The romantic songs of Los Temerarios, those that captivated four generations in Mexico and the United States, were sung along by thousands Friday night (Dec. 20) at the GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City — in the first of the last two concerts of the band’s farewell tour, Hasta Siempre, with which they’ll close a story of almost half a century.

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“We have reached the end, the end of these 47 years! We will always carry you in our hearts. Thank you for what you made us live during all this time. It has been wonderful!” said an emotional Gustavo Ángel to the 65,000 people who packed the venue, according to figures from promoter Ocesa.

It was a nostalgic and very special night for the group, led by brothers Adolfo and Gustavo Ángel, and their loyal fans, many of whom have been followers of their music from the old days, when they attended their concerts in popular venues in municipalities on the outskirts of the Mexican capital. Many others maintained their taste for the group’s music after having migrated to the U.S., and made their songbook part of their connection to Mexico.

“We are going to sing those songs with which you fell in love, got married, had children and grandchildren,” the vocalist and guitarist told the audience after performing “Tu Infame Engaño,” one of their classics from the ’80s.

“Our beloved audience, 47 years of being here and you experiencing it with all your heart. There is nothing we can say to reciprocate your affection,” added keyboardist Adolfo Ángel, prompting a thunderous applause.

The audience, mostly made up of women between 30 and 60 years old, sang along at the top of their lungs to songs like “Vivo Enamorado de Ti,” which opened the show, followed by the aforementioned “Tu Infame Engaño,” “Una Tarde Fue,” “Como Te Tecuerdo,” “Como Quisiera Volver,” and “Ya Me Voy Para Siempre.”

The extensive repertoire also included songs like “Ven Porque Te Necesito,” “Acepta Mi Error,” “Porque Te Conocí,” “Una Lágrima No Basta,” “Eres Un Sueño,” “La Mujer Que Soñé,” “Me Partiste el Corazón” and “Te Quiero.”

The show lasted about three hours, during which Los Temerarios performed more than 30 songs — those that catapulted them as one of the most beloved and successful Hispanic bands of the past four decades, and with which they achieved feats like 41 entries on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and 47 entries on Top Latin Albums.

“The emotions are at their peak. If you see teary eyes around, it’s pure gratitude,” said Adolfo Ángel, who recalled that “Tu Última Canción” was inspired by an ex-girlfriend whose relationship ended in a phone call.

The Hasta Siempre Tour of Los Temerarios began in February 2023, and this year accounted for more than 30 shows in cities in Mexico, the U.S., and Central America, including Mexico City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Monterrey, San José, Houston and Atlanta, among others.

In the Mexican capital, before their last performances at the GNP Seguros Stadium, the group packed eight nights at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico since last February, gathering about 160,000 people in total, according to promoter Zignia Live.

On Saturday (Dec. 21), Los Temerarios will repeat the feat for the last time at the GNP Seguros Stadium, lowering the curtain after 47 years.

Keyboard player Adolfo Ángel Alba and singer Gustavo Ángel Alba perform during a concert at Arena Monterrey on February 29, 2024 in Monterrey, Mexico.
Keyboardist Adolfo Ángel Alba and singer Gustavo Ángel Alba, from the group Los Temerarios, during a concert at the Arena Monterrey on Feb. 29, 2024, in Monterrey, Mexico.

Barack Obama delivered his annual list of favorite songs, as well as his favorite movies and books of 2024, on his social media accounts Friday night (Dec. 20).

“Here are my favorite songs from this year! Check them out if you’re looking to shake up your playlist – and let me know if there’s a song or artist I should make sure to listen to,” the former U.S. president captioned a post featuring a list of 25 song picks.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Squabble Up” is the first song named on Obama’s list, which has selections including Billie Eilish’s “Lunch,” Asaka & Travis Scott’s “Active,” Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” Leon Bridges’ “Peaceful Place,” Jack White’s “That’s How I’m Feeling” and Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” among many others.

Several tracks got a coveted spot on both Obama’s summer playlist (shared in August) and his favorite music of 2024 list.

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Yayo’s “Rema,” Tyla, Gunna & Skillibeng’s “Jump,” Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Bonny Light Horseman’s “Old Dutch,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Artemas’ “I Like the Way You Kiss Me,” Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” and Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” are all found on Obama’s summer list and his year-end list.

Some of Obama’s favorite songs of 2024 ranked in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart: Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (No. 2 on the Hot 100), Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” (No. 8) and Hozier’s “Too Sweet” (No. 10).

Obama narrowed down his favorite movies of 2024 to a concise list of 10, which included All We Imagine as LightConclave, The Piano Lesson, The Promised Land, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Dune: Part Two, Anora, Dìdi, Sugarcane and A Complete Unknown.

His book list also has just 10 picks (and a reminder to support independent book shops and libraries). Obama’s favorite books of 2024 were Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo, Alexei Navalny’s Patriot, Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, Aysegul Savas’ The Anthropologists, Arlie Russell Hochschild’s Stolen Pride, Martin MacInnes’ In Ascension, Daniel Susskind’s Growth, Dinaw Mengetsu’s Someone Like Us and Adam Moss’ The Work of Art.

See all of Obama’s favorite music, movies and books of 2024 below.

On Friday night (Dec. 20), Billie Eilish played the penultimate show of her five-night run at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. — not to mention the second-to-last U.S. date of her global Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour, which is slated to pick up again in Brisbane, Australia on Feb. 18.

Though Eilish (who was preceded onstage by opening act Ashnikko) warned the Kia Forum night 4 audience about a recent struggle with laryngitis, there was no discernible trace of it in the superstar’s pristine vocals as she plowed through a slew of hits both old and new, from “Ocean Eyes” to “Bury a Friend” to “Birds of a Feather” and everything in between. And though Charli XCX wasn’t on hand for “Guess” — Eilish’s recent duet with the Brat powerhouse — as she was Tuesday night during a surprise cameo, Friday’s show did boast another very special appearance from Eilish’s most important collaborator.

True to her discography, Eilish was equally adept at bringing the firepower for performances of bangers like “Bad Guy,” “Oxytocin” and “Lunch” as she was at slowing things down for ballads including “When the Party’s Over,” “Wildflower” and the Grammy- and Oscar-winning “What Was I Made For?”, which marked a vocal high point for the 23-year-old icon (who celebrated her birthday on Wednesday, Dec. 18). Throughout, the megastar displayed her masterful gift for creating a sense of intimacy with a crowd of thousands, fostering a casual atmosphere despite playing to an arena packed with 17,000 screaming fans.

Find 6 major highlights from Friday night’s show, along with a full setlist, below.

Taylor Swift showed up to Saturday’s Chiefs-Texans game in a red, faux fur coat, looking how Penny Lane might’ve if she’d had a cozy Red era. The pop star was photographed on Dec. 21 arriving at Arrowhead Stadium, where boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, were playing the Houston Texans.

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A rich, red version of a Penny Lane coat — an outwear style related to the fictionalized Penny Lane from Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous — would be a statement piece anywhere it’s worn, yet it fits right in with the color code for Chiefs supporters, and for this week’s holiday festivities.

Swift accessorized the long jacket that’s lined with faux fur (a Charlotte Simone design) with a wintry black bucket hat, argyle-patterned tights (likely Sheertex), suede knee-high boots (identified as Manolo Blahnik) and a red purse (identified as Tod’s).

Saturday’s Chiefs game is the first one Swift’ss been spotted at since the end of her historic Eras Tour, which wrapped on Dec. 8 — grossing over $2 billion and selling more than 10 million tickets. She was last photographed supporting the Kansas City, Mo., team with Kelce’s mom, Donna, on Black Friday (Nov. 29), the same day she released her Eras Tour Book and The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology on vinyl for the first time, through Target.

The Tortured Poets Department returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart following the deluxe vinyl release, and remains there currently. Heading into the Christmas week, it reached its a 17th nonconsecutive week at No. 1.

See Swift’s full outfit at the Dec. 21 Chiefs game below.

Taylor Swift Kansas City Chiefs Dec 21 2024
Taylor Swift looks on prior to a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 21, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Nicky Jam Brings Christmas Joy to Children in Hospital

Nicky Jam and his wife, Juana Varón, touched many hearts on social media as they brought Christmas joy to the young patients at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in South Florida just before the holidays. “Seeing the children’s faces when they receive their toys is priceless,” the reggaetón star wrote on Instagram.

Karol G’s Foundation Spreads Holiday Cheer Across Colombia

Karol G’s Con Cora Foundation concluded the year by hosting two impactful holiday events in Colombia. The foundation celebrated with local communities in María La Baja by distributing gifts, clothing, and food to families in need and creating joyous moments with music and dancing with Karol G herself. The second event in Cartagena, in partnership with the Juanfe Foundation, honored young mothers pursuing higher education through Con Cora scholarships.

Ludmilla and Wife Brunna Gonçalves Host Gender Reveal Party

One month ago, during her Numanice 3 concert in São Paulo, Brazilian superstar Ludmilla delighted fans with a heartwarming announcement: she and her wife, Brunna Gonçalves, are expecting their first child. The excitement continued on Tuesday (Dec. 17) when the couple held an extravagant gender reveal party, joyously announcing, “It’s a Girl” They also revealed a touching detail — their daughter will be named Brumilla.

Deorro, Prajin Parlay, & Double P Unite for Holiday Celebration of Giving

Prajin Parlay, Double P Records, and Deorro teamed up to host the Holiday Celebration of Giving in Los Angeles on Tuesday (Dec. 17). This event took place at Global Education Academy, predominantly serving Latino students, where 400 elementary and middle school students were given toys, meals, and artist merchandise. The celebration featured a variety of stations including food sponsored by Oaxacan restaurant, Guelaguetza; a gift and merchandise station. Additionally, the students had a special meet-and-greet opportunity with DJ/producer Deorro, who sweetly dressed up as Santa, and is fresh off releasing his holiday song “Querido Santa Claus” earlier this month.

Pipe Bueno Announces First Show in the U.S.

Colombian singer Pipe Bueno is set to make his U.S. debut with a concert at Miami’s James L. Knight Center on April 4, 2025. This will be his first performance stateside after a 17-year music career. The announcement follows his recent sold-out show at the Movistar Arena in Bogotá, which took place Dec. 13 and drew over 14,000 fans. During his show, numerous artists including Yeison Jiménez, Marbelle, and others joined Pipe Bueno on stage. In July, the música popular singer signed with Warner Music Latina. Tickets are now on sale for his Miami show on Ticketmaster.

SZA releases her highly anticipated ‘SOS Deluxe: LANA’ with the help from Ben Stiller who stars in the music video for ‘Drive.’ The album features SZA in an alien costume as well as another collab with Kendrick Lamar called “30 For 30.”

Tetris Kelly
The wait is over, as SZA’s much anticipated ‘SOS Deluxe: LANA’ has finally been released, and we’re giving you all the deets in this week’s Music. You should know this has been a Lana filled week, with SZAreleasing the first official music video from the single “Drive” off the album, starring the one and only funny man, Ben Stiller. And she also dropped her alien themed cover art for the album. The album features 15 new tracks to the original ‘SOS,’ including “Crybaby.” And I’m so sick, and a bombastic new feature with Kendrick Lamar on “30 For 30.” For more R&B and Hip-Hop news, keep it locked here at Billboard.

Travis Scott has one final gift for fans this holiday season with the release of his Air Jordan 1 Low “Velvet Brown” this weekend.

Ahead of the dark mocha Cactus Jack kicks hitting retailers, La Flame connected with Dennis Rodman for an Air Jordan x Cactus Jack commercial supporting the “Velvet Brown” release.

Scott and the former enigmatic NBA star’s relationship has come a long way since Rodman called Travis out for “copying” his DR sneakers with the signature backward swoosh Nike logo.

Taking a page out of Willy Wonka, a fan discovers a golden ticket inside their shoe box meaning they’re taking a trip to — not the chocolate factory but the North Pole’s Cactus Jack sneaker factory.

Shot from the fan’s first-person point-of-view, they enter the magical workshop and see the inner-workings of La Flame’s genius creations. They’re greeted by none other than Dennis Rodman, who plays the role of tour guide on the expedition.

Rodman puts the car into overdrive and they slam into Scott’s personal office — startling him while he’s hard at work. “Dammit! Damn Dennis, it’s the third time this week, bruh,” Trav said before greeting the lucky fan. “Oh what’s up? Welcome to the factory.”

A limited number of fans will be lucky enough to find the earthy tones of the Cactus Jack sneakers under their Christmas trees this holiday season. The Air Jordan 1 Low “Velvet Brown” are live on the Cactus Jack website and are set to be available on the Nike SNKRS app and Nike website come Saturday morning (Dec. 21) at 10 a.m. ET for $150.

Watch the clip below.

“Yesterday, somebody whacked out my mural/That energy’ll make you n—as move to Europe,” were the first bars we heard from Kendrick on the intro track from his latest album GNX right after mariachi singer Deyra Barrera set the table with her beautiful voice in an effort for Lamar to showcase the full range of Southern California’s street culture.

The mural the Compton rapper was referring to was painted on the side of Tam’s Burgers — the burger joint featured in his “Not Like Us” video — and was painted by artist Mike Norice. According to Norice on his Instagram, he recorded a video of the defaced mural and said it happened after a Dodgers game.

However, he also could’ve been talking about another mural painted by artists Sloe Motion and Gustavo Zermeño Jr. earlier this summer on the back of a Honduran restaurant Mi Sabor on Rosecrans in Compton that’s now been defaced multiple times. Sloe Motion reposted a XXL IG post about the mural and commented on the post, writing, “I was one of the artist who painted the mural and the guy who blacked out the Kendrick face literally just made it worse.”

Back in November, they shared an IG Reel featuring security footage of a vandal defacing the mural and referred to the song “wacced out murals” along with a caption that read:

“A couple months ago our Kendrick mural got hit. Of course we were pissed and wanted to fix it but it just kept getting worse. Flash forward to today and Kendrick drops a song about the situation. It doesn’t necessarily make it ok but it does feel good to have our hard work for the community immortalized in a song by one of the greatest to ever do it. Thank you @kendricklamar for making this situation a little better today.” 

The aforementioned Barrera, spoke to Billboard about her involvement in Lamar’s surprise album and talked about being invited by Norice to be featured on an upcoming episode of his YouTube series Art & Soul centered around the mural

“The artist who made that painting spoke to me. His name is Mike Norice,” she told deputy editor of Billboard Español Sigal Ratner-Arias in quotes that didn’t make the interview. “I don’t know if you know a little bit about what happened when he did that painting, that it was scratched, vandalized, from Kendrick’s previous album, and because of that  Kendrick made the song ‘Wacced Out Murals,’ the first song of the album where I appear.”

Adding, “Then the artist invited me to be there. It was something very nice, because somehow we connected and we have that in common. There’s a documentary coming out of the artist who made that painting, so soon it’s going to come out. Very cool to be there, because we both, in some way, have that in common with Kendrick.”

Southwest T is officially a free man.

Terry Flenory is known in the hip-hop community for founding the organized crime organization Black Mafia Family alongside his brother Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory in 1985 Detroit. He and his brother were sentenced to 30 years in 2008 for running a nationwide crime ring. Terry was released on house arrest to finish off his sentence in 2020 during the pandemic, while his brother was released to a halfway house where he’ll be serving out the remainder of his sentence with a projected release date of Jan. 27, 2026.

Southwest T took to his Instagram with a series of pictures of videos of the official notice of his pardon and his ankle monitor being removed along with the caption:

“Now It’s official! @realbigmeechmom. I understand you were excited, so last week you let the cat out the bag. It’s been a journey, but prayer and unwavering faith beyond mere human comprehension got us to this point. Never once acted in my own ability, nor doing anything to anyone to help myself. So, the gloves are off the gag orders are up and all the naysayers have to suck it up.”

The brothers carved out a deal with 50 Cent a couple years back to produce a show about their life. BMF airs on STARZ and stars Demetrius Flenory Jr. as his father Big Meech and Da’Vinchi as Southwest T. The show just wrapped its third season with a fourth expected to return in 2025.

Big Meech made BMF an influential name within the rap industry when he moved to Atlanta and started a record label in the early 2000s with ties to rappers like Young Jeezy and T.I.

In a miserable week for stock markets worldwide, Spotify continued to fall from its all-time high, K-pop stocks sank and one of the smallest companies on the Billboard Global Music Index posted a double-digit gain.

LiveOne was the week’s biggest gainer as the music streaming company’s shares rose 19.6% to $1.22 after it announced on Wednesday (Dec. 18) that its partnership with Tesla surpassed 350,000 subscribers. On Friday (Dec. 20), the company also said it has regained compliance with the Nasdaq exchange’s minimum bid price requirement.

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Only two other music stocks posted gains this week. Sphere Entertainment Co. rose 2.5% to $38.74, bringing its year-to-date gain to 14.0%. Sphere Entertainment shares have lost 12.1% since the company announced its fiscal first-quarter results on Nov. 12. Reservoir Media also improved 2.3% on the week after jumping 4.8% to $9.26 on Friday.

The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 3.3% to 2,168.69, lowering its year-to-date gain to 41.4%. Just three of the index’s 20 stocks finished the week in positive territory. After increasing each week from late October to early December, the BGMI lost 4.9% over two consecutive weekly losses. The latest 3.3% weekly decline is only the fourth time in 2024 that the index has dropped more than 3% in a calendar week.

Stocks’ bad week extended beyond music companies. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.8% to 19,572.60 and the S&P 500 declined 2.0% to 5,930.85. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 was down 2.6% to 8,084.61. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index fell 3.6% to 2,404.15. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.7% to 3,368.07.

Among other music companies, Live Nation had a modest decline of just 2%, dropping to $133.17 despite more analysts increasing their price targets on the stock this week. Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $150 from $140 and Benchmark increased it to $160 from $144 and maintained its “buy” rating.

Spotify, the index’s most valuable company, fell for the second consecutive week. After closing above $500 on December 4, Spotify shares dropped 8.3% and closed at $460.88 on Friday, down 4.8% for the week. Overall, streaming had more losers than winners this week. Cloud Music fell 7.9% to 116.60 HKD ($14.99), marking the second-largest decline of the week. SPDB International began coverage of Cloud Music this week at a 145 HKD ($18.64) price target and “buy” rating. Elsewhere, Anghami fell 3.7% to $0.79.

Four K-pop stocks declined an average of 5.1% this week, reflecting the ongoing political uncertainty in the South Korean market. SM Entertainment was down 6.3%, JYP Entertainment fell 5.8%, HYBE dropped 4.3% and YG Entertainment sank 3.9%. Year-to-date, the four South Korean companies are down an average of 18.3%, a far deeper deficit than Universal Music Group (down 5.6% YTD) or Warner Music Group (down 12.9% YTD).

iHeartMedia, the week’s biggest loser, dropped 17.5% to $1.89. The radio company’s stock was trading at $1.00 on July 21 and rose to $2.61 on Dec. 6. In the last two weeks, however, its shares have slipped 27.6%.