Latino columns, essays on movies, TV, and culture

Kanye West: His 6 Most Shocking Performance Moments!

Kanye West finally announced his “Yeezus†tour. It’s his first solo tour in five years. According to a press release Ye’s show will include “state-of-the-art staging, production, and lighting design with his unmatched aesthetic, visionary creative mind, and an increasingly impressive catalogue of hits spanning his decade-long career.”

Kendrick Lamar has been set as the opening act for some of the shows and there are other special guests yet to be announced. The 23-city, 7-week North American tour, kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 19, in Seattle and ends Dec. 7 in Houston. Tickets go on sale on Friday, Sept. 13.

But Besides the impressive light shows and numerous hit songs, the main reason to catch one of his shows is because this renowned rapper always brings the unexpected. From creative, to emotional, to controversial, let’s take a look back at some of Kanye’s most shocking and impressive performance moments. Read More

6 Singers That Should Follow Christina Aguilera’s Footsteps

In today’s market Latinos are the No. 1 purchasing consumers and by 2015 they will have the buying power of $1.5 trillion according to a 2012 Nielsen report. In music, artists need to strategize how they will attract this bilingual group, and of course for some it might be easier than others. The following six musicians have branded themselves as American artists, but have a Latin ancestry which makes them the representation of the new generations who speak both Spanish and English. Like Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, and the late Selena these six artists have the power to successfully play both sides – American and Latin – even if they don’t speak Spanish well, or at all. Read More

Happy Birthday Michael Jackson! 7 covers by Latino musicians

The late Michael Jackson was a singer, songwriter, dancer, businessman, philanthropist and without a question the biggest super star in the world. From the start of his career at the age of 6 till now, 4 years after his death, MJ has been one of the greatest contributors to pop culture due to his unique dance moves, music and fashion. Not only did the singer break race barriers, helping to pave the way for other black artists to emerge in the mainstream music scene, he also influenced many entertainers around the world (Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Jason Derulo, etc).

MJ’s music left an imprint so wide that he was able to inspire artists outside of his genre.  Did you know that Latin artists far and wide covered many of his songs? From Colombian cumbia to ballads to salsa. MJ even sang a song in Spanish – “Just Can’t Stop Loving You” from the “Bad” album titled “Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu”. Hopefully next year, Sony will be wise and create a tribute album in Spanish. Today, on what would have been his 55^th birthday – we are celebrating his music by bringing you 7 covers done by Latino artists. Read More

To Celebrate “I Have a Dream,” 9 modern socially conscious songs

THIS WEEK was the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream†speech. The American clergyman and activist delivered the speech in 1963, during the civil rights movement, at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of more than 250,000 people. In the speech King demanded the end of racism in the United States saying: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

At present, our country still faces many problems of equality, violence and even lack of self-love, but thankfully music is at the forefront bringing these issues to light and pushing for change. In celebration of King’s inspirational words we bring you nine socially conscious songs of today. From hip-pop, to punk, to pop, take a listen to these artists’ messages. Read More

Justin Bieber’s 4 Greatest WTF Moments!

Since the start of his career, Justin Bieber has been making headlines although as the years have passed, they have more-or-less turned from good to negative – and no, you can’t pin them on Selena Gomez. Here are the singer’s 4 most WTF moments. Read More

Lady Gaga Knows That Naked Sells Pop, But Does It Sell Art?

Lady Gaga recently took her eccentricity to the next level and got butt naked in the name of art, later announcing it to her fans via Twitter.

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How Selena Gomez Pushed Jay-Z Off The Billboard Top Spot

So let’s get straight to the point… just how did Selena Gomez manage to beat one of the greatest acts in hip-hop and for that matter in music? If you haven’t heard, this week Selena Gomez  bumped Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grailâ€Â off the top spot on the Billboard 200 outselling H.O.V.A  97,000 copies to 77,000 copies respectively. And just like that defeats hip-hop’s 5-week reign and makes pop music the king. Let’s just call it a combination of extremely faithful fans and smart marketing.

Here’s how it was done: Read More

Justin Timberlake’s ‘Take Back the Night’ Marks New Era In Music Marketing

For years record labels have marketed albums in a traditional way, but today in 2013 “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” In an era where the music business is suffering, innovation is the only way out!

This week was the world premiere of Justin Timberlake’s awaited “Take Back the Night” video.  The song is the first single from “The 20/20 Experience – 2 Of 2” and is in the top 10 in 20 markets on iTunes. In order to promote its debut JT’s team decided to take it to the next level and create an interactive experience for fans on http://takebacktn.justintimberlake.com/. Read More

Lady Gaga’s 5 Best “Applause” worthy moments!

Lady Gaga announced that her first single from her long-awaited forthcoming album/app ARTPOP is “Applause,” which will be available worldwide beginning August 19^th. Along with her announcement, Mother Monster also released the single’s artwork shot by Inez & Vinoodh. Check it out here: Read More