Latin Songs Are Popular AF, So Why Don’t They Get Their Due at the Grammys?

When the nominees for last year’s Latin Grammy Awards were announced, no one was surprised that Bad Bunny led with a whopping 10 nominations.

He not only was the year’s most successful Latin artist — he was the pop star of the year. On Billboard’s year-end chart for 2022, he was named top artist, while his fresh, multihit project Un Verano Sin Ti was crowned the No. 1 album of the year, beating out Harry Styles’ Harry’s House and Adele’s 30.

So when it came time to announce the 2023 Grammy nominations, it seemed inevitable that Bad Bunny would be recognized with several nominations, especially since his album launched four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, Bad Bunny garnered a measly three nominations. Yes, he made history by having the first-ever Latin album compete for the show’s top prize — album of the year — but if he were an R&B singer like Beyoncé, a rapper like Kendrick Lamar or a pop star like Taylor Swift, he would have earned even more nominations. In the years those acts dominated music, they earned eight to 11 nominations each.

And that’s just it — though Latin music is a global phenomenon and one of music’s most streamed genres, Latin songs don’t have a major platform at the traditional Grammys. Bad Bunny’s other nominations were for best música urbana album — he won — and best pop solo performance for “Moscow Mule” (he lost to Adele’s “Easy on Me”).

To much surprise, his songs didn’t receive enough votes to compete for record or song of the year, but at the Grammys there are no awards for best Latin song or Latin performance.

And before you say, “They already have the Latin Grammys,” my rebuttal is: “Why can’t they have both?”

There is a chance things could change at the 2024 Grammy Awards. The best global music performance category was first presented in 2022, and African artists dominated in nominations that year; it was repeated at this year’s show. But with the rise of Afrobeats, those artists will now compete in the newly created best African music performance category. So who will be nominated for best global music performance?

Pakistani American singer Arooj Aftab won the inaugural global music performance award, and sitar player Anoushka Shankar earned a nomination; acts like those will likely continue to be recognized in the category. But the best global music performance sounds like the perfect space for Latin songs.

Latin music is global, clearly. The Recording Academy’s definition says the category “is intended for vocal and instrumental performances with strong elements of global cultural significance that blend music forms and techniques found in pop, R&B, dance, rap and folk with unique music forms, local expressions and techniques found among the global diaspora originating outside the United States. The combination gives a unique sense of melody, rhythm, harmony and lyric that is of global appeal.”

Sounds like Latin songs qualify.

With Latin acts like Karol G reaching new heights — she’s performing on a stadium tour at the same venues as Swift and Beyoncé — and artists like Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado bringing regional Mexican music to the pop charts, their songs should have a chance to be acknowledged at the traditional Grammys — and not only in the pop categories or in the top prizes like record and song of the year. Rock, rap, pop, R&B and country artists don’t have those limitations, so why should Latin artists?

Yes, Latin artists today should compete alongside such pop stars as Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa, but that shouldn’t be their only option at the Grammys. They should have more than one seat at the table.

When a genre becomes more popular — like Afrobeats — groups typically will submit a proposal for a new category at the Grammys that is reviewed by its board of trustees and then approved or denied.

While best global music performance may be good temporary housing for Latin songs, requesting their own category is real home ownership.

This story first appeared in the Aug. 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.