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.
Getting the Latin Community Vaccinated
Alejandro Fernández, Maná’s Fher Olvera and Dr. Anthony Fauci have joined forces to help get the Latin community vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. Their efforts are part of the National Month of Action, which aims to get 70% of U.S. adults at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. “We have joined the global fight against COVID-19,” Olvera says in the video. “Get vaccinated. We already did,” they both share. According to the CDC, as of today, 42.6% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated while 51.9% of the population has received at least one dose.
Dimelo Flow Renews Contract
Latin hitmaker Dimelo Flow renewed both his producer and publishing deals with independent label RichMusic. Under the new multi-million dollar deal, RichMusic continues to solidify their relationship with the Latin Grammy and Billboard Latin Music Awards nominee as their leading music producer and DJ.
“I’m extremely grateful to be able to further my career alongside RichMusic since they have supported my career and I from early on,” Flow expressed in a statement. “This is a new chapter that I am intrigued as to where it will take me but nonetheless has me very excited.” “His creative vision as a producer and his work ethic go unmatched,” added Joshua Mendez, co-founder and COO of RichMusic Inc.
Flow, behind hits of Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, Sech and Ozuna, to name a few, was represented by Chris Navarro of Singh & Trauben LLP, and Rich Music Inc. was represented by Oswaldo Rossi for Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk, LLP at the renewal global signing. His signing comes on the heels of RichMusic renewing Sech’s recording and publishing deal, where they will continue to exclusively release Sech’s recordings worldwide, and publish his music under the company’s new publishing division, The Pencil Pushers.
‘In the Heights’ Premiere
In the Heights, an adaptation of the Broadway show that ran from 2008-2011, was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda in 1999 and is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. “It was, in many ways, an attempt to write what I saw was missing, both in terms of representation and in terms of stories about [Latinos] in popular culture,” Miranda previously told Billboard. Ahead of the film’s release, Billboard caught up with Leslie Grace, who plays Nina, and Mexican actress Melissa Barrera, who plays Vanessa, to talk all things In the Heights.
From challenging musical numbers to how their characters inspired their personal growth and the importance of true representation in the film, watch our interview here.
Mau y Ricky & Piso 21 Announce Joint Tour
Two of Latin pop’s hottest acts of the moment, Mau y Ricky and Piso 21, are teaming up for their first-ever joint tour, “Panas & Parceros.” Slang for “friend” in both Venezuela (panas) and Colombia (parceros), the two acts will take their bromance on stage, and will also participate in each other’s songs, including hits such as Mau y Ricky’s “Desconocidos” and “Papas,” and Piso 21’s “Te Vi” and “Mas de la Una.” Produced by Live Nation, the joint tour will create a never-before-seen concert experience, where longtime friends will share the stage as opposed to just co-headline.
Wilkins’ Masterpiece
After spending five years working on his new album, Puerto Rican artist Wilkins has finally released Obra Maestra (Masterpiece), which becomes the 49th studio album of his career. The 12-track set includes songs penned by Wilkins that perfectly capture his rockmántico (romantic rock) essence that has characterized his music. “It’s a conceptual album that describes experiences men go through while in love,” the 68-year-old artist said about Obra Maestra. Stream the album below:
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