From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week:
The Sounds That Made Us
On Aug. 28, award-winning duo COASTCITY kicked off The Sounds That Made Us, a three-part series that will honor and celebrate Black music and culture.
Featuring artists like Prince Royce, ChocQuibTown’s Goyo, Tony Succar and St. Pedro, among others, the series, which will be available on COASTCITY’S Instagram and YouTube, was produced and arranged by COASTCITY and recorded with a live band comprised of prominent Black and Latinx musicians.
The series kicked off Aug. 28, the day Martin Luther King Jr.’s gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. On this day in 2008 then-Senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, becoming the first black man ever to win the nomination and bid for the presidency.
The second episode will be released Sept. 4 and episode three on Sept. 11.
[embedded content]
Becky G Is Clearing the List
With school back in session and most students in the U.S. learning remotely and teachers teaching virtually, Becky G partnered with Amazon to give back to teachers and students with her “Clear the List” movement.
“I’m really happy to announce that I’ve been working with Amazon on a project to help give back to my elementary school, Oak Street Elementary, through “Clear the List” which is a movement that encourages customers to give back to teachers by purchasing items from their Amazon Wish List,” the Mexican-American posted on Instagram. “This will not only help within the classroom, but also help students with at-home learning during this time of our current education situation.”
Music to our ears!
RBD’s catalogue will officially make its debut on streaming platforms Sept. 4 when the Mexican band’s studio albums become available on streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple and Deezer, among others. “Hi friends, Anahí here with good news. We will again be able to hear all that music that marked our lives,” Anahí says in a video shared by Spotify Mexico.
More details on the highly-anticipated release of the catalogue here.
Latin Music Week’s On the Rise Panel(s)
From trap and reggaeton anthems to corridos tumbados, the genre-bending panelists confirmed for Billboard‘s two-part On the Rise panels are up-and-coming artists making music their own way. Set to take place during this year’s virtual Latin Music Week (Oct. 20-23), the first panel will feature Natanael Cano, Lunay, Jhay Cortez, Mariah Angeliq and Nicki Nicole. Part two will include Sech, Camilo, Rauw Alejandro and Cazzu.
The exact date and time for these two separate panels and other superstar panels will be announced in the upcoming weeks.This year’s Latin Music Week was originally scheduled to take place April 20-23 in Las Vegas, NV and was postponed due to COVID-19.
Additional participants and schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. To reserve a spot and receive updates, RSVP here. Stars confirmed so far to participate this year include Ozuna, J Balvin, Rosalia and Carlos Vives, among others.
New collab alert!?
If Karol G and Ivy Queen are plotting an epic collaboration, only time will tell. Karol and Ivy were spotted in a studio but their vague captions didn’t reveal much. “Here in a casual reunion,” both wrote on social media. We’ll be here casually and patiently waiting for more news on this potential collab.
