Prince Royce Tops Winners at 2012 BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC AWARDS

Music stars celebrated the best in Latin music during the 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards presented by State Farm® in a spectacular event that thrilled television viewers with world premieres, high energy performances, and memorable moments on Telemundo. Top honors at the most important Latin music event went to Don Omar and Prince Royce who received eight Billboard Latin Music Awards each. Rock en Español band Mana received five awards; Colombian megastar Shakira was honored with four; while Wisin & Yandel and Lucenzo received three trophies each. Julion Alvarez y Su Norteño Banda, Cristian Castro, Gerardo Ortiz, Aventura and Los Bukis received two awards. The 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards Presented by State Farm® hosted by Alylin Mujica and Daniel Sarcos, took place at BankUnited Center in Miami, Florida and was produced and broadcast live on Telemundo, marking the network’s 14th broadcast of the event.

The show featured 14 memorable performances by more than 20 artists or musical groups on stage including 3BallMty, America Sierra, Akon, Cristian Castro, Don Omar, El Bebeto, Gerardo Ortiz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Intocable, Jenni Rivera, Juanes, Larry Hernandez, Loalwa Braz, Mana, Marc Anthony, Michel Telo, Natti Natasha, Olga Tañon, Paulina Rubio, Pitbull, Prince Royce, Samo and Sensato.

Led by vocalist Ricky Muñoz and percussionist René Martinez, the Texan band Intocable was honored with a special Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of their successful artistic career spanning 15 years. Twenty-one albums by Intocable have appeared in Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums Chart, with 11 reaching the No. 1 position; while 15 of the 48 songs the group has charged have also reached the top of the Billboard Regional Mexican Songs Chart.

Singer, songwriter, actor, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Marc Anthony was honored with the Billboard Hall of Fame Award, which celebrates an artistic career that goes beyond musical performance and takes into account his tremendous influence as a global artist in multiple fields.
Artists who received one Billboard Latin Music Award each included Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, La Adictiva Banda San Jose de Mesillas, LMFAO and Sergio George. Enrique Iglesias was named winner of “Premio Tu Mundo” (Your World Award) for receiving the most votes from fans at www.telemundo.com.

The 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards presented by State Farm® were hosted by Aylin Mujica and Daniel Sarcos. The show’s live telecast was preceded by the red carpet arrivals pre-show, “La Alfombra de los Premios Billboard” which was hosted by Monica Noguera and Rashel Diaz with Jorge Bernal, Jessie Camacho, Alessandra Villegas and Guest Fashionista Viktor Luna.

On Saturday, April 28th at 7PM/6c, Telemundo will broadcast the special “Billboard Extra: Estilo y Moda,” which will feature the best and worst dressed. During this program, host Monica Noguera and a panel of expert fashionistas including Kika Rocha, Viktor Luna, Quique Usales and Maritza Rodriguez will review the looks and trends that artists selected to walk the red carpet and attend the glamorous event, from dresses and shoes, to hair and make-up, all with a touch of humor.
Viewers can enjoy the most memorable highlights of the evening, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, reactions from winners, performers, guests and fans, and the complete list of winners at www.Telemundo.com/PremiosBillboard.

In addition , fans also can listen to the hit songs from this year’s finalists on the 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards Finalists compilation CD, available for purchase only at Target and Target.com. For the sixth year, Target was the exclusive retail sponsor for the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales and radio airplay data that informs Billboard's weekly charts during a one-year period from the issue dated February 5, 2011 through this year's January 28, 2012 issue. Finalists, and the eventual winners, reflect performance of new recordings on Billboard’s album and track sales charts, including Top Latin Albums and Latin Digital Songs and radio charts, including Hot Latin Songs. Title-based categories are mostly confined to those songs or albums that did not appear on the respective charts prior to the Nov. 12, 2010, issue and excluding titles that were finalists in the prior-year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards. However, titles that have reached or maintained their peak position on their respective charts during the awards eligibility period (February 5, 2011 through this year’s January 28, 2012, issue) are eligible for inclusion regardless of chart debut date or prior finalist appearance. Based on album and digital track sales data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and radio information monitored by Nielsen BDS, Billboard’s rankings are the world's most authoritative music charts.

Billboard is the world’s most influential music media brand reaching key executives and tastemakers in and around the music business through Billboard Magazine, Billboard.biz http://www.billboard.biz/ , Billboard Conferences, Billboard Bulletin, and other targeted newsletters, and millions of music fans through Billboard.com http://www.billboard.com/ and Billboard Events. The Billboard brand is built on its exclusive charts and unrivaled reporting on the latest news, issues and trends across all genres of music. Billboard receives hundreds of millions of brand impressions daily through many strategic relationships with major companies across various industries. These relationships leverage Billboard’s brand recognition, proprietary chart data and information resources to develop products, live events and print, television, radio, digital and mobile platforms. In addition to North America, Billboard operates businesses in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Korea and Russia. Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas, including: Music (Billboard and its related conferences and events, including The Billboard Latin Music Awards), Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShowEast, Cineasia, and CineEurope); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Adweek Conferences and The CLIO Awards).

Photo credit: Bill Denver/Telemundo