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Jennifer Lopez circa 2000

Jennifer Lopez

Photo: WireImage.com

Feature
Remembering The Latin Pop Explosion Of 1999 1999-year-latin-pop-conquered-america

1999: The Year Latin Pop Conquered America

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1999 saw an unprecedented dominance of Latin pop sounds in American music, opening the public's ears to multilingual songwriting
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Oct 6, 2017 - 3:15 pm

The U.S. music scene in 1999 saw an unprecedented surge in the popularity of Latin pop.

Hispanic artists and various elements of Latin sounds dominated the charts to such an extent that by the end of the year even artists with no Latin heritage to speak of were looking to capitalize on the movement by recording Spanish-language versions of their singles in hopes of activating the crossover market.

Sure, there were prior Latin crossover rumblings — remember Dru's Hill's 1998 Latin-inflected Top 3 hit "How Deep Is Your Love" from Rush Hour? But most argue that it all started with Ricky Martin.

Ricky Martin

"It was completely sudden, and it had a lot to do with Ricky. After his performance at the GRAMMYs, everyone was on alert, so to speak, and expecting his new album. The first hit, of course, was "Livin' La Vida Loca" with that sensational video. I think that was the beginning." — Leila Cobo, executive director of Latin content and programming, Billboard

As a young man, Martin came to prominence between the ages of 12 and 17 as a member of the GRAMMY-nominated boy band Menudo. The Puerto Rico native was also a successful actor and solo recording artist before he burst onto the U.S. music scene in 1999. In the '90s, he acted in TV series such as "General Hospital" and "Getting By," telenovelas and stage plays, and he'd released four successful Spanish-language albums.

Martin won his first career GRAMMY — Best Latin Pop Performance for Vuelve — at the 41st GRAMMY Awards in 1999, but it was his show-stopping performance of "La Copa De La Vida" that same year that made it clear something big was on the horizon.

Martin's "Livin La Vida Loca" was released one month after his spectacular GRAMMY performance, and quickly became his first-ever No. 1 charting single, holding the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. 

The singer's self-titled fifth solo album — his English debut — was released two months later, and hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 almost immediately. The most successful album of Martin's career, it has gone on to sell well over 15 million copies worldwide. Needless to say, 1999 was a big year for the Puerto Rican pop star.

Leila Cobo, executive director of Latin content and programming for Billboard, was working as Miami Herald's pop music critic at the time, recalls one event that served as an interesting tell sign.

"I went to cover [the signing] and found a line of hysterical girls at 11 a.m. on a school day that went on for blocks," she says. "I had never seen anything like this, ever."

Writing for Billboard roughly a month after "Livin La Vida Loca" hit store shelves, Michael Paoletta, now executive producer, A&R and music supervision for Comma Music, commented prophetically, "In the weeks since [the GRAMMYs], it seems like every record label exec has been in a heated search for the next Latin hottie."

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez had worked as a successful dancer and actress during the '90s, notably appearing as a Fly Girl on Keenan and Damon Wayans' sketch comedy and variety show "In Living Color." In 1997 Lopez earned a huge breakthrough in the leading role as GRAMMY-winning Tejano singer Selena in the titular biopic about her life and tragic death. The Bronx native's performance in the film was lauded by critics and fans alike, putting her in the entertainment spotlight and at the same time making her ripe to become the breakout female star to help propel the Latin pop movement.

Lopez's debut single, "If You Had My Love," was released in May 1999, just a week before Martin's self-titled album hit the shelves, arriving at the perfect time to sate the appetites of stateside listeners. The single climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the best-selling singles in the U.S. for 1999. Lopez's first studio album, On The 6, released a few weeks later, also skyrocketed, debuting at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and ultimately earning triple-platinum status.

"Waiting For Tonight," the second radio single from On The 6, would go on to be nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 42nd GRAMMY Awards.

J.Lo, Pharrell Williams, Lady Gaga: 13 Iconic GRAMMY Fashion Statements

The same month that saw Lopez release On The 6 also saw another well-established Latin pop star blow up in the U.S.

Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias had previously won his first GRAMMY for Best Latin Pop Performance for his first self-titled 1995 studio album. The Spanish singer also came from an impressive musical pedigree, being the son of GRAMMY-winning Latin pop crooner Julio Iglesias.

"Bailamos," the junior Iglesias' inaugural English language release, was selected for the 1999 blockbuster action flick Wild Wild West, thanks in part to a request from GRAMMY winner Will Smith. The single would top the Billboard Hot 100 and become an immense success, eventually selling more than 5 million copies worldwide.

Almost certainly the biggest success story of the 1999 Latin pop explosion, however, was to be the eponymous band led by then-52-year-old guitar god Carlos Santana.

Santana

"We connected with hip-hoppers. … We connected with middle white America, we connected with Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia. It's like the Champs-Elysées in Paris: This CD is connected to all the streets." — Carlos Santana on Supernatural, 1999

When Santana's 17th studio album, Supernatural, was released in 1999, the group had been playing live together for longer than the likes of Martin, Lopez and Iglesias had been alive. The album's lead single, "Smooth," featuring Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas, was an absolute phenomenon that year. It spent an astonishing 12 weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Santana's first chart-topping song.

Which Songs Put Santana In The Record Books?

Supernatural would net Santana a total of eight GRAMMYs at the 42nd GRAMMY Awards, including Album Of The Year and Best Rock Album, with "Smooth" taking home Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. Commercially, Supernatural would eventually sell more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Due to its equally strong chart performance, "Smooth" would be the final song of the decade to stand atop the Hot 100.

The Latin GRAMMY Awards

Following the incredible explosion of Latin pop music in 1999, the year 2000 heralded the inception of the Latin GRAMMY Awards, hosted by the Latin Recording Academy, which was established in 1997 as a counterpart to the Recording Academy.

Nuyorican Marc Anthony would become the first artist to take home the inaugural Latin GRAMMY for Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "I Need To Know (Dímelo)," from his Top 10 1999 self-titled album.

While some later argued that the 1999 Latin explosion was a brief high-gloss blip on the pop culture radar, its impact cannot be underestimated. The 2000s and beyond have seen a steady stream of Latin artists dent the Billboard charts — including Shakira, Juanes, Luis Fonsi, J Balvin, and Nicky Jam, among others. The past year has seen the continuing dominance of Latin sounds in the modern pop scene, with crossover hits such as Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" serving as but one example.

And the Latin GRAMMY Awards has emerged as The Biggest Night in Latin Music, honoring top Latin music talent and featuring top-shelf performances that thrill millions worldwide — a testament to the staying power of Latin music.

"To have a song in Spanish, and to be in the top of the Hot 100, that's something that rarely happens," Fonsi told CNN regarding "Despacito." "I'm just very proud that Latin music has grown so much and people are just really connecting to it."

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Calle 13 at the 15th Latin GRAMMY Awards

Calle 13 

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List
Do You Want To Know More About The Latin GRAMMYs? 18th-latin-grammy-awards-18-things-you-didnt-know

18th Latin GRAMMY Awards: 18 Things You Didn't Know

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From Latin GRAMMY firsts to performers, hosts, and the artists with the most wins and nominations, here are 18 things you should know about the Biggest Night in Latin Music
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Sep 20, 2017 - 11:16 am

The Biggest Night in Latin Music is a big deal worldwide.

Last year's 17th Latin GRAMMY Awards broadcast reached tens of millions of viewers around the globe, while ranking as the No. 1 most social program of the day worldwide.

To get ready for the upcoming 18th Latin GRAMMY Awards telecast in Las Vegas on Nov. 16, here are 18 things you might be surprised to learn about the Latin Recording Academy and the Biggest Night in Latin Music.

1. 5 Cities Have Hosted The Latin GRAMMYs
The Latin GRAMMY Awards telecast has taken place in five cities in the United States: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Houston, and Las Vegas. The inaugural Latin GRAMMY Awards kicked off in Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2000; the upcoming 18th Latin GRAMMYs will mark the tenth show in Las Vegas.

The show has taken place inside 10 different venues: Staples Center, Conga Room (see No. 6), Kodak Theatre, and Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles; American Airlines Arena in Miami, Toyota Center in Houston; Madison Square Garden in New York; and Mandalay Bay Events Center, MGM Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

2. The Telecast Launched In English
The Latin GRAMMY Awards started on CBS, the longtime home of the GRAMMY Awards, in 2000 and was broadcast in English. In 2005 the Latin Recording Academy secured a deal to televise the show on Univision in Spanish, which has been the home for the show in the United States ever since.

3. Someone From The Block First Appeared On The Latin GRAMMY Stage
Following a brief intro from hosts Andy García, Jimmy Smits and Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez took center stage to introduce the first-ever performance at the 1st Latin GRAMMY Awards on Sept. 13, 2000. Lopez, who arrived with Sean "Diddy" Combs, was fresh from causing one of the biggest fashion splashes in GRAMMY history with her famous green Versace dress at the 42nd GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 23, 2000.

4. A Performance Debut Fit For A Mambo King
Speaking of the first performance, a troupe of all-stars teamed at the inaugural Latin GRAMMYs for an unforgettable tribute to the Mambo King, Tito Puente, who died May 31, 2000. Ricky Martin led with a medley of "Para Los Rumberos" and "Oye Como Va"/ "Guarjira" before giving way to Gloria Estefan and Celia Cruz, who performed "Quimbara" and "La Bobo." Joining in on the fun were Tito Puente Jr., Cachao, Michel Camilo, Arturo Ortiz, Dave Valentin, Arturo Sandoval, Sheila E., and David Sanchez.

Tito Puente Wins Best Tropical Latin Performance

5. And The First Latin GRAMMY Went To …
Who did the first Latin GRAMMY Award go to on the first-ever telecast? Juan Luis Guerra Y 440 took home Best Merengue Performance for "Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual."

Juan Luis Guerra Wins Best Merengue Performance

6. The 2nd Latin GRAMMY Awards And Sept. 11
The sophomore installment of the Latin GRAMMY Awards was scheduled to take place at the Forum in Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2001. In light of the tragic events of that day, the Latin Recording Academy canceled the show. The winners were subsequently honored at a special press conference on Oct. 30, 2001, at the Conga Room in Los Angeles. Spain's Alejandro Sanz earned four awards, including Record and Song Of The Year, and Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes won three awards, including Best New Artist.

7. George Lopez Hosted Two Latin GRAMMY Shows
The Mexican-American comedian presided over two consecutive shows: the 4th and 5th Latin GRAMMY Awards in 2003 and 2004. Lopez also got in on the musical fun. He jammed with Ozomatli on guitar on "Esa Morena" at the 5th Latin GRAMMYs. "This group's so ethnically diverse, that they get pulled over no matter who's driving," joked Lopez prior to the performance.

8. Juan Gabriel's Unforgettable Performance
The fabled Mexican composer and showman Juan Gabriel turned in the longest performance in Latin GRAMMY history in 2009. Juan Gabriel, who was set for a seven-minute performance, kept going for nearly 40 minutes, thrilling the audience and viewers alike. That same year, he was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.

Juan Gabriel performs at the 10th Latin GRAMMYs in 2009

9. Most Performances On The Latin GRAMMYs
Ricky Martin has performed the most on the Latin GRAMMY telecast to date, with 11 performances. Martin was among the performers for the first-ever telecast performance. He's since teamed with the likes of Blue Man Group, Draco Rosa, Miguel Bosé, and Camila for a series of unforgettable duets. Most recently, at the 16th telecast, Martin performed twice: a solo medley of "Disparo Al Corazón" and "La Mordidita" and a duet with Wisin on "Que Se Sienta El Deseo."

10. Which Group Has Won The Most Latin GRAMMYs?
Calle 13 — Eduardo Cabra (Visitante) and René Pérez (Residente) — have won the most trophies in Latin GRAMMY history. The Latin rap duo has won 22 Latin GRAMMYs to date, including a record haul of nine awards at the 12th Latin GRAMMYs on Nov. 10, 2012. That night Calle 13 won Album, Record and Song Of The Year for Entren Los Que Quieran and its title track.

Calle 13 Win Latin GRAMMY Album Of The Year

11. What About The Most Nominations?
As the saying goes, it's an honor just to be nominated. Cabra (Visitante) has been honored 37 times, marking the most Latin GRAMMY nominations to date. The Spaniard Sanz is second with 33 nominations.

12. The General Four Categories Feature 10 Nominees Each
In 2012 the Latin Recording Academy announced an expansion to 10 nominees each for the General Four categories: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist. The move, which was ratified by the Latin Academy Board of Trustees, was due in part to the fact that the Latin GRAMMY Awards process receives nominations from multiple countries around the world.

13. The Latin Recording Academy Has How Many Members?
A member-based organization, the Latin Recording Academy has grown to approximately 4,000 members as of 2017, representing diverse Fields such as Pop, Urban, Rock, Tropical, Classical, Singer-Songwriter, Brazilian, Regional Mexican, Traditional, and more.

14. The Latin Academy Membership Represents Nearly 40 Countries
A true reflection of the variety of Latin music subgenres that spans the globe, Latin Recording Academy members represent nearly 40 different countries worldwide, including Spain, Portugal, Puerto Rico and the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Panama.

15. Millions In Scholarships For The Next Generation Of Latin Music Makers
As the educational arm of the Latin Recording Academy, the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation's mission is anchored by a scholarship program to students of Latin music with financial needs. Since 2015 the Foundation has committed a robust $2.5 million in scholarships. The Prodigy Scholarship program counts artist support from Enrique Iglesias, Juan Luis Guerra and Miguel Bosé.

16. The Latin GRAMMY Awards Receives How Many Entries?
The Latin GRAMMY Awards currently honor recipients in 48 categories, from Record Of The Year to Best Long Form Music Video. In 2017 the Latin Academy received almost 10,000 entries for the Awards process for the 18th Latin GRAMMY Awards.

17. Special Awards For Special Latin Icons
Instituted in 2004, the Latin Recording Academy bestows Special Awards annually to performers and other creative professionals who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording during their careers. Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include icons such as Armando Manzanero, Mocedades, José Feliciano, Rita Moreno, Los Lobos, Djavan, Angélica María, and Piero; Trustees Awards recipients include notables Rafael Escalona, Yomo Toro, Simón Díaz, and Humberto Gatica. The 2017 recipients, among others, include João Bosco, Ilan Chester, Víctor Heredia, and Los Del Río.

18. The Latin Person Of The Year Represents 10 Countries
A flagship Latin GRAMMY Week event, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honors a Latin artist for their significant music and philanthropic contributions. A portion of the proceeds from the event benefit the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. A diverse roster of recipients spanning 10 countries have received the award: Emilio Estefan Jr. (Cuba), Julio Iglesias (Spain), Vicente Fernández (Mexico), Gilberto Gil (Brazil), Carlos Santana (U.S.), José José (Mexico), Ricky Martin (Puerto Rico), Juan Luis Guerra (Dominican Republic), Gloria Estefan (Cuba), Juan Gabriel (Mexico), Plácido Domingo (Spain), Shakira (Colombia), Caetano Veloso (Brazil), Miguel Bosé (Panama), Joan Manuel Serrat (Spain), Roberto Carlos (Brazil), and Marc Anthony (United States). The 2017 honoree is Spain's Sanz.

 

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writer Leila Cobo poses in a chic room

Leila Cobo

Photo: Courtesy of artist

News
Leila Cobo On "Decoding 'Despacito'" music-journalist-leila-cobo-dives-deep-groundbreaking-latin-music-songs-decoding

Music Journalist Leila Cobo Dives Deep Into Groundbreaking Latin Music Songs On "Decoding 'Despacito'"

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"Decoding 'Despacito'" is an enthralling read uncovering new truths and inspirations behind some of the groundbreaking songs we'll never forget—from José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" to Rosalía's "Malamente"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 14, 2021 - 5:13 pm

Colombian author, music journalist and VP/Latin Industry Lead at Billboard Leila Cobo is a true resource and gem in the music industry. In her enthralling and informative new book, "Decoding 'Despacito:' An Oral History Of Latin Music," she unpacks 19 of the biggest Latin music songs that shook the U.S. pop world over the last 50 years. Her mission led her to speak with the people who made those major moments in music happen, including artists, songwriters, composers, producers, music execs, and managers.

The book, released on March 2 (with English and Spanish editions), is an enthralling read uncovering new truths and inspirations behind some of the songs we'll never forget, from José Feliciano's Christmas classic "Feliz Navidad" to Los Del Río's '90s anthem "Macarena" to Daddy Yankee's '00s reggaeton banger "Gasolina," up to Rosalía's groundbreaking Latin GRAMMY-winning nu-flamenco jam "Malamente."

After devouring the bop-filled page-turner, GRAMMY.com chatted with Cobo to learn more about the book and the songs and artists that went into it, the biggest thing she learned from working on it, and her advice she'd give to her younger journalist self.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQBj8OyjjQg

GRAMMYs

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What was your inspiration for writing the book?

Well, I confess that the book came to me. In other words, the publisher was thinking of doing a book on the history of Latin music, and someone contacted me and said, "Would you be interested in doing something like this?" And I said, "I would because that's my subject matter, I know it intimately. But I don't want to just do a history."

I have a lot of histories in my bookshelves of Latin music, of Latin rock and corridos. I wanted to do something that was different and that was really readable and that didn't sound like a history. After much back and forth, we came up with the idea of doing an oral history of songs, which I love.

I love to ask artists, "How did you write this song? What inspired you?" I love to hear the stories behind the songs. And when they get really generic, saying things like, "Oh yeah, we went to the studio and I wrote it with my friend." I always say, "No, but why? What were you thinking about this day? What kind of song did you want to write? Who wrote this? Who wrote that?" I really like to get super detailed when I tell those stories, and I replicated that in the book. And I love hearing from the different players. That's how the story of the book came along.

Once I started doing the reporting on the songs— 90 percent of it is fresh reporting—you start to see that there's really a connection between all of them. They're not just standalone songs, one thing that leads to another, and I found that fascinating. I love that. The fact that you can tell one story and say, oh wow, that's really similar to this other story and I never thought there would be.

You can talk about José Feliciano saying, "I decided to put a line in English so they would have to put me on the radio," and then you have J Balvin 45 years later saying, "You know what, I'm not going to sing in English. I'm going to do it all in Spanish and they're going to have to put me on the radio." There are all these intertwined threads, and I thought that was fascinating.

It's a really fun read, to feel like you're sitting in the room with the producer, the songwriters and the artists. For "Smooth" and "Livin' La Vida Loca" [both released in 1999], the songwriter of "Smooth," Itaal Shur, said it was one of the last popular songs where they recorded all of the instruments live. And with "Livin' La Vida Loca," producer/songwriter Desmond Child was talking about how it was one of the first songs created all in Pro Tools. That's something that I would have never known.

Me either, and it's one of those things that makes you go back to the song and hear it with new ears, doesn't it? I went back to "Smooth" after he told me that—I had interviewed Carlos [Santana] and Rob Thomas years ago—and then I re-interviewed Carlos and I interviewed Itaal for the first time. When Itaal told me that I was like, "Wow really? Is this how this happened?"

And when Desmond talks about how he did it "in the box" and how all the Latin artists back then had all this reverb, but he wanted it to sound really dry. It's all these engineering terms, but it's really fascinating. And when you realize all the thought that goes into a song—people think they're sitting here, putting them out as if they were bread, and they're not. They're really thinking a lot about how they want things to sound.

Thankfully in the past couple of years we've been talking more about diversity and inclusion, and what that really looks like. And when we have more women, more people of color in positions of power in the music industry, it allows for more diverse artists to come through the pipeline.

And it gives listeners the choice. If they don't like the music, they don't have to listen to it. I always try to tell people by including you're not taking away, you're simply adding. I'm not taking away something from the buffet, so to speak. I'm simply putting different things in the buffet. And If no one likes them, then we'll retire them from the buffet. We do that every day with everything we do. We choose, okay, this doesn't happen. We don't like this and things go out of business because people are not responding to it. But this notion that somehow I'm taking away from you by adding something else is just not right.

The reason I think I see it differently than many people in my position is because I grew up in Latin America. Hearing music in English was so inspirational, and you got so excited when this music played. I loved Queen, that was my favorite band of all time. Oh my God, every time a new album came out and if it wasn't available in Colombia it was like, "Oh, can somebody bring it to me from the States?" And people, whole populations that didn't speak English, learn phonetically how to sing these songs, and it's beautiful. So when the reverse happens, I'm like, why isn't this a good thing? This is a great thing. It's a cultural exchange.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira and J.Lo. Looking back at the millennium, a "crossover" required them singing in English, that's what the music industry thought. Now in this new generation—J Balvin, Rosalía and Bad Bunny—they all sing primarily in Spanish. Do you feel like that's important and significant, that now artists can be who they are and speak their native language and be popular?

I think it's huge. I have to tell you, I didn't think it was going to happen, just because language is really important. I always thought that. And you have these one-off [hits] with a song in Spanish or in German—remember "99 Red Balloons?" After, people always say, "Oh, language doesn't matter." I didn't believe that, I always thought it did matter, a lot. So when J Balvin in an interview five years ago told me, "We're going to end up with a No. 1 in Spanish on your Hot 100 chart." I honestly did not see that, I have to admit. I've been very surprised at this turning of the tide.

And I think in part it's because of streaming, because now everyone that is Spanish speaking can stream the music, and they can contribute to that volume that you couldn't see before. And also much to my surprise, I think people are just more open to it. But I think it all builds on itself, it's a snowball rolling downhill. I think people are more open because they're streaming, and because they're streaming, they can hear music in other languages and they start to get used to it.

Also, I say this a lot and I don't think I said it in the book and I wish I had; Zumba was very key. You have people all over the world in all these different countries, in Russia, in India, dancing Zumba with music primarily in Spanish. So I think people got used to the language. I've had people tell me, "Oh, maybe the next wave is going to be from India," and I always say it could be. Never say never. I think with Spanish, we're very lucky because it's spoken in so many countries. I don't see any other language like that besides English.

I feel like in 2017 when "Despacito" happened, a lot of the conversation felt reductive or removed from this larger context of Latin music. The timeline, which you very elegantly lay out in your book, is all these other pieces that led to "Despacito" and this current moment we're in. Why do you think the U.S. mainstream media and the pop music machine so often sidelines Latin artists and Spanish language music?

It's so frustrating to me and I think language was a big factor. I think the fact that it was in Spanish and that you couldn't understand what they were saying was a big, big barrier. That's my personal opinion. It's the fear of the unknown. I don't think that it was deliberately, "Let's not include them," but it's, "Oh, that's music in another language. That's for Latins, it's in Spanish, they speak Spanish, we don't have to worry about it."

I think, too, the fact that you didn't have Latin representation in those rooms has a lot to do with it. It took me a lot of time to settle into this one. I watched the documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg the other day. She was at Harvard [Law School] and walks in, and she looks around and there are three women. I turned to my husband and I said, "That's how I felt through the years!" I'll be in a newsroom and I'm the only one. And it's great because you're the only one and so you get some leeway and on the other hand, it's not great because you have to constantly explain why this is important.

The thing that I think is very different now, is that before you had to explain why this is important and you had nothing to substantiate it. It was just "Trust me." "Trust me, this is important. Trust me, I saw their tour and they're playing 20 sold out arena dates in the United States." You saw them on the Latin charts, but you didn't see them in the big charts, but now you do have those numbers. So that's also a factor.

When Bad Bunny was the most streamed artist for Spotify around the world in 2020, and you're a media company and you ignore that, you're an idiot. Where are you living? You can't pretend it's not happening anymore. So the numbers are key, but the streaming made the numbers possible. I hate to say that, but it did. It really did, because otherwise they had to sing in English to make those charts and those numbers, or they had to do so phenomenally well in Spanish. Even "Despacito."

When [the original version of] "Despacito" was happening, I remember that every week we would watch it climb the [Hot 100] chart. I remember it hit a point where I thought, "Oh my God, this song is going to become No. 1!" All this time I'm saying, "This song is really big, we should be writing about it. "It's No. 1 everywhere [else]." People really weren't paying that much attention [here] until Justin Bieber got on the song. And I think that was in a way, a little bit of the last barrier. Now we don't wait for a Justin Bieber to jump on a song. Maybe Taylor Swift tomorrow decides to do a song with Maluma, we're going to be all over it. But we don't need her to do that for us to pay attention.

It does feel like things are so different now, with streaming and just the internet as it is, where you can find articles about everything, and so many translations, and music from everywhere. I know YouTube is popular in Latin America, and it's finally showing on the charts. Because before, the only way you could get on the charts was through radio and album sales, correct?

Yes, and it was so difficult. There were a lot of handicaps. It was radio. It was the fact that Latin music was not sold everywhere because not every store catered to a Latin audience. It was also that Latin music was disproportionately pirated when we had CDs. It was all these things.

On the other hand, to be perfectly fair, when you compete in what we call the "mainstream" world, the competition is fierce. You're competing with everything: country, rock, hip-hop and R&B. You really need to have something special to rise to the top. While I do love about what's happening now, I don't think the music is necessarily better. There's an opportunity for some of it to rise and I think that the responsibility that we have in the Latin music industry is to continue making music that's really good.

That's the flip side of our modern era, that technically anyone can put music on SoundCloud. It has created a lot of careers, including Bad Bunny's, but there's also a lot of noise. Thinking about some of the songs in the book, even just back to "Despacito," which felt like the song of 2017, you heard it everywhere. Now it feels like songs cycle more quickly because there's so much music out there and our attention is getting even shorter.

I still have "Despacito" on my workout playlist. And I have to say, I tried to pick the songs in the book like that. I thought, okay, which songs are really emblematic of the time? Not just that they were humongous hits, but that they were songs that to this day I still listen to them, and I still marvel at them. And "Livin' La Vida Loca," you couldn't not have that song.

And I always feel that there's so many anthologies of great American hits, the great American song book, and great British rock hits, and we all know those songs and they're great songs. And why can't we have an anthology of great Latin hits? I think every song in this book can go toe-to-toe with a great American song.

What was your selection criteria? I'm sure there were so many songs that you wanted to include or thought about including, so how did you narrow it down?

Well, I wanted people who were alive so they could tell me the story, that was super important to me. And I really wanted Selena, who's clearly not alive. When I spoke about it with my editor, I said, "I'll put Selena on if I can get either her dad or her brother to speak. Otherwise, I can't do it." Celia Cruz is not in the book. I would have loved to include her, but the story wouldn't work because the people that brought it alive aren't there. That was a criteria, and that's why I finally settled on 1970 as a starting point.

The process was a group effort. I would send emails and say, "What do you think of this song?" We wanted songs that really had cut through, all those big "crossover songs," they were in the running. "Livin' La Vida Loca" was very key. "Feliz Navidad" was so very key. "Macarena," even though it could even be a silly song, but it connected to such a degree that it had to be there. I wanted to include these big, epic, global hits to draw the reader in. I wanted to have the players, I wanted songs that I felt had made a difference, culturally, that somehow had moved the needle forward for the music and for the culture.

It doesn't mean that every song that should be here is here because there were some songs that I should have brought in but I couldn't because I ran out of time, I ran out of space. Or I couldn't find the right people at the right time so I had to say, I'm letting it go, and I hope we do a part two, and then I can bring them all back here.

Más: GRAMMY Rewind: Shakira Wins Her First GRAMMY For Best Latin Pop Album In 2001

How long did it take to compile and write it? 

It took a while. But once I got into it, I would say about a year. And it was a lot of doing the interviews. Then it was [editing] those interviews because I didn't want the book to repeat itself. I didn't want Shakira saying something and then Tim Mitchell and Tommy Mottola or Emilio [Estefan] saying the same thing, so it was important that each narrator brought something different to the table. That's also why I don't have more than one producer, or more than one arranger, I wanted the different points of view in the chapter as much as possible.

And if you notice too, some of the later chapters have more players. And this has to do with people dying. Los Tigres Del Norte were around, but the composer and the producer [of their 1974 breakout song "Contrabando y Traición"] weren't around, they had died.

Read More: José Feliciano On 50 Years Of "Feliz Navidad," New Album 'Behind This Guitar' & Hitting The Big Screen

Why did you start with "Feliz Navidad?"

I thought it was such a great beginning because it was a bilingual song. I just think it's amazing how [José Feliciano] had the presence of mind in 1970 [to do that], being as young as he was then, at a time when no one [in the U.S. pop market] was doing anything in Spanish. First of all, his arranger, Rick Jarrard was the one who said, "Let's do something in Spanish." And José kind of did it as a joke, but then he did have the presence of mind to say, "Rick, if we're going to do it in Spanish, let me put a couple lines in English so that they don't have an excuse not to play it."

I think maybe I started to make the list in December and "Feliz Navidad" was playing. To me, it was the first big crossover song in my mind that was bilingual. I just thought everything about it was kind of perfect. It was bilingual and it was all those years ago, José Feliciano is still active. And then it just so happened that the song had its [50th] anniversary, which I wasn't planning; the book got delayed because of the election and the pandemic. I just thought it was the perfect bookend to begin with that song.

And I was going to end with J Balvin's "Mi Gente" in 2017. After I turned it all in, Rosalía kind of exploded and I felt I needed more women to end the book. And everybody started asking me, "Why don't you include a Rosalía song?" And I said, "Okay, that's a great idea." And I think "Malamente" was been absolutely groundbreaking. I didn't have time to interview the video producers, which I would've loved to do, but [that final chapter] was done very quickly.

What's one of the biggest things you learned from your research for the book?

Well, I learned A: I don't know everything.

But I'm saying that with the utmost respect because a lot of the songs and the people in this book, I have interviewed a lot. Some I hadn't, but most of them, I had interviewed at least once, but there are some artists here that I've interviewed quite a bit. And I would say the only song that I really knew the story to was "Despacito." It did inspire the book. When the book proposal came, I had just done an oral history of "Despacito" for Billboard. So that format and that song were in my head.

For each chapter, I learned the real story behind each song, and each is beautiful. So overall, what I learned that I didn't know before, A: that every song had so many influences from so many places, even the most apparently regional song fed off many different things. And that surprised me. It surprised me to speak with somebody like Juan Luis Guerra, who I know loves The Beatles because he says this a lot, but it surprised me to have him kind of explain in detail how the Beatles guitar influenced "Burbujas de Amor."

I had no idea, for example, the guy who discovered Los Tigres del Norte was a Brit. [He's] telling me this story and I'm thinking, "How did I not know this?" I googled it and found they spoke about it 35 years ago. I never heard that story before. That really surprised me. I loved that.

Related: How Gloria Estefan Crossed Latin Music Boundaries On Her Second Spanish-Language Album, 'Abriendo Puertas'

I'm sure all the conversations are just so illuminating.

They were, and you know what else I really loved? When you sit down to interview artists on a normal day-to-day, it's because they're doing something, promoting something. But in this case I said, "I just want to talk how you make this one song. I want to know everything about the song." Once they sat down and realized what the interview was, they were, "Oh, let me tell you this. And did you know this?"

I think that it also made me realize how much artists love their art. I mean, it sounds like a stupid thing to say, but they're very proud of what they do. Well, I think anybody who'd had a song like this would be really proud as well. It's something to be incredibly proud of. I felt very happy to give those bragging rights, so to speak.

And in the current digital media cycle, it's onto the next song. Anniversary pieces for bigger albums or bigger songs are popular, but there's so much music that probably means a lot to an artist that they never get to talk about again, you know? So it's always cool to have deep dives.

I want to think that they loved telling the stories. I hope they did. And also, you realize how important this is to them. I think as writers, as music journalists, we're moving fast, too. So it's easy to sometimes forget that you're covering intimate manifestations of self, if you will. And they do mean a lot to the people that make them, whether we like them or not. If you have a song in this book, these are meaningful songs. These are songs that had a lot of reach. So to understand that they were made thinking they were important makes it all the more meaningful. That's important because it also kind of gives value to what we do.

If you could go back and give your younger self, when you were like starting out in the industry, any piece of advice, what would it be?

Oh my God, I have so many pieces of advice. I would tell myself first and foremost, you have to always thank people that help you. And you have to thank people that give you an opportunity because they don't have to. Being thankful is very important.

I would tell myself you have to be more diplomatic with everyone that you work with. I think this is something you learn with time. This is a small industry, you're going to run into everybody again at some point. You have to remember to be diplomatic, kind and thankful.

And if you're going to have side projects, you have to have a lawyer read your contracts. And even though I was always very measured in it, I tell people you have to be careful with your social media. I have a lot of opinions I keep to myself because they can be misrepresented, misheard, mis-whatever. And while I always tell people that, listen, it's your social media. You feel completely sure of what you're saying if you don't care what anyone is going to say in return, dalé. But if you are even remotely concerned what people are going to say, then you have to think how you're going to say things before you post them.

5 LGBTQ+ Latinx Artists You Need To Know

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Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony

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For The Record: Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony jennifer-lopez-and-marc-anthonys-harmony-record

Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony's Harmony: For The Record

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Take a look back at the New York natives' duet history
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Oct 11, 2017 - 5:26 pm

Though they may no longer be husband and wife, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony still have undeniable  chemistry.

How JLo And Marc Anthony Created Harmony

The dynamic duo, who were married from 2004–2014,  has recorded a total of four duets in their career: "No Me Ames" (1999), "Escapémonos" (2004), "Por Arriesgarnos" (2007), and "Olvídame Y Pega La Vuelta" (2016).

"No Me Ames" earned the New York natives two Latin GRAMMY nominations at the inaugural Latin GRAMMY Awards for Best Pop Duo/Group With Vocal and Best Music Video. They also performed "Escapémonos" at  the 47th GRAMMY Awards in 2005.

Arguably their most famous duet, Lopez and Anthony staged a dramatic performance of "Olvídame Y Pega La Vuelta" at  the 17th Latin GRAMMY Awards in 2016, during whuch the two shared a romantic kiss during the duet that had fans' heads spinning.

 Music isn't the only work Lopez and Anthony still do together — they also partner for philanthropic efforts. Most recently they created an initiative called Somos Una Voz (We Are One Voice) to support victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

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The Enduring Beauty Of Selena's Legacy

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From her music to makeup lines and museums, Selena's legacy continues to shine two decades following her passing
Ashley Monaé
GRAMMYs
Oct 10, 2017 - 4:10 pm

On March 31, 1995, the world was shaken by the untimely death of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez.

Selena Wins GRAMMY For Best Mexican-American Album

At just 23 years old, her career was skyrocketing toward crossover success. But just as she was settling into her fame, it was taken away in the blink of an eye when she was shot and tragically killed by a former president of her fan club. No one foresaw the harrowing ordeal coming, and the news arrived with no warning. As a result, Selena, who was poised for pop culture phenomenon status, would unfortunately never witness her efforts and hard work fully materialize.

Her star took flight in earnest one night in 1989, when Selena performed at the San Antonio Convention Center. The occasion was the ninth annual Tejano Music Awards. Her irresistible charm lit up the stage as she sang the likes of "Terco Corazon," "Yo Fui Aquella" and "Carino Mio." Even at just 17 years old, she was confident and stylish and vivacious — all of which helped flex her musicianship rather than detract from it. It also didn't hurt that she was beautiful. But the latter wasn't what caught Cuban-American music executive José Behar's eye.

At the time, Behar, a former A&R rep and head of Sony Discos, had just opened up EMI Latin, the first Latin music label under Capitol Records. Like prior years, his attendance was based on intentions of scouting fresh Latin talent.

"It was just coincidental that just weeks after we opened up EMI Latin [I found Selena]," Behar continues. "I ended up staying and watching her perform, and I thought she was amazing."

Selena wound up taking the Female Entertainer of The Year award home that night, but knew nothing of the even better news that awaited her the following day.

Selena's rise feels like something ripped out of a fairytale. After convincing the singer and her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr., who was also her manager, to take a breakfast meeting, Behar immediately signed Selena.

"The whole thing with the Selena signing was … back then female artists didn't sell in the Tejano music market. There wasn't one female artist that ever really sold or had any substantial success in Tejano music," Behar explains.

"But I never really signed her as a Tejano artist. I thought she was my Gloria Estefan. That was truly the emphasis on signing her. We signed her with the vision of crossing her over, never really thinking we're going to have that huge success on the Latin side. It was always, always, always about the crossover."

And crossover from largely Latino audiences to American ones she did.

But first, she laid the groundwork with four successful Spanish-language albums in a five-year span: Selena (1989), Ven Conmigo (1990), Entre A Mi Mundo (1992), and Amor Prohibido (1994). While Amor Prohibido became one of the best-selling Latin albums in the United States, Behar notes that Selena's first GRAMMY win was a major game-changer.

"She was like a little 10-year-old girl whose dream was coming to fruition," he says.

At the 36th GRAMMY Awards in New York on March 1, 1994, Selena made history as Live!, her first-ever live album released in 1993, won Best Mexican/American Album. The singer became the first Tejano artist to win the category.

On Feb. 26, 1995, Selena performed a historic concert at the Houston Astrodome. Nearly 67,000 people were in attendance for the show, a part of the popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Marking what would be her final televised appearance, the concert was broadcast live on Univision and later received a posthumous release by EMI Latin in 2001.

As Selena's résumé became chockfull with impressive accolades, she was helping to open the doors for the next wave of talented Latino musicians. However, just one month later, the Latin music community was silenced when the news of Selena's death broke.

https://twitter.com/JLo/status/583031350204186624

Today we celebrate the life, the beauty & talent of a #TrueLegend. Selena will forever be apart of me. #SelenaForever pic.twitter.com/7OtJrbqWpO

— jlo (@JLo) March 31, 2015

In a case of the bittersweet, Selena's success wasn't truly etched into the history books until Dreaming Of You, her fifth and final studio album, was released posthumously on July 18, 1995, just four months after her death. During the time Selena began recording sessions for the highly anticipated multigenre work of American pop and Latin music, Behar can only describe it with one word: "magic."

"It was a dream come true, it was going to happen," he says. "She was in disbelief that it was coming together."

Dreaming Of You would go on to be critically acclaimed and an immediate commercial success. Selling 175,000 copies on its release day in the U.S., the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, in addition to ranking in the top 10 best-selling debuts for a musician, best-selling debut by a female act, and the fastest-selling U.S. album of 1995.

Beyond Dreaming Of You, the reality of Selena's enchanting presence has remained alive and well, all while growing her cultural relevance and welcoming a new generation of fans. Decades after her death, it's certain that the entertainer's legacy has been among the most famously celebrated. There was the 1997 movie Selena starring Jennifer Lopez, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017. The film not only catapulted the rise of J.Lo's career, it is known as one of the highest-grossing musical biopics of all time.

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https://twitter.com/POPSUGARLatina/status/915622825272184832

Calling all #Selena fans! You're gonna obsess over these tees at @UrbanOutfitters: 😍 https://t.co/dUqjAOO0mb

— POPSUGAR Latina (@POPSUGARLatina) October 4, 2017

MAC Cosmetics released a special Selena makeup collection after an online petition was created for the company to honor the singer for the 20th anniversary of her passing. Selena-branded T-shirts have been popping up in retail stores like Macy's, Urban Outfitters, Target, and Forever 21. And her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, there's The Selena Museum showcasing the singer's awards and memorabilia. Corpus Christi is also home to Fiesta de la Flor, a two-day festival celebrating the life and legacy of Selena. And in 2016 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that the Mexican-American superstar would be honored on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.

https://twitter.com/MACcosmetics/status/782363745238523905

Details on #MACSelena. pic.twitter.com/iC1ZJfBcKq

— maccosmetics (@MACcosmetics) October 1, 2016

"To me, that's what solidifies a true legacy," says Mexican-American singer/songwriter and actress Becky G, who cites Selena as a major influence. "That even after she passed away, she's affected so many people's lives and inspired even more."

Becky remembers "Como La Flor" being the first song of Selena's she ever heard as a young kid. But beyond the music, which is the true foundation, she connected with Selena on a deeper level, a connection that Behar believes lies in the fact that she was a bicultural artist in the true sense of the word.

"She represented this bridge I needed so badly in my life. You know, being born in the States but identifying with Latin culture and being Mexican through blood and by heart," Becky G says. "It was so hard to feel like I belonged in either or. I really resonated with the part in the movie where Selena's dad says, 'You're either too Mexican for the Americans or too American for the Mexicans, but you can't be in the middle.' To me, Selena was the middle, like I was born here but I'm Spanish and no one can tell me any different. From that, I found a confidence within because I knew someone else already broke those barriers for me and. And that person is Selena."

https://twitter.com/iambeckyg/status/860261340534812672

Wore my Selena Lipstick for yesterday's special occasion. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zrPGBs6mqZ

— Becky G. (@iambeckyg) May 4, 2017

Though Selena achieved much success and lived out her dreams, there's no simple answer as to why her legacy continues, but it's one that certainly is meant to be.

"I've worked with a lot of artists throughout my career and she really was a good soul," Behar says. "Never spoke ill of anyone. Her smile was genuine and wholesome. She had a lot of love, no disdain. Not jealous of anything or anyone. It was just all about focusing and being a good person and a great artist. That's really what she was about. It's not like a persona."

With her good soul attributing to the otherworldly force of success that has followed her, Behar also claims that the core of Selena's foundation is her music.

"It's like a beautiful Christmas tree with no decorations," he says. "If you have a little shriveled up tree ... [and] if you put decorations on that tree, it's never going to be a beautiful tree. It's got to a beautiful tree. That's the first thing you pick out every year. And as an artist, it should always be about the music. And [Selena's] music has stood the test of time. Great music, amazing music. And then you have all that other stuff and it's a grand slam.

"These kinds of things don't come every day and it takes a long time for that to come together. Maybe every 20 years an artist will come along and do that, but I don't think I could ever compare anyone to Selena. She was truly unique."

(Ashley Monaé is a Brooklyn-based writer. Her work has appeared in the pages of PAPER and Nylon and online at Pitchfork, Billboard and Highsnobiety, among others.)

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