By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:35am PDT, Apr 22, 2019
The 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards will air on April 25, 2019, and Wonderwall.com is telling you what you need to know about this year's nominees, starting with Ozuna. The Puerto Rican reggaeton singer (real name: Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado) has scored a number of hits over the years including "La Modelo," "Dile Que Tu Me Quieres" and "Te Vas." At only 27 years old, Ozuna has more 1-billion-view videos on YouTube than any other artist. He's released two top 10 albums and is up for 23 Billboard Latin Music Awards in 15 categories — a record number in the history of the show. Keep reading for more nominee fun facts…
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Cardi B has only been in the music game for a few years but she's already taken over the industry. The former "Love & Hip Hop" star (real name: Belcalis Almánzar) released her debut album, "Invasion of Privacy," to critical acclaim in 2018. Cardi has since scored three No. 1 singles, including "I Like It" and "Bodak Yellow," broken several streaming records and won the 2019 Grammy for best rap album, making her the only woman to win the award as a solo artist. The Bronx rapper, who shares a daughter with husband Offset, is up for four Billboard Latin Music Awards this year.
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Nicky Jam has racked up a number of hit singles since his debut in 1993. The 38-year-old Boston native (real name: Nick Caminero) released much of his early music in partnership with fellow reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee. Some of Nicky's biggest singles include "Travesuras," "Te Busco" (with Cosculluela), "El Perdón," "Hasta el Amanecer" and "El Amante," the latter three coming from his 2017 album "Fénix." In 2020, he'll make the jump from music to movies with a role in the "Bad Boys" sequel, "Bad Boys for Life." He's up for 13 Billboard Latin Music Awards this year.
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Shakira has been dominating the music charts for years. The superstar singer has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, won three Grammy Awards, 13 Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards and 39 Billboard Latin Music Awards and was nominated for a best original song Golden Globe in 2008. She released her first album in the '90s and has had several chart-topping singles over the years since, including the best selling single of the 2000s, "Hips Don't Lie." The former "The Voice" coach wrapped up her latest international concert trek, the "El Dorado" world tour, in 2018. Shakira — who's nominated for four Billboard Latin Music Awards this year — shares two sons with her longtime partner, soccer player Gerard Piqué.
J Balvin is one of reggaeton's biggest artists. The Colombian singer has released several No. 1 singles including 2014's "6 AM," 2017's "Mi Gente," which reached 1 billion views on YouTube, and his chart-topping 2018 collaboration with Cardi B, "I Like It." J released his fifth album, "Vibras," in May 2018. He's won three Billboard Latin Music Awards, three Latin Grammys and four Latin American Music Awards. He received his first Grammy nomination in 2019 for "I Like It" for record of the year. J is nominated for 13 Billboard Latin Music Awards this year.
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny was working at a grocery store and studying at college when he scored his big break on SoundCloud in 2017. Two years later, Bunny (real name: Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) has released multiple chart-topping tracks including "Soy Peor" and collaborated with Cardi B and J Balvin on the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single "I Like It" and with Drake on "Mia." His debut album, "X 100pre," was released in December 2018. Bunny is nominated for 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2019, including artist of the year.
Jennifer Lopez is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. The nearly 50-year-old star can literally do it all: sing, dance, act and run multiple businesses. After kicking off her career as a Fly Girl dancer on "In Living Color" in 1993, J.Lo went on to sell 80 million records, star in several hit films and TV shows, including "Selena," "Shades of Blue" and "The Wedding Planner," and release numerous No. 1 singles including "If You Had My Love," "Love Don't Cost a Thing," "I'm Real," "Ain't It Funny," "Jenny from the Block," "All I Have" and "On the Floor," which is one of the best selling singles of all time. She'll be touring in the summer of 2019 to celebrate her 50th birthday and a new single, "Medicine." J.Lo shares twins with ex-husband No. 3, Marc Anthony, and became engaged to former MLB star Alex Rodriguez in March 2019. She is up for two Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2019 including tour of the year.
Daddy Yankee is one of the pioneers of reggaeton music. In fact, the Puerto Rican rapper is the person who coined the term when he hit the scene in 1994. Now known as the "King of Reggaetón," Yankee (real name: Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez) has sold over 20 million records, won five Latin Grammys, released several No. 1 singles (including "Gasolina" and "Lo Que Pasó, Pasó") and collaborated with Luis Fonsi on the 2018 international No. 1 hit "Despacito." He most recently collaborated with music legend Janet Jackson on her newest single, "Made For Now." Yankee shares three children with his wife, Mireddys González, whom he married in 1994. He is nominated for eight Billboard Latin Music Awards in 2019.
Colombian singer Karol G is destined for stardom. The 28 year old has already scored three top 10 singles, "Ahora Me Llama," "Mi Cama" and "Culpables," on the Billboard Hot Latin songs chart and won best new artist at the 2018 Latin Grammys. "Ahora Me Llama," her collaborative single with Bad Bunny, has over 680 million views on YouTube, and her four-times platinum 2019 single "Secreto" made its way onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 68. Karol (real name: Carolina Giraldo Navarro) will compete against her boyfriend, Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA, for the 2019 best new artist prize at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. She's also nominated for the top female hot Latin songs artist of the year prize and top female Latin albums artist of the year award.
A founding father of Latin trap music, Anuel AA first came to fame in 2017 with the release of his hit single "Sola." The 26-year-old Puerto Rican rapper (real name: Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago) has since released his first album, 2018's "Real Hasta la Muerte," landing at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart just hours later. He was most recently featured on girlfriend Karol G's chart-topping 2019 track "Secreto." Anuel is up for four Billboard Latin Music Awards including best new artist.
Parisian producer DJ Snake has been taking over the charts since 2013. The French-born Algerian DJ (real name: William Sami Étienne Grigahcine) was featured on the platinum Lil Jon hit "Turn Down For What" and has since appeared on the 2015 hit "You Know You Like It" and the 2015 single "Lean On" with MØ and Diplo's Major Lazer, which has amassed more than 2 billion views on YouTube. Snake's other popular singles include "Middle," "Talk," "Let Me Love You" and the No. 1 2018 hit "Taki Taki" featuring Selena Gomez, Cardi B and Ozuna. He's nominated for five Billboard Latin Music Awards this year.
Reggaeton artists Nio Garcia and Casper Magico collaborated on one of the biggest Latin singles of 2018, "Te Boté," leading to six Billboard Latin Music Award nominations. Nio is a talented choreographer-turned-rapper who's also released three other chart-topping singles: "Infinitely," "Yo Soy" and "Castigo." One of pioneers of the trap Latino movement, Casper has released several other singles including "No Me Hables de Amor," "Cuentale" and "Por Dinero."
As the former lead singer of the Bachata band Aventura, Romeo Santos is known for his standout vocals. His 2002 song "Obsesión" sat at No. 1 in Italy for 16 consecutive weeks and he's released three platinum albums, seven No. 1 songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart, including "You" and "Promise," and 13 No. 1 tracks on the Tropical Songs chart. Romeo released his fourth studio album, "Utopia," in April 2019. The record has already climbed to No. 18 on the Billboard 200 chart. The 37-year-old New York native is up for six Billboard Latin Music Awards this year.
One of the most successful Latin pop singers of all time, Luis Miguel, has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. He's the artist with the most top 10 hits on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, the first Latin artist to have been awarded two platinum-certified Spanish-language albums in the United States and the highest grossing Latin touring artist ever, with $278.5 million in sales. Some of Luis's biggest albums include "Romance," "Segundo Romance" and "Complices." He recently wrapped up his 2018 "México Por Siempre" tour and is currently producing the second season of his self-titled Netflix biopic series. Luis, who's nominated for tour of the year at the 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards, has three children from previous relationships.
Banda MS is continuing their reign as one of Latin music's best banda groups. Also known as Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga, Banda MS was created by brothers Sergio and Alberto Lizárraga. The Mexican group has released 13 albums including 2018's "Con todas las fuerzas" and 2013's "Que bendición," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Albums chart. Banda MS has been nominated for more than 70 awards over the years, including one Latin Grammy for regional Mexican song. This year, they will vie for five Billboard Latin Music Awards, including duo or group of the year.
