On Thursday night, the Latin Grammys will make its return to Las Vegas to celebrate the artists and industry professionals who make Latin Music the global sensation it is today. With more than 50% of Spotify listeners streaming at least one Latin song per month—amounting to approximately 215 million users globally—this annual awards show features many of the most-streamed artists on the platform.
Leading the pack of nominees is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2020 and 2021, Bad Bunny, who has earned 10 Latin Grammy nominations on the back of his blockbuster album Un Verano Sin Ti. Rauw Alejandro and ROSALÍA have each been nominated in eight categories this year, and Christina Aguilera, Jorge Drexler, and Tainy follow closely with seven nominations each.
When it comes to the big four awards—Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Artist of the Year—the competition is fierce. Any of the nominees could take home the coveted gilded gramophone. But we have a few predictions for who will nab the top awards this year.
Record of the Year
Often confused with Song of the Year, Record of the Year honors the performing artist on the song as well as the producers, sound engineer, master engineer, and sound mixers. Among those nominated, Spotify data suggests that it’s going to be a close call between Bad Bunny’s “Ojitos Lindos,” KAROL G’s “PROVENZA,” and Anitta’s “Envolver,” all of which have generated millions of streams.
Album of the Year
It’s been a big year for both ROSALÍA and Bad Bunny, who are two of the hottest Latin artists of this generation and our favorites to take home this major achievement.
ROSALÍA’s album MOTOMAMI has been loved by fans across the world, but especially in cities like Mexico City, Santiago, and Madrid. With its futuristic visuals and catchy, genre-bending sounds, fans couldn’t get enough of her music (and even showed their support by getting “tattooed” at our album release event in March).
Meanwhile, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti has held the top spot on Spotify’s USA Chart for over 20 weeks. And the artist known as “El Conejo Malo” stayed true to his Puerto Rican roots, tapping a mix of rising and legendary acts from his home country to feature on his fifth album. This also marks Bad Bunny’s fourth nomination in this category.
Song of the Year
If Spotify streams are any indication, the winner for Song of the Year will come down to two widely loved tracks: KAROL G’s “PROVENZA” and Camilo’s “Indigo.”
In 2021, KAROL G was Spotify’s most-streamed female artist globally. She currently sits among the top 50 most-streamed artists with more than 37 million monthly listeners. Inspired by the Provenza neighborhood in her hometown of Medellin, “PROVENZA” is nominated in multiple categories this year.
Also hailing from Medellin, Camilo is one of the most influential Latin artists, with five Latin Grammys to his name. And when it’s all said and done, it’s possible “Indigo”—a track about the birth of his daughter that also features his wife Evaluna Montaner—will earn him a sixth award.
Best New Artist
With 10 nominees in the running, this category is packed with talent. But looking at our data, we think there are three artists in particular who could take home this award.
Yahritza y Su Esencia have experienced a meteoric rise in 2022. Based out of Washington’s Yakima Valley, their unique brand of Mexican music has attracted nearly 4 million monthly Spotify listeners.
Pol Granch also had a breakthrough 2022, reaching 6 million monthly listeners made up of fans from Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
Silvana Estrada is the young Mexican singer-songwriter who was among the first artists featured on Spotify’s RADAR playlist when it launched in 2020. Her signature voice and emotional lyrics take listeners through feelings of love lost and found, sadness, and anguish.
RADAR artists continue to make an impact
Since the launch of our RADAR program in 2020, more than 50 Latin artists have been featured across our playlists. And over the last 12 months, these artists have collectively generated more than 2.5 billion streams and attracted more than 25 million followers.
But even more impressive, a number of Latin artists featured on RADAR have worked on some of the biggest tracks of the year, and their contributions are being recognized at the Latin Grammys.
In addition to her nod for Best New Artist, Silvana Estrada’s album Marchita is up for Best Singer-Songwriter album award.
Ovy On The Drums, who was first featured on RADAR Andinos in 2020, is also nominated across several categories as a producer and songwriter. This includes Record of the Year (KAROL G’s “PROVENZA” and Sebastian Yatra’s “DHARMA”), Song of the Year (“PROVENZA”), and Best Urban Song (“DHARMA” and Becky G and KAROL G’s “MAMIII”).
And rounding out this list are Maria Becerra—whose album Animal is nominated for Best Urban Music Album—and Trueno—whose song “Dance Crip” is nominated for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song.
Along with these four artists, there are eight other RADAR artists who have been nominated for Latin Grammys in previous years: GIULIA BE, Lasso, Boza, Humbe, Covi Quintana, Los Dos Carnales, Nathy Peluso, and LOUTA.
The party kicks off at Casa Spotify
Given that Latin music streams on Spotify have grown more than 1,000% over the last seven years, November 17 is sure to be a big night. And that’s why we’re also hosting our Casa Spotify experience in Las Vegas.
Open today and tomorrow, Casa Spotify celebrates the achievements of the nominees and those who have pushed Latin music forward. It will also serve as an oasis for invited guests to network and collaborate, with a private room for listening sessions and meetings, a content capture studio, and additional photo-worthy areas throughout the space.
We’ll be sharing more from Casa Spotify as the week unfolds, so stay tuned and check back for the latest happenings.
Looking for more of the hottest tracks from top Latin artists? Press play on our flagship playlist, Viva Latino:
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