Category Archives: Music

Chiquis Rivera Pays Tribute to Mom Jenni Rivera and Makes Her Own Mark With Debut Album ‘Ahora’: Track-by-Track Review

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Music by

chiquis-rivera-ahora-2015-album-billboard-650x650

The late, great banda singer Jenni Rivera once said “haters are just confused fans.” So it makes sense that although Jenni’s eldest daughter Chiquis seems to have an equal ratio of the latter to gung-ho cheerleaders, this in no way has deterred her from pursuing her own career in music.

And why should it? At 29, Chiquis has already endured more pain and tragedythan most people could conceive of (including losing her mother in a plane crash on Dec. 9, 2012) and has lived to tell the tale.

Despite being booed quite loudly on social media upon the release of her first single back in early 2014 (“Paloma Blanca” — more on that later), Chiquis dusted herself off and tried again, but not without remastering a few things, literally and figuratively.

Continue reading →

The Ultimate Listening Guide to Bomba Estéreo’s ‘Amanecer’: In Their Own Words

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Music by

bomba-estereo-courtesy-sony-music-latin-2015-billboard-650

Bomba Estéreo is ready for the big time. Nearly 10 years after the Colombian electro-tropical outfit started making noise in the Bogotá club scene (and then popped up on music lists galore), singer Liliana Saumet and multi-instrumentalist Simon Mejía are now veterans of the global festival circuit. So it’s only right that for the band’s fourth album, Amanecer (due June 2), they would take things up a notch — and we’re not just talking bpm.

Indie and self-contained from the get-go, Bomba was recently signed to a major, Sony Music Latin, which paired them up with a new producer, Ricky Reed, of the genre-mashing California group Wallpaper, whose credits also include JasonDerulo‘s “Wiggle” and Pitbull‘s “Fireball.”

The result is an album that is still very much Bomba to the core, but it also makes room for new influences. Recorded between the band’s headquarters in Bogotá and Reed’s home studio in Los Angeles, Amanecer should get them more airplay and even more gigs on the world stage. Take the lead single “Fiesta,” a party anthem dripping with bass and champeta that’s as much of an homage to the carnivals of their homeland as they’ve ever recorded, but it’s also a nod to Kwaito, an African genre of music fusing hip-hop, house, reggae, and traditional African rhythms.

Continue reading →

The Best of the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Conference

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Culture, Media, Music by

Ivy Queen

I recently joined the extended Billboard family as a contributor and went down to Miami to cover the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards (April 27 – 30). I’ve greatly enjoyed collaborating with the inimitable Leila Cobo, who, quite simply, knows more about Latin music than anyone on the planet. She’s a pro, and definitely someone I look up to.

You’ll be seeing my byline on billboard.com/latin quite a bit this year, as I join Leila and the Billboard team in building the ultimate digital destination for all things Latin music.

Click below to see Billboard’s beautiful spread with exclusive portraits from the conference.

Billboard Latin Music Conference Exclusive Portraits  

And click here to view all of our great online coverage from this year’s conference & awards, including exclusive interviews with Carlos Santana, Daddy Yankee, Natalia Jimenez, Nicky Jam, Luis Fonsi, Wisin, Carlos Vives, Ivy Queen, and many more.

See Also: Highlights From the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards

Backstage With Daddy Yankee at the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Culture, Music by

Daddy Yankee

Mention the name Daddy Yankee to anyone in the Latin music industry and they’ll automatically think of the words legend, icon, or leader. Credited with making reggaeton a global phenomenon in 2004 with his hit “Gasolina,” the Puerto Rican superstar has more top 10s on the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart than any other artist (30) and more No. 1s on Top Latin Albums than any other urban act (6). It’s no wonder his peers — both established and emerging acts — constantly cite him as a source of inspiration.

When he’s not recording hits in the studio, Yankee is known for bringing the heat to any performance. The 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards — which aired on Telemundo on April 30 from the BankUnited Center in Miami — were no exception, as Yankee took the stage twice. First, to perform his hot new single “Sígueme y Te Sigo” as a worldwide television premiere, and then with Carlos Vives and Wisin for “Nota de Amor,” an irresistible marriage of Colombian vallenato and reggaeton that’s as much about love as it is about dancing.

Continue reading →

Selena Quintanilla’s Family on Jennifer Lopez’s Tribute at the Billboard Latin Music Awards: ‘She Owned It’

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Culture, Music by

Selena tribute Jennifer Lopez Billboard Latin Music Awards 2015

It was the most talked-about moment of the night at the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards — Jennifer Lopez onstage, singing a medley of Selena Quintanilla’s most beloved hits, including “Como la Flor,” “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “No Me Queda Mas,” and “I Could Fall in Love,” dressed in a pale pink ensemble reminiscent of the late queen of Tejano music. The heartfelt performance came 18 years after Lopez’s indelible portrayal of Selena made her a household name. Backed by the original Los Dinos band — made up of Selena’s brother A.B. Quintanilla, sister Suzette Quintanilla-Arriaga, and widower Chris Perez – JLo delivered an emotional tribute to an icon whose influence is still felt, 20 years after her life was tragically cut short.

After the performance, the Quintanilla family opened up to Billboard about how it felt to be a part of such a special moment, where the idea for the tribute came from, and how they’re keeping Selena’s legacy alive.

Continue reading →

The story behind Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’

Posted in Culture, Music by

Mariah Carey

What would Christmas be like without Mariah Carey? It’s a sad, sad thought. But the crazy thing is Carey’s holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” almost never happened.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the song, instead of focusing on Carey’s botched performance at the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony earlier this month, let’s revisit the backstory of perhaps the greatest Christmas tune ever recorded.

First released on November 1, 1994, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was the lead single off Carey’s fourth album, “Merry Christmas,” now hailed by Billboard as the most successful Christmas album of all time.

In today’s oversaturated market, anyone with half an octave releases a holiday album. But back then, it was considered somewhat corny for a pop star to do so, especially a 24-year-old vocal virtuoso.

Continue reading →

Best of 2014: D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah,’ His First Album in 14 Years

Posted in Music by

D'Angelo

Photo Credit: Greg Harris for RCA Records

Fourteen years is a long time to go in between albums, but it’s especially long for D’Angelo fans. At the stroke of midnight on Sunday, December 14, however, they got an early Christmas present in the form of “Black Messiah,” the neo-soul singer’s first offering since 2000’s “Voodoo.”

Almost exactly one year after Beyoncé nearly broke the Internet by unexpectedly dropping her self-titled visual album, D’Angelo has managed to become a trending topic himself, except it’s not part of some flashy, big-machine, strategic move; he’s been working on it since the “Voodoo” tour ended (this according to his close friend and collaborator Questlove).

And there couldn’t be a better time to release it. With “Black Messiah,” D’Angelo has made music with a message that’s as poignant and relevant as ever. While not all songs are politically conscious, enough of them are.

Continue reading →

Exclusive First Listen: Miguel’s New Spanish Song ‘Destinado a Morir’

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Music, Videos by

Really proud of this little video I produced for Variety Latino with one of my FAVORITES!!!

Miguel invited the VL crew into the LA studio where he’s recording his next album, due sometime this year, and talked to us about so many things, including what it was like to grow up Black and Latino, his kaleidoscopic view of music & art, and…how he lost his virginity!

Yep, great story.

He even sang a snippet of a new song in Spanish called “Destinado a Morir” — which no one’s heard before until now.

He loved this interview so much he shared it with his fans via FB & Twitter. And the best part is, we have so much great material from this interview, we’ll be posting more Miguel goodness in the near future!

I’ve been busier than I’ve ever been in my life — as in, I forgot what sleep is — but I’m also incredibly proud of the work we’re doing over at Variety Latino, which launched February 27, 2014.

Check out some of the other great CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS we’ve done with everyone from Lupita Nyong’o to John Leguizamo.

*Miguel’s interview was originally posted on VarietyLatino.com.

Remembering Jenni Rivera, the Music Icon and Mother

Posted in Celebrity Interviews, Music by

I Love Jenni - Season 3

The world lost one of its brightest stars on December 9, 2012. But for all her success, Jenni Rivera was also unapologetically real, vulnerable and accessible. In this exclusive interview, Rivera’s eldest daughter Chiquis reflects on the loss and honors the legacy of banda music’s reigning queen.

Read my exclusive interview with Chiquis on the new MySpace.