Piso 21, Igor Lichnovsky on Sports, Music at Billboard Latin Music Week

Billboard Latin Music Week continued on its third day Oct. 16 with a panel on The Winning Combination of Sports and Music presented by Walmart. 

The conversation, moderated by athlete manager Daniella Durán, gathered artists Piso 21 and Guillermo Novellis of La Mosca Tsé Tsé, and soccer stars Igor Lichnovsky (Inter Miami, Club América) and Leonardo “Leo” Campana (Inter Miami). 

“There’s mutual admiration,” Piso 21’s Juan David “El Profe” said. “Many soccer players want to be artists, and many artists have that frustrated dream of being a soccer player.” 

“It’s true,” Campana noted. “I play soccer, but I would rather be an artist. I’m the type of person who likes to consume a music album from beginning to end.” 

During the conversation, Novellis shared how his song “Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” became a soccer anthem in Argentina. 

“When Leo Messi heard it, the song went viral,” the Argentine rock artist said. “Everything else was thanks to soccer, the people, the seven [soccer] matches, the astros aligning. That song is always going to be related to the happiest moments of all Argentineans and Messi.”

“Music is everything to an athlete … it’s motivation, dopamine,” Lichnovsky added. “I train with music, I change in the locker room with music. It plays a very important role in everyone’s mood … Music generates happiness and that connection with people. They can see that we are human beings and we can have fun too.”

Meanwhile, Piso 21 — whose latest single, “Fichaje del Año,” in collaboration with Ozuna, was inspired by sports — announced that their new album is dropping this week. 

“The idea is to let yourself be surprised and to enjoy the whole album: 10 new songs, produced by Icon Music,” Piso 21’s Lorduy said. “We have been working on this whole album for a year. 2.1 is an album of renewal and evolution for Piso 21. There will be music to refresh, to dedicate, and to dance to.”

Over the past 35 years, Latin Music Week has become the one, steady foundation of Latin music in this country, becoming the single most important — and biggest — gathering of Latin artists and industry executives in the world. Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.