination in the entertainer of the year category (he has yet to win the prize), while Combs earned his fifth nomination in the category (he has previously won twice), Wilson picked up her second EOY nomination (she is the reigning CMA EOY winner) and Jelly Roll nabbed his first nomination in the category this year.

Bryan is gearing up for the release of his new album, Mind of a Country Boy, on Friday (Sept. 27). The 14-song album features his current single, “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” which currently resides at No. 8 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.

On nights when there are no live acts playing Sphere Las Vegas, the venue’s Exosphere (its one-of-a-kind outer LED screen) reads, “U2 are not here.” However, five nights a week inside the immersive venue, U2 can be seen performing the best of their U2:UV residency that ran from September 2023 to March 2024 through concert film V-U2. Captured via the Sphere’s proprietary Big Sky camera system, the concert film is just as good as, if not better than, the Irish band’s actual show.  

Directed by U2’s The Edge and his wife Morleigh Steinberg, V-U2 brings a slew of firsts to the almost one-year-old venue and its content creation capabilities. The film – captured over three nights of the band’s sold-out residency at Sphere – is part of a growing slate of programming for Sphere Experiences, which run when there is no live residency or special event at the Las Vegas venue. Sphere Experiences also include the Darren Aronofsky film Postcard from Earth.  

“V-U2 was born out of a conversation with the band, ‘How do we memorialize this moment’” of U2’s historic Sphere residency, says Sphere Studios’ senior vp of capture Andrew Shulkind, who served as the film’s director of photography. “For 100 years of movie making, we’ve been telling stories through a rectangular lens. This is a different kind of storytelling. There’s no way to tell this story in a traditional way. You could cut it up, have wide-angle lenses, or have a choppy concert film, but nothing could recreate the Sphere experience.”  

Nothing except maybe the technology that makes the live sphere experience possible.  

“Coincidentally, we’ve been building cameras to capture other content [outside] the venue,” Shulkind says. “If we can tell the story of what it’s like to be in a sulfur volcano for Postcard or flying over Mont Blanc, why not tell the story of being inside Sphere [during a concert] with our very own technology?” 

When Shulkind was first commissioned to work at the Sphere in 2018, the company faced a dilemma of creating images sharp enough for their screens when off-the-shelf-cameras would not suffice. After pursuing different avenues, the Sphere team created the Big Sky camera in 2021. “The camera, lens and all its components are entirely internal technology on which we have 10 patents,” says Shulkind. “Nobody else needs that crazy level of resolution. Coincidentally, the game-changing technology has pushed the business forward.”  

The Big Sky technology debuted in Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth, capturing the images and video required for the Sphere’s 16K x 16K immersive display plane from edge to edge. It also features the largest single sensor in commercial use—a 316-megapixel, 3” x 3” HDR image sensor capable of a 40X resolution increase over 4K cameras. Big Sky can capture content up to 120 frames per second in the 18K square format and higher speed frame rates at lower resolutions. 

Using the same technology, producer Alan Maloney, U2, Sphere Studios and the venue, the teams collaborated to shoot over three nights of the 40-date residency (two in February and one in March) to create V-U2, the first film shot entirely on Big Sky cameras. 

Working for more than two months on the edit of V-U2 at the Sphere Studios Big Dome in Burbank, Calif. – with a quarter-sized version of the screen and haptic seats and sound featured in the venue – Steinberg (who is an accomplished director and choreographer that choreographed many of Bono’s moves for the Zoo TV Tour in the 1990s) and The Edge wanted to make sure the final product wasn’t just a concert film or a documentary, but a faithful recreation of the live with the most precise view of U2 possible, down to the details on their shoelaces. 

“Seeing the band like that—whether you’re high up or in the lower seats. That’s amazing for fans,” Steinberg says. 

However, from the director’s perspective, the medium posed significant challenges. “You can’t easily see your edits. You’re either looking through an Oculus [headset] or at a very low-resolution image on a monitor. You quickly learn what you might not be seeing and make compensations for that,” Steinberg says. 

One of the most complex production pieces was transforming the 100-minute U2:UV into the 82-minute V-U2. This called for interweaving the setlist of U2:UV with some of the classic covers performed throughout the residency, such as Elvis Presley‘s “Love Me Tender,” Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” 

The directors wanted to reflect the arc of the live show into the concert film and “also considered that this will be viewed by a broader audience, not just U2 fans,” Steinberg says. “People are coming to see what the Sphere can do. The first three songs of the film are a perfect example of that. However, we do ask the audience to sit through two songs where there are no [background] visuals [just a shot of the band]. Even if you aren’t a U2 fan, there’s much to enjoy and experience.” 

Steinberg says the film captures the best moments of the residency in new depth and sharpness, with a fresh perspective. The rendition of “‘The Fly’ is a brilliant piece in the film … the space morphs and gives the illusion of the room becoming square. It is a true use of the word ‘awesome,’” she says. “There are shots from the stage, looking out at the audience, which is a new perspective you don’t normally have.”  

The track “One” features a camera angle on Bono that Shulkind characterizes as the biggest close-up ever filmed. “The ability to show Bono in this very intimate moment during this intimate song that everybody knows was so powerful,” he says. “It blew everyone away.” 

“We had to shrink it down a little bit. It was even bigger,” Steinberg says of the stunning image that showcases Bono in grand detail. “The camera then slowly pulls back, revealing the band. The moment extends into an infinite view of the room, with everyone in the audience holding up their lights.” 

The sound of the audience from the original live events also played a critical role in developing the concert film. Captured on crowd mics placed through the venue during the live shows in February and March, the audience can be heard during the film – between and over songs – responding to the band’s performance. “So much of that rawness and bits of unexpected magic parallel the imaging side,” says Shulkind. “You hear the show’s little imperfections and human aspects.” 

V-U2 is set to play regularly as Sphere Experiences continue to be created. While it is not yet determined whether every band in residency at Sphere will get their own film, the content has been collected at Phish and Dead & Company shows and will be captured during the Eagles’ current run.  

“We will continue to capture every band that comes through,” says MSG Entertainment’s executive vp of live Josephine Vaccarello. “Everyone who comes into our venue is learning how to play with the tools we have in the toolbox differently. We’re continually trying to figure out how we innovate and how we continue to grow, and this was one of the ways.” 

“Every Sphere show is a unique moment in time,” Shulkind says. “We’re still figuring out what that looks like for other shows. It’s an endless journey of discovery because we’re learning how this new medium works.” 

Texas’ Maxo Kream and Cali’s Tyler, the Creator team up for a Big Western Showdown.

Directed by Karim Belkasemi, the duo keep it simple, yet stylish for the “Cracc Era” music video as they rap over Tyler production fitted up in a studio with a white backdrop. The beat harkens back to the Odd Future boss’ older style and will be easy to replicate on a lunchroom table top like “Grindin’” by The Neptunes. Tyler’s verse is short, but his voice goes perfect with the beat as he spits, “N—a two-tonе, two-door, watchin’ Juno, you know/Who them is when you see n—s in them Unos” and handles chorus duties. Maxo, on the other hand, raps a longer verse in his signature cadence and displays some intricate wordplay. “My Hoover Crips your Ruger clips/Like Ludacris, I throw a bow/I finish him like Liu Kang, I want the brain like Al Snow,” he raps before talking about his “jackin’” days.

Maxo and Tyler have great chemistry and probably should consider working together more often. This is their second collaboration, with the first being 2021’s “Big Persona” from the Texas rapper’s Weight of the World album.

Maxo seems to be gearing up to dropping an album this year. He’s been keeping a steady pace, releasing a handful of singles and got some features in to keep the pen sharp, most notably “H Town Texas” with Big Tony and “Talkin In Screw” with That Mexican OT.

Earlier this year, he lost his father and began a weight loss journey. He’s down more than 75 pounds and looks forward to making some noise with his next project. A single produced and featuring Tyler is a good start.