Billboard and Telemundo announced today that urban music star Bad Bunny dominates the list of finalists for the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards with 22 entries across award categories.
Other artists with multiple award entries include Maluma (11), J Balvin (9), Karol G (8), Anuel AA (8) and Black Eyed Peas (8). The awards, honoring the best in Latin music, will represent 59 categories across the major music genres of Latin Pop, Tropical, Latin Rhythm and Regional Mexican.
The 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards, the most prestigious and longest-running awards in Latin music, will broadcast live on Telemundo from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida on Thursday, September 23, 2021, starting at 7pm/6c.
Thanks to his albums El Último Tour del Mundo, YHLQMDLG and Las Que No Iban a Salir, Bad Bunny earned 22 award entries, including Artist and Top Latin Album of the Year, and six nods for his song "Dákiti,” which simultaneously topped both the Billboard Global 200 and the Global Excl. US 200 charts, becoming the first Spanish-language song to achieve such a feat.
Maluma, who is up for 11 awards, was primarily recognized for his hit song "Hawái" with The Weeknd, receiving six award entries, as well as his album Papi Juancho—which features “Hawái”—with two entries. The Colombian artist will also compete in the Artist of the Year category. J Balvin obtained four of his nine nods for the song "Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)" with Black Eyed Peas and is also a finalist in the categories of Artist and Songwriter of the Year.
Boasting eight entries are Karol G, Anuel AA and Black Eyed Peas. Colombian artist Karol G got five nods for her song "Tusa" with Niki Minaj, while Puerto Rican artist Anuel AA holds two of his entries for his album Emmanuel and will compete against Bad Bunny, Maluma, J Balvin and Ozuna for Artist of the Year. In turn, Black Eyed Peas received four of their entries for "Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)" alongside J Balvin.
Regional Mexican music performers follow close behind. Leading the way is seven-times finalist Eslabon Armado recognized for three of their albums Corta Venas, Tu Veneno Mortal and Vibras de Noche, followed by Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga with four entries that include Regional Mexican Song of the Year for "Que Maldición" with Snoop Dogg, and Los Dos Carnales with four entries, which include their hit songs "El Envidioso" and "Cabrón y Vago."
Reinforcing Latin music’s growing popularity among English-language recording artists, the list of finalists also includes Black Eyed Peas with eight entries, The Weeknd with seven, Nicki Minaj with six, and Dua Lipa and Snoop Dogg with one.
Other artists with multiple entries include: Ozuna, Jhay Cortez, Kali Uchis (7); Camilo and Prince Royce (5); Marc Anthony, Myke Towers, Selena Gomez, and Shakira (3).
The complete list of finalists can be found at Telemundo.com/PremiosBillboard, the official website of the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
The event will start at 7pm/6c with the one-hour, red carpet pre-show “La Alfombra de Premios Billboard,” followed by the three-hour awards show. The music special will also broadcast simultaneously on Spanish entertainment cable network, Universo and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.
The awards will coincide with Billboard Latin Music Week, which returns to Miami from September 20-24, 2021, and has already announced conferences with top performers like Karol G, Daddy Yankee, and Nicky Jam. For more information on Billboard Latin Music Week and to register now, visit billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
The Billboard Lati Music Awards is the only awards show to honor the most popular albums, songs and performers in Latin music as determined by Billboard's renowned weekly charts during a one-year period* from the rankings dated February 1, 2020, through this year's August 7, 2021, charts.
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