Breaking out of the “Latin” Category: Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny is just the gift that keeps on giving. 

With only 4 years in the industry since his debut album X100PRE, he continues to break barriers and make music history. His most recent album “Un Verano Sin Ti” is the first album recorded in Spanish to be nominated for Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammy Awards and Favorite Pop Album at this year’s American Music Awards. Additionally, he is up for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Moscow Mule” in the Grammys and for seven other awards at the AMAs including Artist of the Year. 

These nominations are a big deal for many reasons. The main one being that it’s signaling a shift in the way Americans are viewing and consuming media that is not created in English. Typically, Spanish speaking artists are “honored” through the various “Latin” categories in these award shows, which were specifically made to recognize bodies of work recorded in Spanish or Portuguese. Other non-English speaking artists are assigned to the smaller “Global Music” category in the Grammys and are not really acknowledged at the AMAs. Eventually, while some of these Latin categories are included in the original award shows they were created in, both the Grammys and the AMAs have created their own Latin versions– Latin Grammys and Latin American Music Awards respectively. However, these categories and award shows feel like a double edged sword. 

On the one hand, these categories and shows gave Spanish and Portuguese singing artists a place under the mainstream spotlight. On the other hand the umbrella term “Latin” fails to encapsulate the diversity of the music industry within Latin America and beyond. The term “Latin” has always been criticized as it’s very unclear on who is being represented here. Similar to the Grammy’s now removed controversial “Urban” categories and their racial implications, (though “Urban” is still present in the Latin Grammys and Latin AMAs) the “Latin” categories were created with an obvious Latinx or Latine connotation. However, in both the “Latin” categories and shows, anyone who creates music in Spanish or Portuguese can come out victorious, even if they are not of Latin American descent. This umbrella has led to artists from Spain profiting off the “Latin” label rather than Latin American artists who have already been fighting for a seat at the table in the Spanish and Latin American music industry. We’ve seen the repercussions of this vague term when Billie Eilish (a white American singer) and Rosalía (a white Spanish singer who has been under fire for appropriating Latin American culture in her music) took the MTV Video Music Award for Best Latin, an award that had been given only to Latin American artists up to that point. 

We also have to consider the obvious feeling of “othering” that these categories create– as if music created in Spanish, even though most of the artists are based here in the states, is somehow a completely separate thing from English music. While some Latin American artists stick to genres that have originated in Latin America like Bachata, Reggaeton, and Salsa, there are plenty of Latine artists that create music in the “regular” categories of Pop, Rock, and Alternative. The genres and talent are the same; it’s just a matter of language and who’s willing to listen. Typically, Latin American artists have had to transition into recording music in English or collaborate with English speaking artists in order to achieve “mainstream” success, which we’ve seen with Shakira, Ricky Martin, and Luis Fonsi. While Bad Bunny did have his big break using the latter method, he has not really collaborated with English speaking artists (unless you count Puerto Rican-American band The Marías) on any of his recent major projects and has refused to transition into recording an all-English album. Despite his refusal, his last 3 commercial albums have reached the top of the charts upon release and achieved worldwide acclaim.

So what’s changed? How has Bad Bunny gotten so popular without assimilating to the standards of the American music industry? Aside from his obvious talent as a performer, producer and songwriter, I think that it’s precisely his refusal to succumb to the rules of both the American and Latin American music scene. He and his music are centered around inclusivity and authenticity, all while remaining lighthearted and catchy enough to keep everyone listening. He draws inspiration and pays homage to all the greats that came before him, but leaves behind the machismo that has plagued Reggaeton for years. He’ll collaborate with English speaking artists, but he himself will keep his iconic flow and his lyrics in his native language. He demands attention, but won’t change himself in order to get it.

I think it’s more than fair to say that Bad Bunny is a symbol for a new era of music. With streaming services making music more accessible than ever, listeners are more open to hear music from all over the world, even if they don’t understand the lyrics at first. As for the music industry in the U.S., his nomination for Favorite Pop Album and Album of the Year means the lines between “mainstream” and “Latin” are blurring. Perhaps it’s time to retire that label and the idea that music sung in Spanish is an entirely different entity.