Awards
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Venezuelan conductor and violinist Gustavo Dudamel received the 14th Glenn Gould Prize during a ceremony at Carnegie Hall on Aug. 2. Dudamel is music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and is set to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026.
Previous recipients of the Glenn Gould Prize, called Laureates, include Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Leonard Cohen, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Alanis Obomsawin, Philip Glass, Robert Lepage, and Oscar Peterson.
Dudamel, 43, is the first Laureate who had previously been awarded the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize, having been selected by his mentor and Glenn Gould Prize Laureate Dr. José Antonio Abreu in 2009.
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Selected by the Laureate themselves, the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize is awarded to an outstanding young artist demonstrating exceptional promise with a cash award of CDN$25,000. This year, Dudamel selected two young conductors, both also from Venezuela, to share the Protégé Prize – Andrés David Ascanio Abreu and Enluis Montes Olivar.
The Canadian Consul General to New York, the Hon. Tom Clark, and Glenn Gould Foundation executive director Brian Levine, presented the awards onstage at Carnegie Hall during a concert in which Dudamel conducted the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra.
“It is a huge honor to receive this prize,” Dudamel said in accepting his honor. “Years ago, I was a Protégé Prize winner, given to me by my Maestro Abreu. It makes me very proud, especially to be here with all these amazing young people from my country, Venezuela.”
Nominees for The Glenn Gould Prize are submitted through an open, public nomination process and can come from a broad range of artistic fields. An international jury comprised of artists and professionals from diverse disciplines convenes in Toronto, Canada (where Gould was born and where he died) to review the nominees and select the Laureate. The Glenn Gould Prize Laureate is awarded a cash prize of CDN$100,000.
The Glenn Gould Foundation, established in 1983, is a registered Canadian charitable organization dedicated to celebrating excellence in the arts and promoting cultural enrichment globally.
Gould, a Canadian classical pianist, won four Grammys and three Juno Awards. He is best known for Bach: The Goldberg Variations, which he recorded in both 1955 and 1981. The earlier recording was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1983. That same year, his digital re-recording won both a Grammy and a Juno for best classical album. Sadly, all of these awards were posthumous: Gould had died in 1982 at age 50. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2013.
American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special, a two-hour retrospective special, will air on Sunday, Oct. 6, in the time slot that the 2024 AMAs was going to fill. That show has been bumped to May 2025. It will be the first yearly AMAs show since the one that aired on Nov. 20, 2022 with Wayne Brady hosting.
CBS and Dick Clark Productions announced on April 26 that the 2024 AMAs would run in the Oct. 6 timeslot. It was to have been the show’s debut on CBS after nearly 50 years on ABC. Instead, the AMAs franchise will debut on CBS with an anniversary special which promises to be more ambitious than a standard “clip show.”
American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special will feature new performances, artist interviews, special guests, and exclusive never-before-seen footage from DCP’s extensive archives.
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The program will feature themed highlights from AMAs’ expansive show archives, each culminating with an original performance or artist interview. Segments will look back on the evolution of specific artists and genres at the AMAs, as well as award and performance milestones. The performances, created just for American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special, will include collaborations, debuts from today’s top stars and appearances from AMAs legends. Performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
The special will air concurrently on both coasts, from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET/5:00-7:00 p.m. PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special is produced by Dick Clark Productions.
ABC aired a 20th anniversary American Music Awards special in 1993. Kenny Rogers hosted the two-hour program.
Nominees on the AMAs are based on key fan interactions as reflected on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay.
The AMAs were created in 1973 as a fan-based alternative to the Grammys. The first two Grammy live telecasts in March 1971 and March 1972 aired on ABC. When the Grammys shifted to CBS for the March 1973 telecast, ABC looked for a show to fill that void and went with Dick Clark’s fan-based show.
In December 1973, Clark was working on the first AMAs, which would launch on Feb. 19, 1974. The veteran producer knew a little publicity couldn’t hurt, so he found time for an interview with Billboard’s Bob Kirsch which ran on page one of the Dec. 15, 1973 issue under the headline “ABC-TV Slates Favorite Acts’ Awards Feb. 19.”
At the end of the piece, Clark attempted to take the long view of his fledgling show and said “If this is done properly, we may have a show that will last 20 years and will finally get the general public involved in popular music awards.”
Clark underestimated the longevity of his own creation. Next year’s AMAs will be the 51st. (There were two shows in 2003 and none at all in 2023 or 2024.)
That first show in 1974 ran just 90 minutes. It has been allotted three hours for many years, though the length of the 2025 show has not been announced. The show in the first five years had a tight focus on three broad genres – pop/rock, soul/R&B and country. It now recognizes far more genres, including hip-hop, Latin, inspirational, gospel, Afrobeats and K-pop.
But, for the most part, the vision that Clark outlined to Kirsch in 1973 still guides the show.
“This is probably the first time a major effort has been made to sample the U.S. public music taste through popular vote. … To date, we have received extremely favorable response from those in the music industry we have talked to about the show. They seem delighted at the opportunity to be honored by the music-buying public.”
Helen Reddy, Smokey Robinson and Roger Miller co-hosted that first show – each representing one of the three main genres. Reddy, who was red-hot at the time, was also the inaugural winner of favorite pop/rock female artist.
Clark, a master showman, was a legend in both music and television. He received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 1990 and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1992. He died in 2012 at age 82.
DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics for a song they co-wrote for Only Murders in the Building. If they win on Sept. 8, the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys, they will become the 20th and 21st individuals to EGOT – to win at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony in competition.
Moreover, Pasek and Paul would be the second pair to achieve the EGOT as a team. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice won each of the four awards as a team – a Tony for best original score for Evita, a Grammy for best cast show album for Evita, an Oscar for best original song for “You Must Love Me” from Evita and an Emmy for outstanding variety special (live) for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
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In addition, Pasek, who will be 39 years and three months old on Emmy night, would become the second-youngest EGOT winner ever, trailing only Robert Lopez, who 39 and one week old when he achieved the feat in March 2014. Paul, who will be 39 years, eight months and five days old that night, would become the third-youngest EGOT ever. John Legend, who was 39 years, eight months and 12 days old when he achieved the feat in September 2018, would fall from his current runner-up status to fourth place.
Pasek would be the fourth individual who is publicly LGBTQ to achieve the EGOT, following actor Sir John Gielgud (1991), producer Scott Rudin (2012) and Sir Elton John (2024).
Pasek and Paul won their first EGOT-qualifying award, an Oscar for best original song, in February 2017 for co-writing “City of Stars” from La La Land with composer Justin Hurwitz. They won a Tony for best original score that June for Dear Evan Hansen and won a second Tony in June 2022 for being among the platoon of producers of A Strange Loop, which was voted best musical. They won their first Grammy, best musical theater album, in January 2018 for Dear Evan Hansen and their second, best compilation soundtrack for visual media, in February 2019 for The Greatest Showman.
They are nominated for a Primetime Emmy for co-writing the song “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” for Only Murders in the Building with another songwriting team, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Series star Steve Martin, who is nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, performed the tongue-twisting song.
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But Pasek and Paul haven’t won the award yet. The competition is strong. Eli Brueggemann, who won in this category six years ago for co-writing “Come Back Barack” for Saturday Night Live, is nominated again this year for another SNL song, “Maya Rudolph Mother’s Day Monologue,” which he co-wrote with Rudolph, Mike DiCenzo, Jake Nordwind and Auguste White.
Other nominees in the category are Sara Bareilles for writing “The Medium Time” from Girls5eva; John Hawkes, for writing “No Use” from True Detective: Night Country; and Walter Afanasieff, Kara Talve, Hans Zimmer and Charlie Midnight for cowriting “Love Will Survive” from The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Barbra Streisand recorded the latter song. She also recorded “Ordinary Miracles” from Barbra Streisand: The Concert, a Marvin Hamlisch/Alan & Marilyn Bergman song which won in the category 29 years ago.
This is the second Primetime Emmy nod for Pasek and Paul. They were nominated in the same category six years ago for writing a song from A Christmas Story Live!
Sir Elton John was the most recent person to complete the EGOT. He did so when he won a Primetime Emmy for Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium at the ceremony in January (which was delayed for four months by union strikes).
If Pasek and Paul achieve the feat, this would be the fourth time that two or more people became EGOTs in the same calendar year. Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno both became EGOTs in 1977. Mel Brooks and Mike Nichols both scored in 2001. Webber, Rice and Legend all completed their EGOT journeys in 2018.
Here’s a look at this year’s Primetime Emmy nominations in all seven music categories.
The 2024 Tencent Music Entertainment Awards (TMEA) were staged at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, from July 19 to 21.
Themed “High Five. Music Drive” and organized by Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the TMEA showcased a three-day music extravaganza, featuring a stellar lineup of international top artists and more than 100 performances, alongside a two-day indoor music festival and music ceremony.
The titles of Best Male Singer of the Year and Best Female Singer of the Year were awarded to Zhou Shen and Zhang Liangying, respectively, while Xue Zhiqian received recognition for Best Concert of the Year.
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Zhou Shen
Courtesy of TME
Wang Yuan was honored as the Most Influential Male Singer in the Chinese Mainland, while Yuan Yawei (TIA RAY) was awarded the title of Most Influential Female Singer in the Chinese Mainland. Additionally, the Most Influential Male and Female Singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan were awarded to Eason Chan and G.E.M., while the honors for Most Influential Singer-Songwriter and Most Influential Mandarin Group went to Jay Chou and Mayday, respectively.
The evening also featured the announcement of the Best of the Year awards: the titles of Best Male and Female Singers in the Chinese Mainland were awarded to Xue Zhiqian and Shan Yichun, while the Best Male and Female Singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan were given to Wilber Pan and Angela Zhang.
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Shan Yichun
Courtesy of TME
International artists were also in the spotlight, with Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift awarded Best International Male Artist and Most Influential International Artist of the Year, respectively.
The TMEA Music Ceremony brought together a lineup of iconic Chinese-language singers. Wang Yuan, Wilber Pan, Zhang Liangying, Tia Ray and Zhou Shen all performed, showcasing their hit songs and diverse musical styles.
Tia Ray
Courtesy of TME
In addition to established artists, the TMEA also highlighted many emerging stars in the Chinese music scene.
As a world-class choreographer, RIKIMARU served as the dance director for the 2024 TMEA and debuted his new song “Can’t Get Enough.” A representative of Chinese electronic music, who was the only Mandarin artist to perform on prestigious international electronic music festival stages such as Tomorrowland, Ultra, ADE and EDC, CORSAK delivered an electrifying DJ SHOW at the gala.
Established in 2019, the Tencent Music Entertainment Awards is an annual music awards ceremony that has captivated millions of music enthusiasts.
TMEA
Courtesy of TME
Prince was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Saturday (July 27) at a 40th anniversary screening of his film Purple Rain at Minneapolis’ Target Center. This is the second time this year that the SHOF has posthumously inducted a legendary songwriter. It honored the late Cindy Walker at an event in April.
Upon accepting the award from Gilbert Davison, a longtime professional colleague of Prince’s, Prince’s sister, Sharon L. Nelson, said, “You will always remember his songs. This is the award he wanted more than any other in life — to be known as a great songwriter.”
Why didn’t the SHOF didn’t get around to honoring Prince in his lifetime? He was selected for induction in 2013, but SHOF policy is that a songwriter has to personally attend the annual induction and awards gala to be officially inducted, and Prince’s schedule didn’t permit him to attend for a few years.
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SHOF president and CEO Linda Moran stated that the organization had been working with him to coordinate his schedule. “He reached out at the end of 2015 and said how important the award was to him and that the June 2016 ceremony could work,” Moran said in a statement. “We planned that it would be unannounced and a surprise; but unfortunately, Prince passed two months beforehand in April. It has been a long road, but we are thrilled that one of the world’s most prolific and phenomenal songwriters is finally a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.”
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A songwriter, producer, musician and pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound (which also included 2017 SHOF inductees Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis), Prince crossed genres with ease. Credited by his full name, Prince Rogers Nelson, he wrote every song in his catalog. He placed 19 songs in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, including five that went to No. 1: “When Doves Cry”; “Let’s Go Crazy” and “Kiss” (both credited to Prince and the Revolution); “Batdance”; and “Cream” (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation).
Prince also wrote hits for other artists including Sheena Easton, Kenny Rogers, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion, Kate Bush and the Bangles. Several of his songs that he had recorded were also covered by other artists including Chaka Khan, Tom Jones, Sinéad O’Connor, Alicia Keys, the Pointer Sisters and Cyndi Lauper.
Prince won both an Oscar and a Grammy for his Purple Rain score. He also won a Grammy for best R&B song for writing “I Feel for You,” a 1984 smash for Khan. He was nominated for song of the year for writing “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a 1990 smash for O’Connor.
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Walker, whose most famous song is the cross-genre classic “You Don’t Know Me,” was inducted into the SHOF in a special event on April 19 at historic Columbia Studio A in Nashville. The ceremony took place during a SHOF Master Session with Liz Rose, a 2023 SHOF inductee. The event was co-hosted by SHOF board member Fletcher Foster, who chairs the SHOF Nashville Committee.
The annual SHOF gala in June does not normally include posthumous inductions, though this year’s inductees included Steely Dan, whose Walter Becker died in 2017. The SHOF prefers the June event to have a celebratory mood, but it intends to continue hosting posthumous inductions at unique venues and special events such as this one.
“The ceremony at Columbia Studio A was warm, intimate and respectful,” Foster said in a statement at the time of Walker’s induction. “SHOF president and CEO Linda Moran says this now sets the stage for future posthumous inductions.”
Eric Church, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Tyler Hubbard, Jamey Johnson, Ashley McBryde, Darius Rucker and Keith Urban are the first performers announced for the 2024 ACM Awards, which will be presented on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Carly Pearce and Jordan Davis are set to host the event, which will pay tribute to this year’s previously-announced honorees Walt Aldridge, Tony Brown, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Shannon Sanders, Lainey Wilson and Trisha Yearwood.
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Pearce is hosting for the fourth straight year. Davis is the reigning ACM song of the year winner, having won at the May 16 show for co-writing “Next Thing You Know” with Josh Osborne, Chase McGill and Greylan James.
Brown has worked closely with both Harris, for whom he played piano, and Gill, for whom he produced many recordings, including one that won an ACM Award – “Building Bridges,” a 2006 collab with Sheryl Crow which was voted vocal event of the year.
In addition to performing on the show, Hubbard will present the ACM studio recording and industry awards portion of ACM Honors, which is in its 17th year.
Additionally, previously announced artist-songwriter of the year winner Chris Stapleton and songwriter of the year Jessie Jo Dillon will be feted at ACM Honors.
Limited tickets for ACM Honors are available through AXS, including VIP packages which include a ticket in the VIP artist section of the Ryman (first seven rows), a ticket to the VIP pre-party reception, a commemorative Hatch Show Print poster, parking, and drink tickets.
The International Bluegrass Music Association‘s five-day World of Bluegrass event will move to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for 2025-2027, with the inaugural Chattanooga event taking place Sept. 16-20, 2025. World of Bluegrass will feature a convention, tradeshow, the annual IBMA Awards show, artist showcases and a two-day live music festival featuring top bluegrass artists. No specific Chattanooga venue has been revealed as of yet.
“In our mission to spread the music, IBMA considered 30+ destinations for a new home. While other cities could offer the necessary commitment, the passion and enthusiasm of the people of Chattanooga truly stood out. We are incredibly grateful for the support from the state of Tennessee and the welcoming spirit of Chattanooga. This city’s unique charm and hospitality makes it a perfect home for WOB artists and guests,” Ken White, executive director of IBMA, said in a statement.
The IBMA announced the new home for World of Bluegrass in partnership with the Chattanooga Tourism Co., the General Assembly, and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Chattanooga was also revealed as the first recipient of the Tennessee Special Event Fund, with The Chattanooga Tourism Co. using the award to invest in supporting and growing the World of Bluegrass event. In 2022, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee partnered with the General Assembly to assign $25 million in the state budget for a fund designed to attract large-scale events expected to generate at least $10 million in visitor spending and $1 million in state and local taxes.
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“Tennessee is proud to welcome IBMA’s World of Bluegrass to Chattanooga. This event is not only a testament to our state’s vibrant cultural heritage but also a significant economic driver for our communities,” said Chairwoman Patsy Hazlewood via a statement. “We are excited to support this event that will bring Bluegrass enthusiasts together in our city and give us an opportunity to showcase Tennessee and Chattanooga to an audience coming from literally around the world.”
Barry White, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Tourism Co., added, “The Tourism Co. is honored to be the first recipient of Tennessee’s new Special Event Fund and to welcome the WOB to Chattanooga. We are extremely excited to bring this event to Chattanooga and highlight our city’s flourishing cultural scene, while also generating economic returns to our community.”
According to a release, the Chattanooga Tourism Co. estimates that the 2025 World of Bluegrass event will bring more than 18,000 overnight visitors and more than 45,000, including day visitors, to generate more than $30 million in economic impact and yield $1.1 million in state tax revenue, with visitor spending supporting local jobs and additional tax revenues, benefiting industries beyond tourism.
Commissioner Mark Ezell of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development added, “We are ready to welcome the world’s largest events to Tennessee stages. IBMA’s World of Bluegrass is a great way to showcase our rich musical heritage, and the very goal of the Special Event Fund is to support local partners as they pursue and secure high-value events like this that represent tremendous economic benefit for Tennessee businesses.”
The announcement follows the recent reveal of this year’s IBMA Awards nominees. The 2024 IBMA World of Bluegrass will be held Sept. 24-28 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. sent a letter via email on Friday (July 26) to the Academy’s 12,000 voting members urging them to take their job as voting members seriously. The Subject Line: “Vote with Purpose This Grammy Season.”
“The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices,” Mason wrote in the letter obtained by Billboard. “As such, you owe it to your peers to vote intentionally, deliberately, with pride and with purpose.”
Mason added a personal aside to bring the point home. “Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than 10 years ago. I was shocked and disturbed by that. There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting. It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!
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“There should be no other rationale for voting. If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job.”
Mason also implored Grammy voting members to start thinking about their choices now. “I hope that you begin prioritizing your responsibility now, and not wait until Grammy season is here.” The first-round voting period runs from Oct. 4-15. Final-round voting extends from Dec. 12 to Jan. 3, 2025.
Mason is wise to advise members to start thinking about their picks now. The Grammy entry list is long. This year, there will be 94 categories (same as last year). Many categories have large numbers of entries. On last year’s entry list, there were 615 candidates for record of the year, 476 for album of the year, 642 for song of the year and 405 for best new artist. To conscientiously wade through such long lists and thoughtfully make your selections would take hours. That is one reason that “brand name” artists – long-time Grammy favorites – often lead the nominations year after year. Mason is trying to get members to break that habit of just checking off names of artists who are top-of-mind.
On the line “The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices,” Mason linked to this Grammy.com post from May 1, which includes a section titled “What Is the True Value of a Grammy?” It gives more than a dozen examples of artists whose careers were boosted by Grammy wins.
The Academy’s tally of 12,000+ voting members doesn’t include the 3,000+ potential new voting members that it has invited as part of this year’s new member class. (It has also invited 900 professional (non-voting) members, for a total of 3,900+ new members.)
Here is Mason’s letter to voting members, in full:
Dear Grammy voters,
Normally you don’t hear from me about Grammy voting until our ballot is live but this year is different. I want to make sure you understand how critically important it is for you to vote, and to vote with intention and integrity.
We all know the Grammy is music’s most coveted award because it is an honor that comes from one’s peers. It’s not a popularity contest. The nominees and winners are not chosen by the critics, fans, or the staff of the Academy. They are chosen by you—the 12,000+ music creators who are the voting members of the Recording Academy.
You are the Grammy electorate. Your votes are tallied by Deloitte, and then announced publicly, celebrated, and recorded by history as the very best in music for that year. The trajectory of people’s careers and lives are altered by your choices. As such, you owe it to your peers to vote intentionally, deliberately, with pride and with purpose.
Last Grammy season, I heard a Grammy voter say they hadn’t taken a specific artist seriously since a performance they saw more than 10 years ago. I was shocked and disturbed by that. There is no place in our organization for such bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting. It’s about the current year and the quality of the work, period!
There should be no other rationale for voting. If you are taking into account an artist’s older work, or their reputation, or race, or gender, what label they are on, who their manager is, how many friends participated in the project, or anything else like that, you’re not doing your job. I know most of you already do but please, just listen to the music, and evaluate it! You are the reason the Grammy Award is so special.
Music is a force for good in the world. It changes moods, opens hearts and minds and unites the world. It moves us to act. And the Grammy is the way to honor the people who work so hard to make it. Next February, all across the globe, the people who make music and all the people who love music will be watching to see who the Grammy voters have chosen to honor. All eyes will be on you, on us.
I hope you view your vote as important. I hope that you begin prioritizing your responsibility now, and not wait until Grammy season is here. I hope that you evaluate the music carefully, and prepare yourself to vote with care and purpose, and that you encourage your fellow voting members to do the same. Your peers in music are counting on you.
Respectfully yours,
Harvey
In one of the most powerful and emotional moments of the 2024 Premios Juventud, Lele Pons emphasized her message of self-love when she was recognized as an Agent of Change at the Thursday (July 25) ceremony in Puerto Rico’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum .
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After tearfully receiving the award from her father, who seemed to have surprised her by presenting it, the Venezuelan influencer and singer regained her composure and gave a powerful and eloquent speech to the millions of people who follow her on social media.
“Enough of looking for your happiness in the acceptance of other people who don’t value you. Look for it in God, look for it in yourself and in the people who love you and who will be there for you,” Pons said. “I use my platform to see if I can help people love themselves and take life [more lightly] and laugh at their cellulite, and if you got your nose done, please show that, be you, be transparent.”
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“I’m here because I want you to love yourselves, because, who cares? So what? Not everyone is going to love you, you don’t have to be liked by everyone. That is THEIR problem, not yours. Love yourself, respect yourself, you’re enough,” she added.
Pons served as the evening’s co-host alongside Clarissa Molina and Wisin, and was one of three honorees with the Spirit of Change award, which “recognizes and celebrates” young entrepreneurs and prominent stars who “selflessly contribute to creating a better world.” The other two honorees were Anitta and Los Tigres del Norte.
In its 21st annual edition, Premios Juventud had Carín León, Maluma, Peso Pluma, Karol G, and Shakira among its main nominees. To see the list of winners, click here.
Watch Lele’s speech below.
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:
Dembow & Música Mexicana Meet