The Latin Recording Academy has unveiled the nominees for the 27th Latin Grammy Awards, and the name on everyone's lips is Edgar Barrera. The Mexican songwriter and producer leads the field with ten nominations, most of them for his work with Karol G and Carín León. He is also the only artist to appear in all three general categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.
The ceremony will take place on 12 November at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Daddy Yankee receiving the Person of the Year honour. The nominations reflect a year in which Spanish-language music continued to expand its global reach, from Rosalía's multilingual orchestral project to the rise of Argentine trap and Mexican regional sounds.
A tight race behind the frontrunner
Close on Barrera's heels are four acts with seven nominations each: Argentine duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, Colombian star Karol G, and Spanish artist Rosalía. Silvana Estrada and Mon Laferte follow with six, while Argentine producers Rafa Arcaute and Federico Vindver each earned five.
These names have largely shaped the Latin music conversation over the past year. Rosalía's LUX, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and sung in thirteen languages, stands out as a bold artistic statement. Meanwhile, Rawayana's album ¿Dónde es el after? reached number one on Billboard's year-end list of best Latin albums in June.
Album of the Year: ten very different records
The flagship category brings together ten releases that could hardly be more diverse. Anitta's EQUILIBRIVM mixes Brazilian pop with global influences; Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso's FREE SPIRITS is a genre-defying romp; Drexler's Taracá continues his poetic exploration; Silvana Estrada's Vendrán suaves lluvias is intimate and folk-tinged; Karol G's Tropicoqueta is a reggaeton juggernaut; Mon Laferte's Femme Fatale is a pop-rock statement; Carín León's Muda pushes regional Mexican into new territory; Milo J's La vida era más corta is a rap-infused debut; Rawayana's ¿Dónde es el after? is a Caribbean psychedelic trip; and Rosalía's LUX is a symphonic tour de force.
Record of the Year includes Drexler's ¿Cómo se ama?, Estrada's Dime, Karol G's duet with Marco Antonio Solís on Coleccionando heridas, Laferte's Femme Fatale, Carín León's Desde que te tengo, Rosalía's La Perla with Yahritza y su Esencia, and Elena Rose's Alma.
Song of the Year, which honours songwriters, features ten tracks including Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso's Hasta Jesús tuvo un mal día with Sting, Santana and Becky G's Mi gran amor, Juanes and Vivir Quintana's Humano, and Zanna's Nilo, alongside the aforementioned songs by Drexler, Estrada, Laferte, Karol G, and Rosalía.
Best New Artist: an open field
The Best New Artist category is notably competitive, with eleven acts vying for the prize: Delilah, Fabian, Loulu Gilberto, Arath Herce, Macario Martínez, Maye, Sofía Monroy, Kendall Peña, Dora Sánchez, Aria Vega, and Zeca Veloso. None of them have yet broken into the general categories, making this a true showcase of emerging talent.
Other notable nominations include Bad Gyal's Más cara in the urban album category, J Balvin and Ryan Castro's Omerta, and Young Miko's Do Not Disturb: Late Checkout. In the rock field, Fito Páez's Shine and Mägo de Oz's Malicia are among the contenders. The singer-songwriter category features Drexler, Estrada, Laferte, Djavan, and Arath Herce.
The awards also recognise songwriting excellence with a dedicated Songwriter of the Year category, where Barrera faces Iván Gámez, Yoel Henriquez, Jenni Mosello, and Sara Schell.
As the Latin music industry prepares to gather in Las Vegas, the nominations underline a year of creative diversity and cross-border collaboration. For European audiences, the presence of Spanish artists like Rosalía, Mon Laferte, and Pablo Alborán—alongside the continued influence of Latin sounds on European charts—makes this year's ceremony particularly relevant. The winners will be announced on 12 November.
