Entertainment
Shakira Bids Farewell to Mexico’s GNP Seguros Stadium After Record-Breaking 13 Dates: ‘It’s a Miracle’
Shakira closed her historic series of 13 concerts at the GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City on Friday night (Feb. 27), becoming the artist with the most performances in a single tour at the iconic venue. For this final show, the superstar had her fellow Colombian artist Beéle as a guest and featured Santos Bravos in the “Walk with the She-Wolf.”
The performance marked a new milestone for Shakira, with 800,000 tickets sold across those shows, “something unprecedented,” according to promoter Ocesa.
“How are you, my Mexican family? How are you back there? Thirteen GNP Stadium shows are more than a gift, it’s a miracle, a reward from life,” the singer said to the 65,000 people gathered at the capital’s stadium. “You know my journey hasn’t been easy these past few years because no one is spared from life’s falls.”
Shakira reiterated her excitement about concluding her historic Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour in Mexico, which had its epicenter in the capital city, where the Colombian artist made history and reaffirmed her esteemed position as a global star.
“Definitely, there’s no better reunion than that of a little she-wolf with her Mexican pack, awooo! Mexico, tonight, forever and always, we are one,” the performer greeted her audience.
The tour’s finale at the GNP Seguros Stadium introduced a new guest, singer Beéle, with whom she performed her hit “Hips Don’t Lie,” in the new version recorded alongside Ed Sheeran. Beéle joined Grupo Frontera, Danna Paola, and Belinda as guest artists who accompanied Shakira during her series of shows at the venue, which began nearly a year ago.
Shakira recently announced a unique collaboration with Beéle, who, like her, was born in Barranquilla: a song titled “Algo Tú,” to be released on March 4. Additionally, she performed “¿Dónde Estás Corazón?” live for the first time since 2019, to the surprise and delight of the audience.
The final “Walk with the She-Wolf” at the Mexican stadium, a symbolic and empowering act that the singer performed every night to open her show, featured special guests on Friday: the members of Santos Bravos, HYBE’s first Latin boy band.
This historic moment in Shakira’s career, with a tour that moved hips and shattered world records, coincides with yet another international recognition: her nomination this week to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The nomination crowns remarkable achievements since the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour began. The tour set a Guinness World Record as the highest-grossing tour of all time by a Hispanic artist, earning an astonishing $421.6 million and selling 3.3 million tickets across 86 shows, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
Shakira will wrap up her stay in Mexico this Sunday (March 1) with a massive free concert in the Zócalo — the second-largest public square in the world, only behind Tiananmen Square in Beijing — where she will return nearly after 20 years and where she is expected to set a new attendance record.
The artist first performed there on May 27, 2007, drawing an official crowd of 210,000 people, which surpassed the previous record of 170,000 set by Mexican rock band Café Tacvba in 2005. The current attendance record at Mexico City’s main square belongs to the Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, who gathered 300,000 attendees on June 3, 2023. Grupo Firme holds the second spot, having drawn 280,000 people a year earlier.
Entertainment
sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’
At his recent show in London, sombr paused the program to call out event staff after a fan appeared to faint in the audience without receiving help.
While in the midst of singing his breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Back to Friends” on Tuesday at O2 Academy Brixton, the Gen Z pop star suddenly waved at his band to stop playing. “Stop the show,” he said before addressing people working the concert, as captured in videos posted on social media. “Guys, there’s someone passed out over there.”
sombr Returns With New Song ‘Homewrecker,’ Navigates Love Triangle With Quenlin Blackwell & Milo Manheim in Western Music Video
“This is the most poorly managed venue I’ve ever played at in my life,” he continued. “You need to pay attention. It’s insane. I’ve played three nights here, and I’ve never played at a more poorly managed venue.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for sombr and O2 Academy Brixton.
Before proceeding with the show, the artist told the crowd, “Let me know when everyone’s good.”
sombr is currently on a run of shows in Europe, with dates planned for venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. This summer, he’ll play a slew of festivals, including Coachella and BottleRock Napa Valley.
The New York native also had another mid-show interruption recently, this time during his performance at the BRIT Awards. While he was singing “Undressed” at the ceremony, a man wearing a “Sombr is a homewrecker” shirt ran out on stage and appeared to hit Sombr; as it turned out, it was a pre-planned stint to help promote his new single “Homewrecker,” which recently debuted at No. 26 on the Hot 100.
And despite the momentary frustration, Sombr had only kind words to say about his overall experience playing for fans in London. “I love you so much,” he wrote over a video of the crowd at O2 Academy Brixton on his Instagram Story. “Thanks so much for an unforgettable past 3 nights. I’ll be back London.”
While the K-pop world is grappling with the unexpected news that ENHYPEN is no longer seven members following member Heeseung’s seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of his departure, the industry has certainly been blindsided by such abrupt exits many times.
While Heeseung’s situation was shocking, it unfolded fairly calmly. On March 10, announcements came from ENHYPEN’s official channels, alongside a handwritten letter from Heeseung himself and ENHYPEN’s own statement on social media. Comparatively, some of K-pop’s biggest groups have been changed forever by dramatic announcements from members, via notices of legal action or vague updates from their agencies — the latter of which can sometimes be the most heartbreaking for fans.
From one of K-pop’s most landmark member exits in Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong from TVXQ! in 2009 (which ultimately rid the industry of so-called “slave contracts”) to years like 2014, 2019 or even last year, where multiple popular groups saw members drop from their groups, Billboard is sharing a timeline of the 15 most shocking exits from K-pop groups.
Membership changes are never easy, even when fans suspect something may have shifted for the group or there is an internal or external issue. Members of K-pop groups have left for the sake of their mental health or sometimes due to ongoing external pressure from issues from their past arising. For the purposes of this timeline and its relation to the news surrounding ENHYPEN and Heeseung, we’re focusing on K-pop member exits that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no prior indication, hiatuses or controversy.
Read on to learn how rare it is to have Heeseung remain under the same label as his former group in BELIFT LAB to pursue his solo career and more, in this look through K-pop’s most unexpected member departures.
Entertainment
Watch Harry Styles Bust Marcello Hernandez for Impersonating Him Ahead of ‘SNL’: ‘Are Those My Clothes?’
Sorry, Marcello Hernandez — there’s only one Harry Styles. On the set of Saturday Night Live ahead of the pop star’s upcoming hosting and performing stint, the comedian got a little too comfortable impersonating that week’s guest in a promo video posted Wednesday (March 11).
The teaser opens as a spoof on Styles’ One Night in Manchester concert special trailer, with the piano intro to his new single “American Girls” playing over shots of what looks like the singer’s silhouette striking poses and dancing across the stage. A record-scratch moment happens when the real Styles walks in with SNL castmember Kenan Thompson, busting Hernandez, who’d been pretending to be the Grammy winner that whole time.
“What are you doing, Marcello? Are those my clothes?” Styles asks a visibly embarrassed Hernandez.
“Yeah, sorry,” the stand-up comic stutters, suddenly shy about wearing Styles’ pinstriped, flared slacks. “I thought you weren’t coming, so I thought I’d just go on as your understudy.”
Perplexed, Styles explains where he and Thompson had been. “I’m 15 minutes late, because Kenan and I went out for pain au chocolat. It’s a tradition when I host.”
Suffice to say, it’ll be Styles — the real Styles — helming SNL on Saturday (March 14), returning to host for the second time. He previously led an episode of the show in 2019.
The Brit will also serve as musical guest on the new episode, having just dropped his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The project was led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Aperture” and features second single “American Girls,” both of which are strong contenders for the tracks Styles will perform at 30 Rock — although fans will have to tune in to the live show to find out.
Watch Styles’ SNL promo above.
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