Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Maluma Lead the Latin Billboards Finalists

Bad Bunny keeps leading charts and reggaeton headlines. 

The Puerto Rican artist has announced he will brace his fans with his first live concert after the pandemic lockdown in his own Isla del Encanto on December 10th. 

But not only are people waiting to see him perform live, they’re waiting to see how many trophies he will take home at the Billboard Latin Music Awards as he was the highest finalist for the 2021 charts receiving 22 nominations, while Maluma follows with 11 noms and J Balvin with 9. Tied with eight mentions are Karol G, Anuel AA and Black Eyed Peas. 

(Ahem!) Bad Bunny, Maluma, Anuel AA, J Balvin and Ozuna compete for the artist of the year award. If you ask us… we think they all deserve it, but…

Thanks to his catchy songs, Bad Bunny competes in categories such as Latin album of the year. Plus, while his success with Jhay Cortez’s “Dákiti” earned him six mentions, the track is the first song in Spanish to simultaneously top the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl charts, making him more likely to be artist of the year… but that’s just our opinion!

Maluma also achieved six mentions for a single song, his remix of “Hawaii” with The Weeknd, while his album “Papi Juancho,” which includes “Hawaii,” received two. 

J Balvin got four of his nine mentions for the song “Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)” with the Black Eyed Peas and is also a finalist in the categories of artist and composer of the year. 

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Karol G obtained five mentions for “Tusa” feat. Nicki Minaj, the song that made every heartbreak feel a bit more relatable this year. And, even our beloved Aventura is a finalist!

In the Mexican regional music categories, the Californian band Eslabon Armado is a finalist in seven categories for their albums “Corta venas,” “Tu veneno mortal” and “Vibras de noche,” followed by Banda MS by Sergio Lizárraga with four, including regional Mexican song of the year for “Qué maldición” with Snoop Dogg and Los Dos Carnales with four mentions including those of their songs “El Envidioso” and “Cabrón y Vago”. 

Ozuna, Jhay Cortez, Kali Uchis, Camilo, Prince Royce, Marc Anthony, Myke Towers and Selena Gomez are other finalist artists with multiple mentions. 

The Latin Billboards Music Award will broadcast live on Telemundo on September 23 at 7 p.m. ET/ from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Miami Florida.