contest

Mexican lawmakers have long struggled to balance the country’s ongoing fight against narco-trafficking with the international popularity of corridos tumbados — which they say promote violence and crime.

On Monday, the famed corrido singer Junior H joined President Claudia Sheinbaum during her daily news conference to promote México Canta: a binational music competition for artists from both Mexico and the United States, organized by México’s Ministry of Culture.

During his speech, the 25-year-old supported the contest, now in its second iteration, which was designed to help amplify the musical potency of México while moving away from its violent reputation.

He also reflected on his own ascent to fame, which came through popular songs like 2023’s “El Azul” (alongside Peso Pluma), a narcocorrido believed to be about a Sinaloan drug lord Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno; as well as his 2022 banda-fused track, “El Hijo Mayor,” which some speculate to be about the son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

“In my initial [career], some of the stories that I shared in my music didn’t add to the positive message that reflect my current compositions,” said Junior H, whose real name is Antonio Herrera Pérez. “I kept growing and I learned that music, besides being a form of expression, also implies a responsibility when millions of people hear you worldwide.”

Junior H — who grew up in Guanajuato before immigrating to Utah — continued to speak on his evolution as an artist and human, acknowledging the role he plays in shaping how his listeners, which amount to over 30 million on Spotify, visualize their futures.

“A culture of peace does not mean we cease to stop talking about our reality. It means finding new ways to express them,” said Junior H. “I invite all young generations to participate, to believe in your talent and to never stop believing in your dreams.”

Two months ago, the singer struck a different chord when he performed “El Azul” at the South by Southwest music festival on March 14 as part of the Billboard showcase. “It’s the government against us, or us against the government,” said Junior H to the audience, in resistance to censorship.

As of now, 10 out of 32 Mexican states have implemented bans or limitations on corridos in public spaces; lawmakers assert that the lyrics promote organized crime. The penalty for singing such ballads can range between a monetary fine to prison time.

In October, Junior H was reportedly fined 400,000 pesos (more than $23,000) after performing “El Azul” during a festival in Zapopan, Jalisco, per Billboard. The Zapopan municipal president, Juan José Frangie Saade, allegedly banned the artist from performing in the city during his term, which ends in September 2027.

As of now, the singer is slated to perform at the Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito, Baja California, on Aug. 8.

Contrary to her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a staunch critic of corridos tumbados, President Sheinbaum is keeping an open mind to the power of the trap-infused subgenre. As a result, this year’s edition of México Canta will place its focus on regional Mexican music acts.

“We are not censoring [regional music], because I don’t believe in censorship,” said Sheinbaum during the news conference. “I don’t think prohibiting music or its contents will solve anything. More than anything, we need to promote nonviolent music. That’s the objective of this contest.”

Open calls for México Canta are now open through June 10. The semifinals will take place at the Million Dollar Theatre in Los Angeles on Aug. 23 and at the Angela Peralta Theater in Mazatlán on Aug. 30. The grand finale will take place Sept. 13.

EUROVISION 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most controversial editions of the contest in its 70-year history.

Five countries have confirmed they are not sending entries to Vienna, and some won’t even be airing the show on national TV.

Why is the Eurovision 2026 boycott happening?

The Eurovision walkouts followed the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) general assembly in Geneva on December 4, 2025.

EBU members voted on new rules to tighten voting and promotion guidelines, but did not put Israel’s participation itself to a separate vote – meaning Israeli broadcaster KAN was cleared to compete.

Within hours, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia all announced their withdrawals. On December 10, 2025, Iceland followed suit.

The song contest will still be aired in Iceland and the Netherlands – but will not be broadcast in the other three nations.

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The boycotters have cited the war in Gaza and concerns over the integrity of recent contests.

Which countries are boycotting Eurovision 2026?

Spain was the first of the contest’s Big Five broadcasters – the five biggest financial contributors – to officially confirm it was boycotting Eurovision.

Secretary general of Spanish national broadcaster RTVE, Alfonso Morales, said: “We would like to express our serious doubts about the participation of Israeli broadcaster KAN in Eurovision 2026.

“The situation in Gaza, despite the ceasefire and the approval of the peace process, and Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.”

A statement from Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ added: “RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, in a statement from director general Taco Zimmerman, said: “Culture connects, but not at any cost. What has happened over the past year touches on our boundaries.

“Universal values such as humanity and freedom of the press have been seriously violated and are non-negotiable for us.”

Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO’s chair Natalija Gorščak said: “For the third year in a row, the public has demanded that we say no to the participation of any country that attacks another country.

“We must follow European standards for peace and understanding.”

Iceland’s RÚV became the fifth country to confirm a boycott, with the broadcaster saying in a press release: “Given the public debate in this country and the reactions to the decision of the EBU that was taken last week, it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RÚV in Eurovision.”

What has Israel said about the boycott?

Israeli broadcaster KAN has defended its right to participate.

Addressing EBU members during the general assembly in Geneva, KAN CEO Golan Yochpaz said: “The attempt to remove KAN from the contest can only be understood as a cultural boycott.

“A boycott may begin today with Israel, but no one knows where it will end or who else it may harm.

“Are EBU members willing to be part of a step that harms freedom of creation and freedom of expression?”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the EBU’s decision in a post on X, writing: “Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed.

“I am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.

“Thank you to all our friends who stood up for Israel’s right to continue to contribute and compete at Eurovision.

“This decision demonstrates solidarity, fellowship, and cooperation, and reinforces the spirit of affinity between nations through culture and music.”

Israel is being represented at Eurovision 2026 by Noam Bettan with the song Michelle.

The Eurovision 2026 semi-finals are scheduled for Tuesday, May 12 and Thursday, May 14, while the Grand Final is set to take place on Saturday, May 16.

SIMON Cowell has revealed he is thinking of bringing back The X Factor, nearly eight years after the ITV talent contest was axed.

Over its 14-year run the show discovered huge acts including One Direction, Little Mix, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs.

And now the music mogul is considering a revival for the Gen Z years, following the success of his Netflix show The Next Act, which spawned rising pop stars December 10.

Simon told TV presenter Jamie East on his new podcast Tales From The Celebrity Trenches: “Do you bring it back as X Factor or do you bring it back as the Z Factor? We talk about it a lot.

“There’s still no question — the power of TV in terms of getting people to know an artist.

“It is so important if you are not writing your own material.

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“There is something about being on a big screen.

“You do hear about these artists who break online, but so rarely.

“We could have made [The Next Act] online.

“I just don’t think it would have had the same effect.

“The truth is, thank God, people like being on TV.”

Running such a huge talent show is not always plain sailing, but Simon had a distinctly New Age solution when the stresses got just too much while filming The Next Act.

He turned to crystals.

Simon recalled: “We were running out of money so I did have a little mini meltdown.

“And then I just sat with my crystals and they just comforted me.

“I can feel the energy.

“I thought it was kind of comforting having the crystals rather than everyone in my ear driving me crazy.”

He added: “I definitely believe in the powers of the universe.

“I feel that if you can harness the power of the universe to try and make your mind just calm down for a moment . . . ”

I don’t think I’ll be swapping a medicinal glass of rosé for rose quartz any time soon, but each to their own . . . 

Kylie in Michael tribute

Kylie Minogue will pay tribute to late boyfriend Michael Hutchence in her new self-titled Netflix documentary.

She confirmed yesterday that the Inxs frontman will be included.

In a first-look trailer, Kylie shared photographs of them together while they dated between 1989 and 1991.

Despite splitting, Kylie stayed close to fellow Aussie Michael until his death aged 37 in 1997,

She said previously: “He was a dark bad boy and I was the pure good girl.

“He opened up a whole new world for me.”

The three-parter will also feature Kylie’s friends and family talking about highs and lows she has faced, including her breast cancer diagnosis in 2005.

Kylie is heard saying off camera: “I felt removed from my body.

“I was so scared of what was ahead.”

Her sister Dannii can then be seen welling up as she says: “We didn’t know if she was ever going to well again.

“I just wanted to be with my sister.

“Music kept us going.”

Fans will have to wait until May 20 to watch the series in full.

Hol lotta Caity

Caity Baser was hostess with the mostess as she opened a beach club in the back garden of her seaside home.

She squeezed into a tight blue dress and posed with bunting and flowers at the party to mark the release of new single Holiday Song this Friday.

The singer’s pal Joel Corry was drafted in as DJ for the bash in Brighton.

She ordered a tonne of sand to turn her garden into a beach – but revealed to TikTok followers that she ordered builders’ sand by mistake.

She referred to her makeshift club as Ibiza Crops – a reference to Ibiza Rocks on the White Isle – but was dreading the prospect of clearing it all up afterwards.

If the release of the single goes as well as her party, she’ll have a very fun summer.

Jack Cullen began his first headline European solo tour in Bristol last night, and has a long slog in front of him.

The musician, who released single Face To Face on Friday, will play across the UK in the next few days then head to Brussels, Cologne, Amsterdam and Berlin.

He’ll then Run 22 marathons in 22 days – back from the German capital to London for the tour’s final night, headlining Oslo in Hackney on June 12.

Live gigs in Dolldrums

Pussycat Dolls, Post Malone and Zayn Malik have all cancelled North American tours in the past week – and it’s the clearest sign yet the live music economy is about to turn.

Last summer was one of the best-ever for gigs, with Oasis, Dua Lipa and Coldplay selling out stadiums, while Radiohead, Lewis Capaldi and Tate McRae played to packed arenas.

But ticket prices have only continued to rise since live shows returned after Covid, and now it’s clear punters have had enough of greedy artists taking advantage.

Shows are already hugely expensive in the UK, but over in the US, the prices are even higher.

Suki Waterhouse, Ella Mai and Logic and G-Eazy’s tours there later this year are also struggling to shift tickets, with fears they could be axed too. It’s only a matter of time before we see a similar knock-on effect in the UK.

Even some major tours here this summer are yet to sell out, after insatiable promoters added strings of dates and pushed artists into bigger and bigger venues.

As you know from this column, I love a good concert.

But at a time when everyone is strapped for cash, paying through the nose for a couple of hours of singing is just not an option for many.

So if the music industry keeps moving like it is at the moment, it’s only going to turn people off altogether.

It’s a three-horse race to the No1 album spot this Friday, with Mel C, Michael Jackson and Kneecap all battling it out for the prime position.

Just under 3,000 chart units separate third place from the top spot, so it’s all to play for.

Kneecap are currently at No1 with Fenian, closely followed by Mel’s Sweat and MJ’s 2005 compilation album The Essential, which is back in demand after the Michael biopic.

Pete aims for Kyle collab

Pete Doherty is recruiting The View’s frontman Kyle Falconer to collaborate on songs for his next solo album.

They previously worked together on Pete’s track Midas Touch, on Kyle’s recent LP Lovely Night Of Terror.

Now Kyle has revealed he visited Pete’s home in the South of France and will return soon to work with the Libertines rocker, right, again.

He said: “I was just over in France to see him, we’re talking about loads of stuff.

“It was all very arty. We were painting together, and talking about films.”

Pete’s last solo effort was 2025 album Felt Better Alive, while the last Libertines record was 2024’s All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade.

Two years ago Kyle moved to Alicante in Spain with his wife Laura and their four kids.

He now runs songwriting camps from his La Sierra Casa studio, and said: “The camp is getting bigger and better every year, and we’ve just moved to a new place.”

Celebrity treasures on sale

War Child is back with its Spring Clean auction – packed with some of the most random and brilliant celebrity treasures going.

Fans can get their hands on Alan Carr’s Isabell Kristensen blazer from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and even a signed Devil Wears Prada 2 script donated by Stanley Tucci.

There’s a Fantastic Four script signed by Vanessa Kirby, plus one of the strangest items on offer – the infamous radish prop from Netflix’s Beef, signed by the cast.

You can also win a private film screening and lunch with Simon Pegg.

Meanwhile, sci-fi lovers can snap up a personalised photo signed by X-Files co-stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.

Music lovers are also in for a treat, with signed setlists and memorabilia from Robbie Williams, The 1975 and Coldplay all among items up for grabs.

It runs until May 27, and will raise money to support children in war zones. See springclean.charitystars.com to get involved. Prize draw entries start at £10.

Liz up to sun-thing

Lizzo is lapping up as much sun as she can before she kicks off the promo for her new album, Bitch.

The Truth Hurts singer shared this snap with her 11million Instagram followers with the caption: “Best Birthday Ever”.

Lizzo turned 38 last week and used her special day to announce the record, which is the follow-up to her 2022 album, Special.

Teasing what Bitch has in store, Lizzo said: “I think it’s always going to be the Lizzo sound.

“I posted a snippet of one of my new songs that’s coming out very, very soon and somebody was like, ‘The Nineties are back’.

“I love constructing and producing and creating just well-crafted music and songs.

“I hope everyone likes it.”

As a massive Lizzo fan myself, I am sure I’m going to love it.

They are one of the most in-demand couples in ­Hollywood, so what do Gen Z heartthrobs ­Zendaya and Tom Holland do in their spare time?

The British actor, above with his other half, said: “So we have been ­crocheting at home. I absolutely love it.”

“I just find it turns my brain off. I can’t do anything else and do it. I have to be lasered in.”

I’m sure he still has Zendaya in stitches . . . 

For the next week or so, in homes all over California, ballots will be arriving for the June 2 primary.

Since 2020, a ballot has been mailed to every active registered voter in the state — more than 23 million, by last count. The time to choose is drawing nigh.

In addition to the race for governor, Californians will vote in contests for seven other statewide offices, the Board of Equalization — which oversees the property tax system — and a great many congressional, legislative and local races, including the primary for Los Angeles mayor.

What’s a voter to do?

If you’ve waited your entire life for a candidate like Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff running for governor, or you’ve been jonesing to cast a gubernatorial ballot for Democrat Katie Porter from the moment she whipped out her famous whiteboard, the choice is easy. Fill out that ballot and toss it in the mail, stat! No postage needed.

“Don’t mess around,” said Paul Maslin, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist. (His candidate for governor, Betty Yee, quit the race late last month, so he’s a neutral observer at this point.)

“If you have pretty good inkling what you want to do,” Maslin urged, “vote.”

But if, like many, you’re not wed to a particular candidate, what then? If you’re worried about mailing in your ballot and then having some awful, Eric Swalwell-like revelations surface, or if you fret about wasting your vote by supporting someone who drops out before June 2, then what?

There are no do-overs in a California election. Once you’ve cast your ballot, you’ve made your choice. That’s it, however sorry you may be.

Which is why Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, who’s worked in California politics for decades, urged voters not to mail their ballot too soon. Like Maslin, he’s unaffiliated with any of the gubernatorial campaigns.

“It’s a slow-developing race,” Stutzman said of the contest for governor, the marquee attraction on the June ballot. “These are still relatively little-known candidates. There’s going to be a lot more campaigning to go in the weeks ahead. [So] unless you feel really strongly about somebody, I’d hang on to that ballot and see what happens over the next several weeks.”

Then again, with all the talk of clamping down on mail-in ballots and concerns about processing delays by a stretched-thin Postal Service, is there a danger of waiting too long to vote? What if your ballot arrives past the deadline to be tallied?

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court strongly signaled a likelihood it would require mail ballots to be received by election day if they are to be counted as legal. As it stands, California accepts mail-in ballots that were cast before the end of election day, so long as they arrive no later than seven days after.

The court seems unlikely to issue its ruling before the June primary — but that’s not guaranteed.

So is there a sweet spot, somewhere between voting in haste and having your ballot go to waste?

The Official Voter Information Guide, produced by California’s secretary of state, urges those voting by mail to “return your ballot … as soon as you receive it.”

But Kim Alexander, head of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, falls into the wait-a-bit camp. “Don’t vote too early,” she counseled, “because this is a very dynamic election.”

Once you’ve made up your mind, her best advice is to mail your ballot at least a full week before election day, which is May 26, to ensure it arrives on time to be processed and counted. If someone wants to drop their ballot off in person, either at a vote center or secure drop box, Alexander suggests doing so by May 30, which is three days before the election.

“The good news,” she said, “is that under a new state law … all county election offices will be open at least six hours on Saturday, May 30, for voters to come vote in person or to turn in their vote-by-mail ballots.”

Voting in person is an option right up until 8 p.m. on election day, even if you received a ballot in the mail. That applies everywhere in California, save for three sparsely populated, rural counties — Alpine, Plumas and Sierra — which conduct their elections entirely by mail. Bring your unused vote-by-mail ballot to your local polling place and swap it for a polling-place ballot you can use instead.

For procrastinators or those wanting to wait until election day to mail their ballot, they run the risk that it won’t be postmarked until after June 2. That means it won’t be counted, regardless of when it arrives at their county elections office.

“Voters who want to hold out as long as possible … ought to be planning to turn their ballot into a drop box or a voting site and not use the mail at all,” Alexander said.

Having spent decades working to make voting easier and elections safer and smoother, Alexander knows that voting by mail has made many people miss “the election day experience.” (Things like bringing the kiddos into the voting booth, or posing for selfies with an “I Voted” sticker.)

Her suggestion is to find other ways to mark the occasion.

“Help somebody else go and vote,” Alexander suggested, “or volunteer to help with an organization” running a get-out-the-vote operation.

“If you want to help election officials get ahead on the vote count” — a source of repeated upset as the country awaits California’s lagging results — “you can be part of the solution by getting your own ballot in just a little bit earlier.”

All of which sound like fine ideas. That way you can celebrate election day and make sure your ballot isn’t cast for naught.