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How Awards Shows Have Shifted
Latine Talent Recognition
The Toll Booth
To this day, there’s still the prevailing notion that awards give distinction to an artist or their output, but the truth has always been the other way around: artists not only give prestige to award ceremonies, but also shaped the evolution of the industry’s acceptance of different sounds as well as the people making them. Award shows dedicated to Latine music have evolved with the times in order to keep current and not let the times sweep them away, and in turn become important to global music. This is how artists from the fringes have shaped these ceremonies as well as the perception of the music on a global stage.
At least, that’s been my impression ever since I became obsessed with music in the ‘90s. Back then, award shows seemed like stuffy events with the occasional current artist performing for the baffled audiences in tuxedos. Artists awarded and showcased in these ceremonies seem to come from a completely different era; looking back, they put special emphasis on artists long held as standards playing—to my teenage ears—bland and boring music. We’ve come a long way from these days.
The world’s eyes are now on these awards and performances, and while musical diversity is well represented nowadays, true diversity is not. While all of these awards have featured Afro-Latines since day one, the amount of Black artists awarded or featured as performers compared to their white counterparts is alarmingly low. While many make statements about inclusion, LGBTQ+ artists are also shunned by all these awards, giving them little visibility. Women artists have always been at the forefront of these ceremonies; yet, few behind the scenes—like producers, songwriters, and even members of the voting community—get their due.
The biggest controversy around Latine award shows in the last few years comes down to identity and ownership of music. All these awards have always included Spanish artists but now that the most popular music has shifted from generic dance pop and ballads to reggaeton, bachata, regional Mexican, and such—genres that are also founded by Black musicians—the idea of appropriation has become a heavily debated subject matter. Looking back, the question of belonging has loomed large for most of the history of Latine award ceremonies.
The main road
Latine music started getting noticed by the industry in the mid-’80s with the addition of the Best Latin Pop Performance in the Grammy Award ceremony in 1984 as well as the Hot Latin 50 chart in Billboard magazine in 1986. On that first year, the category was dominated by decidedly old school performers: Plácido Domingo, José Luis Rodríguez “El Puma,” Lani Hall, and José Feliciano, the latter who won; only Menudo represented pop music the Latin American youth were listening to at the time. Likewise, the first song to top the Hot Latin 50 was Rocío Dúrcal’s “La Guirnalda”; however, music outside the adult-contemporary sphere begins to appear as early as 1987 when the magazine named Los Bukis’ “Tu Cárcel” as one of the top songs of the year. In my opinion, this is a bigger cultural moment than we could have imagined; by becoming the first regional Mexican song to carry such recognition, it was a nod to a huge influence for everything from banda to the nascent rock en español genre while appealing to the old guard as well, at least musically; and with their long hair and beards, Marco Antonio Solis and co. didn’t look like anybody’s dad back then. Years later, La Mafia’s “Me Estoy Enamorando” became the first of the genre to be named the number 1 song of 1993. Youth culture was not yet in the cards but some excitement was brewing.
The first award ceremony to focus solely on Latine music was Premio Lo Nuestro which was founded in 1989 by the television network Univision. Nominees and winners were determined by the network as well as Billboard and radio programmers across the United States. Like the Grammy category, Lo Nuestro tended to focus on adult contemporary figures, yet Lo Nuestro made it their mission to be more diverse, having a regional Mexican category since year one, as well as Los Bukis becoming the biggest winners overall. Indeed, performers at Premio Lo Nuestro seemed more exciting than in other awards, even if they didn’t showcase true vanguard artist. Not yet, at least.
While Billboard determined the chart positions through radio airplay back then—it’s now based on digital sales and streaming numbers along with airplay—the Grammys have always been chosen by the members of the National Academy Of Recording Arts and Sciences—now simply called The Recording Academy—which reflected the knowledge of industry insiders and not necessarily those of the general public, and always seemed bent on ignoring music that was fun and happening at the moment. When Billboard made the first ceremony of its Latin Music Awards in 1994 it was largely determined by their own politics; yes, they were quick to give Selena her flowers—and we were more than happy for it—but it was mostly industry titans like Gloria Estefan, and Luis Miguel sweeping the night’s awards, with few having the chance to compete. Still, genre acts Fantasmas Del Caribe and La Mafia got top honors as well, the latter also winning big in the regional Mexican categories. Winners and nominees remained mostly very white, which back my memories of finding these utterly boring, with the exception of El General’s win in the Latin Rap category, marking the beginning of things to come almost a decade later. Who wasn’t rooting for El General then?
The road
less traveled
Premio Lo Nuestro also gave El General recognition in 1993, winning best rap artist while legendary boricua emcee and reggaeton pioneer Vico C got a nomination the following year. However, it also would take 10 years for the awards to acknowledge this new movement. While everyone loved El General no matter what type of music they listened to, he seemed like a fluke and it took some years for us to realize that he was part of a bigger conversation. Certainly, we didn’t find out about the revolution through award shows.
There was also the perspective of Latine music as its own category. The Grammy’s Latine category briefly changed names to Best Latin Pop Or Urban Album, using a term which stigmatizes and generalizes a certain type of music. However, in the years when this category was in place—1992-1994—it seldom recognized artists associated with that tag, giving the award to Vicki Carr, Jon Secada, and Luis Miguel, respectively. The name of the category reverted in 1995 but the seeds of the idea for something bigger for Latine music were already in place. Meanwhile, the underground was brewing with excitement beyond what we saw on TV.
In 1997, the Latin Academy Of Recording Arts and Sciences was founded in order to expand the recognition of Latine music in the industry. Three years later, the first Latin Grammys ceremony was held and it boasted many different categories to recognize more than one artist per year. Having said this, the nominations were plagued with familiar names, elder statesmen, established women, and artists given the nod of approval by the white audiences in the U.S. and Europe due to the Latin Boom of the moment, including Shakira who unveiled her newly platinum blonde persona at that ceremony. Yes, it was amazing to see Shaki give an exhilarating performance of “Ojos Así” but the rest still felt at odds with what was already happening, like trying to present a manicured version of Latine music to other audiences instead of their own. The whole Latin boom—however fun and nostalgic it seems now—gave us a sense of alienation.
Merging Onto
The Fast Lane
The streets were getting louder and change was imminent. At The Billboard Latin Music Awards in 1999, Vico C won Latin Rap Album Of The Year for his landmark Aquel Que Había Muerto record. In 2004, he also became the winner of the first Best Urban Music Album the Latin Grammys gave away in 2004 although he and Tego Calderón had been nominated for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album the previous year. In 2005, Daddy Yankee was nominated for Record Of The Year for “Gasolina” while Intocable represented regional Mexican on the Album Of The Year category, diversifying the main categories away from ballads and crossover hits. Looking at the Billboard charts Hot Latin Songs year-end chart for 2004 we see no entries even remotely in this area, yet Daddy Yankee, Luny Tunes, and Intocable are present in 2005, which marks radio finally playing these types of music in their programming, as well as the rising importance of the internet. Finally, what we were listening to was getting nods from the industry; it wasn’t validation as much as crashing the party, making the tuxedo-wearing guests know that from now on, perreo, corridos, and more were part of the conversation. Even flashy outfits and ball caps became omnipresent among ceremony attendees, just as they were at our backyard parties and weekend get-togethers.
The year 2004 also saw Premio Lo Nuestro expanding their vision. El General performed at the ceremony perhaps as a nod to them adding an urban category to the ceremony which he took from other nominees like Vico C and Tego Calderon, while also nominating K-Paz De La Sierra on the Best New Artist category, ushering a new era for regional Mexican with the rise of pasito duranguense, and setting a precedent for future waves like corrido tumbado. Since then, Premio Lo Nuestro fervently embraced El Movimiento, inviting driving figures like Daddy Yankee and Don Omar to perform, while giving them and other pioneers like Luny Tunes and DJ Nelson awards and nominations. Ever since, the ceremony has heavily featured reggaeton, bachata, regional Mexican, and other forward-thinking styles. Indeed, performances at Lo Nuestro are always a thing to behold.
The Best Way
To Get Home
In 2015, the Latin American Music Awards first aired, produced by the Dick Clark Productions who also produced the AMAs. Broadcast by Telemundo, the ceremony continues the same path as other Latine showings and has established itself as a prestigious notch for every artist nominated. With the Latin AMAs, an award season for Latine music has been established and become a big deal in the global music world.
Latine music awards are some of the most watched award shows. As of 2023, Latin Grammy, Billboard Latin, Latin AMA, and Lo Nuestro all average an audience of around 5.5 million viewers; for comparison, the Grammy Awards averaged 12.5 million viewers for its 2023 transmission, yet all the ceremonies mentioned surpass prestigious award transmissions like BET Awards which averaged 3 million viewers, or MTV Video Music Awards with 700 thousand viewers.
As much as the true Latine sounds that Latines listen to on the regular now get the big awards, looking to the future as opposed to the past, these ceremonies still have a steep road ahead. Having diverse voices should provide as much excitement as the genres that have become the leading forces in the global mainstream, and only when those voices are present will award shows become as prestigious as the music they celebrate year after year.
This article is part of The Journey to Recognition,
a program in partnership with Hyundai
to celebrate our culture and music.
Marcos Hassan
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