Spanish Artists Lead 20th Annual Latin Grammy Nominations
The Latin Recording Academy announced the nominees for its 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, an international celebration of music from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, and the only peer-presented Latin music accolade. The ceremony will take place Thursday, November 14th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas; a live telecast will air from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST/PST on Univision.
This year — despite mounting criticisms from the Latinx community in the United States — artists from Spain lead with the most Latin Grammy nominations. Spanish Grammys veteran Alejandro Sanz counts eight nominations; his song “Mi Persona Favorita,” featuring Camila Cabello, is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Song. Meanwhile, Catalan pop shapeshifter Rosalía is nominated in five different categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Song and Best Urban Song.
Dominican bachata icon Juan Luis Guerra, who released his album Literal earlier this year, earned four nominations in both major and Tropical categories. Colombian songwriter-producer duo Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo — who notably produced “Despacito” — are nominated for Record, Album, Song and Producer of the Year awards.
Both Mexican songstress Ximena Sariñana and Panamanian newcomer Sech are nominated for three awards each.
“The Latin Recording Academy is privileged to see so many talented and diverse artists join the milestone 20th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards season,” writes Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. “Since our inception, our international membership continues to be our driving force in the pursuit of excellence. Whether they are a sound engineer, a performer, a songwriter, or a music arranger — regardless of their gender, age, national identity, or musical genre — the nominees are the product of a voting process where every vote counts. Latin music continues to grow internationally and we’re excited to celebrate the music that unites us all.”
The Latin Grammy Awards are voted on by the Latin Recording Academy’s international membership body of music creators, including recording artists, songwriters, musicians, producers, and mixing and studio engineers. This year’s nominees were selected from approximately 15,500 submissions across 50 categories, and reflect a diverse range of established artists and newcomers who released recordings during the eligibility period (June 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019). The final round of voting to determine Latin Grammy winners will begin October 3rd.
Below is a list of the nominations in some of the 50 categories. The full list of nominees is now available on LatinGRAMMY.com.
Record Of The Year:
“Parecen Viernes” — Marc Anthony
“Verdades Afiladas” — Andrés Calamaro
“Ahí Ahí” — Vicente García
“Kitipun” — Juan Luis Guerra 4.40
“Querer Mejor” — Juanes Featuring Alessia Cara
“La Plata” — Juanes Featuring Lalo Ebratt
“Aute Couture” — Rosalía
“Mi Persona Favorita” — Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello
“No Tengo Nada” — Alejandro Sanz
“Cobarde” — Ximena Sariñana
Song Of The Year:
“Calma” — Pedro Capó, Gabriel Edgar González Pérez & George Noriega, songwriters (Pedro Capó)
“Desconstrução” — Tiago Iorc, songwriter (Tiago Iorc)
“El País” — Rubén Blades, songwriter (Rubén Blades)
“Kitipun” — Juan Luis Guerra, songwriter (Juan Luis Guerra 4.40)
“Mi Persona Favorita” — Camila Cabello & Alejandro Sanz, songwriters (Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello)
“No Tengo Nada” — Alejandro Sanz, songwriter (Alejandro Sanz)
“Quédate” — Kany García & Tommy Torres, songwriters (Kany García & Tommy Torres)
“Querer Mejor” — Rafael Arcaute, Alessia Cara, Camilo Echeverry, Juanes, Mauricio Montaner, Ricardo Montaner & Tainy, songwriters (Juanes Featuring Alessia Cara)
“Un Año” — Mauricio Rengifo, Andrés Torres & Sebastián Yatra, songwriters (Sebastián Yatra Featuring Reik)
“Ven” — Fonseca, songwriter (Fonseca)
Best Pop Song:
“Bailar” — Leonel García, songwriter (Leonel García)
“Buena Para Nada” — Paula Arenas, Luigi Castillo & Santiago Castillo, songwriters (Paula Arenas)
“Mi Persona Favorita” — Camila Cabello & Alejandro Sanz, songwriters (Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello)
“Pienso En Tu Mirá” — Antón Álvarez Alfaro, El Guincho & Rosalía, songwriters (Rosalía)
“Ven” — Fonseca, songwriter (Fonseca)
Best Urban Fusion/Performance:
“Tenemos Que Hablar” — Bad Bunny
“Calma (Remix)” — Pedro Capó & Farruko
“Pa’ Olvidarte (Remix)” — ChocQuibtown, Zion & Lennox, Farruko Featuring Manuel Turizo
“Con Calma” — Daddy Yankee Featuring Snow
“Otro Trago” — Sech Featuring Darell
Best Urban Music Album:
Kisses — Anitta
X 100PRE — Bad Bunny
Mi Movimiento — De La Ghetto
19 — Feid
Sueños — Sech
Best Urban Song:
“Baila Baila Baila” — Ozuna & Vicente Saavedra, songwriters (Ozuna)
“Caliente” — J Balvin, René Cano, De La Ghetto & Alejandro Ramirez, songwriters (De La Ghetto Featuring J Balvin)
“Con Altura” — J Balvin, Mariachi Budda, Frank Dukes, El Guincho, Alejandro Ramirez & Rosalía, songwriters (Rosalía & J Balvin Featuring El Guincho)
“Otro Trago” — Kevyn Mauricio Cruz, Kevin Mauricio Jimenez Londoño, Bryan Lezcano Chaverra, Josh Mendez, Sech & Jorge Valdes, songwriters (Sech Featuring Darell)
“Pa’ Olvidarte” — René Cano, ChocQuibtown, Kevyn Cruz Moreno, Juan Diego Medina Vélez, Andrés David Restrepo, Mateo Tejada Giraldo, Andrés Uribe Marín, Juan Vargas & Doumbia Yohann, songwriters (ChocQuibTown)
Best Alternative Music Album:
Latinoamericana — Alex Anwandter
Discutible — Babasónicos
Bach — Bandalos Chinos
Prender Un Fuego — Marilina Bertoldi
Norma — Mon Laferte
Best Traditional Tropical Album:
Andrés Cepeda Big Band (En Vivo) — Andrés Cepeda
Vereda Tropical — Olga Cerpa y Mestisay
Lo Nuestro — Yelsy Heredia
A Journey Through Cuban Music — Aymée Nuviola
La Llave Del Son — Septeto Acarey
Best Singer-Songwriter Album:
Acústica — Albita
Contra El Viento — Kany García
Amor Presente — Leonel García
Algo Ritmos — Kevin Johansen
Intuición — Gian Marco
Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album:
Mi Persona Preferida — El Bebeto
Sigue La Dinastía… — Alex Fernández
Más Romántico Que Nunca — Vicente Fernández
Indestructible — Flor De Toloache
Ahora — Christian Nodal
Best Norteño Album:
Por Más — Bronco
Las Canciones De La Abuela — Buyuchek
Mitad Y Mitad — Calibre 50
Percepción — Intocable
Amo — La Maquinaria Norteña
Best Long Form Music Video:
“Anatomía De Un Éxodo” — Mastodonte
“Piazzolla, Los Años Del Tiburón” — Astor Piazzolla
“Hotel De Los Encuentros” — Draco Rosa
“Lo Que Fui Es Lo Que Soy” — Alejandro Sanz
“Déjame Quererte” — Carlos Vives