Enrique Iglesias Tops Finalists for 2016 BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC AWARD

By: Apr. 28, 2016
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Billboard and Telemundo announced today the finalists for the 2016 BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC AWARD during a press conference at the Gibson Showroom in Miami, broadcast live on the network's morning show "Un Nuevo Día" and streamed live through

Telemundo.com/Entretenimiento/Premios-Billboard. This year's top finalists competing in multiple categories are Romeo Santos (12 entries), Enrique Iglesias (11), Nicky Jam (11), J Balvin (8), Juan Gabriel (7), Mana (7), Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho (7), Marc Anthony (6), Ricky Martin (6), Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizarraga (6) and Julion Alvarez y Su Norteño Banda (6). In addition, leading actress, TV host and influencer Gaby Espino and renowned Mexican singer and actor Pedro Fernandez have been confirmed as the official hosts for the ceremony; while Nicky Jam and Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizarraga are the first confirmed performers of the highly-rated music special. The longest-running and most prestigious awards show in the Latin music world will be produced and broadcast live by Telemundo on Thursday, April 28 at 8pm/7c from the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami in Florida, and will be preceded at 7pm/6c by the acclaimed red carpet preshow "La Alfombra de Premios Billboard."

For the complete list of finalists and the latest news, fans can visitTelemundo.com/PremiosBillboard - the official website of the 2016 Billboard Latin Music Awards; follow the excitement of the star-studded event on Twitter and Instagram @LatinBillboards and Facebook.com/LatinBillboards, and join the conversation using #Billboards2016.

Leading the list of finalists once again is singer, songwriter and producer Romeo Santos with 12 entries. The "King of Bachata" has been on the road since 2014 with a top-grossing tour that has traveled throughout North and South America. Last year, he was the top finalist in the history of the Billboard Latin Music Awards with 21 entries, winning 10 awards. Among this year's categories are Artist of the Year; Tour of the Year; Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male; Producer of the Year; Songwriter of the Year; Tropical Songs Artist of the Year, Solo; Tropical Albums Artist of the Year, Solo; and Social Artist of the Year. With more than 954 million Youtube views it's no surprise his hit song "Propuesta Indecente" is up for Hot Latin Song of the Year. Youtube recently released statistics stating that Romeo Santos tops mainstream artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé in overall video views on its platform with more than four billion streams. His song "Yo También," featuring Marc Anthony, will compete for Tropical Song of the Year, while "Hilito" is a finalist for Airplay Song of the Year and Tropical Song of the Year.

Enrique Iglesias, a 19-time finalist, who last year took home nine awards, including Latin pop album and Latin pop song of the year, is not slowing down with 11 entries this year including Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male; Latin Pop Songs Artist of the Year, Solo; and Social Artist of the Year. His smash hit collaboration "El Perdón" with Nicky Jam is up for Hot Latin Song of the Year; Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event; Airplay Song of the Year; Digital Song of the Year; Streaming song of the Year; and Latin Rhythm Song of the Year. Enrique Iglesias will also have to face off with his duet partner Nicky Jam for the Artist of the Year award. His 2015 wildly successful tour with Pitbull was once again a finalist for Tour of the Year.

After a stellar 2015, Latin urban sensation Nicky Jam ties for second-most nods, vying for 11 awards including Artist of the Year; Latin Rhythm Songs Artist of the Year, Solo; and Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male. Nicky Jam, who will be performing at the award show, will be taking off on his first U.S. tour, propelled by the hit duet "El Perdón" with Enrique Iglesias, which was the second longest-running No. 1 song on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. Nicky Jam is also a finalist for his collaboration on the song "Sunset" with Farruko and Shaggy. The artist is also up against Romeo Santos for Songwriter of the Year.

Colombian urban artist J Balvin, who started off the year with a stirring performance at Calibash 2016 in Los Angeles joined by special guest Justin Bieber, once again topped the music charts with songs like "Ay Vamos" and "Ginza," his biggest hit to date. This year's count makes him a finalist in eight award categories including Hot Latin Song of the Year; Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male; Airplay Song of the Year; Digital Song of the Year; Digital Song of the Year; Streaming Song of the Year; Latin Rhythm Song of the Year; and Latin Rhythm Songs Artist of the Year, Solo.

Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga, confirmed to perform at this year's event, is up for six awards this year, along with Julión Alvarez y su Norteño Banda, Marc Anthony, and Ricky Martin respectively; while both Calibre 50 and Gerardo Ortiz are up for five awards. Gente de Zona, Shakira and Victor Manuelle compete for four awards each. Artists up for three awards include Farruko, Pitbull, and Zion & Lennox; while Aventura, Baby Rasta & Gringo, Banda Clave Nueva de Max Peraza, Buena Vista Social Club, Chiquis Rivera, Christian Daniel, Don Omar, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Jesse & Joy, Joan Sebastian, Juanes, Maluma, Natalia Jiménez, Plan B, Prince Royce, Selena, and Yandel, are up for two awards.

Billboard will also present its prestigious discretionary awards including The Spirit of Hope Award for humanitarian contributions and the Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement Awards. Previous winners of Billboard's discretionary awards include: Carlos Santana, Roberto Carlos, Intocable, Marc Anthony, Soraya, Mana, Banda El Recodo, Willy Chirino, Gloria Estefan, Vicente Fernandez, Shakira, Mongo Santamaria, Jose Feliciano, Los Tigres Del Norte, Ricky Martin, Andrea Bocelli, Tito Puente, Olga Tañon, Ricardo Montaner, Franco de Vita, Miguel Bose, Conjunto Primavera, Juanes, Daddy Yankee, Carlos Santana, Jose Jose, Los Temerarios, Emmanuel, and Carlos Vives.

The awards are the culmination of the Billboard Latin Music Conference, now in its 27th year and under the slogan "The Top Artists, The Top Trends, The Top Names in Music". The conference is the biggest and longest-running event dedicated to Latin music in the world. It will take place April 25-28 at the Ritz Carlton in Miami Beach, Florida. The conference is the "must-attend" event for the top POWER PLAYERS in the industry, from label presidents to A talent, to top agents, managers, promoters, marketing and advertising executives and radio executives, as well as for those taking their first steps in the business. For information please visit BillboardLatinConference.com or email conferences@billboard.com

The Billboard Latin Music Awards, to be broadcast live April 28, 2016 on TELEMUNDO, honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales, radio airplay, streaming and social data that informs Billboard's weekly charts during a one-year period from the issue dated February 7, 2015 through this year's January 30, 2016 issue. Based on album sales, digital track sales, monitored radio airplay, and streaming data provided by Nielsen Music and social media data provided by Next Big Sound, Billboard's rankings are the world's most authoritative music charts. Finalists, and the eventual winners, reflect performance of new recordings on Billboard's albums and songs charts, including Top Latin Albums, Hot Latin Songs, Latin Airplay, Latin Digital Songs and Latin Streaming Songs, among others.

BLMA Tweet: .@RomeoSantosPage, @EnriqueIglesias and @NickyJamPR Top Finalists for the #Billboards2016 April 28 on @TELEMUNDO

Billboard is the world's most influential music brand, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com, the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry's most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music - the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike. Billboard was named the leading U.S. brand on Twitter, surpassing the NFL, ESPN, BuzzFeed and MTV, with 6.1 million engaged actions in Q3 2015, and named an overall Top 10 U.S. Media Publisher in December 2015 with 11.8 million social actions. Billboard has a social media footprint of 10.6 million social followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Billboard magazine has scored major news-generating covers recently including Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. In December 2015, the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, which honored Lady Gaga as Woman of the Year, was presented to a mass audience for the first time via Lifetime, the exclusive broadcast partner.

TELEMUNDO, a property of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, is a world-class media company, leading the industry in the production and distribution of high-quality Spanish-language content across its multiplatform portfolio to U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. The network features original scripted dramas from Telemundo Studios - the #1 producer of Spanish-language primetime content - as well as non-scripted productions, theatrical motion pictures, specials, news and first-class sports events, reaching 94% of U.S. Hispanic viewers in 210 markets through its 17 owned stations and 52 broadcast and MVPD affiliates.



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