Entertainment

Ozuna Shatters World Records, Honored With Four Guinness World Record Titles

By September 9, 2019 at 2:23 pm
guinessworldrecords / Instagram

Dominican and Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer Ozuna, born Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado, has broken four Guinness World Records. Ozuna has been a disruptive force in music as he steadily climbed the ranks from up-and-comer to streaming powerhouse. His success comes as Latin artists like Maluma, J Balvin, and Bad Bunny continue their chart domination in the years leading up to the decade’s end. 

While first known for his features, in 2017, the artist released the single “La Modelo” featuring Cardi B. The track debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 marking Ozuna’s first time charting as a lead act. By 2018, his second studio album debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200. In 2018, he was the most-viewed artist in the world on YouTube. 

Ozuna Breaks Four Guinness World Records

Credit: Ozuna / Instagram

Ozuna is set to be featured in Guinness World Records 2020 based on the success of his last two albums. The first is for “Most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart (male).” The album Odisea spent 46 non-consecutive weeks at number 1 during the duration period of September 16, 2017 to September 1, 2018. Next, it’s honoring Ozuna’s 11 Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2019 with “Most Billboard Latin Music Award wins for a single artist in a single year.”

And bye bye, Justin Bieber!

If you need more proof the Billboard Latin Music Awards loves Ozuna well check out his third honor; “Most Billboard Latin Music Award nominations for a single artist in a single year,” with 23 nominations. Lastly, Ozuna has achieved a huge milestone with “Artist with the most videos to reach one billion views on YouTube,” for the songs “Criminal,” “Te Bote,” “El Farsante,” “Ahora Dice,” “Escápate Conmigo,” “Se Preparó” and “Taki Taki.” 

The milestone is massive because Ozuna had to dethrone, none other than, Justin Bieber to do so. 

Look, mami! 

Credit: guinessworldrecords / Instagram

“Mira Mami estoy en los “Récord Guinness,” Ozuna captioned a photo of himself holding all four framed records with some help. This is definitely one of those “look mom” moments. 

“I feel honored to receive these [Guinness World Records] titles, which validates how hard we’ve been working for the past years. I dedicate this, first of all, to God, and to my fans from around the world, who have been there supporting me since the beginning of my career. I am thankful to Guinness World Records for this important recognition,” Ozuna told Guinness.

More Latinos are breaking Guinness World Records than ever before.

Credit: guinessworldrecords / Instagram

“Congratulations to Puerto Rican singer and songwriter, Jan Carlos Ozuna, commonly known as @Ozuna, has been awarded four Guinness World Records titles for his music achievements.⁣ Featured in Guinness World Records 2020, he has obtained the following records based on the triumph of his latest two albums,” Guinness wrote on Instagram.

The glow up appears to be continuing as Latinxs gain more traction and visibility in the mainstream. 

 “More and more Latinos, especially Puerto Ricans are headlining the lists of world records,” said Ralph Hannah, Official Adjudicator of Guinness World Records in a press statement. “The passion and enthusiasm that characterizes these stars have seen them reach the top of our rankings.”   

Ozuna’s journey to the top.

Credit: Ozuna / Instagram

Born to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ozuna began composing music at age 12. The 2015 track “La ocasión” featuring Anuel AA and Archangel catapulted him into the Latin trap ranks when it reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. In 2017, he signed a recording deal with Sony Music Latin. 

Like many Latinx artists, Ozuna’s popularity success can be attributed to global popularity particularly in Latin America. Moreover, unlike other contemporaries, Ozuna is known for creating songs with sexually explicit lyrics that don’t objectify or demean women — making his music all the more accessible. 

In 2019, Ozuna was named Latin composer of the year at the Billboard Music Awards and one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. The artist’s next album Nibiru is poised for release this month and will inevitably span more record-breaking moments. 

Elevating Latinx Artists

Credit: Ozuna / Instagram

Ozuna hopes to pave the way for others all the while exporting Latinx culture to the world. It’s time the United States get a little more bilingual, and we agree. 

“I want Latino culture to truly break into the United States, because it really hasn’t yet,” Ozuna told ET. “There isn’t enough mainstream art that centers on Latino identity. All the time it’s ‘English, English, English.’ If I have the opportunity of having so many followers, and helping to take Latino artists and culture to the mainstream, I’m not going to selfishly throw it away because I learned English and can ‘cross over.”

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Music’s Biggest Night Is Officially Postponed As COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc On California

Entertainment

Music’s Biggest Night Is Officially Postponed As COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc On California

By January 8, 2021 at 1:11 pm
BY  | January 8, 2021 AT 1:11 pm
Kevin Winter / Getty

The 2021 Grammys won’t be taking place as expected at the end of the month. According to Rolling Stone, the Grammys have been postponed indefinitely thanks to the extreme surge of COVID-19 cases in the Los Angeles area – which is where the Grammys take place year after year.

The shocking surge in cases of COVID-19 have forced the Grammys to postpone the award show.

It was announced just this week that Los Angeles County – which is currently experiencing one the worst outbreaks in the world – is seeing someone die of COVID-19 every 15 minutes. Meanwhile, a reported 7,600 people in LA are hospitalized with COVID symptoms.

As many Angelenos – and Americans across the country – remain under strict stay-at-home orders, it would definitely not seem right to move forward with a glitzy award show that would risk making the outbreak worse.

As a result, the Grammys are planning a limited production event to take place in March, according to The Fader. In other words, no live audience and only performers and presenters on-site. Nominees and winners would likely accept their awards remotely like many of last year’s award ceremonies during the first wave of the pandemic.

This year’s Grammys were expected to feature big moments for the Latin music industry.

Bad Bunny was expected to pick up awards and was rumored as a performer. Other Latino nominees included J Balvin, Camilo, Arca and Lido Pimienta. Meanwhile, Selena was also scheduled to receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award that her family was planning to accept on her behalf.

Original Story Posted November 10, 2020:

Seriously, it was just last year that some of the world’s most popular artists – reggaetoneros and trap artists like Bad Bunny and J Balvin – were completely ignored. I mean it was so serious there was even a hashtag: “Sin Reggaetón, No Hay Grammy.”

At the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards, the top award categories very conspicuously left out these very artists. However, this year they’re dominating all the categories and bringing in a record number of nominations.

The 2020 Latin Grammy nominations are in and they definitely do a better job at representing the community than last year’s.

In 2019, the Latin Grammy’s went viral but really for all the wrong reasons. social media exploded as Latin artists posted images of the Grammy logo with a large red “X″ across it, with words on the image reading in Spanish: “Without reggaeton, there’s no Latin Grammys.” Balvin even skipped the live show and Bad Bunny, who won best urban music album during the telecast, told the audience: “With all due respect, reggaeton is part of the Latin culture.”

This definitely forced the Grammy’s to reconsider this year’s awards.

“Over the last year, we continued engaging in discussions with our members to improve the awards process and actively encouraged diverse Latin music creators to join and participate,” Latin Academy President and CEO Gabriel Abaroa Jr. said in a statement, calling this year’s nominees “a group that reflects the constant evolution of Latin music.”

To honor Latin rap and reggaeton performers, the Latin Grammys added new categories this year, including best reggaeton performance and best rap/hip-hop song.

J Balvin leads the pack with an astonishing 13 Grammy nominations.

In announcing this year’s nominees, J Balvin is in the lead with 13 total nods, including two nominations Album of the year, thanks to his own album Colores and his collab with Bad Bunny, OASIS.

The Colombian reggaetonero has a chance to win his first album of the year prize — a category with 10 contenders – and his chances look pretty good. However, even if he doesn’t pick up that, he’s in the running for several other awards.

Bad Bunny is close behind with nine nominations for what was a record-breaking year for the artist.

Bad Bunny is included in the Album of the Year category for his album YHLQMDLG (which was this year’s best-selling Latin album), however, his surprise album, LAS QUE NO IBAN A SALIR, wasn’t recognized in any category.

In the Best Urban album category, Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG is up against Anuel AA’s Emmanuel, Benito’s Oasis with J Balvin, Balvin’s Colores, Feid’s Ferxxo: Vol. 1 M.O.R., Ozuna’s Nibiru, Sech’s 1 of 1, and rising Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers’Easy Money Baby.

Meanwhile, the Album of the Year category could get pretty interesting with this caliber of nominees.

This year’s Album of the Year category prove what an incredible year 2020 was for Latin music. We were blessed with hit after hit which was all the more important considering what a traumatic year it’s been.

Bad Bunny and J Balvin are both competing for the award. San Benito’s YHLQMDLG faces off against Balvin’s Colores and their joint album OASIS. Meanwhile, albums from Camilo (Por Primera Vez), Ricky Martin (PAUSA EP), and Kany García (Mesa Para Dos), are all up for the same award. What’s extra special about this category this year is that it’s also featuring three nominees from the LGBTQ community.

This year’s top-selling record, “Tusa”, is also up for a Grammy.

Colombian reggaetonera Karol G along with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj are nominated for this hit song that has just blown up the airwaves this entire year.

“Tusa” is the sole Latin trap nominee in the song of the year category, where 11 tracks are in contention. It’s a departure for Karol G, who didn’t receive a single nomination last year and was part of the group of uber-successful Latin trap and reggaeton artists who were dissed in top categories like album, song and record of the year. This year, the Colombian performer who was named best new artist in 2018 has four nominations, including two shared with Minaj.

It’s encouraging to see the academy actually reflect what is happening in Latin music. The inclusion of this larger variety of artists helps illustrate just how diverse the Latin music industry really is. But to see who actually takes home the awards will be a different story. The Latin Grammy Awards will air live from Miami on Nov. 19 on Univision.

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Bad BunnyCOVID-19J BalvinLatin Grammy AwardsOzuna

Bad Bunny Talks Depression And Says Sometimes He Still Feels Like The Boy Who Bagged Groceries Back Home

Entertainment

Bad Bunny Talks Depression And Says Sometimes He Still Feels Like The Boy Who Bagged Groceries Back Home

By at 12:54 pm
BY  | January 8, 2021 AT 12:54 pm
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Bad Bunny is on top of the world. Or, at least, that’s how it appears to all of us on the outside enjoying his record-breaking year. Not only did he release three albums in 2020 but he also landed his debut acting role in the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico and from his Instagram stories, he seems to be in a happy, contentful relationship.

But like so many others, Bad Bunny has his experience with mental health issues, of which he recently opened up about in an interview with El País.

Bad Bunny recently spoke up about his struggle with depression.

Despite his immense success that’s catapulted him to, arguably, the world’s biggest superstar, Bad Bunny admits that sometimes he still feels like the young man who bagged groceries in a supermarket.

The reggaetonero revealed in an interview with El País that right as his career really started to take off, he was not happy. “You asked me before how I hadn’t gone crazy. Well, I think that was the moment that was going to determine if I was going to go crazy or not. From 2016 to 2018 I disappeared, I was stuck in a capsule, without knowing anything. The world saw me, but I was missing,” he said.

Although no doctor diagnosed him, he is sure of what was happening. it only did he feel lost and empty but he had stopped doing many of the things that brought him joy, like watching movies and boxing. Without realizing it, he had also fallen out of contact with much of his family, with whom he was typically very close.

“And that’s when I said: who am I? What’s going on?” he told El País. When he returned home to Puerto Rico from spending time in Argentina, he was able to get back into the right state of mind and remember who he was.

Despite his success, Bad Bunny still worries he’s in financial trouble.

Although today, he is the number one Latin artist on Spotify and the awards for his music keep coming, there are times when Bad Bunny still thinks that he has financial problems.

“Not long ago, I was 100% clear in my head what I have achieved, maybe a year or six months ago; but until then, many times I forgot, I felt that I was the kid from the supermarket. He would happen something and say: “Hell!” And then: “Ah, no, wait, if I have here,” he said, touching his pocket.

Much like Bad Bunny, J Balvin has also been candid about his own mental health struggles.

Bad Bunny is just the most recent to speak to the emotional havoc he experiences despite being a global superstar. And, thankfully, like many other celebrities, he’s been able to find refuge in a reality that allows him to keep his feet on the ground so that he too can enjoy the achievements of his career.

Much like El Conejo, J Balvin is known for the brightness of his style and mentality. But he’s long addressed the importance of caring for one’s mental health. During his Arcoíris Tour, he encouraged people to not be ashamed of seeking professional help, and let the audience know they are not alone.   

“Las enfermedades de salud mental son una realidad. Yo he sufrido de depresión y he sufrido de ansiedad, así que tengo que aceptarlo. Y eso me hace más humano, me hace entender que la vida tiene pruebas,” Balvin said. “Pero si alguien está pasando una situación difícil, no están solos, siempre llega la luz. Tarde o temprano llega la luz.”  

“Mental health illnesses are a reality. I have suffered from depression and anxiety, so I have to accept it. And this makes me more human. It makes me understand that life has challenges,” Balvin said in Spanish. “But if someone is going through a difficult time, they are not alone, light always comes. Sooner or later, the light comes.”  

We need more men like Benito and J Balvin to speak up about their mental health struggles, to help destroy the stigma that exists within our community.

And in the same interview, he also spoke about why he works to elevate the Spanish language.

As for the possibility of singing in English, the answer remains the same: a resounding no.

“You have to break this view that the gringos are Gods…No, papi,” he told El País. And, although he’s collaborated with artists like Drake, Cardi B and Jennifer Lopez, he has always sang in Spanish and with his famous accent.

“I am very proud to reach the level where we are speaking in Spanish, and not only in Spanish, but in the Spanish that we speak in Puerto Rico. Without changing the accent,” he said.

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Bad BunnyMental HealthMusicPuerto Rico