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Tag: Latin Grammy Awards

  • Sonia De Los Santos cancels Kennedy Center shows, citing unwelcoming climate

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    NEW YORK — Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos is the latest performer to cancel an appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington. She had been scheduled to give two concerts for young people on Feb. 7, followed by a “creative conversation” with the audience.

    De Los Santos, a Mexican American whose 2018 release “¡Alegría!” received a Latin Grammy nomination for best children’s album, cited her background as a reason for calling off the shows.

    “As an artist, I treasure the freedom to create and share my music, and for many years I have used this privilege to uplift the stories of immigrants in this country,” she wrote Thursday on Instagram. “Unfortunately, I do not feel that the current climate at this beloved venue represents a welcoming space for myself, my band, or our audience.”

    In an email to The Associated Press, De Los Santos shared her Instagram statement and said she would have no additional comment. Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi challenged De Los Santos’ citing of immigration policy.

    “This country was built on legal immigrants and as a first generation American, I find her statement highly offensive,” Daravi wrote in an email. “Refusing to engage with an institution open to everyone is, in fact, a step towards discrimination.”

    Artists ranging from “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to rock star Peter Wolf have called off events at the Kennedy Center since President Donald Trump ousted the previous leadership early last year and arranged for himself to head the board of trustees. Trump has highlighted the Kennedy Center in his wide-ranging fight against what he calls “woke” bias at cultural institutions.

    The board’s decision in December to rebrand the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, a change that scholars say can only be enacted through Congress, led to a new wave of cancellations. Jazz musician Chuck Redd called off a planned Christmas Eve show, and the jazz group The Cookers withdrew from their New Year’s Eve concerts.

    Last week, the Grammy-winning banjo player Bela Fleck announced that he had canceled three scheduled appearances next month with the National Symphony Orchestra, writing on social media that playing at the center had become “charged and political.” Ric Grenell, a diplomat and Trump ally whom the president appointed to lead the center, wrote on X that Fleck had “made it political and caved to the woke mob.”

    Other recent withdrawals include “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz, who had been expected to host an opera gala in the spring, and the variety show Asian AF, whose shows in May were listed as canceled on the Kennedy Center website, then removed entirely. Daravi cited a “scheduling conflict.” A representative for Asian AF did not immediately responds to requests for comment.

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  • Bad Bunny wins album of the year at the 2025 Latin Grammys, capping an electric night

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    It should come as a shock to no one: The 2025 Latin Grammy Awards were all about Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar won album of the year for his landmark release “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” After thanking his family and all those who worked on the album, he ended his speech with “Puerto Rico, I love you, thank you.”

    Those are powerful words honoring a record that doubles as a love letter for his island.

    “I want to dedicate this award to all the children and young people of Latin America, especially those of Puerto Rico. Never stop dreaming, never stop being yourselves, no matter where you come from. Never forget where you come from, but never forget where you are going,” he said. “There are many ways to show patriotism and defend our land: we choose music.”

    The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was destined to dominate from the jump. He also won the first award of the night, for música urbana album. Halfway through the show, the singer found himself back on stage accepting the música urbana song trophy for “DTmF.” “I never practice my speeches,” he said in Spanish. And then he showed up for a third time: to perform “Weltita” with Chuwi.

    He wasn’t the only one with reason to celebrate: Song of the year went to Karol G, Andrés Jael Correa Ríos and Édgar Barrera for “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” And Alejandro Sanz took home record of the year for “¿Y Ahora Qué?”

    Live from Sin City, the 26th annual Latin Grammys were both energetic and eclectic. Take Raphael, the 2025 Person of the Year, who launched into an emotive rendition of “Qué Sabe Nadie” and “Mi Gran Noche,” inviting the crowd to sing along.

    That was after Santana kicked things off — specifically, Maluma singing Santana’s 1970 hit “Oye Como Va” with the guitar legend himself.

    It was just the beginning of a memorable medley, talents of today celebrating Santana — Christian Nodal joining in for “Corazón Espinoza” and Grupo Frontera for their 2025 collaboration with the virtuosic musician, “Me Retiro.”

    Performances hit hard and fast: Aitana brought her dreamy electro-pop, Sanz delivered a medley of “El Vino De Tu Boca” and “Las Guapas,” Rauw Alejandro channeled Puerto Rico in Vegas with “Khé?,” the bachata “Silencio,” “Falsedad” and “Carita Linda.” Then: Danny Lux, Kakalo and Ivan Cornejo brought contemporary Mexicana sounds. Pepe Aguilar followed, with his life-affirming mariachi — “El Cihualteco” into “El Fuereño.”

    Elena Rose slowed things down with “Me Lo Merezco.” Karol G and the legendary Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solís dueted the romantic ballad “Coleccionando Heridas.”

    Two of the biggest groups in regional Mexican music – Grupo Frontera and Fuerza Regida – launched into their joint hit, “Me Jalo,” before the latter took over for “Marlboro Rojo.” That’s a cut from their record-breaking 2025 album “111xpantia.” Carín León’s lovely raspy vocal tone carried throughout “Ahí Estabas Tú”; then he was joined by Kacey Musgraves for “Lost in Translation.” Not long after, León took home the trophy in competitive contemporary Mexican album category for “Palabra De To’s (Seca).”

    Morat brought the pop-rock with “Faltas Tú” and Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso brought a kind of outsider, artistic spirit. Joaquina delivered a full-bodied “Quise Quererte.” Any aspiring artists watching would be wise to take a page out of the Brazilian singer Liniker’s book; “Negona Dos Olhos Terríveis” was one of the night’s most joyful. The same, of course, should be said about norteño band Los Tigres del Norte.

    The coveted best new artist trophy was handed out to Paloma Morphy.

    Traditional tropical album went to Gloria Estefan for “Raíces.” Not long afterward, she hit the stage for “La Vecina” and “Chirriqui Chirri,” joined by Nathy Peluso for the latter.

    Then ranchero/mariachi album went to Christian Nodal for “¿Quién + Como Yo?”

    Most of the evening’s awards were handed out during a pre-televised Premiere Ceremony. That included: Bad Bunny’s “Voy A Llevarte Pa Pr” winning for reggaeton performance. Argentinian duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso cleaned house then, too: taking home their first Latin Grammys for short and long form music video, alternative song, as well as alternative music album for “Papota,” and pop song for “El dia del amigo.” That’s five wins, making them the most awarded act at the 2025 show.

    The three-hour award show aired live from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. It was hosted by the dynamic duo of Maluma and actor, producer and musician Roselyn Sánchez.

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    This story has been updated to correct that Maluma helped open the Latin Grammys, not Miguel.

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  • Grammys invites all Latin Grammy voting members to Recording Academy: Why it matters

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    NEW YORK — In the last few years, the Grammy Awards have made a concerted effort to diversify its electorate. In 2024, the Recording Academy revealed significant changes to its evolving voting body, saying 66% of voters joined in the previous five years, a number of whom were women and people of color. This year, there’s even more movement: For the first time ever, all Latin Grammy voting members were invited to join the Recording Academy as part of its 2025 new member class.

    The Latin Grammys are a licensee of the Grammys and follow a similar voting process. But while the Grammys focus on the U.S. market, the Latin Grammys have global considerations, according to Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud. The Recording Academy also has a number of members on the Latin Grammys board.

    The results are notable: There are 3,800 new Recording Academy members in 2025. Half — 50% — are 39 and under, 58% are people of color and 35% identify as women.

    And in that group, there are approximately 2,900 new Grammy voting members. Nearly half, 49%, are 39 and under; 60% are people of color and 30% identify as women.

    Over the last few years, Latin music has been skyrocketing in popularity, routinely celebrated as one of the fastest growing streaming genres in the United States.

    “The addition of many Latin Recording Academy voting members underscores that music has no borders and that our mission to serve music people, regardless of where they are from, is stronger than ever,” Harvey Mason jr., academy president and CEO, wrote in a statement. “I can’t wait for our members’ passion and hard work to shine through in this year’s nominations.”

    Reform at the Record Academy dates back to the creation of a task force focused on inclusion and diversity after a previous CEO, Neil Portnow, made comments belittling women at the height of the #MeToo movement. In the past, the Grammys have been criticized over a lack of diversity — artists of color and women left out of top prizes; rap and contemporary R&B stars ignored.

    In 2024, Mason jr. told The Associated Press that the Recording Academy sought to increase its voting body by reaching out to different, underrepresented communities. “Let’s take the time to understand why those people aren’t engaging with us, figure out how we can fix that,” he said. “And once we fixed it, then let’s invite them or ask them if they would like to be a part of our organization. So, it was a multi-step process.”

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  • Karol G, Feid, J Balvin, Maluma and More Proudly Rep Colombia With New Single ‘+57’

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    A new anthem from Karol G, Feid, J Balvin, Maluma, Blessd and Ryan Castro arrived Thursday under the name “+57″ — Colombia’s telephone code. All of the featured artists hail from Medellín, the capital of the Antioquia province in Colombia.

    Produced by Karol’s longtime and go-to producer, Ovy on the Drums, “+57” was co-written by all of the artists alongside Latin Grammy-winning songwriter Keityn, and newcomer DFZM. All of the featured vocalists get a turn spitting their verse over a sticky reggaeton beat. “Because in Medellín, I’m like Drake in Toronto,” sings Blessd.

    The single arrived alongside a music video that reveals the song was recorded in February earlier this year in Los Angeles. It features all of the artists partying and recording in the studio.

    Karol, Balvin and Feid are each nominated for awards at the 25th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, which will take place on Nov. 14 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The former is nominated for a total of eight awards while the latter two have each earned four and one nomination, respectively. Karol took home the golden gramophone for album of the year at the Latin Grammys this past year for “Mañana Será Bonito.”

    Balvin released his sixth studio album “Rayo” on Aug. 9, which featured a 15-song series of reggaeton, pop and EDM music. The “Prince of Reggaeton” will make his acting debut in the upcoming feature “Little Lorrain,” which is directed by Grammy nominee Andy Hines.

    The release of “+57” marks a major moment of representation for Colombia, which has a rich musical history of genres such as salsa, cumbia, vallenato, champeta and more. The country has produced stars such as Shakira, Carlos Vives, Sebastián Yatra, Fonseca, Juanes and Andrés Cepeda.

    Watch the video for “+57” below.

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    Andrés Buenahora

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  • Drexler surprises with 6 Latin Grammys; Rosalia best album

    Drexler surprises with 6 Latin Grammys; Rosalia best album

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    Uruguay’s Jorge Drexler was nominated for seven Latin Grammys and on Thursday he took home six, surprising those who took Bad Bunny’s triumph for granted. The second surprise was Rosalía winning album of the year for “Motomami (Digital Album).”

    “You have no idea how unexpected all this is for me,” said Drexler as he received the song of the year award for “Tocarte” (Touch you) from his album “Tinta y tiempo” (Ink and Time) that he performs with Spanish urban musician C. Tangana.

    The Uruguayan musician performed “Tocarte” live with British singer Elvis Costello during the ceremony at the Mandalay Bay Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. Drexler dedicated his award “to all those who make urban music in Spanish.”

    Bad Bunny, who was not present at the ceremony, was the biggest nominee with 10 mentions.

    In the end, he won all the prizes in the urban music section: best fusion/urban performance for “Titi me preguntó” (Titi asked me); best reggaeton performance for “Lo siento BB:/” (I’m sorry BB:/) which he sings with Tainy and Julieta Venegas; best rap/hip hop song for “De museo” (Of museum), best urban song for “Titi me preguntó” (Titi asked me); and best urban music album for “Un verano sin ti” (A summer without you), which was also nominated for a Grammy in the album of the year category, the first album sung in Spanish to achieve this.

    Visibly surprised at winning album of the year at the Latin Grammys, Rosalía said ”‘Motomami’ was the album that she had to fight the most to make, but which “has given me the most joy.”

    Rosalía thanked Latin America, Spain, her team and “the love of my life,” she said looking at the Puerto Rican urban artist Rauw Alejandro, who was in the front row.

    Rosalía, who also won the Latin Grammy for best alternative music album for “Motomami,” performed “Hentai”, “La Fama” and her summer hit “Despechá.”

    Drexler also won Latin Grammys for best pop song for “La guerrilla de la concordia” (Guerrilla of harmony), best alternative song for “El día que estrenaste el mundo” (The day you premiered the world), best singer-songwriter album for “Tinta y tiempo” (Ink and Time) and best song in the Portuguese language for “Vento sardo” with Marisa Monte.

    “This is insane, this is a wonderful exaggeration,” Drexler said.

    For the first in the history of the Latin Grammys a tie was announced in the category of best new artist, with 95-year-old Cuban singer-songwriter Ángela Álvarez sharing the award with 25-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada.

    In an emotional moment, the young Mexican singer said the award for best new artist “was already ours” because most of the candidates this year were women and “even more so because I have here this wonderful woman who has brought tears to my eyes ever since I saw her.”

    “What exists is to represent for the girls to come for the generations to know that it is worthwhile dreaming, fighting and working,” she said.

    Álvarez took the stage accompanied by her grandson Carlos Álvarez, who produced her self-titled debut album.

    Christina Aguilera joined Mexico’s Christian Nodal in a powerful interpretation their ranchera song “Cuando me dé la gana” (When I want to) from her album “Aguilera”, which took the award for best traditional pop vocal album.

    The American singer of Ecuadorian origins, whose previous album in Spanish was “Mi reflejo” in 2000, said she had longed to make another album in Spanish since then.

    After tying Drexler for best pop song, Colombian star Sebastián Yatra won the second Latin Grammy of his career for “Dharma” in the category of best pop vocal album.

    “I want to continue inviting composers, young people, all the people who make music to make the music that is always a reflection of their heart,” said Yatra.

    Yatra was recognized in the pop song category for his anthem “Tacones rojo” (Red Heels) whose Spanish and English version he performed with John Legend.

    Mexican singer Angela Aguilar performed “En realidad” (In Reality) while Chiquis won the Latin Grammy for best band music album for “Abeja Reina” (Queen Bee).

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