NorteñoBlog

Receiving an epic death bump on last week’s Hot Latin chart was singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer-equestrian Joan Sebastian, who recently succumbed to cancer at age 64:

On Hot Latin Songs, 11 of Sebastian’s tracks enter[ed] the chart — the most concurrent titles an act has ever had on the list. And, all of them are in the top half of the tally, including four in the top 10. One of his most memorable hits, “Un Idiota,” re-enters at No. 2 powered by 1.9 million weekly streams and 2,000 digital downloads sold in the week ending July 16 (up 2,306 percent according to Nielsen Music). “Un Idiota” originally peaked at No. 22 in 2001.

Note that none of these songs showed up on the Regional Mexican Songs airplay chart; Sebastian’s songs likely received more airplay than usual, but that bump didn’t coalesce around any one song. “Un Idiota” would have been a good candidate: two verses and choruses of gentle acoustic remorse, including spoken passages and a big “te AAAAAmo” chorus, it captures Sebastian’s knack for sounding traditional and poppy at once. (Alacranes Musical’s version displays a similar knack, although, as with every duranguense song, it requires that listeners shed any preconceptions about the emotional capacity of peppy synth polkas.) Listening to the smattering of Sebastian’s re-charting songs, it’s hard not to be impressed by the breadth of his catalog — the man could create pop ballads, uptempo synthpop, pedal steel country, mariachi, and Tejano with equal authority. His songs have begun drifting off the Hot Latin chart this week, so click on a few before they’re gone.

When we last encountered Duelo’s not-at-all-sexist tale of a heartless, icy, poisonous, murdering, dream-killing mujer, I wished it sounded more venomous. I have since shed my preconceptions about form following function and direct you to “Veneno,” this week’s Pick To Click and an excellent Tejano midtempo with a killer opening riff. (I can’t be the only one who hears Def Leppard’s “Hysteria.”) Singer Oscar Ivan Trevino regrets the venom flowing through his veins but sounds resolved to suck it out. Don’t try that at home.

Other nubes include a fine Tejano ballad from Conjunto Primavera ft. Intocable’s Ricky Munoz, although singing in the vicinity of Primavera’s Tony Melendez remains a fool’s errand; a fine Tejano midtempo from Intocable themselves; and Trakalosa’s “La Revancha,” whose melodramatic eight-minute video has things to say about Fate and Class and What Makes A Man Start Fires, or at least Beef Up And Kill Other Dudes. Driven by airplay and a new video with lots of slow-motion horses, Ariel Camacho’s elegiac “Te Metiste” climbs to #2 Hot Latin. Could he score his second posthumous #1?

In sadder news, Calibre 50’s latest boring ballad, already a big hit in Mexico, enters both charts. If history is any guide we’ll be changing the station on it for a while.

These are the top 25 Hot Latin Songs and top 20 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published August 8.

1. “El Perdón” – Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias
2. “Te Metiste” – Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho (#1 RegMex)
3. “Propuesta Indecente” – Romeo Santos (105 WEEKS OLD)
4. “La Gozadera” – Gente de Zona ft. Marc Anthony
5. “Ginza” – J Balvin
6. “Fanatica Sensual” – Plan B
7. “Hilito” – Romeo Santos
8. “Un Idiota” – Joan Sebastian
9. “Malditas Ganas” – El Komander (#2 RegMex)
10. “Me Gustas” – Joan Sebastian

11. “El Amor De Su Vida” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda (#6 RegMex)
12. “25 Rosas” – Joan Sebastian
13. “Mi Vicio Mas Grande” – Banda El Recodo (#3 RegMex)
14. “Pierdo la Cabeza” – Zion & Lennox
15. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos (#5 RegMex)
16. “Sigueme y Te Sigo” – Daddy Yankee
17. “La Mordidita” – Ricky Martin ft. Yotuel
18. “Perdido En Tus Ojos” – Don Omar ft. Natti Natasha
19. “El Perdedor” – Joan Sebastian
20. “El Cholo” – Gerardo Ortiz (#4 RegMex)

21. “El Taxi” – Pitbull ft. Sensato & Osmani Garcia
22. “Me Voy Enamorando (Remix)” – Chino & Nacho ft. Farruko
23. “Solita” – Prince Royce
24. “Aunque Ahora Estes Con El” – Calibre 50 (#9 RegMex)
25. “Duele El Amor” – Tony Dize

¡Adios!
“Hablame de Ti” – Banda MS (#5 RegMex) (snoooooozzzzzz)
“Nota de Amor” – Wisin + Carlos Vives ft. Daddy Yankee
“Contigo” – Calibre 50 (#9 RegMex)
“Mi Verdad” – Maná ft. Shakira
“Back It Up” – Prince Royce ft. Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull
“Como Antes” – Tito “El Bambino” ft. Zion & Lennox

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7. “Cuál Adiós” – La Bandononona Clave Nueva de Max Peraza
8. “Piénsalo” – Banda MS
10. “Un Desengaño” – Conjunto Primavera ft. Ricky Muñoz

11. “Bonito Y Bello” – La Septima Banda
12. “Unas Heladas” – Grupo Máximo Grado
13. “Debajo Del Sombrero” – Leandro Rios ft. Pancho Uresti
14. “La Revancha” – La Trakalosa de Monterrey
15. “Suena La Banda” – Los Tucanes de Tijuana ft. Código FN
16. “Cajita de Cartón” – Intocable
17. “Confesion” – Arrolladora
18. “Veneno” – Duelo
19. “A Lo Mejor” – Banda MS
20. “Vete Acostumbrando” – Larry Hernández

¡Adios!
“Que Tal Si Eres Tu” – Los Tigres Del Norte
“Si Te Vuelvo a Ver” – La Maquinaria Norteña
“Como Tu No Hay Dos” – Los Huracanes del Norte
“Calla y Me Besas” – Enigma Norteña