When the nominees for final 12 months’s Latin Grammy Awards had been introduced, nobody was stunned that Dangerous Bunny led with a whopping 10 nominations.
He not solely was the 12 months’s most profitable Latin artist — he was the pop star of the 12 months. On Billboard’s year-end chart for 2022, he was named prime artist, whereas his recent, multihit undertaking Un Verano Sin Ti was topped the No. 1 album of the 12 months, beating out Harry Kinds’ Harry’s Home and Adele’s 30.
So when it got here time to announce the 2023 Grammy nominations, it appeared inevitable that Dangerous Bunny can be acknowledged with a number of nominations, particularly since his album launched 4 prime 10 hits on the Billboard Scorching 100 chart.
However that didn’t occur.
As a substitute, Dangerous Bunny garnered a measly three nominations. Sure, he made historical past by having the first-ever Latin album compete for the present’s prime prize — album of the 12 months — but when he had been an R&B singer like Beyoncé, a rapper like Kendrick Lamar or a pop star like Taylor Swift, he would have earned much more nominations. Within the years these acts dominated music, they earned eight to 11 nominations every.
And that’s simply it — although Latin music is a world phenomenon and one among music’s most streamed genres, Latin songs don’t have a significant platform on the conventional Grammys. Dangerous Bunny’s different nominations had been for finest música urbana album — he received — and finest pop solo efficiency for “Moscow Mule” (he misplaced to Adele’s “Straightforward on Me”).
To a lot shock, his songs didn’t obtain sufficient votes to compete for report or track of the 12 months, however on the Grammys there are not any awards for finest Latin track or Latin efficiency.
And earlier than you say, “They have already got the Latin Grammys,” my rebuttal is: “Why can’t they’ve each?”
There’s a probability issues might change on the 2024 Grammy Awards. The perfect world music efficiency class was first offered in 2022, and African artists dominated in nominations that 12 months; it was repeated at this 12 months’s present. However with the rise of Afrobeats, these artists will now compete within the newly created finest African music efficiency class. So who might be nominated for finest world music efficiency?
Pakistani American singer Arooj Aftab received the inaugural world music efficiency award, and sitar participant Anoushka Shankar earned a nomination; acts like these will possible proceed to be acknowledged within the class. However the very best world music efficiency appears like the right house for Latin songs.
Latin music is world, clearly. The Recording Academy’s definition says the class “is meant for vocal and instrumental performances with sturdy parts of world cultural significance that mix music types and strategies present in pop, R&B, dance, rap and people with distinctive music types, native expressions and strategies discovered among the many world diaspora originating outdoors america. The mixture offers a singular sense of melody, rhythm, concord and lyric that’s of world enchantment.”
Seems like Latin songs qualify.
With Latin acts like Karol G reaching new heights — she’s acting on a stadium tour on the similar venues as Swift and Beyoncé — and artists like Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado bringing regional Mexican music to the pop charts, their songs ought to have an opportunity to be acknowledged on the conventional Grammys — and never solely within the pop classes or within the prime prizes like report and track of the 12 months. Rock, rap, pop, R&B and nation artists don’t have these limitations, so why ought to Latin artists?
Sure, Latin artists at this time ought to compete alongside such pop stars as Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa, however that shouldn’t be their solely possibility on the Grammys. They need to have a couple of seat on the desk.
When a style turns into extra in style — like Afrobeats — teams usually will submit a proposal for a brand new class on the Grammys that’s reviewed by its board of trustees after which accredited or denied.
Whereas finest world music efficiency could also be good momentary housing for Latin songs, requesting their very own class is actual house possession.
This story first appeared within the Aug. 16 challenge of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click on right here to subscribe.
