Leading the way is the group Eslabon Armado with seven nods that include three of their albums: Corta Venas, Tu Veneno Mortal and Vibras de Noche. They’re followed by Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga with four nods, including song of the year for "Que Maldición," and Los Dos Carnales, who are up for three awards, including regional Mexican song of the year, where they compete against themselves with "El Envidioso" and "Cabrón y Vago."
Beyond the growing strength of regional Mexican, another highly visible trend in this year’s list of finalists is mainstream music’s growing interest in Latin acts. The leaders of the pack are the Black Eyed Peas, whose album Translation featured mostly Latin acts, and which has two tracks, “Mamacita” and “Ritmo,” up for awards in addition to the Peas’ nod in the crossover artist of the year category. In addition, The Weeknd has seven nods on the strength of “Hawái,” his collaboration with Maluma; Minaj has six on the strength of “Tusa” alongside Karol G; and Snoop Dogg is a finalist for regional Mexican song of the year for “Que Maldición,” his collaboration with Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards were not immune to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility for the awards, whose finalists and eventual winners are based exclusively on performance on the Billboard charts, was extended from its usual one-year period to 18 months (from the rankings dated Feb. 1, 2020, through the Aug. 7, 2021, charts), as the 2020 awards were delayed by the pandemic.
And this year, given the pause in touring of the past 18 months, there is no touring category.
But there is a live awards show that will be broadcast once again on the Telemundo network at 8 p.m. ET and preceded by the red carpet one-hour preshow “La Alfombra de Premios Billboard." Confirmed performers include Camila Cabello, Prince Royce, Christian Nodal and Natti Natasha. The music special will also broadcast simultaneously on Spanish entertainment cable network Universo and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.
The awards coincide with Billboard Latin Music Week, which returns to Miami from Sept. 20-25, with a roster of star speakers that includes Karol G, Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam. For more information on Billboard Latin Music Week and to register, visit billboardlatinmusicweek.com.