Billboard Latin Music Awards 2014: Native New Yorkers Romeo Santos, Prince Royce and Marc Anthony Lead with Most Nods
Billboard Latin Music Awards 2014 finalists have been announced and Bachata star Romeo Santos of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, leads the pack of talented Latin artists with 17 nominations in 14 categories.
Following Santos is Dominican singer-songwriter Prince Royce and longtime Puerto Rican salsa giant Marc Anthony are close behind with 16 and 15, respectively, according to Billboard.
This has been a stellar year for Santos, "who is fresh off of a No. 1 debut on Billboard's Latin Airplay chart with new single 'Odio' featuring Drake."
Santos' warm welcome to the industry includes nominations for: Songwriter of the Year, Tropical Albums Artist of the Year and Producer of the Year, with many of his nods coming off early success from the singles of his yet to be released sophomore solo set, "Formula Vol. 2," due out Feb. 25.
If you aren't already familiar with Romeo Santos, check out his video for "Odio," featuring Drake,
Royce, who hails from the Bronx, is more than just a handsome face -- he was listed as one of the 50 Most Beautiful on the magazine People en Español in 2011 -- he received 16 nominations in 15 categories including Artist, Social Artist and Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, as well as Top Latin Album of the Year.
Also a native New Yorker, Anthony proves that he can still top the list among younger talent -- he's nominated for 15 awards including: Artist of the Year, Tour of the Year, Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, Male and Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Male, among others.
According to Billboard, "Anthony's strong showing comes in the wake of his successful salsa album, 3.0, which ended the year as the top-selling Latin album of 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while hit single 'Vivir Mi Vida' is up for numerous awards, including Hot Latin Song of the Year and Digital Song of the Year."
The late Jenni Rivera continues to leave her mark on the Latin music industry with her albums dominating sales in the year following her death. The treasured Rivera is up for eight awards, while reggaton singer/rapper Daddy Yankee and pop singer Enrique Iglesias are up for seven awards each, Billboard reports.
Following Puerto Rican reggaton singer Daddy Yankee and Spanish balladeer and pop star Igesias, is Mexican crooner Alejandro Fernandez and La Arrolladora Banda El Limon de Rene Camacho who have been nominated for six awards each.
For a complete list of nominees, click, here.
The Billboard Latin Music award show will be broadcast live April 24 on Telemundo.