Reggaeton acts call out Latin Grammys for lack of noms
NEW YORK >> Popular Latin performers such as J Balvin, Daddy Yankee and Maluma are lashing out at the Latin Grammys for dismissing musicians from the reggaeton and Latin trap world in the top categories at its upcoming awards show.
The Latin Grammys announced the nominees for its 2019 show Tuesday and the major categories — album of the year, song of the year and record of the year — didn’t include performers like Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, Maluma or Ozuna, though the stars have dominated on streaming services, sold out arenas like Madison Square Garden, racked in millions of YouTube views and topped the charts with multiple songs.
The omissions were especially surprising since the Latin Grammys have 10 nominees in its top categories.
Balvin, who was the most nominated act at the 2018 Latin Grammys with eight, posted a photo of the Grammy logo with a large red “X” across it on Instagram on Tuesday. Words on the image read in Spanish: “Without reggaeton, there’s no Latin Grammys.”
“For the culture and movement,” Balvin wrote in his caption. Others performers shared the image across social media.
The Latin Recording Academy said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday that they followed “a strict voting process for the past 20 years” when it comes to its nominees.
“The members, through their votes, select what they believe merits a nomination. The Academy has never influenced their decisions, have always honored, and respected their elections, even if there are (“Con Altura”) and De La Ghetto (“Caliente”) makes him a double nominee for best urban song — though he was shut out of record and song of the year. His new album with Bad Bunny, “Oasis,” was not eligible for the 2019 Latin Grammys but qualifies in 2020. Songs and albums released between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019 were eligible, and the 20th annual show will air live on Nov. 14.