The 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards finalists were announced on Tuesday morning (February 12) with Ozuna leading the pack in 23 categories. He’s followed by J Balvin and Nicky Jam (both with 13), and Bad Bunny (12).
The 2019 New Artist of the Year finalists are: Anuel AA, Karol G, Natti Natasha, and Raymix. Learn more about them below.
ANUEL AA
The Puerto Rican trap artists earned his first No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart with his debut album Real Hasta La Muerte (chart dated July 28, 2018). The album opened with 11,000 equivalent album units. It scored the fifth-largest sales week for a Latin album in 2018.
KAROL G
The Colombian urban star debuted at No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart with her debut album Unstoppable (chart dated Nov. 18, 2017). The set became the highest charting debut set by a woman in more than two years since Chiquis Rivera (daughter of the late Jenni Rivera) opened at No. 1 on the list dated June 20, 2015 with Ahora.
NATTI NATASHA
The Dominican singer finished at No. 2 on the Year-end 2018 Top Latin Artist – Female chart. She also holds 10 charted titles on Latin Airplay, 3 of which hit No. 1: Don Omar’s “Dutty Love” featuring Natti peaked at No. 1 on chart dated April 7, 2012, Becky G and Natti’s “Sin Pijama” peaked at No. 1 on chart dated August 11, 2018, and “Justicia” by Silvestre Dangond & Natti Natasha, peaked at No. 1 on chart dated Nov. 3, 2018.
RAYMIX
His electro-cumbia hit “Oye Mujer” topped the Regional Mexican Songs airplay chart for five consecutive weeks. The track also climbed to No. 7 on the overall Hot Latin Songs chart, helping earn the Mexican the No. 1 spot on the 2018 Year-end Top New Latin Artists list.
The 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards will air live at 8 p.m. ET on April 25 on Telemundo.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards are the culmination of Billboard’s Latin Music Week, which will take place on April 22-25 at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now in its 29th year, Latin Music Week & Conference is the biggest and longest-running event dedicated to Latin Music in the world. The most respected conference in Latin music will bring the top artists, executives and power players in the industry together for a week of concerts, showcases, interviews, keynotes, and industry panels. For information visit BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.
Additional reporting by Latin Charts Manager, Pamela Bustios