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The 2018 Billboard Latin Music Awards (Premios Billboard) air tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT live from Las Vegas, Nevada, and it is the show’s 20th anniversary on Telemundo. The show airs on both the Universo channel and the Telemundo network, so be sure to tune in for three hours of performances and recognition of achievements in Latin music over the past year. This year’s show is being hosted by Gaby Espino and Marco Antonio Regil. And, when it comes to the performers, they include Bad Bunny, Becky G, Calibre 50, Cardi B, Chayanne, Christian Nodal, CNCO, Daddy Yankee, David Bisbal, De La Ghetto, Farruko, J Balvin, Karol G, Luis Fonsi, Maluma, Mana, Natti Natasha, Nicky Jam, Ozuna, Paty Cantu, Quavo, Reik, Ricky Martin, Sebastian Yantra, Sofia Reyes, Victor Manuelle, Wisin and Yandel.
J Balvin is one of the top nominees for the event, with 12 nominations this year. Shakira is also nominated in 12 categories. J Balvin stands for José Álvaro Osorio Balvin. He is a singer and a rapper, who recently performed the song “I Like It” at Coachella 2018, with Cardi B and Bad Bunny. Both Cardi B and Bad Bunny are also set to perform, so it’s likely they will team up for the song once again. According to Rolling Stone, J Balvin is currently putting together a North American tour.
Daddy Yankee teamed up, in the past, with Justin Bieber and Luis Fonsi for the song “Despacito” and tonight, both he and Luis Fonsi are each set to perform. Recently, Fonsi appeared on American Idol to perform with some of the contestants in “celebrity duets”.
Wisin is often known for being part of a duo with fellow performer Yandel, so it makes sense that both of them are performing tonight. Last year, Wisin and Ozuna performed together. Ozuna is also returning to the Premios Billboard stage. As for Wisin, he is a singer and rapper, whose real name is Juan Luis Morera Luna.
Becky G is one of the hot, young performers taking the stage and she recently appeared at the Billboard Latin Music Week Convention. She opened up about how her culture and background influence her music, as well as the woman she has become. She explained to Billboard that, “For me, as a young Latina in the music industry and facing all of these obstacles … There’s no short cuts. Whatever you want to go for, it’s not gonna be easy … Going back to my roots, I admire people like my grandparents because of the sacrifice that they made for their families … It’s really made me who I am as a person.”
Performer Christian Nodal is one of the newcomers in the mix and he is nominated for Best New Artist. Nodal told Billboard that if he wins tonight, “As you know, I am 19 years old. I can’t drink here or celebrate much. My roots, I am from Caborca Sonora — Hermosillo is just a tiny jump from Caborca. If I win, I will go celebrate with my people over there.” Nodal prides himself on trying to focus on the positive when it comes to his music career. During the Billboard Latin Music Conference this week, Nodal said that when haters are concerned, “Everything is through the internet or social media. That’s where the ‘brave’ ones are at. Why do they do that? It’s people who have a lot of hate in their hearts and are dealing with insecurities. They have a lot of time on their hands. I always just leave as is and don’t pay attention to the comment. I don’t take it to heart.”
In addition to these performances, there are some other big moments set for the Premios Billboard stage. According to Billboard, Jennifer Lopez will premiere a brand new song. Lopez is currently in the middle of her “All I Have” Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood, right around the corner from the Premios Billboard. Lopez is also up for two awards tonight as a nominee for the categories of Social Artist and Hot Latin Songs for Female Artists.