Karol G Wins Best Album at Latin Grammys, with Bizarrap and Shakira Also Taking Home Awards

Colombian singer Karol G poses with her three Latin Grammy awards during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in Seville, Spain, 16 November 2023. (EPA)
Colombian singer Karol G poses with her three Latin Grammy awards during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in Seville, Spain, 16 November 2023. (EPA)
TT
20

Karol G Wins Best Album at Latin Grammys, with Bizarrap and Shakira Also Taking Home Awards

Colombian singer Karol G poses with her three Latin Grammy awards during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in Seville, Spain, 16 November 2023. (EPA)
Colombian singer Karol G poses with her three Latin Grammy awards during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in Seville, Spain, 16 November 2023. (EPA)

Karol G, Bizzarap, Shakira and Natalia Lafourcade, won big at the Latin Grammy Awards held Thursday.

Karol G’s “Mañana será bonito” was crowned best album of the year and best urban music album.

Argentine producer Bizarrap took home the awards for song of the year and best pop song for “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” with the Colombian star.

Shakira, who attended the ceremony held in Seville, Spain, accompanied by her two children, Milan and Sasha, said that she wanted to dedicate the award to them “because I have promised them that I am going to be happy.”

Natalia Lafourcade, who holds the title for most Latin Grammys in history, added more awards to her record-breaking list with record of the year.

Edgar Barrera, who began the night as a favorite with 13 nominations, had to settle for three awards: composer of the year (a category awarded for the first time), producer of the year and best regional Mexican song. That award came for the composition “un X100to”, the collaboration between his protégés, Grupo Frontera, and the superstar Bad Bunny.

Relocating the show to Seville for the first time meant that flamenco was present throughout the entire night.

It was on display from the opening, by Rosalía, who returned to her origins to offer her version of “Se nos muerte el amor,” by Rocío Jurado, to the musical number by Andrea Bocelli who performed “Granada,” composed by the Mexican Agustín Lara and the performance of "Corazón partío” by Alejandro Sanz, who was accompanied by 30 flamenco dancers.



Oasis Fans Converge as Mega-tour Kicks Off in UK

Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
TT
20

Oasis Fans Converge as Mega-tour Kicks Off in UK

Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP

Tens of thousands of ecstatic Oasis fans descend Friday on Cardiff as the legendary Britpop band kicks off a highly anticipated reunion tour nearly 16 years after last performing together.

The concert at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital will be the first of a 41-date run of gigs spanning the world, including in the United States, Japan, Australia and Brazil, AFP said.

Once-warring brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, their bandmates and UK support acts will play in Cardiff on Friday and Saturday before five hometown gigs in Manchester starting on July 11.

Further sold-out British and Irish concerts will follow at London's Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin's Croke Park, before the international leg of their Oasis Live '25 tour.

"All that matters is how the people in that stadium feel," Liam Gallagher, 52, said on social media last week, as months of anticipation reach a climax.

Fans have been sharing their excitement at the first chance to see Oasis play live since 2009 -- or ever -- after it was long seen as a remote prospect following one of music's most acrimonious break-ups.

The band's 1990s gigs are the stuff of legend.

"The feeling is biblical!" fuel tanker driver Sean Campbell, 35, told AFP before attending Friday's gig.

"I've been waiting years for their return. I missed out on going years ago, so this is my first time seeing them live."

Ticket controversy

Oasis, famous for 1990s hits like "Live Forever" and "Wonderwall", announced its comeback tour last August, days before the 30th anniversary of their debut album, "Definitely Maybe".

The Manchester rockers split in 2009, with Noel saying he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer".

The Gallagher brothers had maintained a war of words about each other for more than a decade, performing individually over those years but never together.

The surprise announcement that they had finally put aside their feud to reunite sparked an online frenzy for tickets but outrage over sudden price hikes that saw Britain's competition watchdog threaten legal action.

Resale tickets costing thousands of pounds have surfaced, while fans have also been targeted by online scams.

Britain's Lloyds Bank estimated in April that victims had collectively lost more than £2 million ($2.7 million).

The tour is expected to be a boon for the struggling UK economy.

Fans could spend more than £1 billion combined on tickets and outgoings such as transportation and accommodation, Barclays bank estimated in May.

'Rough and ready'

Oasis will be supported in the UK by Richard Ashcroft, frontman of British rock band The Verve, as well as the Liverpool-formed band Cast.

The band has not released the setlist for their opening and other shows, with rampant speculation online over which classic tracks will feature and whether any new material will be performed.

There are also many rumors over the potential for special guests appearances.

Illuminated drones displayed Oasis's classic logo above the Cardiff stadium late Wednesday, in a one-night display adding to the buzz around the tour's kick-off.

Gates open Friday at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT), with the band due on stage just over three hours later after both support acts have played.

The performance will wrap up by 10:30 pm, organizers said.

The stadium, which has a capacity of 74,500 for concerts, is set to have its retractable roof closed for both nights, with an incredible atmosphere expected.

Oasis reportedly began jamming together months ago, before starting rehearsals in London more recently.

The band has reportedly welcomed several new members for the tour, including a keyboard player and drummer.

Writing in the tour program, Noel, 58, reflected on the band's enduring popularity, saying "a new generation recognizes how Oasis wasn't manufactured".

"It was chaotic, and flawed, and not technically brilliant. We were rough and ready guys from a rehearsal room, and people recognized it."