By Ben Sisario
When the first Latin Grammy Awards were held in 2000, they celebrated the diversity of sounds from throughout Latin America, and arrived with the hype — and hope — that a new generation of stars would cross over into the American pop mainstream. Among the big names that year were Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and a rising young singer-songwriter named Shakira.
Now, for the show’s 25th annual iteration, the indefinably broad category of Latin music represents a sprawling segment of the industry that, thanks largely to streaming, has become a truly global phenomenon. The latest nominations, announced Tuesday by the Latin Recording Academy, are dominated by Bad Bunny and Karol G, who sell out arenas, draw clicks by the billions and have eight nods apiece.
Juan Luis Guerra, a veteran Dominican songwriter, has five nominations. Coming in with four each are Kany García, a Puerto Rican singer; Feid, from Colombia; Carin León, from Mexico; and Kali Uchis, a Colombian American singer-songwriter. For the second year in a row, however, the top nominee overall is a behind-the-scenes figure: Edgar Barrera, a Mexican American songwriter and producer, who has a total of nine nods.
Another songwriter, Kevyn Mauricio Cruz, known as Keityn, who often works with Barrera, has six nominations.
A mere list of the nominees gives a sense of the geographic diversity of the Latin field, and of the cross-pollination among genres and regions that has become increasingly common (and popular).
Barrera — also known as Edge — has worked closely with Karol G, the neon-maned Colombian singer who has quickly become an A-list pop star. (At the MTV Video Music Awards last week, she danced in the audience with Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello while performing a recent track, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.”) Among the nominations that Barrera and Karol G share are song and record of the year for her track “Mi Ex Tenía Razón” (“My Ex Was Right”).
In the record of the year category, they will compete against streaming hits by Bad Bunny (“Monaco”), Brazilian singer Anitta (“Mil Veces”), and Uchis and Mexican star Peso Pluma (“Igual Que un Ángel”), along with a salsa-tinged collaboration between Colombian pop star Camilo and cowboy-hatted Mexican artist León (“Una Vida Pasada”). Also in the category are tracks by Cimafunk and Colombian band Monsieur Periné (“Catalina”), Jorge Drexler (“Derrumbe”), Fonseca and salsa band Grupo Niche (“Con Dinero y Sin Dinero”), Guerra and his group 4.40 (“Mambo 23 “) and Chilean performer Mon Laferte, who has long explored Mexican styles (“Tenochtitlán”).
In addition to Karol G’s “Mi Ex,” Barrera has credits on two other tunes up for song of the year: “(Entre Paréntesis),” performed by Shakira and Grupo Frontera, and “Según Quién,” by Maluma and León. That category also includes “Caracas en el 2000,” performed by Elena Rose, Danny Ocean and Jerry Di; “Te Lo Agradezco,” by Kany García and León; “313,” a partly spoken track by Residente, Silvia Pérez Cruz and actress Penélope Cruz; “A La Mitad,” sung by Maura Nava for a new TV version of “Zorro”; and songs written and performed by Drexler, Daymé Arocena and Vicente García, and by Gian Marco and Rubén Blades. (Record of the year goes to the performers and producers of a single track; song of the year is a songwriter’s category.)
In album of the year, Karol G, Shakira, Guerra and Puerto Rican rapper Residente will go up against releases by Camilo, León, Laferte, Kany García, Ángela Aguilar and Xande de Pilares.
Nominations for best new artist went to Agris, Kevin Aguilar, Darumas, Nicolle Horbath, Latin Mafia, Cacá Magalhães, Os Garotin, Iñigo Quintero, Sofi Saar and Ela Taubert.
More than 23,000 entries were submitted for the current awards, which cover recordings released from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024. To qualify, songs must be new and contain lyrics in Spanish, Portuguese or any native regional dialect, according to the academy.
This year’s awards will be held Nov. 14 in Miami.
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