Groundbreaking West Coast rap duo Akwid, Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Plan B, rising Mexican star América Sierra and tropical music up-and-comer Grupo Treo will headline the 11th annual Billboard Bash, the pre-awards celebration of the Billboard Latin Music Awards finalists and winners.
All four finalists will perform their top hits during the Bash, which also honors the labels, publishers, producers and songwriters who create and drive the hits. Within the framework of exciting live musical performances, top industry executives will receive awards for the accomplishments of their labels and publishing companies. This year’s Bash–hosted by mun2 talent Emeraude Toubia, Guad Venegas, Yarel Ramos and La Bronca–will also acknowledge the finalists and winners for producer and songwriter of the year.
It will again take place at the Cameo nightclub in the heart of South Beach and will be open to not only conference attendees but also more than 1,200 music fans who can win admission through their local Telemundo station.
And, continuing last year’s tradition of celebrating finalists and hot emerging talent, the Bash will feature up-and-coming artists as opening acts.
A shining example of how Billboard showcases the stars of tomorrow is Grupo Treo. Last year, the Venezuelan trio (whose music fuses tropical, urban and pop beats) performed as a new act at the Bash. This year, Grupo Treo returns as a finalist in the tropical songs artist of the year, duo or group category due to the success of its tracks-including “Mi Amor”–on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart.
Also making a return–albeit of a different sort–is Akwid, the sibling duo of brothers Sergio and Francisco Gomez. The pair has won multiple Billboard Latin Music Awards since 2004, when it took home regional Mexican album of the year and new artist honors. Akwid, which crafts a unique mix of rap and regional Mexican beats and riffs, is now signed to indie Platino Records. This year the act is up for Latin rhythm albums artist of the year, duo or group.
For the past decade, Puerto Rican urban duo Plan B has been energizing the charts. But this marks its first time as a finalist at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. Thanks to its singles from La Formula, the reggaeton/urban album released on Pina Records that features tracks by some of the genre’s top acts, Plan B is a finalist in the Latin rhythm songs artist of the year, duo or group category.
Rounding out the roster of finalist/performers is versatile Mexican singer/songwriter America Sierra, who made her mark as the voice on 3BallMTY’s runaway hit “Intentalo.” Sierra is now preparing to release her solo debut on Fonovisa.
The Bash will begin with performances by five emerging acts who drew the attention of Billboard editors. They include Almas Band, a pop/rock/fusion act comprising identical twins Jorge and Jose Colon; youthful regional Mexican banda groups Banda la Leyenda and Banda Yuriresne; and Sophia, a dynamic, bilingual singer signed to Emilio Estefan’s Crescent Moon label and management.
The Bash, a longtime tradition of the Billboard Latin Music Awards, launched in 2003 in response to the increasing stature of the show. The red carpet begins at 8 p.m., with the show starting at 9 p.m.