J Balvin and Karol G Lead the Latin American Music Awards 2021 Nominations

Despite the pandemic's bulldozing of the music industry last year, urbano acts J Balvin and Karol G managed to keep the momentum going.

Balvin dropped Colores, his fourth studio album, just as the world entered into lockdown. The album charted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 while also garnering critical acclaim. All but one track on the album ("Arcoiris") is named after a color, with each accompanying music video taking inspiration from its name. Balvin recently returned with the single "Ma' G." Produced by Sky Rompiendo, the song was first performed by Balvin in Miami this past Saturday during the Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim boxing match at Hard Rock Stadium before the the music video dropped the following day.

Then there's Karol G, who dropped the track "Tusa," featuring Nicki Minaj, in November 2019 — but the song never stopped being gobbled up by listeners. The music video surpassed the one billion stream mark on YouTube last September. She also released the certifiable hit "Ay, Dios Mío!" last July and followed that with "Bichota" in October. It only seems like it's only a matter of time before she releases a followup to her 2019 album Ocean.

So perhaps it's unsurprising that when the Latin American Music Awards 2021 nominees were announced yesterday, the two Colombianos led the pack with nine nominations apiece. Both will duke it out for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Favorite Artist Urban, Favorite Song Urban, Collaboration of the Year, and Social Artist of the Year.

Not far behind, with eight nominations, is Puerto Rican reggaetonero Bad Bunny, who seems poised to be Latin music's crossover superstar. He released his second studio album YHLQMDLG in February 2020 to universal critical acclaim, with the album making several appearances in "Best Albums of 2020" lists. He followed that up with his own quarantine album, El Último Tour del Mundo, which became the first all-Spanish-language album to reach the top of the Billboard 200. The album's breakthrough single, "Dákiti," featuring Jhay Cortes, reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. And American audiences are only getting more familiar with El Conejo Malo after appearances on WWE's Raw and Saturday Night Live.

Bad Bunny is up for the three big awards: Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.

Other nominees this year include Anuel AA with six nominations; Black Eyed Peas and Christian Nodal with five; Maluma and Shakira with four; and Carlos Vives, Myke Towers, and Prince Royce with three. Other nominees to watch out for include Becky G, Jennifer Lopez, Kali Uchis, Daddy Yankee, Romeo Santos, Gloria Estefan, and Wisin y Yandel.

The awards will be handed out on April 15 during a live broadcast on Telemundo from the BB&T Center in Sunrise. That's a departure from the Latin AMAs' first five years, held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The move to South Florida likely has to do with the fact that California's COVID-19 restrictions are far more robust than Florida's, as well as the fact that many of Latin music's biggest stars call South Florida home.

Winners are chosen by the fans who vote online, so if you're hoping to see your favorite artist win, you can vote up to 25 times per category per day. Voting is open now at latinamas.com/vota.

Here is the full list of nominees:

Artist of the Year

• Anuel AA
• Bad Bunny
• Christian Nodal
• Daddy Yankee
• Eslabon Armado
• J Balvin
• Karol G
• Maluma
• Ozuna
• Sech

New Artist of the Year

• Camilo
  
• Eslabon Armado
  
• Los Dos Carnales
  
• Myke Towers
  
• Natanael Cano
  
• Rauw Alejandro

Song of the Year

• Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
  
• Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin – “Ritmo (Bad Boys For Life)”
  
• Karol G, Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
  
• Maluma and the Weeknd – “Hawái”
  

Album of the Year

• Anuel AA – Emmanuel
  
• Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG
  
• J Balvin – Colores
  
• Natanael Cano – Corridos Tumbados

Favorite Artist - Female

• Anitta
  
• Becky G
  
• Karol G
  
• Natti Natasha
  
• Shakira

Favorite Artist - Male

• Anuel AA
  
• Bad Bunny
  
• Christian Nodal
  
• J Balvin
  
• Maluma
  
• Ozuna
  

Favorite Duo or Group

• Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
  
• Eslabon Armado
  
• Jowell & Randy
  
• Reik
  

Favorite Artist - Pop

• Camilo
  
• Enrique Iglesias
  
• Luis Fonsi
  
• Ricky Martin
  
• Shakira

Favorite Album - Pop

• Camilo – Por Primera Vez
  
• Kali Uchis – Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios)
  
• Pedro Capó - Munay
  
• Reik - Ahora

Favorite Song - Pop

• Black Eyed Peas, Ozuna, and J.Rey Soul – “Mamacita”
  
• Camilo – “Favorito”
  
• Reik, Farruko, Camilo – “Si Me Dices Que Sí”
  
• Ricky Martin – “Tiburones”
  
• Shakira and Anuel AA – “Me Gusta”

Favorite Solo Artist - Regional Mexican

• Carin Leon
  
• Christian Nodal
  
• El Fantasma
  
• Junior H
  
• Lenin Ramírez
  
• Natanael Cano
  

Regional Mexican, Favorite Duo or Group

• Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
  
• Eslabon Armado
  
• Los Ángeles Azules
  
• Los Dos Carnales

Favorite Album - Regional Mexican

• Christian Nodal – Ayayay!
  
• Eslabon Armado – Tu Veneno Mortal
  
• Junior H – Atrapado En Un Sueño
  
• Natanael Cano – Corridos Tumbados
  

Favorite Song - Regional Mexican

• Banda Los Sebastianes de Mazatlán, Sinaloa – “En Eso No Quedamos”
  
• Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga & Snoop Dogg – “Qué Maldición”
  
• Lenin Ramírez featuring Grupo Firme – “Yo Ya No Vuelvo Contigo”
  
• Los Dos Carnales – “El Envidioso”
  
• Natanael Cano – “Amor Tumbado”

Favorite Artist - Urban

• Anuel AA
  
• Bad Bunny
  
• J Balvin
  
• Karol G
  

Favorite Album - Urban

• Anuel AA – Emmanuel
  
• Bad Bunny – Las Que No Iban a Salir
  
• J Balvin – Colores

Favorite Song - Urban

• Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
  
• Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin – “Ritmo (Bad Boys For Life)”
  
• Karol G and Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
  
• Maluma and the Weeknd – “Hawái”
  
• Ozuna x Karol G x Myke Towers – “Caramelo”

Favorite Artist - Tropical

• Marc Anthony
  
• Prince Royce
  
• Romeo Santos
  
• Silvestre Dangond

Favorite Album - Tropical

• Carlos Vives – Cumbiana
  
• Gloria Estefan – Brazil305
  
• Prince Royce – Alter Ego

Favorite Song - Tropical

• Alex Bueno and Romeo Santos – “Nuestro Amor”
  
• Carlos Vives – “No Te Vayas”
  
• Kyen?Es? – “El Carnaval de Celia: A Tribute”
  
• Prince Royce – “Carita de Inocente”
  
• Víctor Manuelle & Wisin – “Boogaloo Supreme”

Favorite Artist - Crossover

• Black Eyed Peas
  
• Dua Lipa
  
• Ne-Yo
  
• Snoop Dogg
  
• The Weeknd
  

Collaboration of the Year

• Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga and Snoop Dogg – “Qué Maldición”
  
• Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin – “Ritmo (Bad Boys For Life)”
  
• Karol G and Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
  
• Lenin Ramírez featuring Grupo Firme – “Yo Ya No Vuelvo Contigo”
  
• Ozuna, Karol G, and Myke Towers – “Caramelo”
  
• Reik, Farruko, and Camilo – “Si Me Dices Que Sí”
  

Social Artist of the Year

• Anitta
  
• Bad Bunny
  
• Cardi B
  
• Daddy Yankee
  
• J Balvin
  
• Jennifer Lopez
  
• Karol G
  
• Lali
  
• Selena Gomez
  
• Shakira
  

Favorite Video

• Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga and Snoop Dogg – “Qué Maldición”
  
• Christian Nodal and Ángela Aguilar – “Dime Cómo Quieres”
  
• David Bisbal and Carrie Underwood – “Tears of Gold”
  
• Ozuna, Doja Cat, and Sia – “Del Mar”
  
• Rosalía and Travis Scott – “TKN”
  
• Selena Gomez – “De Una Vez”

Favorite Virtual Concert

• Alejandro Sanz y Juanes – “#LaGiraSeQuedaEnCasa”
  
• Carlos Vives – “#NoTeVayasDeTuCasa”
  
• Juan Luis Guerra – “Privé”
  
• Juanes & Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá – “Concierto Sinfónico Virtual - #VolverteAVer”
  
• Marco Antonio Solís – “Serenata a las Madres MÁS En-Cantadoras"
  
• Ozuna – “#Latinosunidos”
  
• Pepe Aguilar, Ángela Aguilar, Leonardo Aguilar – “Mexicano Hasta Los Huesos”
  
• RBD – “Ser o Parecer 2020”
  
• Sebastián Yatra – “SOSFest”
  
• Yandel – “Goodbye 2020
  

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