Nominations for the 2024 Latin Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday (Sept. 17) with Mexican hitmaker Edgar Barrera leading the pack for a second consecutive year.
Barrera, who has nine nominations (including songwriter of the year and producer of the year), is followed by eight-time nominees Karol G and Bad Bunny. The former is up for record of the year and song of the year with “Mi Ex Tenía Razón,” and for album of the year with Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season).
Meanwhile, Agris, Kevin Aguilar, Darumas, Nicolle Horbath, Latin Mafia, Cacá Magalhães, Os Garotin, Iñigo Quintero, Sofi Saar and Ela Taubert, are all nominated for best new artist. In July, Billboard predicted that Darumas, Latin Mafia and Taubert would score a nom for the coveted award. Xavi and Iván Cornejo — two of our other predictions — didn’t make the cut. (Below, see a list of snubs and surprises)
“As we approach the 25th edition of the Latin Grammys our awards process is more robust than ever, with our membership evaluating over 23,000 entries this year,” says Manuel Abud, CEO of The Latin Recording Academy, in a press release. “The Latin Grammys have grown in an amazing way to become a fundamental platform for music and culture. We are proud to share this year’s nominees, an international and diverse group of creators representing the richness and vastness of today’s Latin music.”
The 25th annual Latin Grammy Awards will air live from Miami on Thursday, Nov. 14 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. Central) on Univision, Galavisión and ViX. Preceding the telecast will be the Latin Grammy Premiere, where the winners in most categories will be announced. See the complete list of nominees here.
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Surprise: Contemporary Mexican
For its 25th anniversary, the Latin Grammys incorporated some new categories, including best contemporary Mexican music album — a nice surprise for the new generation of artists who are fueling the movement.
For the inaugural category, the following albums are nominated: Natanael Cano’s Nata Montana; DannyLux’s Evoluxion; Grupo Frontera’s Jugando A Que No Pasa Nada; Carín León’s Boca Chueca, Vol. 1; Michelle Maciel’s Trastornado; and Peso Pluma’s Génesis. Each of the artists behind these sets has contributed to the rise of the música Mexicana genre.
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Snub: Xavi
Xavi, who Billboard predicted could score a best new artist nomination, was not nominated…at all.
Maybe he doesn’t qualify for the coveted best new artist because he’s released more than 15 singles, according to the Latin Grammys category definition — but at 20 years old, the artist born Joshua Xavier Gutiérrez is one of the biggest hitmakers today, releasing some of the top-charting songs this year with his signature tumbados románticos sound.
Last year December, he earned his first top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart with “La Victima.” In January, “La Diabla” topped Hot Latin Songs for 14 weeks. In May, he scored another No. 1, on Regional Mexican Airplay, with “Corazón de Piedra.” Any of those songs would have been deserving of a nomination.
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Surprise: Edgar Barrera
For a second consecutive year, Edgar Barrera is the top nominee, with nine nods. Though he’s very deserving of all his noms, it comes as a surprise, because it’s not often that a producer becomes the most nominated person — typically, it’s an artist. Other producers who’ve led nominations in the past include Eduardo Cabra and Julio Reyes Copello.
Last year, Barrera nabbed three of his 13 nominations: producer of the year, songwriter of the year and best regional song for Bad Bunny and Grupo Frontera’s “un x100to.” During his speech, he thanked the Academy “for opening up a space to those of us who are dedicated to writing songs but don’t sing them, who usually aren’t seen — but once a year, show our face.”
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Snub: Keityn
With six nods, Keityn (real name: Kevyn Mauricio Cruz Moreno) is one of this year’s top Latin Grammy nominees. In fact, three of the song’s he’s written are up for song of the year: Shakira and Grupo Frontera’s “(Entre Paréntesis),” Karol G’s “Mi Ex Tenía Razón,” and Maluma and Carin León’s “Según Quién.”
However, the Colombian hitmaker is not nominated for songwriter of the year, which we consider a notable snub. His colleagues, Edgar Barrera, Yoel Henríquez, Manuel Lorente Freire, Horacio Palencia and Pablo Preciado are this year’s nominees.
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Surprise: New Salsa Wave
It’s a pleasant surprise to see the new wave of salsa artists dominating the best salsa album category. This year, Latin Grammy darlings Marc Anthony and Rubén Blades are nominated with their respective albums Muevense and Siembra: 45° Aniversario — but so are emerging artists Christian Alicea with his album Yo Deluxe, Ronald Borjas with Joyas Que Bailan and Luis Figueroa with Coexistencia. The latter of the three is also nominated for best tropical song, with “Llorar Bonito.”
Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with confirmed superstars including Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
