Luis Fonsi

Luis Fonsi

Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

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Luis Fonsi To Drop First Album Since "Despacito"

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The Latin GRAMMY winner will drop 'Vida' on Feb. 1, his first studio album in five years. It will feature the smash hit, along with plenty of long-awaited new music
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 11, 2019 - 6:00 pm

Latin GRAMMY winner and past GRAMMY nominee Luis Fonsi, who became a household name following the smash success of "Despacito" in 2017, will be releasing his long-anticipated follow-up studio album on Feb. 1. Vida is his first LP since 8 in 2014, and will give the world some new Fonsi music, as well an album home for his biggest hits.

The album's track list reveals 15 songs, including the Puerto Rican singer's hot collabs of recent memory: both versions of "Despacito," the original featuring Latin GRAMMY winner and past GRAMMY nominee Daddy Yankee and the insanely viral remix featuring Yankee plus Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winner Justin Bieber. Some of the other previously released collabs are "Échame La Culpa" featuring past GRAMMY nominee Demi Lovato, "Imposible" with Colombian reggaeton singer and Latin GRAMMY nominee Ozuna and "Calypso (Remix)" featuring Latin GRAMMY winner and one of the leading ladies of reggaeton Karol G.

The new album will not only let listeners catch up on all of Fonsi's collabs but will also share new solo songs. As Billboard reports (and the tracklist hints), the majority of the lyrics are sung in Spanish, yet two versions of "Sola," bookend the album with a Spanish-language version to open and the English version to close.

Billboard describes the opening track as "a mid-tempo, sultry R&B tinged jam over sparse arrangements that highlight Fonsi's fine voice from the get-go." They also highlight the diversity of sounds a on the new album, with some more upbeat, urbano-style tracks in the vein of "Despacito," and some romantic baladas, more in the style of Fonsi's earlier recordings.

While to some music fans, especially those who predominantly listen to English-language music, Fonsi may have appeared to ascend to the spotlight out of nowhere with the release of "Despacito (Remix)" in April 2017. In reality, the Puerto Rican singer has been releasing music in Spanish since 1998 when he released his debut album, Comenzare.

His eight albums released-to-date saw success in the Latin music market, with several songs topping Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart and several making it to the all-genre Hot 100, including "Nada Es Para Siempre" back in 2005 and "No Me Doy Por Vencido" in 2008, both of which hit No. 1 on the Latin chart.

He released his fourth studio album, Fight The Feeling, and only English-language one, in 2002, following the crossover success of other Latin music artists releasing music in English, such as GRAMMY/Latin GRAMMY winners Ricky Martin with "Livin' La Vida Loca" in 1999 and Shakira with "Whenever, Wherever" in 2001. 

When Fonsi released "Despacito" with reggaeton legend Daddy Yankee, followed by the remix version with Bieber, the trio had a runaway hit. The song spent 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and 52 weeks total on the chart and was the most streamed song of 2017 with 1.3 billion streams.

The song earned Fonsi his first Latin GRAMMY wins at the 18th Latin GRAMMY Awards, where the original version won: Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year,and Best Short Form Music Video, and the remix won Best Urban Fusion/Performance, also giving Bieber his first Latin GRAMMY win.

Luis Fonsi: "Despacito" Wins Record Of The Year

At the 60th GRAMMY Awards the "Despacito (Remix)" earned the Fonsi, Bieber and Yankee three nominations, for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Following the night of the show, for which Fonsi and Yankee performed their original song on stage, it saw a huge spike in downloads, a 263 percent climb from the prior day. The remix also saw a rise in sales at that time in January 2018, following its huge 2017 end-of-year streaming numbers.

While Fonsi may not have been able to ride the Latin music crossover wave in the early 00's, he is often credited for the renewed and widened interest in Latin music across markets following the success of "Despactio." It feels like the world is ready to step into Fonsi's new Vida.

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J Balvin, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee & Anuel AA at 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards

J Balvin, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee & Anuel AA

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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Ozuna Takes Home Record 11 Billboard Latin Music Awards

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The Puerto Rican reggaeton artist was also one of the many performers during the show, bringing out Latin GRAMMY winners J Balvin and Daddy Yankee, as well as Anuel AA, for a surprise cameo
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 26, 2019 - 2:28 pm

Last night, on April 25, some of the biggest names in Latin music gathered in Las Vegas for the 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Rising reggaeton star Ozuna made his mark with the most-ever wins in the show's history, taking home 11 awards, including Artist of the Year and Hot Latin Artist of the Year, Male.

More: Ozuna To Headline Madrid's 2019 YOLO Fest

Latin GRAMMY winner Nicky Jam and Latin GRAMMY/GRAMMY nominee Bad Bunny followed fellow Puerto Rican Ozuna with five and four wins, respectively. The trio collabed in 2018 on the popular "Te Boté (Remix)," which brought them on Nio García, Darell and Casper Mágico's track. The song earned the crew three wins, including Hot Latin Song of the Year

The evening was filled with killer outfits and upbeat performances. The night's big winner had some surprises during his two song medley, bringing out Latin GRAMMY-winning reggaeton heavy-hitters J Balvin and Daddy Yankee, along with fellow rising star Anuel AA to drop a few bars during "Baila Baila Baila." The trio are the featured artists on the brand-new remix of the song, along with Latin GRAMMY winner Farruko.

Balvin, along with fellow Latin GRAMMY winner Rosalía and El Guincho (who co-produced Rosalía's epic El Mal Querer with her) also took the stage to perform their 2019 classic-reggaeton-inspired collab, "Con Altura." Seeing as Balvin has been dropping the hot tracks like no one's business lately, he followed with "Contra La Pared, joined on stage by collaborator and GRAMMY winner Sean Paul.

Related: Ozuna, J Balvin & More Pay Tribute To Daddy Yankee At Premio Lo Nuestro

Other performers included Latin GRAMMY/GRAMMY winner Marc Anthony, Latin GRAMMY winner Luis Fonsi, as well as Romeo Santos with his newly reunited hit bachata group Aventura.

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Carlos Vives at the 2018 Latin GRAMMYs

Carlos Vives at 19th Latin GRAMMYs

Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for LARAS

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Carlos Vives, Elsa Y Elmar & More Celebrate Their 2019 Latin GRAMMY Nominations

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As the monumental 20th anniversary Latin GRAMMYs approaches, share in the excitement with some of this year's nominees
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 26, 2019 - 2:05 pm

On Sept. 24, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences shared the nominees for the 20th Latin GRAMMY Awards, set to take place in Las Vegas on Nov. 14.

In the day and a half since the big news went live, many of the nominated artists have taken to social media to share their gratitude and excitement for their nods.

GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-winning Spanish singer/songwriter Alejandro Sanz leads as the artist with the most nominations at eight total. His nominations include Album Of The Year and Best Contemporary Pop Album, for his coyly titled 12th studio album, #ELDISCO ("the album"). Two of its singles, "No Tenga Nada" and "Mi Persona Favorita," featuring GRAMMY nominee Camila Cabello, are both nominated for Song and Record Of The Year, marking the first Latin GRAMMY nods for the 22-year-old Cuban-born pop star.

Cabello shared a heartwarming post (switching between Spanish and English) filled with seven exclamation points, while revealing that "Mi Persona Favorita," which she and Sanz co-wrote, was inspired by her younger sister:

"My dear friend Alejandro Sanz, this is so special because this song is with someone I love and admire so much, and was written with so much love! I love you so much, wow!!!!! When we wrote this song I was inspired by my sister, my little Tofi, who is mi persona favorita!"

Sanz, who was honored as the 2017 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, wrote on Twitter, "Celebrating every nomination for each and everyone of the people that are behind every award. Thank you, always. Congratulations to all of the nominees."

Los Angeles-based mixing engineer Jaycen Joshua also received eight nominations, including for his role as album mixer on three Album Of The Year-nominated LPs—Luis Fonsi's Vida, Rosalía's El Mal Querer and Sebastián Yatra's Fantasía.

Speaking of flamenco-fusion queen Rosalía, the Barcelona-based Latin GRAMMY winner, who took home her first two wins at the 19th Latin GRAMMY Awards, was also one of the top nominees, earning five nods this year. 2018's El Mal Querer not only earned her the major Album Of The Year nod, it is in the running for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album (an award given to the audio engineers). Several of her 2019 singles are nominated for Latin GRAMMYs as well, including "Con Altura," with her co-producer El Guincho and fellow Latin GRAMMY winner J Balvin, for Best Urban Song, and "Aute Couture" for Record Of The Year.

Celebrating her nominations on her 26th birthday, Rosalía tweeted, "A thousand thanks Latin GRAMMYs and everyone else for these nominations!" She also shouted out El Guincho in the post, which included of a video of the creative powerhouse pair each holding big unicorn balloons.

Another multiple nominee is Mexican alt-Latino singer Ximena Sariñana, who, like the two aforementioned Spanish pop stars, also earned Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year nods, for her album ¿Dónde Bailarán Las Niñas? and "Cobarde," respectively. "I feel very honored to be nominated," she posted to Twitter, shortly after the nominations were announced.

Eternal Colombian musical icon Carlos Vives celebrated his nomination for Best Long Form Music Video for "Déjame Quererte" ("Let Me Love You"). The song and video celebrates the rich beauty of his home country along with a diverse group of fellow Colombian artists: Cholo Valderrama, Cynthia Montano, Elkin Robinson, Kombilesa Mi and Velo De Oza. The multiple GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner marked the nomination with a thoughtful post. "I never miss the opportunity to continue looking to my country through music and to show the world a more inclusive Colombia. Thank you to the Latin Academy for the nomination and for honoring this."

He also shared his excitement (with three exclamation marks) for another nominee and fellow GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-winning musical vanguard. "Congratulations dear Rubén Blades!!!" Vives wrote along with a retweet of the Panamanian Latin jazz/salsa heavyweight's tweet about his three nominations this year. Blades, whose many Latin GRAMMY wins to date include Album Of The Year in 2017, is up for Album Of The Year again, for his 2019 collaborative project Paraíso Road Gang. For this project, the musician/activist/actor featured artists that share his Panamanian roots, including Horacio Valdés and Kansas City-based alt-rock group Making Movies.

GRAMMY winner Alessia Cara, who is nominated for Record and Song Of The Year for "Querer Mejor," her first release in Spanish, shared a simple yet stoked: "YEAAAHHHHH," complete with three star emojis. She also tagged her duet partner in the song, GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner Juanes, who retweeted her post.

The longtime Colombian alt-rock artist is also up for a third award for "La Plata," featuring Colombian rapper Lalo Ebratt, and is also up for Record Of The Year. Additionally, Juanes has been named the Latin Recording Academy's 2019 Person Of The Year, which will be celebrated with the special show held annually during Latin GRAMMY Week.

Brazilian tri-lingual (she sings in Portuguese, Spanish and English) pop star Anitta added her joy to the online celebrations, as her fourth studio album, Kisses, earned a nod for Best Urban Music Album. The reggaeton princess wrote, "I'm so so happy to be nominated…for my album "Kisses"! Thank you to the Latin GRAMMYs, thank you to all of my friends who helped me make this project that I love so much"

Arguably one the most exciting parts of the annual Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY nominations is meeting the class of first-time nominees, including the recipients of Best New Artist nods. One of these Latin GRAMMY Best New Artist nominees is rising Venezuelan Latin jazz artist Chipi Chacón. Like Rosalía, he celebrated both his Libra birthday (Sept. 23) and his nomination. The 31-year-old shared a long, heartfelt post on Instagram, writing "What an incredible birthday present. I'm thankful for the Latin GRAMMYs for taking my music into consideration. This nomination is completely for Venezuela. Thanks to all of the incredible musicians and engineers who participated in my album Transparente."

Another Best New Artist nominee, Colombian Elsa Carvajal, shared in that special first-time nom feeling. The Berklee College of Music graduate, who makes dreamy alt-pop as Elsa y Elmar, shared a teary-eyed video reflecting on the nomination. In the post she wrote, "I thought these things were not for me… Thank you for being part of this reminder that the hard work is worth it… Thank you to the academy, Latin GRAMMYs, for considering me worthy of a nomination. Like this, punk as I am."

Make sure to tune in to Univision on Nov. 14 to catch all the magic of the Biggest Night in Latin Music live from Las Vegas. Also, stay tuned to GRAMMY.com—and @RecordingAcad on @LatinGRAMMYs on Twitter—for timely updates on all the big winners and lively Latin GRAMMY Week events.

The 20th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards Nominations Are Here

J Balvin at Lolla 2019

J Balvin at Lolla 2019

Photo: Josh Brasted/FilmMagic/Getty Images

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J Balvin Brings Out Wisin Y Yandel & All The Vibras For Historic Lollapalooza Set

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The Colombian reggaetón champ offered positivity, gratitude, inclusiveness and infectious energy during his headlining show
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 4, 2019 - 11:06 am

Four songs into his history-making Lollapalooza headline set last night, J Balvin paused as he finished his Nicky Jam collab, "X," took off his sunglasses and looked out at the massive crowd. "I want to see you guys, I want to see your energy out there," the Colombian Latin GRAMMY winner said, hyping up the already hyped audience.

"It took us 28 years to be on this stage…and I'm so happy and so grateful to be headlining, for the first time a Latino act." His gratitude, along with a level of humbleness typically not reserved for a headline act, was present throughout J Balvin's 75-minute set.

Rocking lime-green hair, Balvin shone brightly onstage, filling Grant Park with his shimmering energy and smooth voice. But it wasn't just about him—Balvin's show was about representing fellow Latinos proudly—including the reggaetoneros that paved the way for him.

As he reflected on the historic moment, he added "From Medellín, Colombia to the world, pa' la vi' Latino (short for para la vida, aka for the Latino life), this is our time. This is our moment. It's our time to make our dreams come true. Like I'm making my dream, you can make your dream too." Based on the echoing cheers and applause alone, it's safe to say the other attendees also found his words, presence and overall performance deeply inspired and ridiculously fun.

As the crowd cheered, he continued through his impressive catalog of massive Spanish-language bops. He went into his perreando-ready "Reggaeton," checked in with the crowd—"How's the energy?"—and followed with "Safari," his 2017 Pharrell Williams-assisted track. Balvin's equally energetic dance crew, who rocked pieces from his Guess x J Balvin Vibras collection and sometimes dressed as clouds and other playful characters from Balvin's colorful FriendsWithYou collab, brought his smooth lyrical flow and his DJ and band's big beats even more life as they tore up the stage.

The crowd fed from and added to the energy of the experience, enjoying every moment, but no one was prepared for the surprise that came next.

"I'm so grateful to be here, gracias...but I wouldn't be here without the reggaeton OGs...that's why we gotta pay homage to the OGs," Balvin said as the music went into N.O.R.E. and Daddy Yankee's 2004 reggaeton classic hit, "Oye Mi Canto." The crowd, of course, got down to the old-school club track as Balvin rapped along.

The energy levels went from a 10 to a 12 as GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winners Wisin y Yandel took the stage to rap with Balvin for another reggaeton classic, their 2005 debut single, "Rakata." It felt like the most lit Latin music club in your city was popping off, except it was happening on Lollapalooza's main stage, and the songs were being performed by three of the biggest heroes of the first and second waves of the genre. 

Related: Daddy Yankee To Give First-Ever Spanish-Language Performance On The Late Late Show With James Corden

As Wisin Y Yandel left the stage, Balvin ended the epic three-song tribute with Yankee's Latin GRAMMY-nominated 2004 banger, "Gasolina." Balvin closed the tribute with, "Dios bendiga el reggaetón (God bless reggaetón)," a line from his own song "Reggaeton," which in itself is a tribute to the OGs.

He continued the set with more of his own songs and features, including Cardi B's massive GRAMMY-nominated bilingual Hot 100 No. 1 hit with Balvin and Bad Bunny, "I Like It." The song got its own Balvin show-that-feels-like-the-best-Latin-club-night-treatment, opening with the original version of boogaloo song sampled on the track—"I like It Like That," released by Bronx-born Latin jazz artist Pete Rodriguez in 1967—as his squad salsa-danced together.

More: J Balvin & Bad Bunny Drop Surprise Album 'Oasis,' Release Sensual Single "Que Pretendes"

Balvin checked in with the crowd again, asking, "Where are my people from Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico…," celebrating the diverse, lively crowd and the various Latin-culture influences of "I Like It." Cheers erupted from around the crowd as the fans, like Balvin, proudly identified with their Latino roots, as much of the audience grabbed their friends' or lovers' hands and salsa-ed along with the dancers on stage. As the music progressed into the 2018 song, the crowd jumped to the beat. Fireworks shot up from the stage and it was impossible not to feel chills with the power of the moment. The vibras were very real.

As the set neared to a close, the audience was still vibing and grooving hard with Balvin. As he finished 2014's "Ay Vamos"—yes, he's been dropping big bops for awhile now, beginning with his 2013 debut album, La Familia—he announced the next song would be his last and thanked everyone one more time.

J Balvin at Lolla 2019

The ridiculously catchy extended club cut "Mi Gente" featuring Willy William would wrap the powerful show on a high note. The bouncing track was huge single for Balvin and introduced him to an even bigger fanbase when he dropped the hit in 2017, spawning countless remixes including one bringing on Beyoncé, but somehow it didn't feel like he had missed it earlier during the show.

He asked the crowd to jump with him and to shine their lights, los luzes, together and everyone did. As the song slowed down, you could hear "otra, otra!" (meaning another/one more) echoing through the joyful crowd; they were not ready to end this massive moment. Thankfully, Balvin and his touring DJ/hype-man took "Mi Gente" into an extended, EDM-esque version of it, which they played much earlier during his Coachella 2019 set.

Eventually the last beat dropped—the "Mi Gente" club mix was indeed the last song—and Balvin paused for a final grateful look to all the people that moved with him the whole time. He left the stage but much of the crowd held on the moment a bit longer, yelling "otra!" again. Throughout the show, they danced and cheered for him, his killer music and his big moment, but were also very much celebrating with him and a understood their part in it too; his gente, his "Latino Gang" and everyone who comes together with his music as the catalyst.

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Luis Fonsi

Luis Fonsi

Photo: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

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"Despacito" Ties Billboard Hot 100 Record

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Having notched 16 weeks at No. 1, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" featuring Justin Bieber could make chart history
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Aug 28, 2017 - 3:42 pm

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," featuring Justin Bieber, has been heating up the charts all summer long, and now it has edged its way one step closer to Billboard Hot 100 chart history.

At 13 weeks, "Despacito" was deemed the longest-running No. 1 hit of 2017, beating out Ed Sheeran's 12-week run of "Shape Of You." Now it's reached a new milestone.

With 16 weeks to its name at No. 1, "Despacito" is tied for most weeks ever in the top spot with Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day," which spent 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1995 and 1996.

With one week left to go to potentially surpass the old record, will "Despacito" dethrone "One Sweet Day"? According to a Billboard report, Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" may head it off at the pass. Regardless, the saucy jam has already left an indelible mark on the 59-year history of the Billboard charts.

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