meta-scriptJuanes, Santana, Caetano Veloso Added To XIII Latin GRAMMY Lineup | GRAMMY.com

news

Juanes, Santana, Caetano Veloso Added To XIII Latin GRAMMY Lineup

Pablo Alborán, El Bebeto, Sak Noel, Arturo Sandoval, Sensato, America Sierra, and Sky Blu round out latest group of performers for XIII Latin GRAMMY Awards

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

GRAMMY and 17-time Latin GRAMMY winner (and current nominee) Juanes and 10-time GRAMMY and three-time Latin GRAMMY winner Santana will perform together for the first time, while current nominees Caetano Veloso (2012 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year) and Arturo Sandoval will join forces for a special performance on the XIII Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards. Also performing on The Biggest Night in Latin Music are current nominees Pablo Alborán and Sensato featuring Sak Noel and Pitbull, as well as El Bebeto, America Sierra, and LMFAO's Sky Blu.

Confirmed to present awards are current nominees Pepe Aguilar, Chino y Nacho, ChocQuibTown, Deborah de Corral, Antonio Orozco, Milly Quezada, Reik, Ana Tijoux, Tommy Torres, and Ana Victoria, as well as nine-time GRAMMY winner Natalie Cole, GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner Nelly Furtado, and actors Sebastian Rulli and Gabriel Soto.

The Latin music industry's premier event is set for Nov. 15 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will air live on the Univision Network from 8–11 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. Central).

Three-time GRAMMY and two-time Latin GRAMMY winner Sandoval has four nominations: Album Of The Year and Best Latin Jazz Album for Dear Diz (Everyday I Think Of You), Best Tango Album for Tango Como Yo Te Siento, and Producer Of The Year.

Two-time GRAMMY and eight-time Latin GRAMMY winner Veloso is nominated for three awards: Album Of The Year, Best MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) Album, and Best Long Form Music Video for Especial Ivete, Gil E Caetano.

Alborán has a nod for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for En Acústico.

Sensato, Sak Noel and Pitbull are all up for Best Urban Song for "Crazy People."

Previously announced performers include current nominees David Bisbal, Sergio Dalma, Lila Downs (with Totó La Momposina and Celso Piña), Shaila Dúrcal (along with Mariachi Divas De Cindy Shea), Pedro Fernández, Kany García, Juan Luis Guerra, Jesse & Joy, Juanes, Juan Magán, Victor Manuelle, Gerardo Ortiz, Pitbull, Prince Royce, Alejandro Sanz, Michel Teló, and 3Ball MTY, as well as 2012 Latin Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Daniela Romo and Joan Sebastian. Previously announced presenters are actors Ninel Conde, Ana Brenda Contreras, Marcelo Córdoba, Galilea Montijo, Gabriel Soto, Mark Tacher, and Zuria Vega. Actors Cristián De La Fuente and Lucero once again will co-host the Latin music industry's premier event.

The XIII Latin GRAMMY Awards will be supported on radio via Univision Radio (the official Spanish-language radio network of the Latin GRAMMY Awards), and highlighted on the Internet at www.latingrammy.com and www.univisionlatingrammy.com, including video interviews and photos, an extensive archive of past shows, a live blog, and dedicated forums for fans to share their excitement leading up to the live broadcast. For the first time ever, fans can connect to the UVideos companion app, accessing extra content, polls and more on their mobile device. Additionally, the telecast will be distributed internationally to more than 100 countries.

For the second year in a row, LatinGRAMMY.com will feature Latin GRAMMYs en Vivo, which will offer live coverage of the XIII Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards and interviews from various locations including the green carpet arrivals, the Pre-Telecast Ceremony, backstage, and the media center, beginning at 1 p.m. PT. The Pre-Telecast Ceremony will stream live online at www.latingrammy.com beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT.

Preceding the Awards telecast, Univision will present exclusive "Noche De Estrellas" ("Night Of Stars") coverage of the celebrity arrivals direct from the Latin GRAMMY Awards green carpet starting at 7 p.m. ET/PT (6 p.m. Central). Hosted by Univision Network personalities Giselle Blondet ("Nuestra Belleza Latina") and Montijo ("Hoy"), "Noche De Estrellas" will feature live interviews and commentary on the stars and their fashions, and will provide viewers an intimate and up-close look at Latin music's most glamorous gala event. And for the first time, there will be a live performance on the green carpet with current Latin GRAMMY nominee Fonseca.

For breaking news and exclusive content, visit The Latin Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

After 9 Years, Ana Tijoux Returns With Songs At The BPM Of Life
Ana Tijoux performs during the opening ceremony of the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games.

Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images

feature

After 9 Years, Ana Tijoux Returns With Songs At The BPM Of Life

Rapper Ana Tijoux experienced a series of devastating personal losses, but released a danceable album that's a tribute to life. Ahead of her first U.S. tour since 2018, Tijoux speaks about her new album 'Vida,' and creating the record she needed to hear.

GRAMMYs/Mar 12, 2024 - 01:25 pm

Ana Tijoux’s first album in almost a decade is titled Vida, but it began as a meditation on death. 

The French Chilean rapper began writing the songs for her fifth album following a series of personal losses, including a beloved sister. "I wanted to talk about the fragility of life. What I didn’t know when we began was that the name of the album would be ‘Life,’" Tijoux recalls, speaking from her home in Barcelona. "I wanted to call it, ‘Duelo,’ which is the complete opposite." Translated from Spanish, duelo means mourning. 

This concept for the album evolved as the writing progressed. The first shift occurred when the musician began to write "Tania," which honors the sister she lost to cancer in 2019. "When I was thinking about her, I was thinking in a very happy way. It was not only with sadness," she tells GRAMMY.com. She couldn’t write a song, then, that was simply sad. "I think when you are confronted by death and someone’s passing, you are confronted by all that mixture of emotion and suddenly it moves, naturally," she theorizes. 

Tijoux let it move. Through such honest confrontations, Vida grew into an album full of complex emotions  about 10 years worth.

"Tania" is a profound and moving tribute that builds into a thumping dembow rhythm fit for the dancefloor. The song is all the more poignant for evoking a celebration. Dance was a vital part of grieving for Tijoux; to move from grief back toward life, she had to literally move. In connecting to her body, the most obvious reminder of being alive, the musician found a source of healing. 

"I feel I have this dissociation between my body, sometimes, and my brain," Tijoux muses. "I think we get this dissociation from our education, or perhaps we always feel that body movement is something superficial, but it’s interesting how the body responds to music, the tempo and the BPM."

This line of thinking — and Tijoux’s desire to dance — manifested on the album in a scintillating array of danceable sounds: tropical house, digital cumbia and Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms that interlock with boom-bap beats. 

The Spanish-language emcee's fifth full-length evolved through collaboration with her long-time producer Andrés Celis, as they wrote from their respective homes (Tijoux in Spain, where she relocated during the pandemic, and Celis in Santiago, Chile). "It was a dialogue. Sometimes, it was me bringing an idea and he was trying to translate that idea through melody. Other times, he had a melody and I would say, ‘Oh, this makes me feel like this, or that puts me in that mood," she says of the creative process. 

Through this back and forth during isolation, a lively, rhythmic album emerged from what was originally conceived of as a somber memorial. This is not to say that it’s a carefree album. In keeping with the rap pioneer’s previous work, Vida is driven by fight, in particular, the fight to preserve life and joy in the face of cruelty and death. 

Like Talib Kweli, who guests with De La Soul's Plug 1 on the album’s multilingual ode to hip-hop "Tue Sae," Tijoux has been a lyrical conscience in the world of rap since her debut. This album may be extremely personal, but it also finds her sharp as ever on political subjects, holding forth in her inimitable, rapid-fire flow. With "Óyeme," a song inspired by 2023 news reports that authorities in England planned to house hundreds of asylum seekers on a barge, Tijoux connects the racism that justified the transantlantic slave trade with the racism behind the violence inflicted on refugees and migrants. 

Because Tijoux’s new album is so emotionally intense, its moments of uplift and release hit with more power too. The title track, which features English soul singer Omar, is a funky jazz-hop love song to life itself and could not be more joyful. Its author is quick to point out that, even when the album is lighthearted, it isn’t meant to be escapist. 

"It’s not in a mood of ‘nothing is happening,’ because everything is happening right now. It’s because I feel that we need to continue to put hope in this world, because, if not, I don’t know how to raise my children," she explains.

Tijoux’s two children — Luciano, 18, and Emiliana, 10 — are present on the album in many ways. "Niñx" is a fiercely loving song expressing her aspirations for her daughter, mostly that she grows up brave and free, and never loses her laughter. Album opener "Millionaria" has a little bit of fun with the trope of the iced out rap star with stacks of money and designer clothes by rapping about how rich she is — in the love of friends and family. The song brings extreme mom energy in a way that the world badly needs right now. 

Ultimately, Tijoux made the album she herself needed to hear. "It was almost like an anthem for me to get my energy up and move, through vitality, through the BPM of life," she admits. That last phrase raises an interesting question: What is the BPM of life? Without having to think, Tijoux answers: "It’s every kind of BPM. It changes all the time. I guess it’s like emotion." Of course, it would be. Life’s tempo would be variable and elastic, like the breath, the heartbeat, or a J Dilla track. Varied as it is, Vida is a clear case of art imitating life. 

Inside Residente's 'Las Letras Ya No Importan': How His New Album Shows The Rapper In Transition

Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album Nominees: A 2024 GRAMMYs Roundtable
(L to R): Juanes, Natalia Lafourcade, Fito Paez, Eduardo Cabra and Juan Galeano of Diamante Eléctrico.

Mario Alzate; Mariano Regidor / Redferns via Getty Images; Val Musso; John Parra/Getty Images for LARAS; Denise Truscello / Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy

interview

Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album Nominees: A 2024 GRAMMYs Roundtable

Nominees Natalia Lafourcade, Juanes, Cabra, Diamante Electrico and Fito Paez discuss the current state of the multifarious genres of Latin Rock and Alternative, and what keeps their creative fires burning.

GRAMMYs/Jan 24, 2024 - 04:29 pm

The five nominated works for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the 2024 GRAMMYs underscore how incredibly pluralistic the genre has become. 

Recorded live on tape with a cadre of virtuoso players, Mexican songstress Natalia Lafourcade’s De Todas las Flores explores grief, impressionism and the healing power of love. Motivated by a deep marital crisis, Vida Cotidiana by Colombia’s Juanes is a middle-aged rocker’s message of hope — and it grooves like crazy. A collage of alternative sonics hand-crafted at his Puerto Rico home studio, MARTÍNEZ finds former Calle 13 founder Cabra delving into trance-inducing electro and slick Afrobeats. A cool, sophisticated affair, Diamante Eléctrico’s seventh album Leche de Tigre fuses Colombian rock with nocturnal vibes and cosmopolitan funk. In Argentina, Fito Páez lovingly reinvented his 1992 masterpiece El Amor Después del Amor on EADDA9223, populated by a gallery of iconic guest stars.

If the nominees at the 66th GRAMMY Awards are any indication, Latin rock and alternative are more than a sound. They signify a point of view, a credo, a way of doing things that spans countries.

With that in mind, GRAMMY.com organized a roundtable with this year’s nominees, who discussed their influences, the current state of the multifarious genre, and the dreams of future albums that keep their creative fires burning. 

Is rock 'n'roll eternal? Will its mystique continue to influence musicians for generations to come?

Natalia Lafourcade: It is eternal, yes. Rock is like life itself. It evolves and transforms in language and form — its tempests, energy and meaning. I would never have imagined my album being nominated in this category. But then I think about the idiosyncrasies of rock — a style spawned from broken places, the crevice where a flower can blossom   and it makes sense. I cherish the fact that rock can encompass so many different possibilities of singing about emotion.

Cabra: I understand rock’n’roll as an agent of change and attitude is already dead. In my work, I like using musical references from the past as I create in the present mode.

Juanes: Rock will be eternal to me for as long as I live. In my own universe, rock was the channel that allowed me to transform as a person and I find in it a very powerful energy. I hope future generations will learn to play instruments, form their own bands and write songs — even with the current avalanche of technology and AI.

Fito Páez: Rock is much more than just a genre. It represents an open minded, eccentric cultural reality that fears nothing and transcends the music itself.

Juan Galeano (vocalist and bassist, Diamante Eléctrico): Rock has evolved, just like music has. It will live on as long as it preserves its avant-garde qualities and continues to challenge the establishment.

Who were the rock artists who first inspired you?

Juanes: Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. Heavier stuff too: Slayer, Sepultura. Even Venom. [Laughs.] That was my path during the ‘80s here in Medellín. Before I discovered rock, the sounds of Latin American popular music that I heard during childhood defined my path as a musician as well.

Lafourcade: The works of women like Julieta Venegas, Joni Mitchell, Björk, Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey and Erykah Badu, among many others. All of them acted as anchors on my artistic path. They offered guidance and illumination.

Páez: I was influenced by artists outside the confines of rock — people who played all kinds of music, like Charly García and Luis Alberto Spinetta. Is [Brazilian MPB icon] Chico Buarque rock? Sort of. You could say he’s part of the rock culture, much like [tango master] Astor Piazzolla was. 

There’s something really cool about the Alternative Field. It goes beyond the mainstream — there’s an extra serving of fun in it; it defies logic. An artist is truly alternative when he’s different from everyone else.

During the ‘70s, rock became exceedingly ambitious — incorporating elements of jazz and classical, folk and the avant-garde. I believe the same ethos informs the Latin Alternative today, a time when stylistic experimentation is accepted as the norm. Do you agree?

Cabra: I agree about 50 percent. I believe the experimental tendencies of the ‘70s and ‘80s signified the genre’s finest moment. Right now, there are artists who dare to innovate. At the same time, many defend the purity of various musical styles, and as a result, everything sounds the same.

Lafourcade: Rock will always be linked to that utmost freedom of expression. It’s connected to the soul, and it’s deeply spiritual. There is no strategy in it. It’s about seeking the disruptive, the unexpected — that which will surprise and shake us up. It allows you to scream, weep and laugh — to be silent following heartbreaking chaos.

Galeano: Something that we really enjoy about the last few years is the increasing blurring of genre boundaries. We’ve always believed that Diamante is much more than just a rock band. We borrow from different styles: funk, soul and cumbia; jazz and classical; Black music in general, and, of course, rock 'n' roll. I love that the younger generations don’t listen to any specific genres anymore — just good songs.

Are reggaetón and urbano the new rock? Could they coexist with the works of Soda Stereo or Café Tacvba?

Páez: No, they’re not. Clearly not. I’m writing a lengthy essay on the current state of the music scene. I think it will generate an interesting debate.

Juanes: I notice in artists like Bad Bunny the same kind of rebellious spirit and desire to provoke that was present in rock. That said, I think music will continue to evolve. It can never stagnate.

Cabra: Rock is a feeling, a lifestyle. That is why I believe it is dead.

Within a rock context, is there a fusion or experiment that you have yet to attempt? Is there a treasured album percolating in your soul, waiting to emerge?

Lafourcade: I’d love to return to the electric guitar at one point, and explore beyond the familiar limits. To navigate alternate possibilities that can continue to surprise me and make me feel like it’s the first time doing this.

Juanes: I’d like to record an album or EP focused on cumbias, slow and heavy. Haven’t found the time yet, but it’s something I would love to do at one point.

Páez: The music I desire the most is the one I have yet to record — that much is clear. The advantage of music over words is that the potential combinations are infinite. You just have to play, something I’ve been doing my entire life. Sometimes you have to push the new melodies away so that you don’t step on them when you get out of bed in the morning. At other times, you can’t find a single tune. It’s all about being adventurous, studying and researching — the kind of activities that are not in vogue at the moment.

Cabra: This year I’d love to make a record of complicated duets in different genres. Right now I’m dreaming of that album.

Galeano: We’d love to experiment with jazz, corridos tumbados, cumbia and Brazilian. Whenever we collaborate, we gravitate to artists who come from different worlds. I’d love to record a song with Carín León.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

Pablo Alborán Reflects on His Latin GRAMMY History, Talismans & Lessons From 'La Cu4rta Hoja'
Pablo Alborán performs on stage at WiZink Center in Madrid, Spain.

Photo: Aldara Zarraoa / Redferns / GettyImages

news

Pablo Alborán Reflects on His Latin GRAMMY History, Talismans & Lessons From 'La Cu4rta Hoja'

Pablo Alborán discusses his emotional journey with the Latin GRAMMYs — a total of 29 nominations and no wins — as well as the process behind his GRAMMY-nominated album 'La Cu4rta Hoja.'

GRAMMYs/Jan 8, 2024 - 02:59 pm

Spanish singer/songwriter Pablo Alborán has a unique history with the Latin GRAMMYs. Although he receives a nomination for each album he releases, he has yet to win a golden gramophone. 

At the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs, Alborán was the Spaniard with the most nominations. He received a total of five nominations, including Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year. Yet on the Biggest Night In Latin Music, none of the envelopes that announced the winner had Alborán's name. Since 2011, he has been nominated 29 times without a win; his most meaningful accomplishment, however, is the freedom to continue making music and having untiring support from his family, friends, and fans. 

"Refer to last year's #LatinGRAMMY post," Alborán wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), followed by a series of smiling emojis after the ceremony.

At the 2024 GRAMMYs, Alborán's 2022 album La Cu4rta Hoja is nominated for Best Latin Pop Album. The record competes against Don Juan by Maluma, A Ciegas from Paula Arena, Pedro Capó's La Neta, Gaby Moreno's X Mí (Vol. 1), and Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1 by AleMor.

During his Latin American tour, Alborán sat down with GRAMMY.com via Zoom to speak about the lessons from La Cu4rta Hoja, his history with the Latin GRAMMYs, and his return to the stages in the United States.

In 2011, you received your first Latin GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist, Best Male Pop Vocal Album for his self-titled debut LP, and Song Of The Year for "Solamente tú." What do you remember from that ceremony?

When they told me about the Latin GRAMMYs; it was an enormous thrill. I wasn't familiar with the Latin GRAMMY because my career just started. They called me and said, 'Hey, Demi Lovato is going to sing with you,' which was also very intense. 

I remember taking my parents [to Las Vegas], which was the terrible part because they dressed formally. My mother looked like Cinderella, my father looked like a prince, my brother... They were all there and seated a little farther from us. When they announced the winners…I looked back, and my parents' faces, poor things, they looked as if I had been killed. [Laughs.]They were outraged, trying to pretend they were okay so I wouldn't see them upset. I had Sie7e and his wife sitting next to me, the happiness they felt when he won the Best New Artist award; I was shocked at how happy and excited they were. 

I was genuinely happy, suddenly seeing their happiness after so much work. I understand there's a competitive aspect; we're human beings, but I've been watching the Latin GRAMMYs for many years, living how it is, enjoying, learning to enjoy under pressure.

Unlike in the past, you had no talismans for the 24th Latin GRAMMYs ceremony. Although you did not use any at the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs, you often use talismans such as eagles, twins, and silver clothes for luck. When did this practice start? It appeared that it became an obsession, as you constantly searched for signs everywhere.

It was a way to protect myself and hang on to something and, of course, be able to let go of it as well. Thank goodness I didn't win the Latin GRAMMY when I had all the eagle signs; otherwise, my house would be filled with eagle talismans (laughs). I could see myself getting hooked on the eagle stuff. We must put everything into perspective and live the experience without overthinking. I try not to be too superstitious about anything, anyway, because it's a kind of slavery.

It has been a year since the release of La Cu4rta Hoja. What have you learned from the album and its 11 songs?

Each album is a journey; it is a new experience. Each album teaches you something different, and this one has taught me to live at the speed of musical consumption and not lose the essence in the middle of this journey. 

Being able to innovate while simultaneously maintaining your roots and supporting what you like in music —that balance will always be more challenging to maintain due to what surrounds you, the speed with which music is consumed, and the fact that millions of songs are released weekly. There are times when that effort is more challenging and other times, it is effortless. 

Touring gives me the illusion of seeing an audience that wants to feel the songs regardless of their style. People want to feel and want to see their feelings reflected in the lyrics and the music. And that reminds me why I make music and why I am here. 

Have you been surprised by reactions to any particular song from La Cu4rta Hoja?

"A Batir las Alas" surprised me a lot during concerts because it is a very personal song and, at the same time, a little strange… The lyrics, the way of singing it, the structure, and the response from the people in concerts were excellent. 

"Voraces" also surprised me a lot. It is the third song on the show's setlist. It amazes me that people sing and like it since it is a song that wasn't a single and has a strange concept; it's like a tanguillo [an upbeat and catchy flamenco palo] and, simultaneously, a chacarera [a polyrhythmic Argentinean folk subgenre].

You've always been involved with producing your albums, but you've taken a more prominent role in your last two albums. Why was that? 

In [2020's] Vértigo, I worked remotely, which was challenging. That album was very complicated to put together because I worked with Julio Reyes Copello from Miami, the strings were made in Prague, and my guitarists were in [Spain]. It was a fun process on the one hand but cold on the other. I felt like things were lost. I learned a lot on that album as well. In the end, you know how you want your song to sound, so you have to be very involved. 

On this last album, some songs didn't change much from the demo I produced at home. We wanted to stick with that first idea…playing it live and improving some things. But that production was already done. For example, "A Batir las Alas" worked with a guitar and a string, and there was not even a drum; there was barely a bass. It is a reasonably large ballad, yet we wanted to make it small. There are other times that the producer's work obviously, no matter how much I am involved, [is needed].

What do you like the most about producing?

The freedom. You feel an absence of judgment, an absence of limits. I can spend hours in the studio without eating, without seeing anyone, working with the musicians and the producers, or whoever is there. It feels like anything is possible — not because you know that the process can change suddenly, but because you know that what you produce, maybe you will hear again the next day, and it seems like a disaster, or it could be the best thing in the world.

So I really enjoyed it, knowing that moment was mine and that of those who were there, no one would hear it or give their opinion. Once it's finished, that song is no longer mine; it belongs to everyone. But it is enjoyable to feel that you are jumping into the void and that you are going to fall into the water.

La Cu4rta Hoja was created during your last tour. Has the album inspired you to create new songs?

There are ideas... When I'm on the plane, I spend hours listening to the voice notes on my phone, which are ideas [for] millions of songs I have. I'm in the hotel room, coming from a show or going to a show, and an idea comes to mind, and I record it and then review it. 

Silence is indeed necessary to create. So, I am very focused on giving 100 percent on this tour. There are many trips, many countries. It is the longest, almost the most extended tour we are doing, and then when I return home, and I am in that silence and in that tranquility, everything I am experiencing will explode. There are a lot of emotions and inputs that I'm receiving that I still can't capture because I'm non-stop.

This is the most extensive tour you will do in the United States. What is it like preparing for all those dates? You will go to cities you've never performed in before.

There's a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. We were already in the United States a few years ago, and it was necessary to come back, and the fact that people want it is a gift to me. 

Different things happen at each concert, the repertoire changes, and we let ourselves be carried away by what happens and the place we are in. We also sing versions, maybe a song by a local artist, and in the United States, I'm excited to do some covers of things I already have in mind.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

2023 In Review: 5 Trends That Defined Latin Music
(From left) Usted Señalemelo, Juanes, Peso Pluma, Karol G and Nicki Nicole

Photos: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Latin Recording Academy; Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Latin Recording Academy; Patricia J. Garcinuno/WireImage; Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images

news

2023 In Review: 5 Trends That Defined Latin Music

2023 was a transformative year for Latin music: Música mexicana expanded globally; urbano music continued its dominance and innovative sounds broke boundaries. Read on for five trends showcasing the breadth of Latin music's influence.

GRAMMYs/Dec 18, 2023 - 02:51 pm

2022 was the year of Rosalía’s Motomami and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti — two groundbreaking albums that expanded both the artistic scope and mainstream appeal of Latin music. How do you top that?

As it turns out, 2023 had a number of surprises in store: the emergence of música mexicana on an international scale, but also the further globalization of Latin sounds and new developments in urbano music, which continues to gain in influence and sophistication. It was also a particularly prolific year — with hundreds of singles, EPs and albums expanding the scope of Latin across genres and formats.

Here are some of the notable trends that emerged during the past 12 months.

Finally, Música Mexicana Gets The Chance To Shine

Reggaetón and urbano were at the forefront of the Latin music tsunami that began to take hold of the entire planet a good three years ago. During that time, many insiders pondered if the huge field of so-called regional Mexican music would ever enjoy such levels of exposure. Turns out there was nothing regional about it.

Far from stagnating, the genre evolved with the rise of the sparse, melancholy sound known as sad sierreño, and the swagger of hip-hop informing the zeitgeist of young artists like Natanael Cano and Junior H.

2023 will be forever remembered as the year when música mexicana connected with the world at large, and it happened mostly through one song: "Ella Baila Sola," the collaboration between Jalisco singer Peso Pluma and Cali group Eslabón Armado — a tune whose spiraling groove is so buoyant and infectious, it transcends borders. The subversive duet of Bad Bunny and Grupo Frontera on mega-hit "un x100to" didn’t hurt either, and the movement gained strength with Peso Pluma’s excellent third LP, as well as the talents of young stars such as Fuerza Regida, Gabito Ballesteros and Yahritza y Su Esencia.

When It Comes To Latin Rock, Argentina Is Still At The Forefront

From Charly García and Luis Alberto Spinetta to Soda Stereo and Babasónicos, Argentina boasts a fierce tradition for generating legendary rock albums. Even though the South American nation has embraced the present with such urbano stars as Bizarrap, Duki and Nicki Nicole, there will always be a place of honor reserved for good old fashioned rock’n’roll in Argentina’s clubs and recording studios.

2023 was no exception. Hailing from the city of La Plata, Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado released Súper Terror. Their first full length album since 2017's La Síntesis O’Konor, the new LP includes atmospheric ballads like the gorgeous "Medalla de Oro." Another top contender is Tripolar, the third effort by Mendoza indie darlings Usted Señalemelo.

Also of note: Lo Más Cercano a Caer, the stunning debut by Nenagenix. Fronted by singer Martina Sampietro, the band has dreamed up a ferocious collection of songs with inspired touches of grunge and shoegaze.

Pop Stardom Is A Young Artist’s Game…

Popular music has always reflected the combustion and adrenaline of youth, but the immediacy of the digital era has heightened this fact. It seems that the transition from self-taught teens uploading their demos in TikTok to fully fledged stars performing at Coachella has become even more rapid.

Some of the most successful Latin artists climbing the 2023 charts have had only a couple of years to transition into pop icon status — and the vulnerability of their emotional state is often expressed in their music. From the reggaetón-fueled erotic narratives of 21 year-old Madrid rapper Quevedo ("PUNTO G") to the bachata-pop warmth of 19 year-old Mexican/American DannyLux ("MI HOGAR," with maye) and the confessional urbano narratives of 22-year-old Argentine vocalist Tiago PZK (the TINI duet "Me Enteré"), many young artists found the global platform where they could freely express their longings and dreams.

...But The Veterans Have Still Plenty To Say

Years of accolades have not dimmed the creative vision of veteran Latin artists. In the case of Juanes, a marital crisis during the pandemic inspired Vida Cotidiana — arguably the Colombian singer’s best album to date. Just listen to the gritty guitar textures of the majestic "Gris" and the spiraling Afro lines of "Cecilia," a sun-is-shining-again duet with Juan Luis Guerra. Vida Cotidiana is nominated for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album alongside Cabra's MARTÍNEZ, Leche De Tigre by Diamante Eléctrico, Natalia Lafourcade's De Todas Las Flores and EADDA9223 by Fito Paez.

At 46, Shakira finds herself at the top of her game, with major pop culture moments like her Bizarrap collaboration — the most epic revenge song of the year and a Latin GRAMMY winner— and the jagged edges of "TQG," her duet with KAROL G.

Having developed a tradition of recording solo excursions in Paris, Zoé frontman León Larregui explored his hazy psychedelic mystique on PRISMARAMA, the Mexican singer’s excellent — and first self-produced — third outing.

The Urbano Groove May Never Run Out Of Steam

You may think that global audiences would have tired of the ubiquitous reggaetón beat. But the music of Puerto Rico — just like traditional salsa in the ‘70s – has a gravitas that rewards longer attention spans. Fittingly for a genre known for its prolific work ethic, some of the biggest names in urbano released albums in 2023, and none of them disappoint.

One listen to the refined melody of "MÓNACO" — like a reggaetón take on a James Bond theme — is enough to realize that Bad Bunny’s creative streak hasn’t slowed down since he reimagined the Latin pop atlas with Un Verano Sin Ti. Known for his honeyed dance hits, Ozuna put out an EP (Afro) and an album (Cosmo), including the synth-pop magic of "Vocation," with producer David Guetta.

Last but not least, KAROL G’s MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO demonstrates on luminous tracks like "PROVENZA" and "CAIRO" that her work with fellow Colombian producer Ovy on the Drums is one of the defining artistic partnerships of the decade. MAÑANA is nominated for Best Música Urbana Album at the 2024 GRAMMYs alongside Rauw Alejandro's SATURNO and Tainy's DATA.

2023 In Review: 5 Trends That Defined Hip-Hop