The 38th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro arrives with a familiar picture at the top of the nominations. Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro, Myke Towers and Carin León, lead the field with 10 nominations each, according to the official nominations lists released by TelevisaUnivision
Their tie confirms the continued dominance of male Puerto Rican superstars across the awards' most influential categories, and consolidates León as the leading man in Mexican music.
The three artists appear repeatedly in the general fields that traditionally define prestige at Premio Lo Nuestro. All three are nominated for Artist of the Year, while Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro also secure spots in Album of the Year. Myke Towers joins them at the top through a dense concentration of urbano nominations that underscore his consistency within the genre rather than crossover breadth.
Carin León nominations show the wide berth of genres he likes to play with, from urbano, to Mexican to country.
Among albums, recognition is more fragmented than the headline numbers might suggest. Debí Tirar Más Fotos by Bad Bunny and Cosa Nuestra by Rauw Alejandro are both nominated for Album of the Year, but neither dominates album categories numerically. The most broadly recognized album projects are Island Boyz by Myke Towers and Palabra de To's (Seca) by Carín León, each earning two album nominations across general and genre-specific fields, the highest total for any album this year.
On the song side, one track stands above the rest in terms of sheer recognition. DTMF by Bad Bunny is the most nominated song of Premio Lo Nuestro 2026, appearing in Song of the Year, Urban Song of the Year and Pop Urbano Song of the Year. No other song appears across three separate categories, making it the single most cited track in the nominations.
Beyond the headline tie, several other patterns stand out. Mexican music continues its surge, with artists like Carín León, Fuerza Regida and Xavi appearing repeatedly across general and genre-specific categories, confirming the genre's expansion beyond regional borders. Pop remains star-driven rather than song-driven, with familiar names such as Alejandro Sanz, Sebastián Yatra and Aitana anchoring nominations. Tropical categories lean heavily on legacy acts, reinforcing the genre's respect-for-tradition dynamic rather than experimentation.
While male artists dominate the top-line numbers, the nominations also expose a persistent imbalance in top-tier recognition for women. Female artists are present in Song of the Year and genre categories, but their representation thins noticeably in Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. Karol G and Shakira remain among the few women consistently competing in the general fields, highlighting how difficult it remains for female artists to convert momentum into sustained awards-season dominance.
The tropical categories offer a slightly different picture, favoring legacy and cross-generational appeal. Raíces by Gloria Estefan anchors one of the strongest tropical showings, with Estefan nominated for Tropical Artist of the Year, Tropical Song of the Year and Tropical Album of the Year. Meanwhile, Desde Hoy by Natti Natasha stands out as the most broadly recognized tropical-origin song, appearing both in Tropical Song of the Year and the general Song of the Year category.
Genre trends are also clearly reflected across the slate. Urbano continues to drive volume and visibility, pop remains anchored by established names rather than breakout records, and Mexican music maintains its rapid expansion, with artists such as Carín León, Fuerza Regida and Xavi appearing across multiple categories. The result is a nominations list that mirrors current market realities rather than attempting to rebalance them.
Premio Lo Nuestro 2026 will air live on February 19 from Miami's Kaseya Center, a few days after Bad Bunny's historical Super Bowl Halt Time Performance. The gala will be broadcast on Univision, UNIMÁS and Galavisión, with streaming available via ViX across much of Latin America. Fan voting remains open through January 26, combining audience participation with airplay and performance metrics to determine winners.
As awards night approaches, the data points to a clear conclusion. The year's biggest names remain firmly in control of the most prestigious categories, while women continue to face steeper barriers to translating cultural impact into top-level recognition. Whether that balance shifts in future editions may depend less on visibility and more on how success is measured and rewarded.
Originally published on Latin Times
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