NorteñoBlog

The unlikeliest song on this week’s hit parade is “Mi 45,” by man-myth-legend and all around mysterious dude El Fantasma. In the year since NorteñoBlog first dug this ghostly apparition’s indie debut album, Equipo Armado (AfinArte), we have learned a couple things about him. First, that his real name is Alexander García. Second, that he’s known as “El Rey Del Underground,” if only to his madre. Third, that he’s playing my neck of the woods this weekend, so if you’re near Chicago and you wanna hear some ace corridos, check out his Facebook page. Fourth… actually, that’s it. El Fantasma keeps everything close to the vest.

Including, it turns out, his 45. This hit corrido, #35 on the big chart and #20 on the radio, has inspired a round of Hasty Cartel Googling that hasn’t yielded much, except that El Fantasma’s narrator is somehow involved in the Sinaloa Cartel. He’s still firm with El Chapo’s sons Ivan and Alfredito, whose Instagram personas out-smarm the Trump brothers’. He may be hiding out in the wilderness with his 45, biding his time or doomsday prepping. NorteñoBlog also can’t tell why the song’s hitting now — hometown pride? riding the Sierreño wave? — or even which version is the hit — the fiery guitar/tuba original, or the just-wild-enough banda remake? El Fantasma: still an international man of mystery!

A belated Pick to Click:

Despite my journalistic deficiencies, I was able to get to the bottom of Grupo H-100‘s name. The quintet is at #39 on the airplay chart with the title ballad from its decent, overlong third album Ya Me Vi Contigo (Alianza/Disa). (Rhythm section: amazing. Corrido songwriting: samey. Might still prove an ambient classic, or at least a grower.) When the band was starting out, lead singer Jasiel, who’s a bit of a gordito, pointed out that if he stood between his hermano delgado Luis and their rotund accordion-playing companion Juancarlos, they’d look like the number 100. The “H” stands for “Hombres.” Their name has nothing to do with Hyundai’s newest all-purpose multi-cab for the aspiring entrepreneur. Just so you know.

Speaking of young guys, Sierreño dude Nano Machado and banda teenybopper Jonatan Sanchez are lighting up the airwaves with their youthful sheens, at least until listeners realize their songs are boring. Well, Machado’s is boring. Sanchez’s song has the virtues of a tuba-driven backbeat and an unusual metaphor: he compares the woman he loves to a number of transparent things, like a crystal ball, water, and air. Sadly no cellophane — she could wrap up his heart and keep it fresh or something. Don’t miss the video, where a benevolent Sanchez wanders through the memories of two aging lovers, finally sprinkling the comatose one with some sort of dust — either fairy or angel — that pulls him forth from his slumber.

At #3 airplay and #28 on the big chart, we find another newbie, Raúl Casillas, who wrote “Cuanto Cuesta” for Banda Los Recoditos and is now hitting with his own romantic thing, the midtempo banda tune “A Poco.” (As in: how much do I like this song?) “A Poco” is notable mainly because, if you hear it on the radio, you might mistake Casillas for Regulo Caro, as NorteñoBlog has been doing.

These are the top 50 Hot Latin Songs and top 20 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published March 25.

1. “Despacito” – Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee
2. “Chantaje” – Shakira ft. Maluma
3. “El Amante” – Nicky Jam
4. “Subeme La Radio” – Enrique Iglesias ft. Descemer Bueno, Zion & Lennox
5. “Adios Amor” – Christian Nodal (#2 RegMex)
6. “Siempre Te Voy a Querer” – Calibre 50 (#1 RegMex)
7. “Héroe Favorito” – Romeo Santos
8. “Reggaeton Lento (Bailemos)” – CNCO
9. “Dile Que Tu Me Quieres” – Ozuna (27 weeks!)
10. “Otra Vez” – Zion & Lennox ft. J Balvin (31 weeks!)

11. “Vente Pa’ Ca” – Ricky Martin ft. Maluma
12. “Sigo Extrañandote” – J Balvin
13. “Vacaciones” – Wisin
14. “Te Quiero Pa’ Mi” – Don Omar & Zion & Lennox
15. “Deja Vu” – Prince Royce & Shakira
16. “Te Regalo” – Ulices Chaidez y Sus Plebes (#9 RegMex)
17. “Culpable Tu” – Alta Consigna (#17 RegMex)
18. “Afuera Esta Lloviendo” – Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda (#4 RegMex)
19. “Cuatro Babys” – Maluma ft. Bryant Myers x Noriel x Juhn
20. “Regresa Hermosa” – Gerardo Ortiz (#7 RegMex)

21. “Ya No Me Duele Más” – Silvestre Dangand ft. Farruko
22. “Otra Cosa” – Daddy Yankee & Natti Natasha
23. “Dime Que Se Siente” – Luis Coronel (#5 RegMex)
24. “Tú No Vive Así” – Mambo Kingz & DJ Luian presenta Arcangel x Bad Bunny
25. “Al Filo de Tu Amor” – Carlos Vives
26. “Es Tuyo Mi Amor” – Banda MS (#12 RegMex)
27. “El Paciente” – Alfredo Olivas (#11 RegMex)
28. “A Poco” – Raúl Casillas (#3 RegMex)
29. “Hermosa Ingrata” – Juanes
30. “Hula Hoop” – Daddy Yankee

31. “Pa’ Que No Me Anden Contando” – Voz de Mando (#8 RegMex)
32. “A Ver a Que Horas” – Banda Carnaval (#6 RegMex)
33. “Todo Cambio” – Becky G
34. “En La Intimidad” – Ozuna
35. “Mi 45” – El Fantasma (#20 RegMex)
36. “Si Tu Novio Te Deja Solo” – J Balvin ft. Bad Bunny
37. “Sola” – Anuel AA ft. Daddy Yankee, Wisin, Farruko y Zion & Lennox
38. “Me Llamas” – Piso 21 ft. Maluma
39. “Manicomio” – Cosculluela
40. “Vale La Pena” – Banda El Recodo (#10 RegMex)

41. “Moneda” – Prince Royce ft. Gerardo Ortiz
42. “Si Una Vez” – Play-N-Skillz ft. Wisin, Frankie J, & Leslie Grace
43. “Me Está Tirando el Rollo” – Banda Los Recoditos (#13 RegMex)
44. “Ando Bien” – Omar Ruiz ft. Gerardo Ortiz (#25 RegMex)
45. “Que Gano Olvidandote” – Reik
46. “Sería Un Error” – Regulo Caro (#28 RegMex)
47. “Haters” – J Alvarez
48. “Soy Peor” – Bad Bunny
49. “Hello” – Karol G & Ozuna
50. “Te Vas” – Ozuna

¡Adios!
“Chillax” – Farruko ft. Ky-Mani Marley (31 weeks!)
“Sin Contrato” – Maluma ft. Fifth Harmony
“Safari” – J Balvin ft. Pharrell Williams, BIA & Sky (26 weeks!)
“Hasta El Amanecer” – Nicky Jam (55 weeks!)
“Shaky Shaky” – Daddy Yankee (39 weeks!)
“Olvidame y Pega la Vuelta” – Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony
“No Quiere Enamorarse” – Ozuna ft. Daddy Yankee
“Por El Momento” – Nicky Jam ft. Plan B
“Corazon de Seda” – Klasico ft. Ozuna
“Traicionera” – Sebastián Yatra
“El Chisme” – Reykon
“Amorcito Enfermito” – Hector Acosta “El Torito”
“La Mala y La Buena” – Alex Sensation + Gente de Zona

—————–

14. “Como Si Fuera Real” – La Maquinaria Norteña
15. “Transparente” – Jonatan Sanchez
16. “Que Caro Estoy Pagando” – La Adictiva Banda
18. “Arrepentido” – Intocable
19. “Por Eso Volvi” – Nano Machado y Los Keridos

21. “El Mas Grande Amor” – Cheyo Carrillo
22. “Se Defiende” – La Séptima Banda
23. “Al Por Mayor” – Los Tucanes de Tijuana
24. “Tendrás Que Renunciar a Mi” – Los de la Noria
26. “Los Angeles Existen” – Pesado
27. “Eso Si Me Dolió” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
29. “Ya No Me Perteneces” – Siggno
30. “Amar a Mi Nivel” – Los Huracanes del Norte

31. “Durmiendo En El Lugar Equivoca” – La Adictiva Banda
32. “Eres Vida” – Duelo
33. “Caricias Clandestinas” – Remmy Valenzuela
34. “Hasta Que Amanezca” – Lucero
35. “La Fiesta Comenzó” – La Arrolladora Banda
36. “Sin Esencia” – La Poderosa Banda San Juan
37. “El Hombre del Equipo” – Grupo Maximo Grado
38. “Un Hombre Con Suerte” – Duelo
39. “Ya Me Vi Contigo” – Grupo H-100
40. “Cositas Malas” – La Leyenda

¡Adios!
“El Mayor de Mis Antojos” – La Original Banda El Limón
“Volé, Soñé y La Ame” – Norteño 4.5
“El Popeye” – Fuerza de Tijuana
“Hoy Me Toca Perder” – La Energia Norteña
“Cóctel de Olvido” – Leandro Ríos
“Ya Me Vi” – El Dasa
“Por Enamorarme” – Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho
“No Lo Hice Bien” – Los Plebes Del Rancho de Ariel Camacho
“El México Americano” – El Komander
“En Estos Dias” – Regulo Caro
“Tengo Que Colgar” – Banda MS
“Me Estorbas” – Pesado
“Yo Sí Te Amé” – Arrolladora
“Porque Me Enamoré” – Ulices Chaidez y Sus Plebes