With nine wins — including artist of the year, tour of the year and songwriter of the year — Bad Bunny was the big champion at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
The Puerto Rican star, who has been breaking attendance and chart records, also took home top Latin album of the year and top Latin rhythm album of the year for Un Verano Sin Ti, the longest-running album at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 so far this year, as well as Hot Latin Songs and Top Latin Albums artist of the year, male and tropical song of the year for “Volví.”
Following Bad Bunny in sheer number of wins was Farruko with his juggernaut hit “Pepas,” which won the coveted Hot Latin Song of the year award, as well as sales, streaming and Latin rhythm song of the year. Karol G was the top female artist of the awards, winning Hot Latin Songs and Top Latin Albums artist of the year, female, while “Mamiii,” her collaboration with Becky G, won Hot Latin Song of the year, vocal event.
Rauw Alejandro and regional Mexican stars Grupo Firme and Eslabón Armado all took home two awards each, as did 18-year-old Mexican newcomer Iván Cornejo, who won the very important new artist of the year award. The producer of the year award once again went to Tainy.
While Bad Bunny may have dominated the charts, the list of winners represented a vast array of Latin genres and artists ranging from icons to newcomers, including Rosalía, Wisin y Yandel, Romeo Santos and Christian Nodal.
That variety was also present in the special awards. Pop superstar Chayanne was feted with the Billboard Icon Award, while Nicky Jam received the Hall of Fame Award for his success as a reggaeton trailblazer, and also as a successful personality in film and media. The Spirit of Hope Award for philanthropic endeavors went to Christina Aguilera, and Spanish icon Raphael was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. José Feliciano was honored with the Billboard Legend Award.
On the label and publishing end, Sony Music Latin led the charge with nine awards, including Latin Airplay label of the year, while Sony Music Publishing won publishing corporation of the year. Rimas, Bad Bunny’s label, took home six awards, including Top Latin Albums label of the year, while its publishing division, RSM Publishing (ASCAP), won publisher of the year.
Finalists and winners were celebrated live at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, which aired on the Telemundo network from the Watsco Center in Miami. Billboard Latin Music Awards is the only awards show to honor the most popular albums, songs and performers in Latin music as determined by Billboard‘s renowned weekly charts. Finalists, and eventual winners, reflect performance of new recordings on Billboard‘s albums and songs charts during a one-year period, from the rankings dated Aug. 14, 2021 through the Aug. 6, 2022 charts. Determinations are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay and touring, tracked by Billboard and its data partner, Luminate.