Bad Bunny "Yonaguni"
Courtesy PhotoBad Bunny adds another stripe to his belt with the debut of "Yonaguni." The Spanish-Japanese track arrives at Nos. 3 and 4 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated June 19), respectively.
"Yonaguni" bows a week after "100 Millones," Bad Bunny's collaboration with fellow Puerto Rican rapper Luar La L, opened at No. 143 on the Global 200.
(With its Japanese-language outro, "Yonaguni" follows the likes of NCT Dream's recent top-100 global chart hit "Hot Sauce" in mixing Spanish with elements of Asian culture, although unlike the South Korean boy band's fusion, Bad Bunny hits the top five of both global charts without including any passages in English.)
These two consecutive debuts highlight Bad Bunny not only as one of the leading Latin artists in the world but as something of an anomaly in the genre. Both songs have so far performed better on the Global 200 than the Global Excl. U.S. chart, a rarity among Spanish-language music.
Latin music hubs such as Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina have uniformly been over-represented on the Global Excl. U.S. chart compared to the Global 200. Acts from those four territories combined have occupied 24% of the Global Excl. U.S. chart since its launch last September, compared to 16% of the Global 200, per acts' total chart weeks.
A similar pattern emerges among individual artists. Also based on total chart weeks, Myke Towers is the only Latin act among the Global 200's top 10 artists so far. In the Global Excl. U.S. chart's top 10, however, Towers is joined by Rauw Alejandro, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Camilo. Spanish-language songs have spent a combined 75 weeks in the Global Excl. U.S. chart's top 10, versus 38, or nearly half that total, on the Global 200.
By song, by artist and as an entire genre, Latin music has, without qualification, performed better internationally than in the U.S. since the global charts began (even when Puerto Rican data is removed from the Global Excl. U.S. chart).
Bad Bunny, Billboard's reigning year-end Top Latin Artist for 2019 and 2020, transcends the genre's typical geographical borders. Going back further, when he released El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo in November, he landed all 15 tracks from the set on both global charts. While lead single "Dákiti" topped both rankings, 12 of the other 14 songs charted higher on the Global 200, by an average of 15 spots.
Aside from one-off collaborations with Drake (2018's "MIA") and Dua Lipa (2020's "Un Dia [One Day]," also with J Balvin and Tainy), his albums have eschewed big-name American duet partners or bilingual lyrics. Instead, he has stuck exclusively to Spanish and focused on showcasing urbano legends like Daddy Yankee and Jowell & Randy and up-and-coming alternative acts such as Rosalía and Abra.
Wrote Eduardo Cepeda about Bad Bunny in a 2019 Billboard cover story, "(He's) unapologetically, even joyfully, genuine and honest, at a time in this country when voters and music fans alike seem to be craving authenticity." In the same feature, Bad Bunny mused, "When I came into this industry, I was never afraid to be myself. I just always thought, 'What's the worst that could happen?' "
The estate of Prince has shared a previously unheard recording of “With This Tear,” a track the late icon originally wrote before passing it on to Celine Dion in the early 1990s.
The newly revealed version, released through NPG Records and Legacy Recordings, presents Prince’s own recording of the piano driven ballad, fully written, produced and performed by him. It was initially recorded at Paisley Park in November 1991 and had stayed in the vault until now.
Dion’s interpretation of “With This Tear” was included on her 1992 self titled album, highlighting one of many moments where Prince created songs for other artists while holding back his own versions. His original recording feels more minimal, putting the focus on his vocals and piano arrangement.
The newly issued version has been given an updated mix by Grammy nominated producer Chris James, who has worked on several Prince related releases before. This drop is part of the Prince Estate’s ongoing effort to open up more of his deep archive of unreleased music.
The release arrives at a meaningful moment, just ahead of the 10th anniversary of Prince’s passing. Since 2016, a consistent flow of archival material including deluxe reissues, vault recordings and rare collaborations has kept his legacy active in today’s music landscape while offering a closer look at how much he created.
“With This Tear” also highlights Prince’s long established role as a songwriter for others. Across his career, he wrote and produced tracks for a wide range of artists, often shaping songs that evolved into entirely new identities outside his own discography.
The release comes amid growing attention around Prince’s archive in recent years. In 2024, a demo of “Baby Doll,” an unreleased collaboration between Prince and Kylie Minogue, surfaced online and showed just how much material still remains unheard.
While there has been no official confirmation of a larger vault project, reports continue to suggest that more archival releases could be on the way.
