In November, the Latin Grammy Awards will celebrate 25 years of highlighting excellence in Latine music. For many artists, to win a Latin Grammy award is the highest achievement because it’s an honor given by their peers in the industry. What has become the “biggest night in Latin music” is also a very important and pivotal moment for artists and bands’ careers – especially for the first-time nominees.
Though Latine music categories exist at the Grammy Awards, the creation of the Latin Grammys in 2000 allowed for more music in Spanish and Portuguese to be highlighted and awarded. At the Grammys, there’s a catchall album category for música mexicana that includes Tejano, whereas at the Latin Grammys, there are separate categories for ranchera and mariachi, banda, Tejano, and norteño. Specific genre categories have allowed many more Latine and Spanish talents to shine. Latine legends like Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Rubén Blades, Celia Cruz, and others have won Latin Grammy awards during their lifetime. Over the years, Shakira, Residente, Juanes, and more have become icons with multiple wins. More recently, superstars like Bad Bunny, Karol G, and Rosalía have also been recognized by their peers.
To win a Latin Grammy can be a game-changer for an artist’s career or a movement in music. After leading corridos tumbados to prominence a few years ago, Mexican singer Natanael Cano has received his first nomination thanks to the creation of a new category. Gloria Groove and Young Miko will proudly represent the LGBTQ+ community at this year’s ceremony with their nominations. Sometimes, it takes two decades to get recognized, like in the case of Mexican pop star Carlos Rivera. Here are seven acts who, after years of cementing their place in the Latine music world, are finally first-time Latin Grammy award nominees this year.
Natanael Cano
After Cano pushed corridos tumbados into the mainstream in late 2019, there were hopes that he and the genre would be recognized at the following year’s Latin Grammy Awards. When that didn’t happen, there was public outcry about the lack of música mexicana in the main categories, especially the sounds of corridos tumbados and sierreño. To highlight the new wave of música mexicana, the Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album category was created. After years of rallying for tumbados representation, Cano is finally nominated in said category for his Nata Montana album. His nomination also marks the first for his label, Rancho Humilde.
Young Miko
Young Miko was largely overlooked in the 2024 Latin Grammy nominations. After scoring hits like “Classy 101” with Feid last year, she released her debut album, att., in April. Though the LP qualified for this year’s ceremony, it was snubbed, even in the categories for el movimiento music. But thanks to her collaboration with Argentine producer Bizarrap, Young Miko did score her very first nomination. The genre-bending banger “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 58” is nominated in the Best Urban/Fusion Performance category. Throughout her career, Young Miko has always sung openly about her attraction to other women, so her presence at the Latin Grammys is a big win for LGBTQ+ visibility.
Grupo Frontera
With the lack of Grupo Frontera at last year’s Latin Grammy Awards, in a way, the band was snubbed and wasn’t snubbed. The Mexican-American’s debut album El Comienzo didn’t make the cutoff date for that ceremony, but their big hits like “Bebe Dame” with Fuerza Regida and “Un x100” with Bad Bunny did qualify. The latter was nominated for Song of the Year, but only the songwriters, so the band wasn’t eligible. Fortunately, at this year’s awards, Grupo Frontera is being recognized. El Comienzo is up for Best Norteño Album, while their follow-up, Jugando a Que No Pasa Nada, is nominated for Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album.
DannyLux
Along with corridos tumbados, sierreño was long shunned by the Latin Grammy Awards in the música mexicana categories. Eslabon Armado became the first sierreño act to be nominated at last year’s ceremony off the success of “Ella Baila Sola” with Peso Pluma. They rose to prominence in 2020 thanks to the success of their collaboration “Jugaste y Sufrí” with DannyLux. With the introduction of the Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album, sierreño now has a category where it can shine. DannyLux is now a first-time nominee in the category. The Mexican-American singer is nominated for his DLUX album, where he blends sierreño with rock, bachata, country, and other genres.
Emilia
Emilia has had a long road to Latine pop stardom. Early into her career, the Argentine singer walked away from the duo Rombai. Emilia told Remezcla in 2022 that there were plenty of doubts, even from her father, about whether she could make it alone. Fortunately, she forged a solo career and released her debut album Tú Crees En Mí? After playing with genres like reggaeton and trap, Emilia found her groove in pop with her follow-up .MP3, where she delved into the sounds of the 2000s, like house music. Now, she is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, validating all the work she puts in, whether it’s choreography or visual components, to become a fully rounded popstar.
Gloria Groove
Not only is Gloria Groove representing the LGBTQ+ community in this year’s Latin Grammy nominations, she is also representing drag queens. The Brazilian superstar is nominated at the Latin Grammys for the first time. Groove is up for Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance with “Da Braba” featuring Ludmilla and MC GW. Ludmilla, who won her first Latin Grammy in 2022 for Best Samba/Pagode Album, is also a part of the queer community as an openly bisexual artist. Groove’s frequent collaborator, Pabllo Vittar, previously made history as the first drag queen to be nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2018.
Carlos Rivera
Back in July, Carlos Rivera celebrated a very important milestone. The Mexican pop star launched his music career 20 years ago after winning La Academia. Rivera’s accolades in the next two decades would include singing “Recuérdame” on the Coco soundtrack and collaborating with acts like Gente de Zona, Becky G, Maluma, Thalia, Prince Royce, and more. After releasing seven albums, Rivera never received a Latin Grammy nomination. That finally changed this year thanks to another artist who won a singing competition, Spanish singer David Bisbal. The two heartthrobs joined forces for the romantic ballad “Ahora,” which was nominated for Best Pop Song.