The reggaeton-heavy nominations come a year after a wave of urbano artists expressed their concerns with the Latin Recording Academy for the lack of urban recognition in the main categories. Balvin, alongside other colleagues, was one of the leading force of the “Without Reggaeton there’s no Latin Grammys” campaign on social media. Their protest, as he simply stated, is “for the culture and the movement.”
“It would be nice to be the big winner of the night but we already made a statement and that’s the most important thing,” he says. “This is for the youth, for the dreamers, for the reggaeton genre and the different ramifications of urban music.”
Nominated twice in multiple categories, including the coveted record of the year, album of the year, and the newly-added best reggaeton performance, Balvin’s nods reflect a genre where collaborations flourish. Though collabs have propelled the genre to expand and go global, Balvin assures that everything has a balance.
“There are moments for collaborations and moments to be solo,” he says. “I had practically no collaborations on ‘Colores’ because I wanted to see how I connect with fans by myself. I wouldn’t like to know that my career depends on someone else.”
For Balvin, the 2020 Latin Grammys is a sign that things are getting done the right way. “All new artists should be aware that there is a voting system, that they have to register for the Grammys, become part of the academy and vote for their dreams,” he advises.
Earlier this week, Balvin celebrated his career milestone with a throwback photo from 2010. On it, he’s seen posing next to the golden gramophone statuette. His main purpose? To continue inspiring his fans.
“Sometimes we become desperate and want things to happen right away, I include myself,” he admits. “It took me 10 years to get to this point but you have to enjoy the process because those memories don’t come back either. I think the main thing is to create a solid foundation and not depend so much on social media or wanting to go viral. Few things go viral but hard work and discipline always lead you to success. Dream but work hard for that. It’ll take longer but it’ll last.” he concludes.
