18th Annual Latin Grammy Award nominees announced

The Latin Recording Academy has announced the nominees for the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the preeminent honor for excellence in Latin music and the only peer-presented Latin music accolade. The nominees include a diverse group of established artists and newcomers. Leading the list are Residente with nine nominations, Maluma with seven, Shakira with six, and Kevin Jiménez ADG, Juanes, and Mon Laferte with five each. Latin Grammy winners will be revealed November 16th live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and broadcast on the Univision Network from 8-11 pm ET/5-8 pm PT.

In addition to the top nominees, several artists and technical professionals received four nominations each: Rafa Arcaute (producer and engineer), Tom Coyne (engineer), Luis Fonsi, Vicente García, Nicky Jam, Natalia Lafourcade, Danay Suarez, and Daddy Yankee.

“More than ever, Latin music continues to have an enormous cultural impact by uniting people throughout the world,” says Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. “Many of this year’s nominees have expanded beyond traditional genres to create different fusions through creative collaborations. These artists, producers, and writers, united by artistic excellence and devotion to their craft, have come together to deliver eclectic music that has resulted in worldwide success.”

The Record Of The Year list is composed of a diverse group of artists, genres and interesting collaborations, such as “Amárrame,” “Despacito,” “Chantaje,” “El Ratico,” “El Surco,” “Felices Los 4,” “La Flor De La Canela,” “Guerra,” “Quiero Que Vuelvas,” and “Vente Pa’ Ca.”

The Latin Grammy Awards are voted on by The Latin Recording Academy’s international membership body of music makers, who represent all genres and creative disciplines, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, mixers, and engineers. The 2017 nominees were selected from nearly 10,000 submissions across 48 categories during the eligibility period (July 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017). Voting members will begin the final round of online voting on September 28th. Winners will be revealed November 16th, during the 18th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards Premiere and telecast ceremonies.

Following is a list of the nominations in some of the 48 categories. They feature an array of musical genres, as well as some of the most prominent names and brightest newcomers in Latin music.

Album Of The Year
  • Salsa Big Band — Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
  • Obras Son Amores — Antonio Carmona
  • A La Mar — Vicente García
  • Fénix — Nicky Jam
  • Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes
  • La Trenza — Mon Laferte
  • Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos, Vol. 1) — Natalia Lafourcade
  • Residente — Residente
  • El Dorado — Shakira
  • Palabras Manuales — Danay Suarez
Record Of The Year
  • “La Flor De La Canela” — Rubén Blades
  • “El Surco” — Jorge Drexler
  • “Quiero Que Vuelvas” — Alejandro Fernández
  • “Despacito” — Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee
  • “El Ratico” — Juanes featuring Kali Uchis
  • “Amárrame” — Mon Laferte featuring Juanes
  • “Felices Los 4” — Maluma
  • “Vente Pa’ Ca” — Ricky Martin featuring Maluma
  • “Guerra” — Residente
  • “Chantaje” — Shakira featuring Maluma
Song Of The Year (A Songwriter’s Award)
  • “Amárrame” — Mon Laferte, songwriter (Mon Laferte featuring Juanes)
  • “Chantaje” — Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño, Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra, Joel Antonio López Castro, Maluma and Shakira, songwriters (Shakira featuring Maluma)
  • “Desde Que Estamos Juntos” — Descemer Bueno and Melendi, songwriters (Melendi)
  • “Despacito” — Daddy Yankee, Erika Ender and Luis Fonsi, songwriters (Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee)
  • “Ella” — Ricardo Arjona, songwriter (Ricardo Arjona)
  • “Felices Los 4” — Mario Cáceres, Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño, Maluma, Servando Primera, Stiven Rojas and Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra, songwriters (Maluma)
  • “Guerra” — Residente and Jeff Trooko, songwriters (Residente)
  • “La Fortuna” — Diana Fuentes and Tommy Torres, songwriters (Diana Fuentes featuring Tommy Torres)
  • “Tú Sí Sabes Quererme” — Natalia Lafourcade, songwriter (Natalia Lafourcade featuring Los Macorinos)
  • “Vente Pa’ Ca ” — Nermin Harambasic, Maluma, Ricky Martin, Mauricio Montaner, Ricky Montaner, Lars Pedersen, Carl Ryden, Justin Stein, Ronny Vidar Svendsen and Anne Judith Stokke Wik, songwriters (Ricky Martin featuring Maluma)
Best New Artist
  • Paula Arenas
  • CNCO
  • Vicente García
  • Martina La Peligrosa
  • Mau y Ricky
  • Rawayana
  • Sofía Reyes
  • Rosalía
  • Danay Suarez
  • Sebastián Yatra
Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album
  • Hijos Del Mar — David Bisbal
  • Rompiendo Fronteras — Alejandro Fernández
  • Flora Y Faῦna — Camila Luna
  • El Dorado — Shakira
  • Extended Play Yatra — Sebastián Yatra
Best Urban Fusion / Performance
  • “Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola” — J. Balvin featuring Bad Bunny
  • “Despacito” (Remix) — Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber
  • “El Amante” — Nicky Jam
  • “Dagombas En Tamale” — Residente
  • “Chantaje” — Shakira featuring Maluma
Best Alternative Music Album
  • Jei Beibi — Café Tacvba
  • Apocalipsis Zombi — El Cuarteto de Nos
  • La Trenza — Mon Laferte
  • La Promesa De Thamar — Sig Ragga
  • Palabras Manuales — Danay Suarez
Best Regional Song (A Songwriter’s Award)
  • “Compromiso Descartado” — Espinoza Paz, songwriter (Leonardo Aguilar)
  • “Ganas De Volver” — Horacio Palencia, songwriter (Horacio Palencia)
  • “Sentimiento Emborrachado” — Raúl Jiménez E. and Chucho Rincón, songwriters (Santiago Arroyo)
  • “Siempre Es Así” — Juan Treviño, songwriter (Juan Treviño featuring AJ Castillo)
  • “Vale La Pena” — Edgar Barrera, Martín Castro Ortega and Alfonso Lizárraga, songwriters (Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga)
Best MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) Album
  • Dos Navegantes — Edu Lobo, Romero Lubambo, and Mauro Senise
  • DNA Musical — Alexandre Pires
  • Silva Canta Marisa — Silva
  • Até Pensei Que Fosse Minha — António Zambujo
  • Zanna — Zanna

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com