Daddy Yankee and J Balvin Call Out Latin Grammys For Shutting Out Reggaeton Artists
The nominations for the 20th annual Latin Grammy Awards were announced yesterday and everyone is not too pleased
Photo: Unsplash/@jacobmejicanos
The nominations for the 20th annual Latin Grammy Awards were announced yesterday and everyone is not too pleased. Spanish artists Alejandro Sanz and Rosalía lead with the most nominations and there’s been some push back from several other “urbano” artists, expressing their frustration over the lack of reggaeton artists being nominated.
Nicky Jam, Karol G, J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, and Maluma all took to their social media pages to call out the Latin Grammys for not recognizing reggeaton as a crucial part of Latin music. While several reggaeton artists received nominations under the “Urban” label, many others were shut out.
“Despite being nominated,” Daddy Yankee wrote in Spanish on Instagram, “I don’t agree with the way they treated the genre and a lot of my colleagues. Remember one very important thing, your platform [Urban] was not the one that created this movement. This goes beyond a prize. This is culture, credibility, relevance, and RESPECT.”
J Balvin echoed his sentiment, “Por la cultura y el movimiento” (For the culture and the movement). Other artists and fans began using the hashtag: #sinreggaetonnohaylatingrammy. The Colombian artist previously received an MTV Music Award alongside Rosalía (nominated for Record of the Year, Contemporary Pop Vocal Album, and Pop Song in the 2019 Latin Grammys) for their song “Con Altura.”
Maluma also took to Instagram stories to share that his frustration over not receiving any nominations for his latest album 11:11. “It is a disappointment to not even have one Latin Grammys nomination,” he said. “So much effort, the best album I’ve ever made in my LIFE.”
While Camila Cabella received three nominations and Rosalía five, Alejandro Sanz leads with eight Latin Grammys nominations (who knew he had released new music?).
Other Latin Grammy nominees include Juan Luis Guerra, Fonseca, and Andrés Calamaro, with four nominations; Kany Garcia, Sech and Sebastian Yatra with three; J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Chocquibtown, Rubén Blades and Vicente Garcia stand on the ballot as well with two nominations. Aitana, Burning Caravan, Cami, Fer Casillas, Chipi Chacón, Elsa y Elmar, Greeicy, Juan Ingaramo, Paulo Londra, and Nella earned a spot for the category of Best New Artist.
However, reggaeton artists like Daddy Yankee and J Balvin might feel, the president and CEO of The Latin Recording Academy, Gabriel Abaroa Jr, doesn’t seem to think there’s a representation issue within the categories of nominees. In fact, he applauded the Latin Grammys for their diversity.
“It is a privilege for The Latin Recording Academy to see the great diversity of talented artists that join the historic season,” the president and CEO said in a press release. “From our beginnings, our international identity membership is the driving force in search of excellence. Whether they are sound engineers, artists, composers or musical arrangers – regardless of gender, age, national identity or musical genre – nominees are the product of a voting process in which every vote counts. Latin music is increasingly popular in the world, unites us, takes pride, and we are excited to celebrate it.”
The 20th annual Latin Grammys will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 13, and will air on Univision. We’ll be watching to see how this plays out.
