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.

Cain Culto & Xiuhtezcatl Demand Justice With Powerful Protest Anthem

Amid ongoing outrage over immigration policies and ICE raids — including protests this week following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis — Cain Culto and Xiuhtezcatl’s “¡BASTA YA!” has taken on fresh urgency. Originally released in late November, the fiery bilingual track was reposted by Mexican artist Xiuhtezcatl via Instagram on Friday (Jan. 9) with a call to action. “We must resist the politics of death this administration and its henchmen embody,” he wrote. “Another world is possible. Fuerza a los pueblos que resisten (strength to all the communities who resist).”

Set against hyper piano pop beats, the song delivers bluntly powerful verses like “Hasta sin papeles somos de la tierra” (“Even without papers we belong to this Earth”), underscoring themes of resilience, anger, and solidarity.

Last October, superstar Shawn Mendes invited Xiuhtezcatl to share the stage at the Hollywood Bowl to highlight Native American voices and raise awareness for #LANDBACK and Indigenous rights.

Check out the incendiary “¡BASTA YA!” video below.

Rawayana & Biz Execs Reflect on the Future of Venezuela’s Music Industry

In light of Nicolás Maduro’s recent capture in Caracas by U.S. forces, Venezuelan artists and music executives are reflecting on the future of the country’s music industry. Speaking to Billboard Español, Rawayana’s Beto Montenegro declared, “The potential is immense. Venezuela is not just any country; it’s a territory rich in resources. If there were no theft and real investment were made, the return and integration of Venezuela into the world would be fascinating.”

Once a booming music hub, Venezuela’s industry has faced years of economic instability, censorship, and emigration of talent. Still, local players like José Luis Ventura, director of Ventura Espectáculos, remain optimistic: “There is still a market for Venezuelan singers… people are still eager to consume culture.” Read the complete story here.

New Book Highlights Spanish Punk’s Role in Democracy

Spanish Punk: Screaming for Democracy in a Postdictatorial State, written by musician and scholar David Vila Diéguez, is a deep dive into how Spain’s punk movement became a rebellious, cultural response to the nation’s transition from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy. Through fanzines, lyrics, and interviews, Vila Diéguez documents the genre’s role in shaping protest movements and posing critical questions about freedom and identity in a “new” Spain.

With a foreword by Billboard Español associate editor Isabela Raygoza, the book also highlights the lasting political significance of bands like Kortatu and La Polla Records, positioning punk as a force for resistance and change in the country’s unsettled transformation. Spanish Punk is an essential read for history, music, and political culture enthusiasts alike. Get your copy here.

Farruko to Headline 2026 Miami E-Prix

Farruko, the Puerto Rican superstar and two-time Latin Grammy winner, has been announced on Friday (Jan. 9) as the headlining act for the 2026 Miami E-Prix, taking place on Jan. 31. Held at the Miami International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time, the event will combine elite all-electric racing with live music as part of Formula E’s new “Miami Energy Drop” experience. Tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster.

Yungblud’s arrival in Australia ahead of the kickoff of his IDOLS World Tour has been anything but low-key.

The British rocker touched down in Sydney earlier this week and quickly drew massive fan attention after attending a pop-up photo gallery exhibition in Newtown, where crowds reportedly became so large that police were called to manage the situation.

The event, titled Yungblud: IDOLS, featured photography by British photographer Tom Pallant and showcased images from previous legs of the singer’s ongoing tour.

Yungblud — born Dominic Harrison — had encouraged fans to attend the gallery via social media, telling them he would be there in person. Hundreds reportedly queued for hours to catch a glimpse of the artist, with some lining up from early morning.

Though no major incidents were reported, the turnout was large enough that authorities asked the event to wrap earlier than planned.

“Yo guys, I love you so much, thank you for coming out,” Yungblud said in a voice memo shared to fans afterward. “That got a bit f—ing hectic, didn’t it? The cops said we had to move on because it was just getting mad.”

The exhibition is scheduled to run through Jan. 11, with fans lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. on opening day, according to the gallery.

The day prior, Yungblud kicked off his Australian arrival with a bang—quite literally stripping down to nothing on a Sydney Harbour yacht alongside socialite Dina Broadhurst. 

The back-to-back viral moments have only amplified attention around Yungblud’s return to Australia, where he is set to launch the local leg of his IDOLS World Tour on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

The Australian dates come after a turbulent end to 2025, when he was forced to cancel several shows following medical advice related to vocal and blood tests.

“It is in my nature to run and run until I run myself to the ground,” he said in a statement shared in November. “But this time I’ve been told I have to take it seriously.”

The Australian leg of the IDOLS World Tour was later confirmed to proceed as scheduled, with multiple dates selling out quickly.

The tour supports Yungblud’s fourth studio album, IDOLS, released in June 2025. Yungblud’s tour down under is in support of Idols, his fourth studio album which dropped in at No. 4 on the ARIA Chart last June. That effort marked his third top 10 chart appearance in these parts, after Weird! reached No. 6 in 2020, and his self-titled collection logged one week at No. 1 in 2022. Last November, the pop-punk artist released One More Time, a collaborative EP with Aerosmith.

In the months following its release, Yungblud also received multiple Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is suing a construction manager for allegedly interfering with the sale of his $57 million Malibu house.

Ye brought slander and breach of contract claims on Thursday (Jan. 8) against Tony Saxon, who handled construction work on the rapper’s beachfront mansion in 2021. Notably, Saxon has been pursuing his own lawsuit against Ye since 2023 over alleged unpaid wages and unsafe working conditions on the job.

To account for those alleged unpaid wages, Saxon took out a $1.8 million lien on the house after Ye put it on the market, through which Saxon claimed he would be entitled to a portion of the proceeds from any sale. Saxon’s lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, told media outlets at the time, “If someone wants to buy Kanye’s Malibu home, they’ll have to deal with us first.”

“Ye is one of the most recognizable recording artists and entrepreneurs in the world and rarely initiates litigation,” wrote Ye’s lawyers in the Thursday complaint. “Plaintiffs bring this action because defendants recorded and then wrongfully maintained a $1,819,986.00 mechanics lien against the property — despite knowing or having reason to know the lien was invalid — while simultaneously launching an aggressive publicity campaign designed to pressure Ye, chill prospective transactions, and extract payment on disputed claims already being litigated in court.”

A judge ultimately disposed of Saxon’s lien last year after determining that he’d failed to enforce it. But Ye alleges that the lien, and the swirl of publicity initiated by Saxon’s team, did damage to his real estate dealings while in place.

According to Ye, the lien required him to buy a bond and had the effect of “discouraging buyers, title and escrow professionals, lenders and the public.” Ye ultimately sold the house for $21 million, significantly below his $57 million purchase price from 2021, according to an MLS report.

Ye is now seeking unspecified financial damages from Saxon, Zambrano and the lawyer’s firm. Zambrano did not immediately have any comment on the claims when reached on Friday (Jan. 9).

Zambrano is behind a number of employment-related lawsuits that have been brought against Ye in recent years. In addition to Saxon, his clients have included teachers who allege the controversial rapper fired them for complaining about bizarre conditions at his now-shuttered school, Donda Academy.

Saxon’s lawsuit against Ye remains pending, with a trial scheduled to begin this March. Ye maintains that he doesn’t owe anything, arguing in court papers that he already made “substantial payments” and that Saxon isn’t entitled to more because he doesn’t have a valid contractor’s license.

Jimin is Vogue Korea‘s latest cover star. The BTS performer is helping the publication get a strong start to 2026 by posing for a chic photo shoot displayed across several different versions of the new issue.

In the covers shared by Vogue Korea on Instagram, Jimin pops on camera at the center of a blue color palette, modeling Dior. In one, he gives a smoldering look while enjoying a blue lollipop; in another, he wears navy slacks and a cerulean jacket while sitting against a wall beside a colorful bouquet.

All three of the covers dub the K-pop superstar “The Sound of Now.” “At the moment, Jimin,” the publication’s caption on Instagram reads. “Brilliant delicacy, dreamy and fairytale, cozy beauty.”

The fashion milestone comes amid a singularly exciting time for BTS, as the band has spent the past several months preparing to make a major comeback in 2026 after each of the members finished their enlistment periods in the South Korean military. On Jan. 4, the Bangtan Boys finally officially announced the release date of their highly anticipated next album: March 20.

Jimin has stayed busy with his solo music amid BTS’ time away, releasing his seven-track album, Muse, in 2024. The project peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

The artist has also treated fans to a second season of his Are You Sure?! travel series with bandmate Jung Kook. The second installment premiered on Disney+ in December.

See Jimin on the cover of Vogue Korea below.