Latin music has been a big part of the music industry in the United States for the past few years, but it has been overlooked because of the popularity of American artists. Now, Latin artists are getting the recognition that fans across America have been asking for. From charts on Billboard to Latin categories on award shows, artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Ozuna, Anitta and Becky G have recently been hitting the mainstream music industry. 

Latin styles like reggaeton, a style of music that originated in Puerto Rico and influenced by American hip-hop, cumbia, which originated in Colombia, and bachata, a style of music from the Dominican Republic, have become even more popular in America in recent times. Some artists make songs with their traditional Latin style and at the same time incorporate some aspects of American style music or vise versa. Some artists are breaking the barrier by collaborating with different artists from different genres to create a blend of these styles. “Despasito” by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, “Me Necesitas” by CNCO and PRETTYMUCH, “MIA” by Bad Bunny and Drake, and “Mi Gente by J Balvin featuring Beyonce are just some examples of songs by Latin artist performing with American artist.

“It’s really different than the music that we have here. So it adds cultural diversity,” sophmore Maddie Frost said. “They’re helping mix the two really different cultures into one, because we’re used to that kind of style of music and it slowly allows us to be introduced to their kind of music.”

American artists have also started collaborating with Latin artists to bring some foreign flavor to their music. Together, these artists are creating a new style of music that has just recently been introduced to the US. 

“Back then, we didn’t really have those [artists of] other racial backgrounds. [Latin] artists wouldn’t get nominated for any American Awards, and now they are getting nominated for, not just the VMA’s, but the I Heart Radio Awards and the Grammys,” junior Perla Hernandez said. “The Latino community is starting to involve more American culture into it, and the way it’s run and the way it’s performed. Both cultures are grasping each others [style].”

The introduction of new Latin artists help create diversity in the music industry in the US. Some of these artists are even being recognized in traditionally American music award shows and programs like the Superbowl, in which Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will be doing the halftime show in 2020. Now, there are entire categories for the Latin community, not only in award shows, but on music apps as well. 

The Latin music industry has been taking over a big part of the US music industry and it’s only going to continue to grow and expand as more and more artists make their debut. Artists from all over Latin America are coming to the US and taking a bite of the American music industry and are beginning to make it onto the charts.