From Emerging to Established: 5 Standout 2025 Latin Grammy Nominees

Linker

For years, Portuguese-language artists have hovered at the margins of Latin music recognition. Liniker’s six nominations change that. Her nods for Album and Record of the Year make her the first Black trans artist ever recognized across major Latin Grammy categories. A radiant blend of MPB and soul, her album Caju bridges Brazil’s deep musical history with a broader Latin pop consciousness. The record sparked sold-out international shows, placed every track on Brazil’s Spotify Top 200, and earned her induction into the Brazilian Academy of Culture. Collaborations with icons like Gilberto Gil cement her place in a lineage of innovators carrying Brazil’s sound forward.

Linker’s warm, unguarded voice tells stories of gender, love, and resilience across borders. At a ceremony that still tends to silo Brazil, her sweep is overdue validation—a necessary call for the industry to finally embrace Portuguese-language artistry within the Latin mainstream.

CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso

The Argentine duo’s rise feels like a lightning strike in real time. After an absurdly viral NPR Tiny Desk performance and the release of their debut album Papota, they earned 10 Latin Grammy nominations, including Album and Record of the Year. Their sound crashes hip-hop, trap, and electronic pop into something gloriously ungovernable, and their achievement proves that such irreverence can coexist with technical brilliance. Their live sets—from festivals like Coachella to Glastonbury and a global headlining tour that included a Tonight Show debut—channel that chaos into collective release.

In an industry often obsessed with sanitizing presentation, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso have broken through as a refreshing voice of joyful disorder and queer-coded freedom, reminding us that noise and nuance can thrive in the same breath.

Elena Rose

Before her own name topped ballots, Elena Rose spent years offstage writing hits for Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro, and Karol G. With her debut album En Las Nubes – Con Mis Panas, the Venezuelan-American songwriter stepped fully into the spotlight. She landed her first Top 10 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums chart and a coveted Album of the Year nomination. The record’s blend of R&B fluidity and Latin-pop spark centers her lived experience and craft, narrating the kind of emotional storytelling she once lent to others.

Her breakout year—from a Coachella debut to a sold-out Miami homecoming—cements her nomination as more than recognition. It’s a reclamation that honors the women whose work has shaped Latin pop’s evolution and who are finally standing in the light they helped create.

Latin Mafia

Brothers Mike, Milton, and Emilio de la Rosa are the architects of Latin Mafia’s self-contained universe—one with a soundscape built on velvety synths, melancholic hooks, and driving DIY conviction. The trio from Monterrey became one of Mexico’s most-streamed independent acts of 2024, selling out their first U.S. headline tour and earning nominations for Best New Artist and Best Pop/Rock Album.

Their rise and Latin Grammy nods mark a rare moment where an entirely independent act sits alongside label giants, proving how far self-produced alternative music can travel when it feels this honest. Their music turns digital intimacy into connection, translating hometown emotion into global resonance. For a generation raised on algorithmic discovery, their success reminds us that authenticity and self-determination still have a fighting chance.

Carín León

Regional Mexican music’s global renaissance wouldn’t look the same without Carín León. His Palabra De To’s (Seca) earned three Latin Grammy nominations following a landmark year where he became one of the first regional Mexican headliners to play Stagecoach and won his first Grammy (Best Música Mexicana Album for Boca Chueca Vol. 1). He’s since collaborated with Kane Brown, Leon Bridges, and Grupo Frontera, carrying Sonoran grit into pop’s main stage across borders.

Even as iterations of the genre continue to evolve, León remains at the forefront, helping trailblaze regional Mexican music into its next era—where bilingual storytelling and arena-sized ambition can coexist without compromising the tradition at its core.

Gloria Estefan

Four decades into a career that helped define the Latine crossover, Gloria Estefan could have coasted on legacy. Instead, Raíces, her first Spanish-language album in nearly a decade, reasserts her curiosity. It earned her her first Latin Grammy Album of the Year nomination since 1994. A tribute to Cuban heritage and the diasporic rhythms that shaped her, the album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Tropical Albums chart and introduced a new generation to her roots.

Delivered with the vitality of someone still reaching forward, Estefan’s return reminds us that reinvention isn’t always about novelty—it can be about returning to essence. A striking reminder that the future of Latine music still lives in its roots, and that honoring them can be a bold risk worth the reward.