The Best and Worst of the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2016
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The Billboard Latin Music Awards are always a night to remember, and this year was no exception. From the red carpet fashion to the unforgettable performances, we’ve rounded up the best and worst moments of the show.
The Best
It was a great year for music, and the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2016 were no exception. Many of our favorite artists were nominated and some even won. Here are the best moments of the night.
Best Performance
The best performance of the night was definitely by Shakira, who sang her new song “La La La (Brazil 2014)” with Brazilian artist Carlinhos Brown. She was joined on stage by dozens of dancers and drummers, and the energy was electric. The performance was a perfect blend of Shakira’s infectious charisma and Brown’s traditional Brazilian music, and it got the whole audience moving.
Best New Artist
The Best New Artist award went to Gente de Zona. The Cuban reggaeton group, which has been active since 2000, but only recently found mainstream success, beat out fellow nominees De La Ghetto, Manuel Turizo and Piso 21.
Best Collaboration
The Billboard Latin Music Awards recognizes the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music. The awards are based on the Billboard charts for sales, radio airplay, and online streaming in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.
This year’s awards were handed out on Thursday, April 28, at the Univision Studios in Miami. The show was hosted by Pitbull and Rossana Najera, and featured performances by Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee, Gente de Zona, Carlos Vives, Wisin, Farruko, and many more.
Best Collaboration was awarded to “El Taxi” by Pitbull featuring Machete.
The Worst
This year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards were, unfortunately, not all that great. In fact, there were quite a few moments that left us cringing. From the cringe-worthy opening performance to the completely uncomfortable acceptance speeches, there were plenty of low points during the show.
Worst Performance
The Worst Performance goes to… Ricky Martin for his dull and hardly innovative performance of “La Mordidita.” Mr. Martin is a veteran performer who has always brought something new to his stage act, but this time he seemed to be phoning it in.
Worst New Artist
It was a tough night for Latin music’s newbies at the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2016.
Out of the five nominees for the coveted “Worst New Artist” award, four were first-timeLatin Grammy nominees. The only veteran in the bunch was Brazilian singer Anitta, who has been nominated for two Latin Grammys (in 2014 and 2015) and has won four MTV Video Music Awards Brazil.
The winner of the “Worst New Artist” award went to… Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Zion & Lennox!
The duo, made up of members Zion and Lennox, beat out stiff competition from fellow nominees Manuel Turizo, Valentino Khan, Piso 21 and Anitta.
Worst Collaboration
The award for Worst Collaboration goes to “El Perdedor” by Maluma ft. Ricky Martin. This was a hot mess of a song with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It was juvenile, shallow, and just plain bad. The only thing worse than the song itself was the cringe-worthy music video, which featured the two singers frolicking around in a swimming pool with a bunch of half-naked women. Save yourselves the agony and don’t bother watching it.
