Myke Towers photographed on Sept. 22, 2021 at the Faena Forum in Miami.
Mary Beth KoethFrom 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.
Myke Towers Makes Fashion Moves
Myke Towers and Puma have joined forces for the brand’s newest Motorsport campaign. Towers, who’s “been a fan of the brand for many years,” becomes Puma’s first-ever Motorsport Lifestyle Ambassador, creating content and marketing campaigns that mesh the fashion, music and car cultures. “We are going to go fast and do some really cool things; looking forward to this partnership,” the Puerto Rican artist said in a press statement. The official campaign photos were shot in Towers’ native Puerto Rico. See the photos below:
A Jhayco Love Playlist
For their first Valentine’s Day as a couple, Jhay Cortez and Mia Khalifa not only shared key moments of their date on social media, but Cortez also curated a special playlist for Mia. Available exclusively on TIDAL, fans can enjoy the playlist called “A love letter from Jhay Cortez to his beloved Mia,” which includes songs by Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Santana, Alicia Keys, The Weeknd, and Cultura Profetica, to name a few. Listen to the playlist here. On Valentine’s, Cortez also celebrated that the Bad Bunny-assisted “Dakiti” surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.
The First Valentine’s
Speaking of Jhayco and Mia, this week, many artists shared their first-ever Valentine’s Day with their partners. On social media, Jay Wheeler posted the sweet surprise he had for his singer girlfriend Zhamira Zambrano, a bed full of gifts and balloons. Argentine lovebirds Duki and Emilia celebrated their new relationship with a second collaboration dubbed “Esto Recién Empieza” and Nicky Jam showered his model girlfriend Aleska Genesis with a Valentine’s-themed yacht date.
A Dream Latinx Festival
This week, Tropicália and La Tocada announced a major one-day festival called “Besame Mucho.” Taking place on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, the festival includes a multigenerational lineup, which features pop, regional Mexican, merengue, cumbia, and rock artists. Among the confirmed Latin acts are Los Tigres del Norte, Julieta Venegas, Café Tacvba, Zoé, Sin Bandera, Juanes, Banda El Recodo, and many more. The three separate stages are Rockero stage, Las Clásicas (The Classics) stage, and Te Gusta El Pop? (You Like Pop?) stage. For more information, visit besamemuchofestival.com.
The Bichota Crocs
On her 31st birthday, Karol G unveiled her collaboration with Crocs, in celebration of self-love. The Colombian singer released two versions: the Karol G X Crocs Classic Clog ($70) and the Karol G X Crocs Mega Crush Clog ($110), decorated with charms designed by the “Bichota” singer herself including hearts, pins, and colorful pompoms. “Today is a reminder to all my fans to celebrate self-love,” Karol G said in a statement. “My collab with Crocs has been an amazing experience, it was such an honor to be able to work on the design and create the Jibbitz charms to truly express the message I wanted to come across when people saw them: LOVE, SELF-LOVE!”
10cc drummer Paul Burgess has announced that he is leaving the band because the demands of touring have become too much for him.
The 75-year-old musician, who also spent time performing with Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works, has chosen to walk away from the legendary rock group after more than five decades.
He shared: “After so many wonderful years with 10cc, I must admit that the rigours of touring are no longer manageable for me as I get older, and I feel it’s time to let go of the long hours in airports and endless travel on buses.
“I’m not planning to stop playing altogether. I will still perform but at a pace that feels right, working alongside old friends and a new group of fellow musicians called The Guilty Men.”
Frontman Graham Gouldman confessed that it will feel unusual to perform without his “longest-running musical associate.”
He explained: “When Paul and I first joined forces in 10cc, we never could have imagined that we’d still be at it after 30 years, let alone 52.
“Paul has been my longest musical partner and it will feel different to turn around and see another drummer, but I completely understand why he no longer wants to sit on a plane for 14 hours or wake up in a new hotel every day for weeks at a time.”
Ben Stone, who has previously played with Mike and The Mechanics and Bonnie Tyler, will be taking over on drums.
Paul, who had several runs with 10cc after joining in 1973, performed his final show with the I’m Not In Love band in Alexandria, Virginia this past September.
The group is set to continue their And Another Bloody Greatest Hits Tour in the UK next year.
