NEWS
Chimbala, Natti Natasha & El Alfa
Courtesy PhotoFirst Stream Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums, and videos recommended by the Billboard Latin editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
Natti Natasha, El Alfa, Chimbala, “WOW BB” (Pina Records/Sony Music Latin)
A more fitting title could not exist, as Natti Natasha managed to reel in two pioneers of the dembow movement for “WOW BB.” The flirtatious track, produced by B-One, DJ Luian, Mambo Kingz, and Raphy Pina, is a playful dembow about two men who are trying to swoon the same girl. She, however, is independent and is not impressed by their coquetry. More than a great summer anthem, “WOW BB” flaunts pure Dominican power as the three artists unite their distinct vocals and flow. The three artists officially debuted the song on television at the 2022 Premio Lo Nuestro. — JESSICA ROIZ
Maria Becerra, “Felices x Siempre” (300 Entertainment)
Argentinian singer-songwriter Maria Becerra released the first single off her upcoming second album. The pop-ballad perfectly fuses her lyrical versatility with the theme of a relationship that is over and was not meant to be “Happily Ever After.” This new track empowers new beginnings, where she lets her vulnerability shine in this heartfelt song. While Maria has dabbled in urban music in her previous songs, this is the start of a new era in her music career. — INGRID FAJARDO
El Fantasma, “Fuera De Servicio” (AfinArte Music)
Durango, Mexico-born singer-songwriter El Fantasma is making the rounds with his new banda anthem “Fuera De Servicio,” penned by Luciano Luna and Tony Montoya. The attitude-heavy corrido narrates his return to the forefront after a few obstacles challenged him along the way. “I struggled, but don’t worry, I know you’ll be there for me just how you had said back when I lend you a helping hand,” he sings. “My good luck has returned in case you want to come say hello again.” The track is powered by traditional Sinaloan band brass instruments that provide a canvas to El Fantasma’s emboldened lyrics. — GRISELDA FLORES
Rauw Alejandro, Trap Cake Vol. 2 (Sony Music Latin)
A follow up to his 2019 Trap Cake, Vol. 1, which featured collabs with Cazzu, De La Ghetto, and Jon Z, Rauw Alejandro delivers an equally star-studded Vol. 2 that includes songs with Future, Ty Dolla $ign, and Rvssian. The genre-blurring EP stays in tune with the Puerto Rican artist’s ever-so experimental essence. Treading between trap, rock, pop, and R&B, Alejandro kicks off the nine-track set with the sentimental heartbreak song “Museo.” But not all is heartbreak in Trap Cake Vol. 2, a standout track is “Wuepa” with Ankhal, a bonafide party anthem. — G.F.
VF7, 15 (Sora And Company 1)
VF7 dropped her sophomore studio album 15 on her quinceañera, which coincided with her first-ever nomination at the 2022 Premio Lo Nuestro. The Puerto Rican newcomer, a 2020 “Billboard Latin teen artist to have on your radar,” has already received the stamp of approval from reggaeton stars Rauw Alejandro, Jay Wheeler and Lunay, to name a few. On 15, she counts with collaborations from Nio Garcia (on the urban-bachata “Baila”) and Lyanno (on “Ya No Es =”), to name a few. The 14-track set kicks off with “Quince,” where the artist (real name: Valeria Fernandez) celebrates her sweet 15 by saying: “The more the years go by, the more hunger grows. Fear does not exist. Thank God for another year, 15 bro.” Way beyond her age, however, VF7 has evolved in her penmanship and melodies, experimenting with punk rock and perreo for a different approach. VF7 officially premiered her single “Restart” with Lele Pons, produced by Ninow & Candy, at the 34th annual Premio Lo Nuestro. — J.R.
Rubio, “Buena Suerte Muchacha” (Rubio)
Chilean singer-songwriter Rubio (real name Francisca Straube) gets deep and introspective in her new, piano-led single “Buena Suerte Muchacha,” which also serves as the theme song to Pantaya’s new series Señorita 89. A preview of her upcoming album, the track finds a nostalgic Rubio who is on a healing journey eager to find herself in the process. “Life is a game that if you don’t play, you become sick, with rocks in your backpack for not speaking from the heart,” she evocatively sings. — G.F.
NEWS
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe has given a live debut to a new solo song ‘The Rest Of Ever’ on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert – watch below.
The legendary singer has been working on his first full solo album for several years and while he has said in recent weeks that it has taken “longer than I wanted”, he has said he is now adding the finishing touches to the record, and has said it should be out in 2026.
On Thursday (April 23), Stipe appeared on Colbert to play the never-before-heard song ‘The Rest Of Ever’, alongside the house band Louis Cato and The Great Big Joy Machine.
The mature, contemplative track sounds like a slower-tempo version of an outtake from R.E.M.’s ‘Monster’, with Stipe earnestly addressing a loved one, embracing the deep huskiness of his current vocal register.
Watch the performance here:
Also on the show, Stipe attempted to describe the sound of his new album. “One of the songs is the sound of a tree hearing itself for the first time,” he said. “It’s this confusing situation. My friend recorded a tree in my backyard in Georgia and played it back to itself, and so it sounds like Daft Punk, but I’m putting a sea shanty [in the song].”
Colbert then asked which sea shanty it was, to which Stipe said, “It’s the most familiar that everyone knows,” before breaking into ‘Drunken Sailor’.
“The tree has not responded yet,” Stipe added. “We’re gonna let his people get back to my people and see what happens.”
Speaking about the album’s delay in March, Stipe said: “Covid didn’t help, but I’m finishing it. When the band split, I just needed a break. I took five years but I got pulled back into music. It’s been a struggle. That’s the main thing. I want it to be great, but I’ve got the pressure of having been in R.E.M. and it’s a high bar, because I want this to be as good as that, and that’s near impossible.”
Previous Stipe solo releases include the 2019 single ‘Your Capricious Soul’ and ‘Drive To The Ocean’ the following year. He also released ‘No Time For Love Like Now’ with Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine in 2020.
Last month, he also joined forces with Andrew Watt, Josh Klinghoffer and Travis Barker to share the new theme song for the show Rooster.
By all accounts, Stipe remains on good terms with his former R.E.M. bandmates – guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry – and they appeared together in summer 2024 when they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The band split amicably in 2011, while Berry had left the group during the height of their commercial success in 1997. However, at the ceremony, the quartet gave a surprise acoustic performance of their 1991 classic ‘Losing My Religion’. That marked the first time the four played live together since their 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Last month, Stipe joined Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy at one of their ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ 40th anniversary tour shows in Brooklyn. They played versions of R.E.M.’s ‘These Days’ and ‘The Great Beyond’. A year ago, he also sang ‘Pretty Persuasion’ with them.
Stipe has also been clarifying lyrics from ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ on Bluesky, revealing that many fans have been getting some of the lines wrong for decades.
