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YG Entertainment has renewed its exclusive contract with all four members of BLACKPINK, the company announced Wednesday (Dec. 6), sending stock in the K-pop giant soaring on news that its most successful act would remain with the agency.
At the market’s open, YG’s share price skyrocketed from 48,000 KRW ($36.57) — its lowest since January — to 61,900 KRW ($47.16), a 29% increase. It has since settled down to 58,700 KRW ($44.72) at time of publishing, which still marks a more than 22% increase since the start of trading on Wednesday and a year-to-date gain of 24%.
YG stock plummeted in September following reports out of Korea that the agency had not yet renewed its contract with the members of BLACKPINK, with Korean news outlet Daily Sports Seoul reporting that three of the group’s members — Jennie, Jisso and Lisa — would leave YG and spend only six months of the year as part of the group. After that report surfaced, the company issued a brief statement saying that the renewal of BLACKPINK’s contract “has not been confirmed and is being discussed.” BLACKPINK is the biggest act on YG’s roster, which also includes Bigbang, TREASURE and BABYMONSTER.
BLACKPINK is to date the most successful K-pop girl group to have impacted the U.S. market, playing Coachella in 2019 and headlining the festival in 2023. In 2022, it became the first K-pop girl group and the third K-pop group overall to top the Billboard 200 with its album Born Pink.
The terms of the new deal were not immediately disclosed.
In mid-November, Juan Luis Guerra shared on his social media a sneak peek of a new project that has him very excited: An animated movie called Capitán Avispa. The film, scheduled to hit theaters in the United States and Latin America sometime in 2024, according to Guerra, will feature old and new songs by the Dominican music master.
“In addition to the fact that I am going to write songs specifically for the character, you will hear everything from ‘Rosalía’ to ‘La Bilirrubina’,” Guerra told Billboard Español in a recent interview in New York, in which he revealed details of the movie for the first time. “He is a very beautiful character,” he added enthusiastically about Capitán Avispa (Captain Wasp in English). “He is a Latin hero, we could say, and everyone will like him.”
“Strong and brave, he never lies!” the insect declares in the teaser that Guerra published last month on his Instagram account, without identifying the voice behind the courageous and sweet character.
“The main voice of the Captain is done by my dear [Luis] Fonsi,” Guerra told Billboard Español in the interview recorded for Billboard News, adding that “Joy [Huerta, from Jesse & Joy] does the voice of Honey Bee, who is Capitán Avispa’s companion.” He also excitedly announced that they both sing a “beautiful song together — they are the most beautiful voices you can ever hear.”
Helmed by his son Jean Gabriel Guerra (who has directed many of his father’s music videos) along with animation director Jonathan Meléndez, Capitán Avispa was created by Juan Luis, who has recruited other friends and colleagues to give life to the different characters: Juanes provides the voice of Sargento Picadura, he revealed, and the Colombian rocker’s wife, actress Karen Martínez (also known as Chechi) plays Jimena. Additionally, Dominican actor José Guillermo Cortinez provides the voice of a character named Jacques Puasón, and Dominican actress Amelia Vega — Miss Universe 2003, as well as Guerra’s niece — voices Bolivia.
A four-time-Grammy and 24-time-Latin Grammy winner, Guerra has had a fruitful four-decade career, in which he’s placed dozens of songs and albums on the Billboard charts — from “Ojala Que Llueve Café,” his first entry on Hot Latin Songs, which reached No. 21 in Nov. 1989, and his iconic Bachata Rosa, which topped the Tropical Albums chart for 12 weeks in 1991; to “Mambo 23,” which reached No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay just last week (Nov. 25).
The latter song is part of his most recent production with his group 4.40, Radio Güira, a six-track EP full of humor, love and poetry, over mambo, bachata and merengue rhythms, very much in the style of Juan Luis Guerra. Each of the songs is presented as if it’s being played on the radio, with supposed calls from listeners and even a special cooking recipe.
“We wanted to put a smile on the faces of people who listened to Radio Güira,” Guerra said. “It was part of what Radio Güira is, bringing joy, bringing a message of peace, of love.”
Watch more of the interview above in the Billboard News video.
Sphere Entertainment provided the first inside glimpse at the finances of James Dolan‘s $2 billion Sphere project in Las Vegas in a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday (Dec. 5).
Spun off from Madison Square Garden Entertainment in April and now trading on the NYSE as SPHR, the company is expected to report positive adjusted income this quarter thanks to the opening of the venue and a successful run of shows including U2:UV’s Achtung Baby Live At Sphere.
According to Billboard Boxscore, U2‘s 17-show run beginning in September at Sphere generated nearly $110 million in ticket sales. The SEC filing notes that those shows generated a total of $30.7 million in revenue for Sphere Entertainment through Nov. 30. Meanwhile, Sphere Entertainment’s own content offering, Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth, has generated approximately $44.5 million in total revenue from ticket sales from 111 showings.
U2 played its first show at Sphere on Sept. 29, 2023, kicking off a multi-month run at the venue. Due to the strong demand, 15 more shows have been added in January, February and March 2024, bringing the band’s planned number of performances to 40.
Also in the SEC filing, the company announced plans to raise money through the sale of $225 million in convertible senior notes that are due to mature in 2028, as well as the option for purchasers to buy an additional $33.75 million in notes.
Sphere Entertainment plans to use a portion of the proceeds from the notes sale to fund capped call transactions designed to reduce the potential dilution of its common stock from the conversion of debt into equity. The remainder of the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including capital for Sphere-related growth initiatives, according to a release announcing the offering. The initial conversion rate, interest rate and certain other terms of the notes will be negotiated between Sphere Entertainment and the initial purchasers.
Sphere Entertainment began the quarter (starting Sept. 30) with $433.5 million in cash on hand, with $123 million coming from advance ticket sales. The principal balance of the company’s total debt at the beginning of the quarter was approximately $1.2 billion, including $932.3 million of debt under the MSGN Credit Facilities. Under the terms of the MSGN deal, $103.1 million in required quarterly amortization payments are due between Sept. 30, 2023, and Oct. 11, 2024.
Shares of Sphere Entertainment dropped nearly 20% in trading after the company announced the debt offering, but bounced back slightly and were down 15.5% to $28.41 at the market’s close.
Latin music legend Juan Luis Guerra spoke with Billboard Español deputy editor Sigal Ratner-Arias about his latest EP ‘Radio Güira,’ his upcoming animated film ‘Capitán Avispa,’ writing music for his wife, finding inspiration, the key to his long career and more!
Juan Luis Guerra:
It was part of what ‘Radio Güira’ is. To bring joy and a message of peace, of love.
Hi, I’m Juan Luis Guerra, and you’re watching Billboard News.
Sigal Ratner-Arias:
Don Juan Luis Guerra, welcome to Billboard News. What an honor to have you here. Thanks for coming.
Juan Luis Guerra:
Thank you for the invitation.
Sigal Ratner-Arias:
“Radio Güira,” 6 songs merengue, son, bachata and more.
Juan Luis Guerra:
Yes.
Sigal Ratner-Arias:
Tell me a little to start. How did the – I know the radio concept and everything, but how did the name ‘Radio Güira’ come about? Why ‘Radio Güira’?
Juan Luis Guerra:
I was looking for a name that would attract attention and within them, Güira emerged. The güira is my favorite folk instrument and we thought ‘Radio Güira’ was going to attract a lot of attention. And we wanted to make a new concept with practically new music that we would not have done before. That’s where the name came from. Also, I used to have in the Dominican Republic a radio called ‘Radio Viva’ that had kind of the same concept this ‘Radio Güira’ has.
Sigal Ratner-Arias:
How did the EP idea arise? The idea of doing it as if presenting each song on a radio.
Watch the full video above!
Travis Scott is one of the most successful musical artists of his generation. But in his heart of hearts, he’s really a product person. He relishes creating new things and finding new ways to express his artistic desires. It’s why he told GQ that he’s “going to Harvard for architecture school.” He just wants to make things at the highest level. So, after partnering with Nike, Sony’s PlayStation, McDonald’s, Dior and Fortnite, it wasn’t a shock to hear that he partnered with the Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet to produce a small batch of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar.
Afterall, he mentioned it on “Meltdown” off his latest album Utopia when he rapped, “Wrappin’ the cheese, wrap around me ’cause I’ve got property/ Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs.” The watch is the final project overseen by Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias, who has run the company since 2013, and was announced at an event on Nov. 30.
The super-limited 41MM timepiece, encased in a chocolate ceramic case with a brown calfskin strap and “Utopia Is a State of Mind” engraved on the back, was limited to 200 pieces, and, like most Scott collabs, completely sold out.
If you didn’t have $200,000 to drop on a brown watch but still want to rep Cactus Jack and AP, Scott has you covered. On Tuesday (Dec. 5), the “K-Pop” rapper released a capsule collection featuring everything from sweatshirts and T-shirts to robes and slippers. Prices range from $60 for a dad hat to $1,850 for a leather bomber jacket. Every piece is bathed in a familiar brown hue that Scott has used on everything from his Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen to his infamous Batman halloween costume, and now his very own Royal Oak.
“Watchmaking, to me, is the ultimate combo of engineering, fashion, tech and design — a harmony of precision, craftsmanship and perfect timing,” Travis Scott said via press release. “I approached this collaboration similar to sampling or starting a beat, taking inspiration from classics while introducing innovation to push them into the future.”
The entire collection is currently available at Travis Scott’s web shop.
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