A wave of Latin artists, emerging and established, arrived at the 2024 Premios Juventud in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Thursday (July 25) to traditionally celebrate the “extraordinary accomplishments in society, celebrating music, new artists, community and creators,” according to a press release.
This year’s fan-voted award show—which gave prominence to creators, figures who “lead on social media, by introducing new award categories to spotlight those who are making significant waves in la cultura”—were lead by top nominees Carin León, Maluma, and Peso Pluma, with seven nominations each. Karol G was the big winner of the night, nabbing five awards including female Premios Juventud artist and best urban album for Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season). (See full winners list here)
Other top nominees included Shakira with six nominations; Becky G and Grupo Frontera with five nominations; and up for four awards each, Bad Bunny, Bizarrap, Farruko, Feid, Fuerza Regida, Manuel Turizo and Ozuna.
Meanwhile, artists such as Ivy Queen, Natti Natasha, Emilia, Prince Royce, Los Esquivel, Los Ángeles Azules, and Reik, took center stage at the ceremony for memorable performances.
Additionally, Premios Juventud recognized Anitta, Lele Pons, and Los Tigres del Norte with the coveted “Agent of Change” recognition, celebrating young entrepreneurs and prominent stars who selflessly contribute to creating a better world. Previous AOC titleholders include Ricky Martin, Shakira, Becky G, Camila Cabello, J Balvin, and Daddy Yankee, to name a few.
As all of this was televised live on Univision and streamed on ViX, Billboard was catching all the action backstage—at the red carpet and media center—that you didn’t see on TV. Check out the list below:
Red carpets are the best place to network for artists, and that was the case for two emerging artists: Lomiiel, the new face of the Dembow genre, and breakthrough Mexican act, Oscar Maydon. Before entering the venue, the two artists bumped into each other at the carpet, where they shook hands, chit-chatted for a bit, and even exchanged phone numbers. Could a viral regional dembow fusion be in the horizon?
Over 275K video creations on TikTok, there’s no doubt Fariana (formerly known as Farina) is having a moment with her merengue “El Caballito” in collaboration with Oro Solido. “I wanted to create a song that was timeless and that all generations can enjoy,” she said to Billboard. The Colombian rapper and singer said the first people she showed the song to was her family on New Year’s Eve last year. “My family was playing cards at the ranch, and when I played the song and they heard ‘Ok, Ok, Ok, Ok,’ they all stood up and said ‘what? Oro Solido!’ A cousin of mine even cried,” she noted.
At the carpet, Maffio reacted to Karol G’s summer bop “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” “I wish I would’ve produced it,” he told Billboard at the carpet of the merengue banger that was co-produced by Edgar Barrera, Sky Rompiendo, and Karol. “I would’ve made a nice mambo on it […] I love it, it’s great, but come to the source.” The Dominican hitmaker also expressed his admiration for the countless of urban artist who are experimenting with merengue music. “It makes me happy that everyone’s catching on after 20 years. It’s cool!”
Jory Boy, one of the pioneers of the reggaeton movement and former duo Nova y Jory, is making a comeback under his new record deal with Wisin’s La Base. “The vibe is amazing!” he said of hitting La Base’s recording studio. “If you’ve ever seen Wisin do interviews, you already know how he is. He’s humble, energetic, and he’s like a leader that teaches and motivates you to reach your max. He’s my real brother.” Jory is going to release his first album under the label on September 25, and the first single comes out tonight called ‘Dandole’ produced by Jumbo.
The weather was perfect and the vibes were immaculate at the PJs outdoor carpet, until two well-known artists of la nueva generación had a tense encounter. In the midst of interviewing nominees Los Esquivel, Billboard caught Puerto Rican rappers Yovngchimi and Hades66 beefing with each other. It’s unclear what they were arguing about, but we overheard them talking about “fronting” and “gold chains” as security came in between to separate them.