Billboard Latin Music Awards 2011

Last night we watched the 2011 Latin Music Billboard Awards, a star-studded event that kept us on the edge of our seats. Enrique Iglesias not only opened the show but took home several awards. He was nominated in fourteen categories and won 9! Iglesias' wins included Latin Artist of the Year, Latin Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album of the Year. His album "Euphoria" spawned several big hits, including "Cuando Me Enamoro" (featuring Juan Luis Guerra), which won Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event and Latin Pop Airplay Song of the Year. Enrique also won the award for Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year Male and Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Male, for his sales.

Enrique Iglesias is an incredibly talented artist who has done very well this past year and obviously has a huge following and an amazing fan base. Below is the video where he won Male Artist of the Year.



Another superstar who walked away with six awards was Shakira. We all know how hard she worked this past year and how much her fans love her. Shakira won Latin Pop Airplay Artist of the Year, Solo and Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year Female,and Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Female, for sales of her album "Sale el Sol." "Sale El Sol" also won Latin Digital Album of the year while "Waka Waka," the Shakira track featuring Freshlyground was the Latin Digital Download of the Year. Shakira also won Female Latin Artist of the Year, based on performance on Billboard's Social 50 chart.

Prince Royce won 4 awards, including Latin Artist of the Year, meanwhile Aventura, Camila, Daddy Yankee and Juan Luis Guerra received three awards. One of my favorite stars, the amazing Chayanne, won Latin Touring Artist of the Year. In my opinion I think his talent should have won him all three awards that he was nominated for, but unfortunately he only won one. A special award was given to Gloria Estefan, Spirit of Hope Award, which was created in honor of Selena. This award is given to artists who have tirelessly given their time to civic, community and humanitarian causes. Gloria is known for her music all over the world and takes pride in her Gloria Estefan Foundation which helps abused children and raises money to provide scholarship and help cover costly health related expenses.

Emmanuel received the Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been singing for the past 35 years and is a very talented singer and songwriter. His continued success has opened many doors for many Latin newcomers through the years. Over the years, Emmanuel has received numerous awards including the Silver trophy (Antorcha de Plata) at Viña del Mar, Chile, and seven gold and two platinum albums. He has also been involved in many projects to benefit the environment and other causes.

I also enjoyed the performances by Maná’s who debuted their new single Lluvia al orazón,” and Juanes with his song “Regalito,” and who can forget the incredible dance collaboration between Pitbull, Jencarlos Canela and rapper T-Pain.

The 2011 Billboard Latin Music Awards was a very entertaining show that delivered the very best in the Latin music world at this moment. Unfortunately many of your favorites and mine didn't win last night but we all know that in our hearts they will always be winners. I think that just getting nominated is a huge honor and there is always next year.

For a complete list of all the winners please visit the official Billboard website at www.billboard.com

Peace and Love ;-)

The 2011 Billboard Latin Music Awards

I cannot be any more excited because the Latin Billboard Music Awards will be aired this Thursday, April 28th starting at 8pm on Telemundo. They will honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music determined by their sales and radio airplay this past year. This year’s 2011 Billboard Latin Music Award presentation will be hosted by Venezuelan Daniel Sarcos, actress Aylin Mujica, and actor Rafael Amaya. The event will be aired from the Bank United Center at the University of Miami. Some of the artists scheduled to perform are Mana, Enrique Iglesias, Don Omar, Camila, Luis Fonsi, Pitbull, Banda El Recodo, Jencarlos Canela, Cristian Castro, Gloria Trevi, Lucero, Juanes, Emmanuel, Marc Anthony, and many more. They will be giving two special awards on this prestigious night, the Spirit of Hope Awared to Gloria Estefan and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Emmanuel. Enrique Iglesias leads with a total of 14 nominations followed by Shakira with 13 nominations.

Here are some of the most popular categories with its nominees.

Latin Artist of the Year:
Aventura (Premium Latin)
Camila (Sony Music Latin)
Enrique Iglesias (Universal Music Latino)
Shakira (Epic/Sony Music Latin)

Latin Pop Albums Artist of the Year, Solo:
Chayanne (Sony Music Latin)
Enrique Iglesias (Universal Music Latino)
Marc Anthony (Sony Music Latin)
Shakira (Epic/Sony Music Latin)

Latin Pop Airplay Artist of the Year, Solo:
Chayanne (Sony Music Latin)
Enrique Iglesias (Universal Music Latino)
Juan Luis Guerra (Capitol Latin)
Shakira (Epic/Sony Music Latin

Latin Artist of the Year, New:
Banda Los Recoditos (Disa)
Chino Y Nacho (Machete/Universal Music Latino)
Prince Royce (Top Stop/Sony Music Latin)
Voz de Mando (Disa/UMLE)

Latin Touring Artist of the Year:
Alejandro Sanz (Warner Latina)
Chayanne (Sony Music Latin)
Marc Anthony (Sony Music Latin)
Shakira (Epic/Sony Music Latin)

Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male:
Daddy Yankee (El Cartel/Sony Music Latin)
Enrique Iglesias (Universal Music Latino)
Larry Hernandez (Mendieta/Fonovisa)
Prince Royce (Top Stop)

Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Female:
Ivy Queen (Machete/Universal Music Latino)
Lady Gaga (Streamlive/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope)
Shakira (Epic/Sony Music Latin)
Thalia (Sony Music Latin)

Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Duo or Group:
Aventura (Premium Latin)
Banda El Recodo (Disa)
Camila (Sony Music Latin)
La Arrolladora Banda El Limon (Disa)

Latin Pop Airplay Artist of the Year, Duo or Group:
Aventura (Premium Latin)
Camila (Sony Music Latin)
Chino Y Nacho (Machete/Universal Music Latino)
Wisin & Yandel (WY/Machete/Universal Music Latino)

This promises to be a night full of great music and a lot of excitement. So join me on Thursday and let’s watch this incredible award show and root for our favorites. Below is a link for the complete list of the 2011 Billboard Latin Music Award finalists. I am sure you will find your favorite artists on there...I know I did (*obvious hint – Chayanne).

http://www.billboardevents.com/billboardevents/latin/latin-music-awards/index.jsp

Peace and Love ;-) Candela