Paulina Rubio
Jesus Cordero*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.
Rauw Alejandro to make acting debut
Rauw Alejandro is set to make his acting debut as he joins season 2 of Netflix’s Sky Rojo. The first photos of him on set, alongside Argentine songstress Lali Esposito, were also shared on social media giving him a warm welcome. It’s unclear what role the “Todo De Ti” singer will take on, but according to the series’ official synopsis, Sky Rojo follows “a fatal turn of events as a brothel sends three women haunted by their pasts on a wild run from their pimp and his henchmen.”
Ovi becomes a dad
Trap singer Ovi took to social media to share the birth of his son Ovi Jr. In an emotional post, the “Día de Pago” singer wrote: “My heir is here. The owner of my life. He’s healthy and strong, thank you God. What I feel is incredible, I can’t explain, a love I’ve never felt before. It’s true what they used to say. This is what I love most in the world. Son, I promise to take care of you and give you the best of me.”
Premio Lo Nuestro to honor Paulina Rubio
Premio Lo Nuestro announced that Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio will be honored with their Premio a la Trayectoria (Trajectory Award), honoring her three-decade-long career in the music industry, which kicked off in the ’80s as part of Timbiriche.
Additionally, the 34th edition of the awards ceremony will feature a special performance by Sting, who will premiere his new single “Por Su Amor,” the Spanish-language version of his song “For Her Love.” Other artists set to perform include CNCO, Sebastián Yatra, Ángela Aguilar and Wisin Y Yandel, among many others.
The 2022 Premio Lo Nuestro will air live from Miami’s FTX Arena on Thursday, Feb. 24, with the “Noche de Estrellas” pre-show beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT via Univision.
Sueños unveils dreamy lineup for first-ever edition
A new reggaeton and Latin trap festival, headlined by J Balvin, Ozuna and Wisin Y Yandel, is set to take place in Chicago during Memorial Day Weekend (May 28-29).
The first-ever edition of Sueños — presented by the producers behind Baja Beach Fest and Lollapalooza, respectively, and Chicago’s Reventon Promotions — will also include sets by artists such as Myke Towers, El Alfa, Tokischa, Sech, Natanael Cano, Fuerza Regida, Jhay Cortez, Blessd, Jowell & Randy and DJ Luian.
Tickets for Sueños are now on sale at suenosmusicfestival.com.
Pandora’s Billionaires
Pandora is expanding its Billionaires station suite by adding two new Latin stations: Latin Billionaires Pop and Latin Billionaires MX. Available to stream now, the newly launched stations join the digital streaming platform’s existing Billionaires stations in other genres such as pop, hip-hop and country.
Launched by Pandora in 2018 to spotlight artists who have surpassed one billion streams on the DSP, the service presents artists who had reached the marker with a commemorative plaque. The Latin Billionaires Pop station features songs by chart-topping acts including J Balvin, Shakira, Bad Bunny, among others. Meanwhile, Latin Billionaires MX spotlights billion-streaming Regional Mexican artists Banda MS, Los Tigres Del Norte, Los Tucanes De Tijuana, and more.
Listeners can find the new stations in the Billionaires module on the “For You” section of the Pandora app.
NEWS
Placebo have kicked off their 30th anniversary tour by dusting off some tracks for the first time in over 20 years, and also playing new single ‘Helen Keller’ live for the first time.
The new dates come as the band are celebrating the 30 years since they dropped their 1996 debut album. To mark the occasion, they have announced a huge UK and European arena tour, where they have vowed to predominantly play material from their first album and their sophomore record ‘Without You I’m Nothing’.
At the opening night at Krakatoa in Mérignac, France, Brian Molko and co. delivered a stacked 19-song set, which began with ‘Pure Morning’, and immediately went into the first rendition of ‘Come Home’ in 20 years.
Another rarity came straight after, with the first live performance of ‘You Don’t Care About Us’ since 2001, as well as ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ and ‘Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth)’ which were played for the first time since 2018 and 2014 respectively.
‘Drowning by Numbers’, ‘Bruise Pristine’ and ‘My Sweet Prince’ were all introduced into the setlist for the first time since 2001, ‘Brick Shithouse’ was aired out for the first time since 2003, ‘Scared Of Girls’ was played for the first time since 2010, and both ‘Lady Of The Flowers’ and ‘36 Degrees’ were broken out for the first time in nine years.
The rest of the set was made up of ‘Teenage Angst’, ‘Bionic’, ‘I Know’ and ‘Every You Every Me’, and the band wrapped up the performance with two covers: Depeche Mode’s ‘I Feel You’, and Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’.
It wasn’t until a later show at the Super Bock Arena in Porto, Portugal, that Placebo broke out their new song ‘Helen Keller’ for the first time – playing it 13 songs into the setlist.
Check out more footage from the tour so far below, as well as the setlist from night one.
‘Pure Morning’
‘Come Home’ (First time since 2006)
‘You Don’t Care About Us'(First Time Since 2001)
‘Teenage Angst’
‘Bionic’
‘Without You I’m Nothing” (First Time Since 2018)
‘Allergic (to Thoughts of Mother Earth)” (First Time Since 2014)
‘Drowning by Numbers” (First Time Since 2001)
’36 Degrees” (Alternate Version – First Time Since 2017)
‘I Know’
‘Brick Shithouse’ (First Time Since 2003)
‘Scared of Girls’ (First Time Since 2010)
‘Bruise Pristine” (First Time Since 2001)
‘My Sweet Prince’ (First Time Since 2001)
‘Lady of the Flowers’ (First time since 2017)
‘Nancy Boy’
‘Every You Every Me’
‘I Feel You’ (Depeche Mode cover, live debut)
‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ (Kate Bush cover)
Placebo dropped the single ‘Helen Keller’ on September 28, and it sees them reach back to ‘H.K. Farewell’, a hidden instrumental from the era of their self-titled 1996 debut. In the track, they retain the eerie keyboard melody from the original, and push it to new dimensions with a heavier, more anguished feeling.
The title refers to the American author, who was also a disability rights advocate and political activist, who became deafblind as a young child and went on to become an internationally renowned writer and campaigner.
As well as the tour, Placebo also celebrated the 30th anniversary of their debut by releasing a reimagined version of the record. For the LP, Molko and Stefan Olsdal returned to the original master tapes and reworked all 10 songs from the 1996 record – describing it as a “director’s cut” that helped them inject the original songs with three decades more experience.
The ongoing tour will reach the UK and Ireland in late November and early December, where they will play Nottingham, Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester, London and Cardiff. See all the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Dates will head to Latin America in 2027, beginning in São Paulo on February 20 and running through Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia before wrapping up with shows in Guadalajara and Monterrey in March.
Placebo dropped their last album of new material in 2022, with ‘Never Let Me Go’. That record was given a four-star review by NME, which described it as “a renaissance rock record with an experimental edge”, adding that it found Placebo “inspired and ready for a new era”.
