The Best, Worst, and Most Surprising Moments

Daddy Yankee cemented his reggaeton royalty status with one of the most exciting performances of the night. The reggaeton pioneer embodied his Person of the Year honor in its entirety as he dove into his classics like “Ella Me Levantó” and “Lo Que Pasó, Pasó.” It may have been a surprise to the audience since Daddy Yankee has shied away from playing his earlier, more party-forward songs since becoming a devout Christian, but he went through all the hits. Daddy Yankee tore into “Rompe” and “Gasolina,” reminding the world of his icon status, and brought out a ton of guests: LL Cool J, French Montana, Diljit Dosanjh, Feid, Bizarrap, Bad Gyal and more. Here’s to hoping he busts out the same set at Coachella — but only if LL Cool J can serve to boisterously remind the world, “Don’t call it a comeback!” —Maya Georgi

Daddy Yankee appeared to pay tribute to Michael Jackson during his show-stopping performance with one white-studded glove on. To the surprise of the audience and everyone watching the Latin Grammys, Janet Jackson appeared a little later to present him with the award for Person of the Year. Daddy Yankee, who looked shock when she walked onstage, previously collaborated with Jackson on her 2018 song “Made For Now.” The king of reggaeton took a moment during his speech to give Ms. Jackson her flowers. “I want to thank you for being here and I respect you a lot,” Daddy Yankee told the icon. —Lucas Villa

Pablo Alborán received a historic 30th Grammy nomination of his career this year. He is the third most-nominated Spanish artist in the history of the Latin Grammy Awards behind Rosalía and Alejandro Sanz. Sadly, the Málaga-based pop star has never won a single Latin Grammy Award. His album KM0 lost to a deluxe edition of Sanz’s ¿Y Ahora Qué? LP. The wild thing is that the original version of Sanz’s album won in the same category last year. After 15 years of Latin Grammy nominations, it was Alborán’s time to finally win and that didn’t happen. —L.V.

Brazilian powerhouse Anitta brought tons of energy to the stage during her show-stopping medley, pulled from her critically acclaimed album EQUILIBRIVM. She glided through “Choka Choka,” “Desgraça,” “Meia Noite,” and “Ouro” from the LP, putting all her star power on display. The performance was a highlight on its own, but the night was even more special for Anitta: The 12-time nominee, who has performed at the ceremony over the years, had never won a trophy  — until now. She scored her first Latin Grammy for Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album, an honor she dedicated to Brazil while noting how often the country’s culture and contributions are erased from major media moments. “This is the first time a Brazilian category is being televised. It’s very important that you know that Latin America includes all the countries in Latin America, not just the Spanish-speaking one,” she said. “Brazil is part of it.”—Julyssa Lopez

Sure, the rocker has several Grammys under his belt for his work with the Police and beyond, but now the Latin Recording Academy has also recognized String, too. It’s less surprising when you realize Sting won the award for Best Pop/Rock song for his feature on Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s song, “Hasta Jesús Tuvo Un Mal Día” from their latest album Free Spirits. Sting had gone on Instagram to explain how he “helped” Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso grapple with their newfound fame during a wellness retreat at a “secretive” holistic Free Spirits Center. We’re not sure if it’s a bit, but either way, the Academy was impressed. —M.G.

Earlier on, before the ceremony’s broadcast kicked off, U.S. representative-elect Bobby Pulido enjoyed a full-circle win and accepted the Best Tejano Album award in person. But besides that non-televised moment, there were practically no speeches or performances that spoke to politics in Latin America or the political realities of Latinos living in the U.S., even from a place of joy for Texas’ big wins in the midterm elections. Last year, Los Tigres del Norte’s performance celebrated immigrants amidst ICE crackdowns. This year, Becky G and Santana’s anti-ICE track was even up for Song of the Year. So it’s not unprecedented for the ceremony to veer into current events. It was strange for an award show broadcast live from Las Vegas, and stranger still for a night dedicated to celebrating Latin voices. —M.G.

Milo J has been one of Argentina’s most exciting newcomers, particularly for the way he incorporates tradition with modern sounds. He put that on display on Thursday with a touching performance that nodded to the customs of Santiago del Estero, a city he has deep connections to that inspired his album La Vida Era Más Corta. He transformed the stage into a traditional courtyard from the region and brought on musician Gustavo Santaolalla and the Uruguayan ensemble Agárrate Catalina for “Solifican12” and “Gil.” The effect was impressive and emotional, and a testament to why he scored three Latin Grammys that night. —J.L.

One of this year’s biggest breakthrough artists took home the award for Best New Artist and it felt right. Aria Vega, the rising pop star from Barranquilla, emerged victorious in a category with 10 other artists this year. Vega has scored hit after hit embracing the sounds of Colombia’s Caribbean coast in songs “Chévere” and “Cule Poco.” She previously told Rolling Stone, “I want people to see us beyond the stereotypes and experience the coast through my eyes. If I can make somebody curious about where I’m from, or make someone from back home feel proud to see themselves reflected in what I do, that means everything to me.” —L.V.

What was going on with the music during the award packages? No award show gets it perfectly, but this year’s Latin Grammys seemed to be struggling to let audiences at home hear the songs that were nominated for several categories. The sound glitched out during the Best Contemporary Tropical Album category and then audio issues seemed to pop up throughout the telecast. The worst was when they hit a few of the speeches, including Rosalia’s heartfelt words when she won Best Pop Song for “La Perla.” —J.L.

Before they broke up, Karol G and Feid teamed up for the song “Verano Rosa” on last year’s Tropicoqueta album. The song was nominated for Best Reggaeton Performance. To possibly avoid an awkward moment during the telecast, “Verano Rosa” was announced as the winner in the category during the pre-show ceremony. To no one’s surprise, neither Karol G nor Feid were present to accept the award. Feid now shares his two Latin Grammy wins with Bad Bunny and his former partner, Karol G. Still, it’s a nice nod to the way they were and the solid collaborations that came out that partnership. —L.V.

This year’s Latin Grammy Awards was packed with performances from start to finish. You would forget they were giving out awards from the few that were broadcasted during the telecast. (Actually, a majority of the awards are handed out in a pre-telecast ceremony.) On top of a show bloated with performance, there were a few that went on for too long. If you’re going to have an award ceremony filled with performances, let’s cut out the filler. —L.V.

Just days after he won his competitive race in Texas’ 15th congressional district, Bobby Pulido kept on triumphing by taking the Latin Grammys stage. On Thursday, the Tejano musician took home the trophy for Best Tejano Album for his project Bobby Pulido & Friends: Una Tuya y Una Mía (Vol. 2/En Vivo). This marked his third Latin Grammy; he won his first Latin Grammy in 2022 for Best Tejano Album for his LP Para Que Baile Mi Pueblo and his second in 2025 for Bobby Pulido & Friends: Una Tuya y Una Mía (Vol. 1/En Vivo). But as he accepted the award, he was quick to remind people that what’s important to him now is his commitment to public service. “I love you all, and I’ll see you soon, because we need to represent and we need to get to work to use our voices for something else,” he said. —J.L.