Music

Each year, the Latin Grammys serves up something a little different — and viewers never quite know what to expect. That’s often the beauty of the ceremony, which is always filled with highs and lows and tons of surprises.

Though past shows have gotten their share of criticism for feeling staid or out-of-touch with the state of Latin music, it largely felt like the Academy and the telecast organizers got it right in 2025. The ceremony fly by, with quick transitions, performances that never lingered too much, and solid hosting duties from Maluma and Roselyn Sanchez. Even the actual winners struck the right chord: Sure, here were some shocking moments that felt typically Latin Grammys, like when Alejandro Sanz bested Bad Bunny for Record of the Year. But there was plenty of love across the generations, with the most wins of the night going to Bad Bunny and Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso, who really felt like they captured the zeitgeist this year.

Seeing Bad Bunny get recognized at the Latin Grammys was also meaningful since he hasn’t always gotten love. He gets nominated a lot, but doesn’t always win, so seeing him take home Album of the Year for the poignant and quietly powerful DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS felt like the right move. Here’s more of what worked, what didn’t, and what came out of left field at the Latin Grammys.

Best of the Night

Los Tigres Del Norte Stand Up for Latinos
Of course, Los Tigres del Norte were the ones to deliver a powerful political statement, defending Latinos in this country on the Latin Grammy stage. The Mexican music legends — who’d already won a pair of awards for their Lotería EP earlier in the night — performed in front of a screen flashing images of Latinos protesting for immigrant rights, immigrant-crossing signs, and clips of families celebrating and students graduating, — a vivid reminder of the deep impact immigrants have on this country. Hernán Hernández pulled out his signature guitar, adorned with the flags of every country of Latin America, as Jorge walked around the stage pointing into the crowd, which included Gloria Estefan, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, and Karol G, watching closely as they performed. “It always breaks your heart to leave your homeland / Because the tree no longer casts a very good shade,” Jorge sang. They were the night’s lone act to make a direct political statement — and it left quite an impression. More of this, please. —T.M.

The Duets Do It for Us
There have been a few times some of the duets at the Latin Grammys left us scratching our heads (we’re still thinking about Bon Jovi and Pitbull last year.) Luckily, most of the performances and onstage mash-ups were a pleasant surprise in 2025: Karol G and Marco Antonio Solis felt like a tasteful way to bring together generations of audiences, and Fuerza Regida with Grupo Frontera was a solid way of showing the many sides of musica mexicana. We were also huge fans of Carin Leon and Kacey Musgraves coming together for a cross-genre moment, and cheered on the energy when Gloria Estefan and Nathy Peluso sang together. —J.L.

Kakalo, DannyLux, and Ivan Cornejo Change the Game
Musica mexicana doesn’t always get the love it deserves on the telecast, but the show featured a solid moment honoring the rising generation of acts from the genre. Kakalo, DannyLux, and Ivan Cornejo each took the stage to show how they’re adding a new spin on things, performing their own tracks. Kakalo launched into “Tierra Trágame,” DannyLux showed his honeyed tone on “Sirena,” and Corenjo closed things out with a grounded performance of “Atención,” putting his vulnerability and melancholy sound on display. —J.L.

Missed the Mark

Pepe Aguilar Doesn’t Quite Nail It
For an awards show that largely got it right spotlighting the future of Latin music, Pepe Aguilar’s traditional charro, ranchera performance felt like a left-field choice, and not exactly a necessary one. After roughly two years of the Aguilars dominating tabloid chatter — from Ángela Aguilar and Christian Nodál’s strange relationship timeline to Pepe’s son Emiliano publicly calling out their estrangement time and again — Pepe’s appearance (with just one nomination, which he ultimately lost to Nodál) landed as a miss. The show would’ve been better served by pairing Aguilar with a younger artist helping evolve the very genre Aguilar is working to preserve. (But handing over the spotlight would’ve been smart for the Aguilar image, even.) —T.M.

How Many Voters Again?
We’re all for the Academy giving us glimpses into how their voting process works and what leads to the decisions of the night. But in nearly every category introduction speech, the hosts and presenters mentioned that “one million voters” had weighed in — to the point where the phrase felt like it lost all meaning by the end of the night. Guys, we get it; there are a lot of voters! —J.L.

We Need More Love For Alt Acts!
It was already a bummer that a new wave of Latin alternative artists, like Mexican trio Latin Mafia, Spanish singer-songwriter Judeline, and artist-producer Rusowsky, didn’t make it into the bigger categories, despite how boundary-pushing their releases were. Still, they were all up for Best Alternative Album and Best Alternative Song. Though zany Argentine duo CA7RIEL and Paco Amoroso deserved plenty of wins, they snagged both categories, where it would have been nice to see a slightly different energy. Latin Mafia, Judeline, and Rusowsy later met up and took a few photos together, including a cheeky one with everyone flipping off the camera. Maybe this snub might lead to the Latin Mafia, Judeline, and Rusowsky collaboration that we need. —L.V.

OMG!

The Big Sanz Upset
When Alejandro Sanz apologized to Bad Bunny and Karol G for winning Record of the Year, it felt like a reminder that the Latin Grammys can be… kind of old-school. In a category stacked with two of Bad Bunny’s biggest songs, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso’s “#Tetas” and “El Día del Amigo,” and even Liniker’s “Ao Te Lado,” his win suggested the Academy might still be playing it safe with what its older voting base knows best. Part of the problem may have been that multiple nominations in one category meant some of the votes were split, but Sanz’s Record of the Year win was still a shock. —T.M.

Paloma Morphy Is Our New Rising Queen
Paloma Morphy took home the Best New Artist award and we’re here for it. In the same vein as Latin Mafia and Nsqk, Paloma Morphy is reshaping the Latin alternative scene with her genre-bending sound. Earlier this week, the Mexico City native shared her reaction to being nominated for Best New Artist with Rolling Stone. “When I started making music, I quit my other job,” she said. “I was doubting if this was something for me. Life is giving me signs that I have made the right choice.” This win is making it clear that Morphy takeover is imminent. —L.V.

Karol Sounds Off
While accepting the award for Song of the Year, Karol G unexpectedly took a moment to address her naysayers. She specifically asked for her microphone not to be cut and then went off. The Colombian superstar then revealed a struggle that she was facing: “This happened during a strange time in my life and the only thing that was left from all of that for me was to go back to the root and the intention and return to the purpose of what I’m doing because I love it, because I like it, and because I was born for this.” —L.V.

Love For Liniker
The Brazilian artist was off to a good night with nods in major categories, like Album of the Year and Record of the Year. But it was especially nice to see that she didn’t get siloed off during the ceremony: Her performance toward the end, just after Elena Rose, felt like a big highlight that shared more of her music and her sound with wider audiences. It was especially poignant to see her represent Brazil and music in Portuguese, given how hard it is for Brazilian acts to break into the industry — and into the ceremony itself. —J.L.