By Stephanie Pollick
With pressure to get to the top of the Billboard charts, stay relevant, and outshine their peers, you’d think that today’s hottest musicians would have to constantly knock each other out of the way to guarantee their own success. But the list of nominees for this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards shows us that being the best doesn’t mean pushing others down.
On April 26, we will see many collaborations from our favorite artists highlighted at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. From Don Omar and Lucenzo’s “Danza Kuduro” to Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull’s “Ven A Bailar,” Hispanic stars show that they can be successful by supporting each other’s success. These collaborations not only bring us the best danceable hits, but also remind the American Latino community as a whole of the importance of sharing ideas and helping each other out.
It’s especially nice to see seasoned artists take budding new stars under their wings. Fellow nominees Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Enrique Iglesias have all collaborated with ALMA Award–winner Pitbull when he got his start, and now he’s paying it forward. We’ve seen this mentorship in the collaborations he’s produced with Nayer, a fellow Cuban-American singer. “Give Me Everything” has consistently topped the charts and has been nominated in several categories for the upcoming Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Another young star with multiple nominations this year is Prince Royce, whose collaboration with Daddy Yankee in “Ven Conmigo” last year brought us a great mix of romantic bachata melodies and reggaeton rhythms. We would love to see more collaborations from him! And while we’re dreaming up collaborations, maybe Esperanza Spalding, the multitalented jazz bassist and singer who created quite a buzz as Best New Artist at last year’s GRAMMYs will team up with some fellow Latinos to give us a fresh sound!
This is a great direction for American Latino artists, and we are excited to see how far these musicians can get by working together.