Category: Awards

The 43rd annual Tejano Music Awards recently announced that Joe Lopez, a paroled, convicted sex offender and legendary Tejano singer, would receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. However, this decision has sparked controversy and drawn criticism from Tejano music fans and followers of Jimmy Gonzalez, the late co-founder of Grupo Mazz with Joe Lopez.

In a statement released via social media, the Forever Jimmy G Organization expressed their concerns and urged the Texas Talent Musicians Association, producers of the Tejano Music Awards, to retract the misinformation that was shared in a mass email to their followers and media. According to the organization, the email which contained a biography of Joe Lopez falsely credited Lopez as the recipient of Grammy awards earned by Jimmy Gonzalez Y Grupo Mazz during his solo career from 1999 to 2018. The statement argues that this allows Lopez to “impersonate Jimmy Gonzalez and his career accolades, including that in which it is stated that Joe Lopez is the founder of Grupo Mazz, therefore adopting Jimmy’s awards.”

The statement asserts that Jimmy Gonzalez successfully continued as Grupo Mazz after Lopez’s departure in 1997 to pursue a solo career as Joe Lopez y La Nueva Imagen Mazz. During this time, Jimmy Gonzalez earned Grammys and Latin Grammys for Best Tejano Album from 2001 to 2004, 2009, and 2014. It is also a matter of public record that Jimmy Gonzalez registered the name MAZZ in 2000 and continued to do so until his passing in 2018.

The organization highlights that Lopez was incarcerated from 2006 to 2017 and was not actively nor publicly earning awards during this period. They argue that allowing Lopez to adopt these awards is misleading and diminishes Jimmy Gonzalez’s contributions to Tejano music.

The statement calls on the fans of Jimmy Gonzalez, his family, friends, and fellow musical artists to protest these statements and false history with the TTMA. The organization believes that these fraudulent claims are an embarrassment to the TTMA and undermine its years of prestige as an authoritative entity in awarding Tejano musicians’ accomplishments.

In light of these concerns, the organization kindly requests a public statement from the TTMA correcting the false information shared. They emphasize that such action is necessary to protect and preserve Jimmy Gonzalez’s legacy.

At this time, the TTMA has not responded to the Forever Jimmy G Organization. Given their longevity and credibility in the Tejano industry, it seems the urgency for the TTMA’s response is critical at this point. The fans and industry are holding them accountable for distributing inaccurate information, which ultimately is a disservice to not only the industry but also the legacy of Jimmy Gonzalez, Joe Lopez, and Grupo Mazz.

JOHN HENRY MEDINA & LEXIE RODRIGUEZ CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT

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With end-of-year music award ceremonies coming up soon, many K-Pop fans are curious to know which artists, songs, and albums will be recognized for making 2023 a memorable year for the music scene!

First, here are the netizens’ predictions for the ‘2023 MAMA Awards‘, taking into account digital, album sale, and global (Spotify) streaming scores.

1. Predicted ‘Artist of the Year’ – NewJeans

2. Predicted ‘Song of the Year’ – NewJeans “Ditto”

3. Predicted ‘Album of the Year’ – Seventeen ‘FML’

4. Predicted ‘Best Female Group’ – NewJeans

5. Predicted ‘Best Male Group’ – NCT Dream

6. Predicted ‘Best Female Solo Artist’ – BLACKPINK’s Jisoo

7. Predicted ‘Best Male Solo Artist’ – BTS’s Jimin

Second, here are the netizens’ predictions for the ‘2023 Melon Music Awards‘, based on available data of Melon’s unique listeners (ULs) and digital scores (streaming + downloads). 

1. Predicted ‘Artist of the Year’ – NewJeans

2. Predicted ‘Song of the Year’ – NewJeans “Ditto”

3. Predicted ‘Album of the Year’ – IVE ‘I’ve IVE’

4. Predicted ‘Melon Top 10’

5. Predicted ‘Best Male Group’ – NCT Dream

6. Predicted ‘Best Female Group’ – NewJeans

7. Predicted ‘Best Male Solo Artist’ – BTS’s Jungkook

8. Predicted ‘Best Female Solo Artist’ – Lee Young Ji

Notably, the above predictions do not make any estimates for points from judges’ scores.

What do you think of this year’s ‘MAMA Awards’ and ‘Melon Music Awards’ predictions?

Bad Bunny is ready to sing a new song live on Oct. 5 for the first time, when he takes the stage at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Billboard and Telemundo announced Thursday (Sept. 28) that the Puerto Rican superstar will be part of the ceremony at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. The show will be broadcast live on Telemundo and simultaneously on the Spanish entertainment cable network Universo, on Peacock and on the Telemundo app. Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, it will be available on Telemundo Internacional.

They didn’t specify what song Bad Bunny will be performing. His most recent release is the reggaetón banger “Un Preview,” which just came out Monday.

The singer of “Tití Me Preguntó” and “Me Porto Bonito,” a 15-time finalist at this year’s Latin Billboards, joins a stellar list of artists confirmed to sing at the gala, including Calibre 50, Chiquis, Eddy Lover, El Alfa, Eladio Carrión, Farruko, Grupo Frontera, Justin Quiles, La Factoría, Los Ángeles Azules, Manuel Turizo, Marc Anthony, Marshmello, Olga Tañón, Los Sebastianes, Myke Towers, Nicki Nicole, Pepe Aguilar, Peso Pluma, Sky Rompiendo, Sofía Reyes, Tini, Ximena Sariñana, Yandel and Yng Lvcas. 

Mexican music sensation Peso Pluma leads the list of finalists with 21 nods across 15 categories, including Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Global 200 Latin Artist of the Year and Top Latin Album of the Year. His collaboration with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” is up for six awards, including Hot Latin Song of the Year, Global 200 Latin Song of the Year and Sales Song of the Year. And his hit with Yng Lvcas, “La Bebe,” competes in five categories, including Hot Latin Song of the Year and Latin Rhythm Song of the Year.

Following Peso Pluma are Bad Bunny and Grupo Frontera with 15 nods each, including four together for their collab “un X100to,” while Karol G has 13, and Shakira and Fuerza Regida have 12 each. See the complete list of finalists here.

Among the special honorees, Los Ángeles Azules will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Latin Billboard Music Awards 2023, while Ivy Queen will be recognized with the Icon Award. Colombian superstar Karol G will be honored with the Spirit of Hope Award in recognition of her commitment to civic, community and humanitarian causes through her Con Cora Foundation.

As has been the case for more than 20 years, the Billboard Latin Music Awards coincide with Billboard’s annual Latin Music Week, the single largest and most important gathering of the Latin music industry, taking place Oct. 2-6. The event will feature panels, conversations and workshops at the Faena Forum and exclusive performances and fan experiences throughout the week in Miami. Shakira, Myke Towers, Vico C, Grupo Frontera, Peso Pluma, Nicki Nicole, RBD and many more are confirmed to participate.

Purchase tickets to the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week here.

Steve Mac, Pablo Bowman Navarro and Aynzli Jones are the top winners at the ASCAP London Music Awards 2023, which shine a light on British songwriting and composing talent for their U.S. success. This year, the winners will be revealed on @ascap social media Tuesday (Sept. 26), starting at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Navarro takes home three awards including songwriter of the year and top Hot Dance/Electronic song. He shares the latter award with Sarah Baby Blanchard, Claudia Valentina and Lostboy for co-writing “The Motto” by Tiësto and Ava Max. The song reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

Navarro also wins a Hot Dance/Electronic song award for “Numb” by Marshmello and Khalid, which reached No. 3 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Navarrro co-wrote the song with Richard Boardman, a fellow member of songwriting collective The Six. Navarro has gained a profile as a top hitmaker over the last few years with a catalogue that includes Anne-Marie and Marshmello’s global hit “Friends” as well as tracks for stars such as Bebe Rexha, Jonas Brothers and Alan Walker. His catalogue has accumulated 7 billion streams on Spotify.

Mac takes home both song of the year and top streaming song for Ed Sheeran’s smash, “Shivers.” The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for a full year. It also topped charts around the world, surpassing 1.35 billion streams on Spotify. Mac and Sheeran previously collaborated on 2017’s “Shape of You.” These two gongs represent Mac’s 19th and 20th ASCAP London Music Awards.

Jones wins his first ASCAP London Music Award with the Hot 100 song award for Doja Cat’s “Woman.” The song from Doja’s third studio album rose to No. 7 on the Hot 100 and, like “Shivers,” logged a full year on the chart. “Woman” also received a Grammy nod for record of the year, marking the third consecutive year Doja was nominated in that marquee category.

Top box office film of the year goes to Daniel Pemberton for his soundtrack for The Bad Guys. He also takes a top box office film award for his work on Amsterdam. Other top box office film awards go to John Lunn for Downton Abbey: A New Era, Dickon Hinchliffe for Father Stu, and Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough for The Northman. Joby Talbot wins for the second year in a row for Sing 2, Patrick Doyle wins for Death on the Nile and Jonny Greenwood wins for Licorice Pizza. The Radiohead multi-instrumentalist and composer was recognized in the same category last year for his soundtrack to Spencer.

In the world of film and TV streaming, Natalie Holt wins two awards — top streaming film for The Princess, and top streaming series for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Other top streaming series awards go to Scottish band Mogwai for the crime drama Black Bird and Anne Nikitin for The Dropout.

The trio of Barrie Cadogan, Virgil Howe and Lewis Wharton are awarded the top cable series award for the soundtrack to Better Call Saul, while Julian Gingell and Barry Stone win top network series again this year for their work on American Idol.

In 1996, Gloria Estefan became the first-ever artist to receive the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award at the 3rd annual Billboard Latin Music Awards.

The Cuban-American singer, who that year nabbed three awards — including Latin dance single of the year for “Abriendo Puertas” — was also recognized for her philanthropic and humanitarian contributions beyond her musical work.

Since its inception 27 years ago in honor of the late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award has been awarded to 22 artists, including two-time honorees Estefan (1996, 2011) and Maná (2000, 2013). No award was given out in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021.

This year, the special award will be presented to Colombian superstar Karol G. The “Provenza” singer’s impact extends beyond music. In 2022, Karol G founded the Con Cora Foundation, which aims to support the economic, social, psychological and artistic development of underprivileged women. “I am grateful for this special recognition,” Karol, a 13-time finalist at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards, said in a statement. “My commitment with Con Cora Foundation is a fundamental part of my life and I am proud to be able to help the women who need it most.”

The 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards list of finalists is led by Peso Pluma, who has 21 nods across 15 categories, including artist of the year, songwriter of the year, Global 200 Latin artist of the year, and Top Latin Album of the year. See the complete list of finalists here.

As has been the case for more than 20 years, the Billboard Latin Music Awards coincide with Billboard’s annual Latin Music Week, the single largest and most important gathering of the Latin music industry, taking place Oct. 2-6. Purchase tickets to the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week here.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and the upcoming Billboard Latin Music Awards, taking place Thursday, Oct. 5, see all of the Spirt of Hope Award winners in the history of the awards show: