When 2016 started, Bad Gyal was dreaming of becoming a superstar, living what could feel like three lives, working two jobs while studying fashion design. She was recording herself in her apartment with a microphone and egg cartons as soundproofing while trying to make a living, but with her vision focused on which of her dreams were about to start.

Bad Gyal describes her new album, Más Cara, as a metaphor for the evolution of her career after 10 years dedicating herself to music and her rise from a very underground artist. “You can see videos of me recording in the first apartment I had. I came from a very street-like scene,” she told Billboard in our latest “Takes Us Out” sit-down. “From recording with whatever you could, and after 10 years, I feel so lucky for all the resources I have.”

Born in Barcelona, Spain, on March 7, 1997, Alba Farelo — better known as Bad Gyal—has seen many of her dreams come true with this album, which marks a significant chapter in her life since her career more than a decade ago. “I feel that many things died and were born. I started studying fashion design at a private school after saving up,” she said during her interview in Miami. “I would wake up, go to university, grab a container with food I had prepared, go to my job, eat it on a bench while waiting for my turn to start my next job, and on weekends, I would begin performing my first small shows. It was like living three lives at the same time.”

Drawing inspiration from the aesthetics of early 2000s R&B, Bad Gyal captures not only visuals but also sound, conveying her confident, flirtatious energy while paying tribute to the era that significantly influenced her.

In the lively atmosphere of Miami’s Michelin-starred Korean Steakhouse COTE, one of her favorite places, Bad Gyal opens up about Más Cara, which dropped on March 6th, just before her birthday. She reminisces about the memories this restaurant stirs, her Barcelona roots, and reveals the most Pisces sides of herself.

Watch the full interview above.

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It’s officially been a year since BLACKPINK star Jennie released her debut full-length solo studio album, Ruby, which debuted at number two on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart and helped her take home the Global Force award at Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music event.

Jennie released an expanded edition of Ruby earlier this month, with the original 15-track album bumped up to 21 songs. Ruby (The Complete Edition) is available to stream or purchase now, and with it comes a refresh of official Jennie merch on Amazon.

These are all officially-licensed products approved by the “Mantra” singer, including pieces inspired by her album cover and inspired by merch sold at her concerts and shows. Scroll down to see some of our favorite items to shop now.

You can see the full selection of new Jennie merch over on Amazon. And shop more official artist merch on Amazon, including clothing and accessories from Billie Eilish, Tyler the Creator, Post Malone and more on Amazon.com.

The Ruby anniversary isn’t the only reason Jennie is trending right now: the K-pop star also hopped on a remix of Tame Impala’s hit “Dracula,” and she’s going viral with a TikTok trend inspired by her part in the song.

As ENHYPEN readjusts following the recent departure of member HEESEUNG, the next few episodes of the band’s weekly YouTube series “EN-O CLOCK” have been canceled.

The temporary hiatus was announced by label BELIFT LAB on Thursday (March 12), the same day ENHYPEN had been scheduled to drop a new installment of the variety web-show. “We would like to inform you about the ‘EN-O’ CLOCK’ series,” a post on X read.

“The ‘EN-O’ CLOCK’ series, which was scheduled to be released every Thursday, will be taking a short break,” it continued. “We will return with even better content in April. We ask for your kind understanding.”

Billboard has reached out to BELIFT for more information.

The news comes just two days after the HYBE-owned company announced that after “extensive deliberation” and “in-depth discussions with each of the members,” they’d come to the decision that HEESEUNG would be leaving the septet in order to pursue a career as a soloist. The development sparked an outpouring of mixed reactions from fans of the band, who expressed sadness, concern and confusion online. One petition protesting the lineup change has more than 1 million signatures at press time.

When asked why HEESEUNG couldn’t explore solo opportunities while remaining in the band — a model other K-pop groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK have successfully operated under in recent years — BELIFT told Billboard in a statement, “We concluded that allowing HEESEUNG to focus fully on his career as a solo artist, rather than pursuing solo activities within the team, would be the most fulfilling approach for both ENHYPEN and HEESEUNG.”

Going forward, HEESEUNG will remain under the same label while working on his solo music, while ENHYPEN will continue functioning as a boy band with its remaining six members — SUNGHOON, JUNGWON, SUNOO, JAY, JAKE AND NI-KI — with two of the singers appearing on Australia’s The Morning Show on Wednesday (March 11) for their first interview since HEESEUNG’s departure, a topic they did not discuss.

Sitting next to JAY, however, JAKE did share that they’ve been in “a lot” of rehearsals ahead of the band’s upcoming concert at the Hello Melbourne festival. “There’s been a bit of changes in the choreo with the formation, all that,” the Aussie-raised performer said. “So we’ve been practicing a lot.”

The global salsa frenzy, partly sparked by Bad Bunny with his No. 1 album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, will arrive on Saturday (March 14) at Vive Latino, courtesy of the legendary group El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. This marks the first time in the festival’s 26 editions that a salsa band will perform, expanding the musical spectrum of the iconic annual rock gathering in Mexico City.

“It’s fair to say this is already a generational band; it’s the great salsa band,” Jordi Puig, director and founder of Vive Latino, tells Billboard Español. “We’re going to have fun and dance to the beat of a first-class salsa orchestra.”

Bad Bunny’s adaptation of the classic “Un Verano en Nueva York” into “Nuevayol,” one of the standout hits from his successful album, has reignited interest among younger generations. Created by Cuban Justi Barreto for the group in 1975 and masterfully performed by Andy Montañez, it’s become one of the most famous songs in El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico’s catalog, and a totemic piece of salsa history.

According to Puig, the inclusion of such an iconic salsa group this year reaffirms the transgressive personality that the Festival Iberoamericano de Cultura Musical, better known as Vive Latino, has acquired since its creation in 1998. Over time, it has challenged stigmas by including pop, reggaetón, cumbia and regional Mexican artists in its lineup; adding Anglo bands while being the ultimate celebration of rock in Spanish; and being the first Latin American festival to have its own edition in Spain.

And it has done all of this “while continuing this wave where Vive has to open its cultural mosaic without giving up its origin, its base, its foundations,” highlights the director.

With an eclectic lineup and multiple activities, Mexico’s longest-running festival celebrates its 2026 edition this weekend (March 14-15) at the GNP Seguros Stadium with a lineup that includes Illya Kuryaki and The Valderramas, Fobia in the Mexican rock band’s return, Juanes, The Smashing Pumpkins, Trueno, Banda Machos and John Fogerty. Puig says he expects to welcome between 140,000 and 150,000 attendees over the two days, similar to previous years.

This year, the festival will bring back a segment called “Música para mandar a volar” (or Music to Let Go), which he defines as “an unprecedented act of heartbreak,” with performances by prominent figures of Mexican rock and pop from the ’80s and more recent times. Paulina Rubio, Dana, Amanda Miguel, Emmanuel and Mijares will share the stage with Dr. Shenka, vocalist of the ska-rock band Panteón Rococó.

Additionally, for the third consecutive year, audiences worldwide will be able to stream the concerts through AmazonMusicEnVivo on Twitch and Prime Video, exclusively and without a subscription. According to Paul Forat, head of music industry for Spanish-speaking Latin America at Amazon Music, Vive Latino will be livestreamed for 11 hours each day, covering approximately 98% of its programming.

“This is the festival that Amazon chose globally in such a solid, beautiful and genuine partnership, because we share many values,” Forat tells Billboard Español. “For Amazon, being a non-Mexican company, connecting with people in Mexico and beyond seemed extremely important to us; it seemed crucial.”

Vive Latino thus joins a global portfolio of live streams previously carried out by Amazon Music, including festivals like Sueños Festival (Chicago), Primavera Sound, Fuji Rock Festival, Stagecoach Festival, Dreamville Festival and Vibra Urbana, solidifying an international strategy where festivals are a key pillar of livestream growth.

More than 30 years after first appearing on Billboard’s charts, Max Martin continues to forge his record-breaking legacy.

In February, Taylor Swift’s “Opalite,” co-written and co-produced by Swift, Martin and Shellback, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — becoming Martin’s record-extending 27th leader as a producer, as well as his 29th as a songwriter, second only to Paul McCartney’s 32.

Martin first led the Hot 100 in both roles thanks to Britney Spears’ breakthrough, “…Baby One More Time,” in January 1999, and went on to crown Billboard’s Top Songwriters and Top Producers of the 21st Century retrospectives.

Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides compositional analytics for top 10 Hot 100 hits, recently held a series of master classes, hosted by co-founder David Penn, who led creatives and other music devotees on a deep dive into Martin’s craft, from the ‘90s to today.

Billboard eagerly signed up for more tutoring, following a similar extra lesson five years ago, checking in with Penn on how Martin’s music has continued to evolve, what has remained throughlines and his standing stylistically as compared to other past and contemporary writers and producers.

Billboard: You note that Max Martin has had six distinct eras to his songwriting and production across his Hot 100 top 10 hits since his chart arrival in the mid-‘90s. Can you outline what they are and what defines each?

Penn: Yes, we’ve identified six overarching eras where we’ve noticed commonalities across many, though not all, of his Hot 100 top 10 hits that he co-wrote and produced. The styles evolve alongside shifts in the pop mainstream, as well as the diverse artists he works with.

1 — In the mid-to-late 1990s, at Cheiron Studios and under the mentorship of Denniz PoP, Martin and his collaborators were crafting infectious hits with Swedish pop, Europop, teen pop, dance and R&B influences. Lyrics often centered on teen melodrama and love-relationship themes, with artists including Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Céline Dion, *NSYNC and Robyn.

2 — In the 2000s, following Denniz PoP’s passing and Cheiron’s closure, Martin co-founded Maratone Studios and began fusing his pop sensibility with gritty, energized rock dynamics. While love and relationships remained central, the subject matter expanded to include rebellion and empowerment in songs such as Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and P!nk’s “So What,” as well as more provocative, hookup-driven themes, such as Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and Spears’ “3.”

3 — In the early 2010s, Martin’s top 10 hits began shifting away from edgy pop-rock toward a higher-gloss electropop direction, heard in tracks such as Spears’ “Hold It Against Me,” Perry’s “E.T.” and Kesha’s “Blow.”

4 — In the mid-2010s, there was a notable move toward a more streamlined, groove-driven approach with sleeker arrangements, evident in major No. 1s such as Perry’s “Dark Horse” and The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.”

5 — Between 2018 and 2024, Martin’s production leaned more heavily into retro-influenced, rhythmic, groove-based tracks, with collaborations largely driven by Ariana Grande and The Weeknd, who together accounted for eight of Martin’s 10 Hot 100 top 10s during this period. No. 1s among them: Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” and “Yes, And?,” the pair’s “Save Your Tears” and The Weeknd’s historic “Blinding Lights.”

6 — In 2026, the release of Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl marked a reunited collaboration between Martin, Swift and Shellback that, after its first week, claimed the top 12 positions on the Hot 100, led by the No. 1 hits “The Fate of Ophelia” and, most recently, “Opalite.”

Despite changes, what are some constants to Martin’s songcraft over his chart history?

The overarching constant across his body of work is how deliberately his songs are built. Every second serves a purpose, with no wasted moments. There is intention behind every decision to maximize listeners’ sonic and emotional experience and ensure that songs remain embedded in their minds long after they conclude.

This is most evident in his melody writing. With Max Martin, it has always been melody first. His toplines are generally rooted in simple, singable melodies that listeners can latch onto quickly and remember long after the track ends. However, this simplicity is often balanced by strategic deviations — a higher range moment or a pronounced leap — that, while harder to sing, are used to spotlight key hooks and lyrics, heighten emotional impact, prevent genericness and accentuate an artist’s signature style.

Another throughline is hook strategy. Hooks are methodically introduced within and across sections — generally one at a time — ensuring that they fully connect with the listener while preventing a messy, distracting mix. In addition, he often uses hook foreshadowing and creative reinforcement techniques, where hooks are presented in fresh and familiar ways throughout a song to ingrain them in the listener’s mind without feeling overly redundant.

How important are intros to Max Martin songs? “…Baby One More Time” sets the tone from its first few classic notes.

Max Martin has said that a song should be immediately recognizable within its first few seconds — a “rule” he learned from Denniz PoP. In our analysis of Martin’s Hot 100 top 10 intros, the average length was 10 seconds, and those opening moments become the song’s ID. “…Baby One More Time” is a perfect case in point.

However, beyond grabbing the listener’s attention, an intro can serve several other important purposes. It can establish the song’s emotional temperature, set the song’s sonic palette and plant a signature motif or hook in listeners’ ears that becomes central later in the song, enticing them to stay tuned in until they hear it again.

Martin is a master at using the intro to achieve all the above, regardless of scale. Sometimes it’s as minimal as the 3-second solo guitar that sets the tone in Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Other times it’s expansive, like the 28-second, multisegment intro of “Blinding Lights,” which establishes the track’s retro, ‘80s synthpop vibe, emotional undercurrent, core groove and signature synth hook, all while cleverly foreshadowing chorus material in an under-the-radar way before the listener ever reaches the chorus. The concluding segments of the synth hook melodically foreshadow the second and fourth lines of the chorus vocal, while the following verse rhythmically foreshadows the first and third lines of the chorus. Together, they make the first chorus already familiar by the time it arrives.

‘Blinding Lights’ intro characteristics & techniques:

Building upon that, you covered in the recent presentations how Martin songs tend to present melodies throughout in different ways, reinforcing their hooks and often wrapping in what you call a “grand finale hook fest.” Is that a tough blend to achieve, or not if a song is strong enough? It seems similar to how beloved Seinfeld episodes mix seemingly unrelated storylines into a cohesive (and pretty, pretty, pretty good) ending.

Yes, these hook foreshadowing and creative reinforcement techniques are highly common in many of Max Martin’s most successful songs. The way they’re implemented ranges from under-the-radar to overt and obvious, depending on what the stylistic direction of the song warrants.

A recent example of that under-the-radar approach can be found in “Opalite.” Here, a simple, unassuming melody that is repeated throughout the first verse and pre-chorus later becomes central to the chorus, present in both the “but now the sky is opalite” song-title hook and the nonsensical “oh” hook. Where the expertise really shines is that the unique context and fresh manner in which these familiar melodies are presented keeps the song engaging and prevents redundancy.

‘Opalite’ melodic patterns that foreshadow its first chorus:

An example of more pronounced hook foreshadowing is P!nk’s “So What.” Across the intro and verse sections, the same distinctive, infectious melodic idea is presented in an array of ways that keeps it fresh: instrumentally through guitar and bass, and vocally through the nonsensical “na, na,” the “I just want to start a fight” lyric and other narrative developments. Those ideas, along with chorus and bridge hooks, are then recycled and recontextualized in the outro, which reprises the song’s key hooks. While these hooks serve specific roles in the sections where they appear — like the seemingly unrelated storylines in Seinfeld — the outro reinforces the song’s catchiest elements in one unique context that is both fresh, familiar and memorable, bringing the song to an infectious and unforgettable close.

P!nk’s ‘So What’ ‘grande finale hookfest’ outro:

How revolutionary would you say Martin’s songwriting and production is historically? For instance, is he building upon characteristics of songs from, say, the Beatles in the ‘60s, or did he essentially invent many of his techniques?

He is absolutely building on the craft traditions of the Beatles and other greats. He didn’t invent the fundamentals, but he recombined and refined them in modern ways — raising the bar for how consistently that craft can be delivered at the highest level across decades, styles and artists.

He’s part of a best-of-the-best lineage: from the Beatles, as you mentioned, to the Brill Building, Motown, Stax and beyond.

How different are Martin’s song styles from other contemporary songwriters and producers? Are others following his lead?

Max Martin’s style usually reflects the stylistic intent of the song he’s crafting and the artist he’s working with, which is true of virtually every hit songwriter and producer. What feels uniquely “Max” isn’t one fixed sound as much as how smoothly and reliably he gets you where the song is meant to go. His songs guide you from moment to moment with precision. The main hook stays front-and-center, the supporting parts don’t compete for attention and the energy is shaped so the listener is always being pulled forward.

That’s why the payoff feels perfectly set up. The chorus lands like the exact thing you wanted before you even knew you wanted it, because the road to it is engineered to keep momentum rising and attention locked in. You’re not just hearing a strong chorus — you’re feeling the cumulative effect of dozens of small decisions that prevent the listener from drifting, sharpen contrast and keep momentum rising into the payoff.

Many contemporary writers and producers, consciously or not, work within the same underlying framework, because it has shaped much of how modern mainstream pop is crafted.