The music in Spanish It has been a global trend for a long time. A decade ago it conquered North America and expanded throughout Europe under the wing of a new breed of Spanish performers. And Latin artists will go even further in 2024. In the United States, the penetration of the Mexican population is estimated to grow different genres in Spanish by 60% according to Luminate, the consulting firm that annually publishes a 360-degree review of the music industry.
It grew more than 24.1% in the United States last year. And it now represents 8.1% of music streams. There, six Latin artists garnered more than one billion views: Bad Bunny, Karol G, Junior H, Regulated Force, Featherweight and Armed Link. Regional Mexican music is the emerging subgenre in that universe, with stars like Armado and Pluma, who came together for the hit “She Baila Sola” in 2023.
The niche accumulated 21.9 billion views in the US between video and audio, and leverages other artists such as Carin León and Grupo Frontera, to name a few, and promotes collaborations with Anglo artists: Marshmello invited Peso Pluma and Jesús Ortiz Paz of Fuerza Regida to join him on stage; and Deorro, who had already joined forces with The Tijuana toucans in 2022 (“Yo Las Pongo”), released a remix of the box office hit Armed Link and Featherweight “She dances Alone”. Sierra artist DannyLux also experimented with EDM on his latest album, DLux, delivering “House of Lux”, designed for clubs.
Cumbia
Behind the Mexican boom, a growth in Tejano or Tex-Mex music is expected, which has undergone a transformation in recent times. This genre that gained popularity in the 90s thanks to artists such as Selena y Los Dinos, La Mafia and Grupo Límite, is reborn with Grupo Frontera: after going viral on social networks with their northern interpretation of “No Se Va” in 2022, They introduced Tejano music to a new generation. And something similar happens with The blue Angels and Mexican cumbia, a rage from Texas to Buenos Aires: they performed at the Movistar Arena and recorded with cazzu (“You and You”) and Maria Becerra (“The Love of my Life”) in 2023.
And the cumbia in all its subgenres (chicha, sonidera, norteña, villera, etc.) will have massive growth in 2024. In Argentina with a return to cumbia villera: there it is Flor Alvarez, one of the artists highlighted by Billboard’s On the Radar, who with her husky but sugary voice has become a viral sensation on social networks by covering cumbia songs. But there is also cumba cheta with Fer Vázquez (Rombai), and a fresh sound for a new fan base.
“And also bachata is becoming more popular as it merges with different musical genres, such as R&B, pop, electronic, hip-hop and trap. It is very common to see pop and urban artists recording bachata in their singles and achieving great acceptance, even without originally being bachateros,” explains Emiliano Vásquez, A&R at Sony Music Latin: María Becerra and Enrique Iglesias, Sofía Reyes signed up there in 2023 , Beele and Chayanne.
Feats
Finally, collaborations between music artists will continue to be the order of the day. Over the past five years, artists like Karol G and Tiësto (“Don’t Be Shy”), Steve Aoki, Elvis Crespo, Daddy Yankee and Play-N-Skillz, (“Azukita”), and J Balvin and Skrillex (“In Da Getto”) found immediate success with collaborations by remixed reggaeton designed for bowling.
And in 2023, collaborations between Afrobeats and Latin music artists have been increasingly notable: with an entire album dedicated to the genre, “Afro” from the Puerto Rican hitmaker Ozuna, which includes duets with Nigerian musicians Davido (“Eva Longoria”) and Omah Lay (“Soso Remix”). And the live performance of Nigerian star Burna Boy alongside Brazilian Anitta in the 2023 UEFA Champions League final is added. And Colombian urban star Feid released “Bubalu” with Nigerian sensation Rema, who had a great year with his mega hit “Calm Down”, supported by Selena Gómez.
But this is not the only international rhythm that flirts with the Latin world. Camilo recorded “Palpita”, with the Indian singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh. YJ Balvin and Tainy released “Voodoo” with rapper and singer Badsha, after several hits driven by Middle Eastern sounds such as “Arhbo” by Ozuna, “Ulayeh” by Sebastián Yatra and “Tukoh Taka” by Maluma. A path that represents the final opening of Latinos to the Asian market.
by RN
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