Billboard Latin Music Awards

History

The first award ceremony began in 1994 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, Florida, under the name Latin Music Awards to "represent a broad cross-section of Latino talent, covering every music genre," and was then published in Billboard Magazine. The winners were selected based on points accumulated from Billboard's radio and retail charts and categorized into subcategories designed to reward artists, songs and albums over one year (between March 6, 1993, to March 5, 1994). The categories of the Latin music were: pop, tropical/salsa, regional Mexican, rap, rock and jazz. The first ceremony also introduced several special awards, decided by the Billboard editorial committee: the Latin Music Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement Award, to recognize an artist's career in the Latin music industry and to honor a musical personality who has largely contributed to the Latin music genre.

During the 1996 ceremony the Spirit of Hope Award was introduced as a special honor "in recognition of artists' extraordinary philanthropic and humanitarian contributions beyond their musical work." The 1997 ceremony was the first with hosts Daisy Fuentes and Herb Alpert. The 1999 awards show, hosted by Daisy Fuentes, was televised for the first time from the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

Since 2021, the Billboard Icon Award, initially presented exclusively during the Billboard Music Awards, has also been awarded during the Latin ceremony. In 2022, the ceremony introduced the Legend Award given to artists "whose contribution to music makes them a household name and who maintain a career that has withstood the test of time".

Enrique Iglesias is the most awarded artist, having won 47 awards, while Shakira is the most awarded female artist with 44 awards.

Ceremonies

Categories

The categories are listed according to Billboard's mention throughout the nominations; any changes in the name during the ceremonies are listed alongside.

Overall artist categories

• Artist of the Year (1994, 1999–present)
• New Artist of the Year (–present)
• Tour of the Year (–present)
• Crossover Artist of the Year (–present)
• Global 200 Latin Artist of the Year (2023–present)

Overall songs categories

• Hot Latin Song of the Year (1994, 1999–present)
• Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event (–present)
• Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year (1994–present)
• Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male (2010–present)
• Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Female (2010–present)
• Duo/Group Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year (2010–present)
• Hot Latin Songs Label of the Year
• Hot Latin Songs Imprint of the Year (–2022)
• Airplay Song of the Year
• Airplay Label of the Year
• Airplay Imprint of the Year
• Sales Song of the Year (2023–present)
• Streaming Song of the Year (2023–present)
• Global 200 Latin Song of the Year (2023–present)

Overall albums categories

• Top Latin Album of the Year
• Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Duo/Group
• Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Male
• Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Female
• Top Latin Albums Label of the Year
• Top Latin Albums Imprint of the Year (–2022)

Latin Pop genre categories

• Latin Pop Artist of the Year
• Latin Pop Duo/Group of the Year
• Latin Pop Song of the Year
• Latin Pop Album of the Year
• Latin Pop Airplay Label of the Year
• Latin Pop Airplay Imprint of the Year
• Latin Pop Albums Label of the Year

Tropical genre categories

• Tropical Artist of the Year, Solo
• Tropical Artist of the Year, Duo or Group
• Tropical Song of the Year
• Tropical Album of the Year (–2022)
• Tropical Songs Airplay Label of the Year
• Tropical Albums Label of the Year

Regional Mexican categories

• Regional Mexican Artist of the Year, Solo

• Regional Mexican Artist of the Year, Duo or Group

• Regional Mexican Song of the Year

• Regional Mexican Album of the Year

• Regional Mexican Airplay Label of the Year

• Regional Mexican Albums Label of the Year

Latin Rhythm categories

• Latin Rhythm Artist of the Year, Solo
• Latin Rhythm Artist of the Year, Duo or Group
• Latin Rhythm Song of the Year
• Latin Rhythm Album of the Year
• Latin Rhythm Airplay Label of the Year
• Latin Rhythm Albums Label of the Year

Writers, producers and publishers categories

• Songwriter of the Year
• Producer of the Year
• Publisher of the Year
• Publishing Corporation of the Year

Special honors

• Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award
• Billboard Spirit of Hope Award
• Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame

Notes

References

References

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