Ricardo Montaner Returns to Touring in 2022: ‘I’m Incomplete Without the Applauds of My Fans’

For Ricardo Montaner, the global pandemic and quarantine lockdown was a time to value and to reflect. The toughest part for him was being at home and not on a stage singing for his fans.

He took matters into his own hands, connecting with his beloved followers via two livestreams recorded from Altos de Chavón in the Dominican Republic, including one with his artist children Mau y Ricky, Evaluna and her husband, singer-songwriter Camilo.

Now, it’s time to hit the road.

“The virtual concerts are incredible. They have an immeasurable scope, phenomenal,” Montaner tells Billboard. “But nothing compares to the energy of seeing an audience face-to-face.”

Montaner, behind some of Latin pop’s biggest hits — such as “Tan Enamorados,” “Me Va a Extrañar” and “Dejame Llorar” — announces his 2022 Montaner U.S. Tour exclusively on Billboard today (July 31).

Presented by Loud and Live, the tour will kick off on January 21 at Miami’s FTX Arena (formerly American Airlines Arena) and wrap up on February 18 at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater. The Montaner Tour will also make pit stops in Atlanta, Houston and New York, to name a few cities.

“There will be many surprises and spontaneous elements on this tour,” he assures. Most importantly, he will sing all of his fan-favorite songs. “If I don’t sing certain songs, my fans won’t allow me to leave the stage.”

For now, Montaner will only tour the U.S., but he confirms that he will soon take his show to Europe and Latin America, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Argentine, Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Colombia.

“I’m incomplete without the applauds of my fans,” he admits. “The contact with the public has perhaps been the basis and the secret for such a long and fruitful career and relationship.”

Tickets for the 2022 U.S. Montaner Tour will be available at 10 a.m. local time on Monday, Aug. 2 via RicardoMontaner.com as well as theater box offices.

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Machine Gun Kelly Performs Surprise Set at Lollapalooza

Around 5 p.m. on day three of Lollapalooza (July 31), fans were alerted to a special last-minute addition to the schedule: an “intimate” set from chart-topper Machine Gun Kelly.

An hour later, the artist took to the Bud Light Seltzer Sessions side stage to perform in front of a crowd 20 times what the space allowed for.

After opening with “Kiss Kiss” off his Billboard 200 No. 1 album Tickets To My Downfall, the rocker launched into a cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business.” From there, he ripped through the rest of the albums greatest hits from “My Ex’s Best Friend” to “Bloody Valentine” and “Drunk Face.”

The show wouldn’t have been complete without a stunt — and of course MGK delivered, climbing to the top of the staging tiers to dangle from the rafters upside down, prompting fans to chant “MGK.”

And despite fans’ pleas for a longer set, within 30 minutes the show was over quicker than it came to be.

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‘Ronan’ Finds a Home on Taylor Swift’s Re-Recorded ‘Red’ Album

“Ronan,” the heart-wrenching song Taylor Swift wrote following an almost four-year-old’s sadly fatal battle with cancer, will appear on Swift’s re-recorded Red album, Billboard can confirm.

The song was written during the Red era, and now “Ronan” will have a place on Red (Taylor’s Version). The album’s re-recording has been completed and is scheduled to be released on Nov. 19.

“Ronan” is a ballad about a young boy named Ronan Thompson that was inspired by mother Maya Thompson’s blog, “Rockstar Ronan,” and it was written from her perspective. (Maya Thompson is credited as co-writer.)

The song’s verses remember those “best four years” — little Ronan’s bare feet, his laugh, his blue eyes, his dancing before bedtime, his race cars and plastic dinosaurs on the kitchen floor — and the unimaginable: “Flowers pile up in the worst way, no one knows what to say/ About a beautiful boy who died.” Ronan, who was born in May 2007, died from neuroblastoma in May 2011, just before he would have turned four.

It was a one-off record, available only on iTunes at the time, and Swift mostly made it through an (understandably emotional) televised performance of it for 2012’s Stand Up to Cancer telethon, with Ronan’s sweet face shown behind her on the stage.

Swift recently emailed Maya Thompson to ask her how she would feel about their song finding a home on the updated version of Red, which she previously said would have a total of 30 tracks.

As Thompson reports in the latest entry on her blog, part of Swift’s letter said: “I’ve recently completed the re-recording of my 4th album, Red. It’s really exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and one of those ways is that I thought it would be appropriate to add ‘Ronan’ to this album. Red was an album of heartbreak and healing, of rage and rawness, of tragedy and trauma, and of the loss of an imagined future alongside someone. I wrote Ronan while I was making Red and discovered your story as you so honestly and devastatingly told it. My genuine hope is that you’ll agree with me that this song should be included on this album. As my co-writer and the rightful owner of this story in its entirety, your opinion and approval of this idea really matters to me, and I’ll honor your wishes here.”

Thompson wrote that she “of course” granted her permission to add “Ronan” to Red (Taylor’s Version).

“I tried my best to articulate how much this meant to me through my tears, but there are not enough words in the English language that will ever be able to appropriately convey my feelings about this. Taylor has anchored you to this world so you will never be lost, and now she has ensured you will forever be safe in a new, permanent home,” she wrote to her late son. “She is once again going to give a voice to the often voiceless, the bereaved parents of the world. ‘Red (Taylor’s version)’ will be out November 19th and on that album, there will be you.”

She ended her blog post with heartfelt words for Swift: “Thank you for keeping Ronan safe. Thank you for never forgetting him. Thank you for breaking rules and breaking free. Thank you for that heart of yours that is made of pure gold. You are a constant source of inspiration to me in so many areas of my life, and there is nobody in the world I would rather have Ronan with than you.”

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Broadway to Require Vaccinations, Masks for Audience Members

Broadway theatergoers will need to prove they’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19 and masks will be required when theaters reopen in the coming weeks, producers announced Friday (July 30).

Audience members will have to wear face coverings and show proof they are fully vaccinated by a FDA or WHO authorized vaccine when they enter the theaters until at least the end of October, the Broadway League said in a news release.

“Get vaccinated, and we’ll see you in the fall,” tweeted Broadway and TV star Jeremy Jordan. Composer Jason Robert Brown also agreed with the move: “That’s right. That’s where we’re at.”

There will be exceptions to the vaccine rule for children under 12, who are not yet eligible for any of the approved shots, and for people with a medical condition or religious belief that prevents vaccination, the theater operators said. Those individuals will need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Masks are required for the audience except while eating or drinking in designated locations.

The League said theater owners anticipate a review of the safety policies in September and may include a relaxation of certain provisions if the science dictates after October.

“This is what we have as a community on Broadway decided and then we’re going to reevaluate it in October. It’s still fluid,” Bonnie Comley, board president of The Drama League, told The Associated Press. “This should be a positive thing. All these different unions that don’t always agree have come together to be able to do this before people come into the theater.”

The move comes a day after Actors’ Equity Association, the union which represents nearly 52,000 actors and stage managers, said it would require cast and crew members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Company members who are not vaccinated, including those under the age of 12, must continue to wear masks, practice physical distancing when possible and undergo testing at least twice a week. The protocols apply to both Broadway productions and Equity-backed shows across the nation.

Bruce Springsteen’s one-man show is the only performance currently running on Broadway. Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over is set to open Wednesday at the August Wilson Theatre. Most other theaters will open in September or October after being shuttered since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020.

Ticket holders for performances scheduled through Oct. 31 will be notified of the vaccination policy, Broadway League officials said. For performances in November 2021 and beyond, the theater operators will review the policy and make changes if science dictates, they said.

“As vaccination has proven the most effective way to stay healthy and reduce transmission, I’m pleased that the theatre owners have decided to implement these collective safeguards at all our Broadway houses,” Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement.

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Kanye West Announces ‘Donda’ Album Release Event in Atlanta

Ahead of the expected release of Donda, Kanye West has scheduled an album release event in Atlanta.

Kanye West Presents the Donda Album Release will take place on Thursday, Aug. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — where the rapper has been living as he completes work on his 10th album, and the location where his Donda listening event to preview the highly anticipated project went down about a week ago. The planned start time for the event is 9 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the Aug. 5 event will be on sale on Monday (Aug. 2) at 10 a.m. ET at Ticketmaster. Ticket prices will range from $30 to $75.

Demna Gvasalia, currently the creative director of Balenciaga, is providing creative direction for the Donda release event.

The album Donda, named after West’s late mother, was originally expected on July 23, but is now slated to drop on Aug. 6.

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