Ten years ago, 5-year-old Luis Vázquez stepped foot on a stage in Puerto Rico as the lead singer of Los Bravitos de la Plena, a kids music group that included seven other members and was founded by Vázquez’s father, who is also a musician.

“All my life I’ve been surrounded by music. Since I was a little kid, we used to sing in the holiday parrandas,” says the now-15-year-old salsa singer who kicked off his career singing plena, a folkloric genre born in Puerto Rico powered by hand drums, or panderetas in Spanish. “I grew up with plena, which is somewhat similar to salsa, so for me to transition into salsa now isn’t really a major change.”

After being part of Los Bravitos from age 5 to 14, Vázquez split from the group to focus on his career as a solo salsa singer. In February, he released his debut album, Comienzos, which includes the chart-topping track “Tu Fan,” an urban-infused salsa anthem that scored Vazquez his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart. The track currently tops the Tropical Airplay chart (dated July 3). At 15 years old, the Puerto Rican becomes the youngest soloist to arrive at the summit since the chart began in October 1994.

“All my life I’ve dreamed of growing as a singer, so when there was an opportunity to cross over to salsa as a soloist, my parents and I agreed it was for the best,” he says. “It’s a new world for me but I want to keep growing and experimenting.”

Since dropping Comienzos, he had been keeping up with the Billboard charts, checking every night before bed to see if any of his songs had entered the charts. “When I saw that ‘Tu Fan’ had reached No. 3, I thought that was already huge and I was proud. But earlier this week, my phone started blowing up one morning and when I checked my entire family and team had sent me messages saying we were No. 1. My heart was full and I started crying. It’s a major feat.”

Vázquez, who enjoys spending time with family during his free time, is among the few young salseros of this generation who is making waves in the industry. With reggaeton and trap still among the top genres to date, Vázquez thinks young artists incline toward what’s popular.

“Because they get caught up in the trends, they don’t see other genres like salsa. That’s a major reason why we decided to go this route. And I know I’m not the only one, but there isn’t many of us. We want to see more young artists singing salsa. We hope my story serves as inspiration for upcoming artists.”

Meet this week’s Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise below:

Name: Luis Vázquez

Age: 15

Major Accomplishment: To participate in my first ever Día Nacional de la Zalsa event in Orlando. It’s one of the biggest events for salsa singers and to have been able to sing there is just incredible. Also, to be No. 1 on Billboard, I still haven’t wrapped my head around that.

Recommended Song: “Tu Fan” because it’s a really refreshing song and also very catchy. It’s a nice fusion between salsa and urban, which gives it a different touch and makes it different from anything out there.

What’s Next: Keep recording more music, and specifically record more salsa in all its facets. From hardcore and traditional salsa to something like “Tu Fan” that has an urban touch to it.

BTS prepared a two-course performance of their biggest hits — “Butter” and “Dynamite” — for SiriusXM, and no fan has to worry about missing it (or dessert).

The K-pop septet chatted with SiriusXM hosts Tony Fly and Symon for an exclusive interview on Thursday (July 1) before their special two-song set of Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 English-language hits. During the minute-long interview portion, the members confirmed the July 9 arrival of the CD single for “Butter,” which is currently spending its fifth week on top of the Hot 100.

The ARMY first snacked on a delectable performance of “Dynamite,” which BTS casually breezed through in a loft apartment setting, replete with red Solo cups, a glass jar of milk and bowls of snacks like popcorn (perhaps with butter?) and cheese puffs.

Shortly after their “Dynamite” performance wrapped, the nearby booming bass of “Butter” confused the boys. Trickling into the room next door, which was oozing yellow from a 3-D animated version of the spread, BTS stood in formation in sharp gray and yellow suits, which they had smoothly changed into from their laid-back attire. But toward the end, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook got caught in their own reflection, as the wall separating the two “rooms” that held their performances magically disappeared and the group tried outperforming themselves.

The special, which aired on SiriusXM Hits 1, will replay again at 8 p.m. ET.

Watch BTS’ performances of “Butter” and “Dynamite” on SiriusXM below.

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Among the stars gracing the BET Awards red carpet on Sunday was R&B crooner Giveon, who hinted at a potential tour when asked about his plans for 2021.

“My debut project was during a pandemic, so I was in the house and never got to see the people who listened,” he tells Billboard. “I’m hoping that I can get in front of the people and sing all the songs together.”

On the summer festival circuit, Giveon will be performing at Chicago’s Lollapalooza in late July.

Giveon took home the BET Award for best new artist, not long after the resurgence of his early 2020 single “Heartbreak Anniversary.” The track has spent 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and currently sits at No. 16. On the Rhythmic Airplay chart, the song peaked this week at No. 3. When it comes to its virality on TikTok, Giveon says he wasn’t “at all” expecting it but believes in the timelessness of his own music.

“Songs with concepts like that, it’s always gonna resurge every once in a while because it’s a timeless topic. In 50 years, people are still gonna be going through the same thing,” says Giveon. “It’s just timeless. I want people to press play and not be able to dictate what decade it was made.”

The Justin Bieber and Drake collaborator says he’s not much of a “freestyle in the booth” artist but prefers to pen thoughtful verses before delivering his lyrics at the mic. “I like to write it down so it’s all in sync and every line complements each other,” he explains. “By the end of the song, it should all conclude, like a college essay.”

Giveon went on to outline his songwriting process, explaining his preference for the “raw emotion” of writing songs in the moment, rather than returning to concepts later, and creating bodies of work that “flow into each other when you play them back to back.”