The list of Latine legends who have won Grammy awards includes Celia Cruz, Selena Quintanilla, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, and Shakira. With fewer Latine music categories at the Grammys than at the Latin Grammy Awards, it’s a harder feat to accomplish. However, that hasn’t stopped Bad Bunny, Peso Pluma, and Karol G from joining the small club. With the 2025 Grammy Awards coming up on Feb. 2, a few more first-time Latine nominees could win their first golden gramophone from their peers at the Recording Academy this year.
Though Quintanilla’s music career was tragically brief yet impactful, the late Mexican-American icon won a Grammy award in her lifetime. A year before her murder, she took home the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album for the Selena Live! LP in 1994. Fortunately, she got to know the acceptance from her fellow artists in the industry at the time as she held the award in her hands at the podium. Another legend that got her flowers in the form of a Grammy before her passing was La Reina de la Salsa. At the 1990 ceremony, Cruz won in the Best Tropical Latin Recording category for “Ritmo En El Corazón.” Their wins are even more impressive given Latine music didn’t get its own award show until the first Latin Grammy Awards inauguration in 2000.
Though the Latin Grammy Awards exist to highlight more music and genres across the Latine diaspora, fortunately, Latine artists are still recognized and honored on “Music’s Biggest Night.” Before her global crossover, Shakira won her first Grammy in 2001 in the Best Latin Pop Album category for MTV Unplugged. Bad Bunny later took home his first “Gringo Grammy” in 2021 for YHLQMDLG. After many years of grinding to become the next global pop star, Karol G finally won her first Grammy last year for Mañana Será Bonito. At the same ceremony, Peso Pluma also took home his first Grammy for Génesis in the Best Música Mexicana Album category.
A new group of Latine artists could win their first Grammy at the 2025 ceremony. The first-time Latine nominees this year include industry veterans, cemented superstars, and rising talent with roots in different parts of Latin America.
Though Feid finished last year as the 10th most-streamed artist globally on Spotify, he is barely getting his first Grammy nomination. The Colombian singer-songwriter who used to write for J Balvin a decade ago has since become one of his country’s biggest stars. Feid is nominated for his FERXXOCALIPSIS EP in the Best Música Urbana Album category. The EP includes his massive hits “Luna” featuring hip-hop producer ATL Jacob and “Classy 101” with Young Miko. Interestingly, Feid is featured on three other albums in the category, including Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, Young Miko’s att., and J Balvin’s Rayo.
Young Miko
Another first-time Grammy nominee in the Best Música Urbana Album is Young Miko. In 2022, the Puerto Rican star made her debut with the Trap Kitty EP. As an openly lesbian artist, Young Miko has celebrated her identity in her music while making space for more women and LGBTQ+ acts in el movimiento. After years of generating buzz, she dropped her first album att. last April. Following the success of “Classy 101,” she teamed up again with Feid for “Offline.” The LP also includes her queer-positive banger “Madre” with Villano Antillano. In addition to being nominated for att., she is featured on Bad Bunny and Feid’s projects in same category.
Carin León
Though Carin León has dominated the música mexicana scene for the past few years, he had yet to receive his first Grammy nomination — until this year. The Mexican superstar scored his first hit in 2020 thanks to his sierreño spin on “Tú” by Noelia. Since then, León has gone even more global by bridging the worlds of música mexicana and country music in his songs. Last year, he performed at Coachella, Stagecoach, and one of the most important stages for country music, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN. León is nominated in the Best Música Mexicana Album category for last year’s Boca Chueca, Vol. 1. The LP includes his soulful hit “Despídase Bien.”
Jessi Uribe
Jessi Uribe is making history in the Best Música Mexicana Album category in more ways than one. The Bucaramanga, Colombia, native first rose to prominence in 2013 as part of the band Grupo Dominio. Two years later, Uribe launched his solo career, embracing the sound of música popular, Colombia’s version of música mexicana. Following hits like “Dulce Pecado” and “Matemos Las Ganas,” he started to reach more listeners with his third album, 2023’s De Lejitos. Now, Uribe has become the first Colombian artist to be nominated for Best Música Mexicana Album. De Lejitos is also the first música popular album to appear in the category.
Khruangbin
The big four categories include Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. The only Latine artist to appear in any of those categories this year is Mexican-American musician Laura Lee. Her group Khruangbin is nominated for Best New Artist. Hailing from Houston, TX, Lee is the band’s bassist. Khruangbin released their debut album, The Universe Smiles Upon You, in 2015, which solidified them as an instrumental group that blends elements of music from around the world. Last year, Lee and her bandmates broke through with their meditative fourth album, A La Sala. On Apr. 9, Khruangbin will kick off their A La Sala 2025 Tour in the U.S.
Rawayana
A Grammy nomination for Rawayana was long overdue. The band from Caracas, Venezuela, has reshaped Latine pop and alternative music with the sounds from their country throughout the last decade. Rawayana’s third album Trippy Caribbean earned them a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2017. Following an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2023, the group started going global with their fifth album ¿Quién Trae Las Cornetas? The LP is nominated for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album at the Grammys this year. Following the contested results of the 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, Rawayana’s songs like “Binikini” with Danny Ocean and “Veneka” with Akapellah have become anthems of pride for their country.
Madi Diaz
Along with Khruangbin, Madi Diaz is one of the few first-time Latine nominees outside of the Latine music categories. The singer-songwriter based in Nashville, TN, has roots in Peru. Diaz has been a prominent voice in the folk and indie music scene since the release of her debut album Skin and Bone in 2007. She got a major push in her career when she played guitar and sang backup for Harry Styles on the European leg of his “Love On Tour” in 2023. A year later, her breakthrough LP Weird Faith followed, which is nominated for Best Folk Album. Diaz’s “Don’t Do Me Good” with Kacey Musgraves is also nominated for Best Americana Performance.
El David Aguilar
Another veteran who is getting an overdue nomination for the Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album is El David Aguilar. The singer-songwriter from Culiacan, Mexico, released his first album Frágil independently in 2004. Ten years later, El David Aguilar’s self-titled album pushed him to the forefront of the alternative music scene in Mexico. It wasn’t until 2018 that he was finally recognized by the Latin Grammys for his seventh album Siguiente, which garnered him nominations for Song of the Year and Best New Artist. Now, El David Aguilar is a first-time Grammy nominee for last year’s Compita del Destino album. The LP includes the jazz-infused “Prieta,” which critiques the derogatory term for brown or dark-skinned people in Mexico and racism within the country.
