Telemundo and Billboard have announced that Ivy Queen, known as the Queen of Reggaeton and an artist who has carved out a career that has not only remained relevant through time but has also made her the most distinguished artist in her genre, will be honored with the Billboard Icon Award at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will be broadcast live on Telemundo, October 5 at 7 pm/6c.

Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Ivy Queen is a pioneer of the reggaeton genre and a leading female voice in Latin urban music who is celebrated globally for achieving both musical and commercial success. With a career spanning 28 years, Ivy Queen began as a member of the all-male collective The Noise in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before going solo in 1996 with the release of her debut studio album, En Mi Imperio (In My Empire). Since then, she has released 10 studio albums, four compilation albums, seven EPs, one live album, 94 singles, and 63 music videos.

She earned her first entry on a Billboard chart with Quiero Bailar, which peaked at No. 16 on Tropical Airplay in July 2005, and her first No. 1 arrived with Cuéntale on Tropical Airplay in Nov. 2005 (one week at No. 1). She boasts 20 entries on Latin Rhythm Airplay, the third-most among Latin female artists, 400 million on-demand official streams in the U.S., according to Luminate, 560,00 albums sold in the U.S. and 584,000 song downloads.

Ivy Queen made an impact with her unique and strong point of view. She has consistently stood for agency and women empowerment, and her music touches on themes of social political matters, homosexuality, racism, love, and heartbreak.

“I am beyond thrilled and honored to receive this award,” said Ivy Queen. “It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication I have put into my music over the years. I am grateful to my fans for their unwavering support throughout my career, and I hope to continue to inspire and empower women through my music for years to come.”

This year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards will take place at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida, on Thursday, October 5. The show will also air simultaneously on the Hispanic entertainment cable channel, Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

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Released this month, the song is the first single the Puerto Rican singer has dropped since his last album El Último Tour del Mundo came out last November. The album debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the first all-Spanish-language album ever to top the popular list. Bad Bunny has one of the greatest accumulations of songs on the Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs, more than 80. 

El Conejo Malo seems to be full of surprises.

Last year he dressed in drag for his video of “Yo perreo sola,” a song that earned him a Latin Grammy, the second one of his career.

This past January he released a music video with Robert Booker Tio Huffman Jr., who is a WWE professional wrestler under the stage name Booker T. 

This time around, “Yonaguni” makes listeners wonder if the Latino artist has an interest in things Japanese. The sing’s title refers to Japan’s westernmost inhabited island of  Japan, located nearly 70 miles from Taiwan.

Taking fans by surprise once more, the outro of the single is completely in Japanese. Bad Bunny also mentions Itachi Uchiha, a character from the popular Japanese anime Naruto, hinting at a potential linkage to his interest and anime pop-culture of the Land of the Rising Sun.

“Yonaguni” already has more than 100 million plays on Spotify while the music video has also scored over 110 million plays on YouTube. 

Coming to the music scene just five years ago, Grammy Award-winning Bad Bunny proves to his listeners that he is not done yet. Some may say he is just getting started. The top-selling artist appears in the new installment F9: The Fast Saga,  the latest installment of the blockbuster The Fast and the Furious movie franchise starring Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel, and is set to start his first post-pandemic tour in 2022.

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Balvin, a world top-selling artist from Colombia known as the Prince of Reggaeton, will appear on Nick News: Kids, Immigration and Equality on Thursday. According to Nickelodeon, the half-hour special will delve into compelling stories of immigrants, including young people and families who are searching for a better life in this nation.

The show will be hosted by CBS News correspondent Jamie Yuccas and showcase personal immigration stories and messages of hope from the Colombian singer and other featured guests such as comedian Samantha Bee from Canada, television host Padma Lakshmi from India and professional basketball player Ben Simmons from Australia. Also appearing on the children’s show will be Nancy Pelosi, the California congresswoman who is the current speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Every immigrant’s story is individual, and yet in the U.S, it is a collective experience many can relate to,” says Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson, vice president of news programming at Nickelodeon and executive producer of Nick News. She adds that more than 25 percent of children in the U.S. under the age of 18 have a parent or grandparent that is an immigrant. “As we take time to acknowledge the many contributions immigrants have made to the United States, Nick News: Kids, Immigration and Equality aims to platform the stories of these remarkable individuals and families to highlight our shared history and showcase that despite our perceived differences we are more alike than different,” says Laguerre-Wilkinson. 

Balvin is one of the biggest stars of reggaeton, a hybrid reggae and hip hop that’s in Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean region and whose influence has gone global. With five albums under his belt, including one with also reggaeton star Bad Bunny, Balvin is known for hits like “Ginza,” “6 AM,” “Ay vamos,” “Bobo”, “Safari”, “Sigo extrañándote” and “Mi gente,” with the latter topping the Global Top 50 on the music streamer Spotify and reaching one billion views on YouTube. His collaboration with Cardi B and Bad Bunny on the 2018 hit single “I like it” won him a nomination for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. His most recent album is Colores. 

Nick News: Kids, Immigration and Equality will start with the story of early immigration from Europe, detailing the hope for a better life that drove many families to permanently settle in the U.S. It will also talk about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and the “Dreamers.” The segment presents the powerful stories of three young community advocates, Luz Chavez-Gonzales of Gaithersburg, Maryland, Kamau Chege of Seattle, Washington, and Estefany Pineda of East Boston, Massachusetts, their search for the so-called “American dream.”

Enrique Acevedo, a 60 Minutes+ correspondent, will take viewers to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, a town that over 100 years ago it welcomed European immigrants which fueled its coal mining industry. Fast forward and the town faced challenges when some members of the community took issue with, and sought to stop Latino immigrants moving to the area in the late 1990s.  

However, Joe Maddon Jr., manager of the Los Angeles Angels, a Hazleton native, sought to turn the page on the divisiveness that overtook his community and help his town heal through the creation of the Hazleton Integration Project, HIP, a community-based center that aims to unite the multicultural residents of Hazleton by offering a myriad of programs, including English as a second language, a series of virtual STEM afterschool classes, sports programs and many others. The organization’s programs are highlighted through the stories of five kids whose families have emigrated to Hazleton from the Dominican Republic and who have found much-needed resources and a sense of community at HIP.

Additional segments include a mention of former President George W. Bush’s new book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants, which is a collection of 43 portraits of immigrants painted by Bush. It highlights the inspiring journeys of America’s immigrants and their contributions to the U.S.

Nick News: Kids, Immigration and Equality, the segment will air Thursday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Following its premiere on Nickelodeon, the show will be available on Nick.com, Nick App and Nick On Demand beginning June 18 and on the Nickelodeon YouTube channel on June 22. 

Featured Photo: J Balvin (Credit: kodeak01/Wikipedia)

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Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (A Private War, Cartel Land) has released the trailer of The Boy From Medellín, a documentary about top-selling reggaeton artist J Balvin. 

The Amazon Original film follows the Latin Grammy-winning singer, whose real name is Jose Alvaro Osorio Balvin, as he prepares for what may be one of the most important performances of his career—a sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellín, Colombia. But political unrest explodes in the streets just days before the concert date and J Balvin must wrestle with his responsibility as an artist to his country and his legions of fans around the globe.

The film captures the artist behind the scenes in a tense time of his life, compounding his struggles with anxiety and depression that have plagued him for years. The Boy From Medellín was shot entirely in a dramatic week leading up to the concert. 

J Balvin is a reggaeton superstar who has reportedly sold more than 35 million records worldwide. He has won four Latin Grammys, five Billboard Latin Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and four Latin American Music Awards. He has also been nominated twice for the Grammy Award.

The doc will be available globally on May 7 on Amazon Prime Video. The film was directed and produced by Heineman and exec produced by Fabio Acosta, Scooter Braun, Allison Kaye, Scott Manson, Jennifer McDaniels, Jenna Millman, Juan Diego Villegas and J Balvin himself.

Top Featured Photo: J Balvin in ‘The Boy From Medellín.’ (Credit: SCV JB Concert Doc Project, LLC)

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They quickly rose to fame with the recording of the 2000 album Los Reyes del Nuevo Milenio. They later made the jump to a major label in 2003 with Mi Vida… My Life. De Nuevos a Viejos (2001), Mi Vida… My Life (2003) and De Otra Manera (2004), all of which were certified gold. The duo went on to receive the Tu Música Award for Best Rap/Reggaeton Duo in 2002.

In 2013, after their Líderes tour, Winsin and Yandel each went their separate ways.  Yandel’s solo studio album after the split, De Líder a Leyenda, was released in November 2013, which was certified Gold (Latin) by the RIAA in 2014.  

But after five years of being on their own, they reunited in February 2018, and four months later they did their first U.S. concert at Madison Square Garden. 

In May 2018, they did a concert at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico selling out the show quickly and resulting in adding more shows, totaling 8 back-to-back shows at this venue. 

Later that year they released Reggaetón En Lo Oscuro the lead single from their upcoming tenth studio album Los Campeones del Pueblo / The Big Leagues, which features collaborations with many artists including Ozuna, Maluma, and Bad Bunny.

Back on track, Yandel continues to make beautiful reggaeton music again with Winsin.

— Latin Heat News Service

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Colombian urban music artists Darkan and Yelsid  have released their highly anticipated new single and video Déjame Saber on Nov. 13.

Déjame Saber is a catchy urban track infused with reggaeton rhythm and vibe. The music video for the single, produced by Lui Gallego, abounds in sensuality and eroticism to tell the story of a woman playing love games with two men–Darkan and Yelsid. Like most of their hits, the track is an invitation to dance.

Déjame Sabermarks the first collaboration on a record by the South American reggaeton and urban music artists, who are strengthening Colombia’s place on the world map in those two music genres.

Déjame Saber (Let me know) was recorded in Medellin, city of residence of both Darkan and Yelsid, under the label KGB Records and with the participation of renowned producers DJ Sog, Kapo Beats and Onyl.

“I had lots of fun recording both the song and the video with my colleague and friend Yelsid,” says Darkan. “While we had collaborated on other gigs before, this is the first time we brought our voices together in a recording studio.” He adds, “Now we have this new cool video under our belt.”

Darkan achieved his first international success with “Yo te amo” (I love you), a song that led to his music being discovered in South America and eventually find its way to European radio, in countries such as Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. Other hits followed. “Cambiaste Mi Vida” (You changed my life) with Kevin Roldán established him as a leading urban music artist in his native Colombia.

Years later “Manifiéstate” would arrive, co-produced with DJ Sog and featuring Dany yMagneto. Today “Manifiéstate” is considered a classic of Colombian reggaeton. More recently, Darkan recorded “Que será,” a collaboration with fellow KGB artist Jasmine Ortiz that saw heavy rotation on video and music channels like Music Choice and HTV, winning the #FormulaHTV weekly contest and which introduced him to his U.S. fanbase.

For his part, Yelsid is a legend in Colombian music, with dozens of tracks topping the playlists of Colombian and Latin American stations over the span of a decade-long career.

“I strongly believe that in ‘Déjame Saber’ we have a hit on our hands,” states Darkan.

Check out the video for the song below.

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With Halloween being Jasmine Ortiz’s “absolute favorite holiday,” it was only a matter of time before the singer/songwriter paid homage to the spookiest day of the year. And that she did today by announcing via her label, KGB Records, the release of her new single Trick or Treat, an alternative pop song about the challenges dealing with dating and getting “ghosted”. “Ghosting” is an expression that describes when a love interest stops communicating with a partner with no explanation—in other words, disappearing like a ghost. The song is personal for Jasmine. “Trick or Treat highlights how spooky that feeling can be,” she says. 

Penned and produced by Jasmine herself, the single marks a new musical direction for the 20-year-old artist who has gained popularity with her danceable reggaeton tracks. “Trick or Treat belongs in the American alternative pop scene with both an ethereal and electronic feel,” states Jasmine. “I still love reggaeton and learned a lot in the past couple years,” she says. “Now I’m ready for a shift in my career, I want to show people how much more I can do.”

In her new single, she does it all—writing, producing, playing and programming instruments, selecting loops and more. “This song is 100 percent me,” she says with pride in her voice.

Trick or Treat is a product of the scary times the world is currently facing due to the global pandemic, when creatives suddenly found themselves hunkered down at home for safety. In isolation in her hometown of Stroudsburg, PA or the Poconos, Jasmine found herself experimenting with new sounds and producing more music.

While “Ghosting is a scary reality of dating in 2020,” admits Jasmine, she didn’t want heartbreak and disillusion be the focus in her lyrics. Instead, she conjures the fun spirit of modern day Halloween to deliver a message to a lover who disguises his true intention and disappears with no explanation. Also, very cleverly, she doesn’t allow the song to be dated for October’s scary season. After all, date ghosting happens all year long. “My song goes well beyond Halloween,” she says. 

Trick or Treat is the artist’s eighth single in a musical career that was publicly launched about two years ago. Of Puerto Rican, Salvadorian and Spanish descent, the bilingual/bicultural songstress began her musical journey performing and recording reggaeton, releasing dance-friendly tracks, and collaborating with popular artists like Swiftondemand and YBN Almighty Jay as well as renowned producers TrackDilla and Cesar Da Emperor (responsible for hits by Tyga and Post Malone).

SpotifyThe video for Trick or Treat recreates scenes from some of Jasmine’s favorite horror flicks, such as It, Psycho and The Shining. The video is directed by Jasmine’s mother, Maria Picon, who also happens to be a filmmaker. “Unpopular opinion, but I think horror films can be really funny sometimes”, she quips.

Jasmine’s new single arrives at a pivotal time in her career. She is currently a student at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where she is majoring in music with a minor in political science. With classes going online due to the Covid-19 crisis, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and move to Los Angeles to expand her musical horizons. An adventurer by nature, Jasmine packed up what she could fit into one suitcase and traveled cross-country in an SUV to follow her dreams. 

“I’m here to pursue my greatest passion in life,” says Jasmine. “I started playing piano at age three, singing at six, and writing songs at eight. I’ve been doing music my whole life and I have many more songs to share.”

Trick or Treat can be played on Spotify.

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