The AMAs Expand Latin Categories, Bad Bunny & Kali Uchis Lead Nominations
The nominations for the 2021 American Music Awards are out. The AMAs added another Latin category — Favorite Latin Duo or Group — that puts the genre on par with pop and country music. With five nominations, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is the most nominated in Latin music this year followed by Colombian stars, Kali Uchis and Maluma.
Latin music is one of the top genres at the AMAs.
As Billboard reported, the American Music Awards have spent the past few years trying to be more inclusive of Latin music. Last year, the AMAs expanded the Latin category from one to four categories. This year, a fifth category was added for Favorite Latin Duo or Group. With this fifth category, Latin is one of the three most-represented genres alongside pop and country music.
Bad Bunny has five nominations this year.
Bad Bunny was nominated in the general category, Collaboration of the Year category for “Dákiti” with Jhay Cortez. He has four more nominations in the Latin categories. He’s up for Favorite Latin Male Artist and Favorite Latin Album for “El Último Tour Del Mundo.” In the Favorite Latin Song category, Benito is nominated twice for “Dákiti” and “La Noche De Anoche” with Rosalía.
Kali Uchis and Maluma have three nominations each.
Colombian superstar Maluma follows Bad Bunny with three nominations. He’s up for Favorite Latin Male Artist. Maluma’s “Papi Juancho” is nominated for Favorite Latin Album and the remix of “Hawái” with The Weeknd is up for Favorite Latin Song.
Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis has three nominations. She’s up for Favorite Latin Female Artist alongside Karol G, Becky G, Natti Natasha, and Rosalía. Uchis is nominated for Favorite Latin Album as well for “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios).” In the Favorite Latin Song category, she’s up for her global smash hit “Telepatía.”
Eslabón Armado is vying for Favorite Latin Duo or Group.
The new Favorite Latin Duo or Group category is filled with regional Mexican music acts. Heavy-hitters like Banda MS and Calibre 50 face rising duo Los Dos Carnales and La Arrolladora. Mexican-American act Eslabón Armado, who is reviving sierreño music for Gen-Z, is also up for the award.
The American Music Award will air live from Los Angeles on Nov. 21. Fans can vote for their favorite artists through TikTok here.
