Last year, the Latin Grammys made positive changes: they added two new categories to the awards, best contemporary Mexican music album and best Latin electronic music performance, which both industry and artists received enthusiastically.
They also announced that categories that received fewer than 25 entries would be eliminated from the running that year — and that categories that got between 25 and 39 entries would be limited to just three nominees each, rather than five. The rationale was to ensure competitiveness in all fields, which was another very welcome change.
These evolutions represented a step in the right direction for the Latin Grammys, but following the announcement of the 2025 finalists last week, and the genuine puzzlement some of the category lineups generated, it’s clear a few more things have to change.
The Latin Grammys The 2025 Latin GRAMMY Awards will air live on Univision on Thursday, Nov. 13, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This year’s list of nominees is led by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who received 12 nods for the awards ceremony, including for album of the year with DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and double mentions in record of the year and song of the year, in both cases for “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and “DTmF.”
These nominations add to the 40 he has received in the past, of which he has won 12 over the years. He is closely followed by acclaimed Mexican producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera and Argentine duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, each with 10 nominations.
Following several conversations with artists, producers and executives in the aftermath of the nominations, here are five concrete actions that could move the needle in a positive direction for the Latin Grammys. We also revive one “oldie but goodie” — a point we’ve made in the past, and feel compelled to make again.
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Eliminate duplicate nominations by the same artist in the same category.
No one detail has generated as much negative buzz with these new finalists as seeing Bad Bunny and CA7TRIEL & Paco Amoroso, the leading nominees (with 12 and 10 nods each, respectively), each nominated twice in the song and record of the year categories, with tracks from the same albums. That development is particularly vexing given that the Latin Grammys have insisted on maintaining the pool of nominees in the Big Four categories (album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist) at 10 slots – arguing it allows more diversity into the nominations, even as the Grammys have gone down to eight. This development narrowed the inclusivity door by 20%.
One source within the Latin Recording Academy said that they follow the same rules as the Grammys, which allow “up to two nominations per artist provided at least one is with a co-nominee.” In both these cases, the Latin Grammys are counting song co-writers and record producers and engineers as co-nominees. Regardless of the interpretation of the rules, the result is the same: the pool shrinks, and the vote is divided.
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Be consistent with nominations amongst categories.
Let’s call it the Rauw Alejandro Issue. Several sources – some involved in the Rauw Alejandro album, but most not– wondered why his Cosa Nuestra was shut out of the best urban music album category, but was nominated for album of the year. Do the voting committees in different categories have dramatically different tastes? Regardless, the end result was the same: Alejandro’s album received just one additional nod, best reggaetón performance for “Baja Pa’ Acá” alongside Alexis & Fido.
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Consider top artist for those new categories (and for the Big Four, too).
We will be the first to say that the new best contemporary Mexican music category was the most competitive of the year, ut not including Fuerza Regida’s groundbreaking 111PANTIA was a glaring oversight, particularly considering the album had the highest debut ever on the Billboard 200 by a regional Mexican music act. Ditto for ÉXODO by Peso Pluma, who has consistently gotten snubbed. Ignoring a movement doesn’t make it go away — witness reggaetón and urban music.
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Loosen the eligibility requirements for best new artist.
As we have reported before, the Latin Academy’s rules when it comes to best new artist are very different from those of the Recording Academy, with a focus on spotlighting truly new and emerging artists versus rewarding artists who “achieve a breakthrough” during the eligibility year.
We love that the Latin Grammys do this… but artists currently cannot compete for a best new artist slot if they have released more than three albums, more than 15 singles, or any equivalent combination. (The Grammys have “no specified maximum number of releases.”) That’s a tough limit in an era of streaming and social media, where emerging artists are looking to establish a following to land a recording deal. Upping the release cap to even 20 singles would allow more emerging artists to enter the running.
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Bid farewell to nominations review committees.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. In 2021, the Grammys eliminated their controversial nominations review committees, leaving them in place only for “craft” categories that require special know-how (think categories like best music film or best engineered album).
But the Latin Grammys have not eliminated the vast majority of its committees, leaving the fate of many nominations in the hands of a select few. It shows. While committees can provide valuable feedback on final nominations, with limited exceptions (i.e. very specific categories like flamenco or vallenato), rank-and-file voters should be the big decision-makers.
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