National Hispanic Heritage Month has officially kicked off on September 15th and will continue until October 15th. This month-long celebration honors the contributions and influences made by those who identify as Hispanic Americans, Latinos, Latinas, and Latinx who hail from countries like Spain and Mexico and other regions such as the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Whether it’s through music, movies, art, dance, science, education, or other areas, this community has been making its mark. In fact, the Latin music industry has been dominating the U.S. music market in recent years. From Becky G to Bad Bunny, here are the top six Latin artists who have been impacting the music industry.
1. Karol G
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Colombian singer, Karol G has been dominating the reggaeton and Latin trap music genres. She currently holds the title of being a two-time Latin GRAMMY® winner. Recently, Karol G took home the MTV VMA award for “Best Collaboration” alongside Shakira for their single, TQG.
Besides winning music awards, Billboard has named the Colombian singer as the female performer with the most “Hot Latin” song chart entries with a total of 60. With these accomplishments, Karol G will not be slowing down anytime soon. She also is currently on the U.S. leg of her tour, Mañana Será Bonito.
2. Shakira
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Shakira started her music career during her teenage years — and to this day, at 46 years old, Shakira is still making an impact on the industry. The Colombian singer recently celebrated the win of the MTV VMA’s 2023 “Video Vanguard Award” and also won “Best Collaboration” with Karol G for their collaboration single, TQG.
In terms of her early beginnings, Shakira became known for the hit singles, Hips Don’t Lie and Whenever, Wherever. Her recent single from early 2023, “BZRP Music Sessions Vol. 53” broke the world record for the “fastest Latin track to reach 100 million views on YouTube,” according to Rolling Stone.
3. Bad Bunny
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Puerto Rican native, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who goes by “Bad Bunny” in the industry, found his passion for music at a very young age. At the age of 5, Bad Bunny joined a church choir and fast forward to 2016, he began posting his own songs on the SoundCloud platform.
His debut album, X 100PRE was released in December 2018 and has gone on to release three other albums, YHLQMDLG, El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, and Un Verano Sin Ti in the years that followed. His latest album, Un Verano Sin Ti, became the top Billboard 200 album of 2022.
4. Becky G
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With a start in the U.S. music industry, you may know Becky G from her acclaimed singles, Shower and Becky from the Block. The Shower single was recognized by Billboard as the top twenty of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and earned a multi-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
The Mexican-American singer then went on to take a shot at the Latin music market. Becky G released Mala Santa as her first-ever fully Spanish-language album. She has also gone on to collaborate with other Latino artists on songs: Mayores with Bad Bunny, MAMIII with Karol G, and Sin Pijama with Natti Natasha.
5. J Balvin
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Hailing from Medellín, Colombia, J Balvin is no stranger to the Latin music industry. He is known as the “Prince of Reggaeton” and has sold more than 35 million records (albums and singles combined) worldwide. His Spotify profile reflects his success as he brings in a total of 51,607,958 monthly listeners.
With his music, J Balvin has been able to perform at musical festivals such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Lollapalooza. If looking to add J Balvin to your playlist, his songs Mi Gente, I Like It, and La Canción are some of his highly-listened singles.
6. Danna Paola
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Many may know Danna Paola from the Netflix series, Elite, where she starred as Lucrecia. However, she has been in the entertainment industry since she was just 5 years old. She has started in Mexican telenovelas like Atrévete a soñar, María Belén, and ¡Vivan los niños!.
Besides acting, Danna has always been fascinated by music and has a total of six studio albums dating back to 2004. With the release of her most recent album K.O. in 2021, Danna was able to receive a Latin GRAMMY® nomination.
