Madonna and Maluma surprised fans Saturday (Feb. 23) by sharing photos of themselves together in the recording studio.
Maluma first posted a picture of himself sitting next to Madonna, and hours later the Queen of Pop shared another photo of herself with the Colombian heartthrob at the studio.
“Cooking up some Fuego over here,” Madonna captioned the photo.
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With this collaboration, Madonna now joins the prestigious list of superstar who have work with Latin artists, including Janet Jackson, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez.
Will Madonna sing completely in Spanish? We’ll just have to wait to find out. In the meantime, see photos of the pair in the recording studio below.
Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin brand, announced on Twitter Friday (Feb. 15) that he’s organizing a massive concert in Cúcuta, Colombia –at the Colombia-Venezuela border—that seeks to raise humanitarian aid for Venezuela.
The Venezuela Aid Live concert is slated to take place Friday, Feb. 22, and is put together with a coalition of people, including Colombian entrepreneurs Ricardo Leyva and Bruno Ocampo. Although names of performing artists have not been officially announced, management sources confirmed to Billboard that Carlos Vives, Juanes, Luis Fonsi, Lele Pons, Maluma, Fonseca, Rudy Mancuso and Alesso among many others, are confirmed to appear and/or perform. The concert will be live streamed around the world with the goal of raising $100 million in 60 days.
Richard Branson
✔@richardbranson
The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela worsens every day. Join Venezuela Aid Live, support the cause to help the country’s suffering people https://venezuelaaidlive.com
Lele Pons Talks About Her First Solo Performance for “Celoso” at 2018 Latin AMAs | Billboard
Organizers told Billboard the objective of the concert is not just to raise funds, but also raise global awareness on Venezuela’s dire situation and push for the border to be opened to allow for the passing of humanitarian aid and supplies. Currently, the Nicolás Maduro’s regime has shut down the border. Organizers also said the concert will be funded entirely through donations.
In a blog post, Branson said: “I know a thing or two about the music business, and I’m old enough to remember how George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh and Bob Geldof’s LiveAid moved the world to action. And so I’ve offered to help organise an international benefit concert, Venezuela Aid Live.
“Working alongside a passionate coalition of partners, we were able to confirm a fantastic line-up of top Latin American and global artists, who are donating their time and their talent to bring worldwide attention to this crisis and raise funds for essential humanitarian aid.”
In the same blog post, Branson said funds raised “will be held in a secure trust and distributed in coordination with national and international humanitarian aid organisations.”
Despite increased calls for action from the international community at large, massive protests inside Venezuela, and despite the fact that opposition leader Juan Guaidó self-declared himself president, Nicolás Maduro remains in power in Venezuela.
Ozuna‘s record 23 nominations for the 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awardsunderscore a significant moment for Latin music in the United States. The genre is not only at the forefront of pop culture — the Grammy Awards telecast opened with Camila Cabello, J Balvin and Ricky Martin — it’s seeing outsize success with streaming, urban music and collaborations.
Ozuna is competing against himself in a variety of categories. For the top Latin album of the year, his 2018 LP, Aura, goes head-to-head against 2017’s Odisea; for hot Latin song of the year, he’s featured on “Taki Taki” and “Te Boté,” a trap/reggaetón who’s who that also includes Nicky Jam and Bad Bunny. Meanwhile, “Te Boté” and “El Farsante,” his duet with Romeo Santos, are both nominated for streaming song of the year. (Nominees and winners are determined by the sales, streaming, radio airplay and social data informing Billboard‘s charts.)
Other top nominees are also collaborations. Balvin and Jam have 13 nominations each, including six for their joint hit “X (Equis).” Bad Bunny has 12, eight of which are collaborations. Only Daddy Yankee, who has eight nods, has a solo track, “Dura,” up for an award.
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The boom in collaborations among urban Latin acts has, in turn, boosted the streaming numbers that power Latin music. “Aside from their fundamental, artistic component, collabs also play a strategic role,” explains Sony Music U.S. Latin president Alex Gallardo. “You can take advantage of the official channels and social media of featured artists, plus those markets where they’re strong.”
Streaming accounted for 91 percent of all U.S. Latin music revenue, according to the RIAA’s 2018 midyear report, compared with 75 percent for the market overall. And, according to Nielsen Music, Latin music accounted for 18.4 percent of the total video streaming marketplace in 2018, a massive over-index for the genre.
“Consistency is everything,” says Bad Bunny manager Noah Assad, explaining why his client has released over 100 songs in barely three years. “We want him everywhere.”
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Karol G and Natti Natasha became the first women to be nominated in the best new artist category in at least six years. And for tour of the year, tradition prevailed, with nominations for Luis Miguel, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, proof that roots music has more appeal than urban on the live circuit.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards will air live from Las Vegas on Telemundo on April 25.
