It’s Fuerza Regida’s Turn: ‘Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada’ Hits No. 1 on Top Latin Albums
Fuerza Regida celebrates its first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums, as its seventh studio release Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada, climbs 2-1 to lead the April 27-dated ranking.
Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada ascends to No. 1 with 24,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 18 (up 17%), according to Luminate, almost entirely driven by streaming activity (up 17% in streaming equivalent album units, equaling 36.06 million on-demand official streams for the set’s songs during the tracking week).
Top Latin Albums ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week by multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each units equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.
The 30-track set, released via Oct. 20 via Street Mob/Rancho Humilde/Sony Music Latin, visits the penthouse for the first time on Top Latin Albums in its 26th week. That is the longest climb to No. 1 since the Oct. 10, 2015-dated chart, when Juan Gabriel’s Mis Numero 1… 40 Aniversario rose 4-1 in its 60th week. Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada debuted at No. 2 on the Nov. 4, 2023, chart and has never departed the top five.
Notably, Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada becomes only the fifth regional Mexican album to lead Top Latin Albums this decade; all one-week rulers except for Peso Pluma’s Génesis, which has dominated for 28 non-consecutive weeks. Let’s look at those No. 1 albums since 2020:
Artist, Title, Peak Date, Weeks at No. 1
Alejandro Fernández, Hecho En México, Feb. 2020, one
Eslabon Armado, Vibras de Noche, Aug. 1, 2020, one
Eslabon Armado, Desvelado, May 13, 2023, one
Peso Pluma, Génesis, July 8, 2023, 28
Fuerza Regida, Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada, April 27
Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada also rebounds to No. 1 for its second week atop Regional Mexican Albums, where it launched at the summit last November.
Fuerza Regida’s new Top Latin Albums coronation arrives a week after the group announced its 37-date U.S. and Mexico summer arena tour, Pero No Te Enamores, will kick off June 6 in Austin, Texas.
The news perhaps ignited similar gains for two other Fuerza Regida efforts on Top Latin Albums: streaming activity drives Dolido Pero No Arrepentido (EP) to its No. 5 peak with an 18% gain, to 13,000 units (essentially all from SEA units), a figure that equates to 19.35 million on-demand official streams registered for its songs during the same period. Pa Que Hablen.: I., meanwhile, jumps 22-20 — after its No. 3 peak in April 2023 — likewise through streaming movement. The album generated 5,000 units (effectively all from streams), up 9%, which equals to 8.4 million streams in the U.S.
Beyond this weekly slate of Fuerza Regida’s albums gains, the San Bernardino, Calif. group, also expands on a song level. Eight entries on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, which combines airplay, streams, and downloads, move ahead boosted by streaming growth, starting with “Tu Name” which rises 4-3, led by with 8.8 million on-demand official streams, up 14%.
“Crazyz,” meanwhile, logs the biggest streaming percentage gain out of the eight, with a 44% growth, to 4.5 million.
Pamela Bustios
Billboard