Billboard Latin Music Awards: Why all the nominees in the Artist of the Year category deserve the award

Farruko is recognized as one of the most important musical phenomenons in the Latin music industry. Due to his great artistic versatility and his excellence on stage, the multi-platinum artist and two-time Latin GRAMMY winner have managed to conquer massive worldwide audiences and become one of the most innovative exponents of the reggaeton genre.

With eight successful albums and multiple collaborations with international artists of various genres, he has impacted the Hispanic-American community so that HBO has recognized his career in a documentary titled Farruko: En Letra de Otro. His seventh studio album Gangalee debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, entered the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified 7x Platinum.

Within this album, there are essential tracks such as “Nadie,” “Inolvidable,” “La Cartera” featuring Bad Bunny, and “Delincuente” featuring Anuel AA. Likewise, his single “Calma - Remix” with Pedro Capó became an iconic success within Latin music, winning a Latin GRAMMY and receiving a Platinum certification by the RIAA.

In 2020, Farruko received ASCAP songwriting awards for his song “Calma” with Pedro Capó and his global hit “Si Se Da.” Farruko’s mega-hit “La Tóxica” also debuted in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Latin Digital Song Sales chart and the Top 15 of Hot Latin Songs, making it Farruko’s ninth #1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart. The single, which already has over 340 million streams on Spotify, and more than 230 million views on YouTube, also dominated several digital platforms, debuting in the Top 20 of YouTube Top Global Music Videos chart, reaching #1 on the USA Hits chart, and entering Spotify’s global Top 50 chart.

The song’s success landed the artist on the cover of prominent playlists such as Spotify’s “Baila Reggaetón” and Apple Music’s “Dale Play.” His song “Si Me Dices Que Sí,” with Reik and Camilo, became an instant worldwide hit and reached the coveted #1 spot on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart while making the Top 15 Hot Latin Songs. The single surpassed over 110 million views on YouTube and has been certified RIAA Platinum.

In October 2021, he released his most recent album LA 167, featuring the chart-topper “Pepas,” ranked the ninth most popular Latin song of 2021 on TikTok.

Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny took Latin trap and reggaeton to another level. The 28-year-old global sensation rose to popularity in 2016 with his song “Diles,” which led to a deal with Hear This Music.

His songs “Soy Peor” and his first collaborations with Karol G and Ozuna began to position him in the charts. His breakthrough came in 2018 with his feature on Cardi B’s hit song “I Like It” alongside J Balvin.

In the same year, he debuted his album X 100pre, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200. He then released his collaborative album Oasis with J Balvin in June 2019, reaching number 9 on the Billboard 200.

His second solo album, YHLQMDLG, released on February 29, 2020, became the highest charting all-Spanish album, reaching number two on Billboard, followed by Las que no iban a salir. His fourth album El Último Tour Del Mundo, became the first all-Spanish-language album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.

And his fifth album Un Verano Sin Ti, became his second number-one record. Bad Bunny helped Spanish-language music achieve mainstream popularity globally; therefore, in 2020 and 2021, he became the first non-English language act to be Spotify’s most streamed artist of the year. In 2022, he is the biggest streaming act for any artist on Spotify.

Born Carolina Giraldo Navarro, Karol G is one of reggaeton and Latin trap most recognized female artists. The Colombian star won the Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2018 and has been nominated for several Billboard Latin Music Awards and Premios Lo Nuestro awards.

Born and raised in Medellín, Giraldo launched her career as a teenager, appearing on the Colombian spinoff of The X Factor. She moved to New York City in 2014 to learn more about the music industry and signed up with Universal Music Latino. Her name began making headlines after she collaborated with Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny in “Ahora Me Llama.”

In late 2018, her song ”Secreto“ became a hit in Latin America as she and Anuel AA publicly confirmed their relationship in the music video. In July 2019, she released ”China“ in collaboration with Anuel AA, J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, and Ozuna, which became her first music video with over one billion views on YouTube. In May 2019, she released the album Ocean.

Her song ”Tusa“ with Nicki Minaj also charted internationally and was certified 28× Latin Platinum by the RIAA, staying on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart for 25 weeks. In 2020, Karol G received four nominations at the Latin Grammys. Her highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 is ”Mamiii,“ featuring Becky G.

Latin GRAMMY award-winning and GRAMMY-nominated Puerto Rican singer, and songwriter Rauw Alejandro has been leading the new generation of Latin music artists since he appeared on the scene in 2017.

Many of his hits have attained Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum certifications. During the pandemic, he performed one of the most iconic virtual concerts of the year in front of more than one million YouTube viewers in real-time from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, becoming a #1 YouTube trend in 14 countries.

In November 2020, Rauw released his album Afrodisíaco, which was critically acclaimed and obtained Gold certification in the United States and Colombia. Additionally, Afrodisíaco was nominated for the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards in the cat Urban Music Album category.” In November 2021, after receiving two nominations, Rauw won the Latin GRAMMY for “Best Fusion / Urban Performance” for “Tattoo Remix” with Camilo.

In May of 2021, Rauw dropped “Todo De Ti,” his biggest hit to date. The mega-hit boasts more than two billion streams worldwide. The track reached #2 on Spotify’s Global chart for over three weeks and peaked at #36 on Billboard’s HOT 100. It also broke records in Spain with 1.68 million streams in a single day, reaching the top of the charts in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

Titled Vice Versa, his latest album was released in June of 2021 to rave reviews, debuting #1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Album chart, #3 on Spotify’s Top Debut Album, and #1 on Apple Music’s Latin Album charts. The album has accumulated over two billion streams to date.

The album has amassed more than 1.5 million streams and features “Todo De Ti.” The album topped the Best Albums of 2021 lists in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, and Billboard. His first sold-out tour began in July 2021 in the USA, with stops in Spain and his hometown of Puerto Rico, which featured four sold-out shows. Rauw kicked off his “Rauw Alejandro Worldwide Tour 2022” with a sold-out show in Argentina in mid-February.

The tour will make stops in the US in Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago, to mention a few cities, as well as Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, among others. This year also marks the acting debut for Rauw, as he stars in the top-rated Netflix series “Sky Rojo,” which is being filmed in Spain.

J Balvin is a highly-decorated music icon with wins across Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, Latin GRAMMY’s, and many others. Originally hailing from Medellín, Colombia, the illustrious reggaeton superstar, is one of the best-selling Latin music artists, with sales of more than 35 million records worldwide.

He has steadfastly broken cultural barriers and become one of the Top 10 most streamed artists globally, developing legions of fans worldwide. With passions spanning across music, fashion, art, and mental health, Balvin continues to lead the charge for representation across industries.