Colombian pop singer-songwriter Camilo and Dominican bachata pioneer Juan Luis Guerra lead this year’s nominees for the 22nd Latin Grammy Awards.
Camilo is nominated in 10 categories, including album of the year, song of the year and record of the year, for which he’s twice nominated: for “Vida de Rico” and “Amen.” The latter is a collaboration with his wife, Evaluna Montaner, her brothers Mau y Ricky and their father, Argentine-Venezuelan hit-maker Ricardo Montaner.
Guerra’s six nominations include album of the year and record of the year. He’s also a contender in the tropical and traditional pop vocal categories, for songs from his “Prive” EP.
C. Tangana, the Spanish rapper-singer who won two Latin Grammys for songwriting on Rosalia’s “El Mal Querer,” scored five nominations, including album of the year for “El Madrileno.” His “Te Olvidaste,” which features first-time nominee and Los Angeles-based indie rocker Omar Apollo, is nominated for record of the year.
Bad Bunny is in the running for four awards this year, including album of the year for “El Ultimo Tour del Mundo.” “Dakiti,” his joint reggaeton-pop hit with Jhay Cortez, made history when it topped both the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and the Global 200; it peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100. Still, “Dakiti” was not nominated for either record or song of the year; instead, it is up for best urban song.
Regional Mexican music is sparsely represented in major categories this year. Most notably, “Que Se Sepa Nuestro Amor,” the steamy mariachi duet by Mon Laferte and Alejandro Fernandez, is nominated for song of the year, while “Un Canto por Mexico, Vol. II,” by 14-time Latin Grammy winner Natalia Lafourcade, is up for album of the year. (Lafourcade won album of the year in 2020 for “Un Canto por Mexico, Vol. I.”)
Women make up more than half of the 11 best new artist nominees; among them are Chilean American R&B star Paloma Mami, Argentine YouTuber-turned-singer María Becerra and queer Dominican artist and novelist Rita Indiana.
After being passed over for best new artist in 2020, Puerto Rican urban star Rauw Alejandro received record and song of the year nominations for his 2021 disco-revival smash “Todo de Ti.” His single with Camilo, “Tattoo (Remix),” is nominated for urban fusion/performance.
Reggaeton star J Balvin, who previously criticized the Latin Recording Academy for overlooking the genre, is nominated for song of the year and urban song for “Agua,” his collaboration with Tainy. “Agua” was the lead single from the soundtrack for “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.”
“Patria y Vida,” which was adopted by protesters during this summer’s uprisings against the Cuban government, is nominated for song of the year and urban song. The collaboration among Cuban artists — both living on and exiled from the island — has resonated far beyond the country and its diaspora.
