Over the last few years, Latin artists have become increasingly open to experimenting with rhythms and sounds beyond their own realms — whether regional Mexican, Latin pop, urbano, rock or tropical.
The last year has been especially remarkable, with acts like Carín León, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso and Rosalía passionately embracing artistic freedom and expanding the notion of what Latin music can sound like.
At the 2025 Latin Grammys, Bad Bunny won the award for album of the year with his acclaimed LP DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He competed with acts including CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso (Papota) and Carín León (Palabra De To’s (Seca)), both of whom are eligible for the top prize again this year.
Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS ended up receiving the same recognition at the 2026 Grammy Awards, too, making history as the first album in Spanish to take home album of the year. This year, a similar scenario could occur with Rosalía, whose impressive album LUX includes 13 different languages, but is mostly sang en español.
The 27th annual Latin Grammy Awards will take place on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The eligibility period runs from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, with the first round of voting scheduled from July 27 to Aug. 10.
On Sept. 16, when 10 Latin Grammy album of the year nominees will be announced, these five boundary-pushing projects are most likely to make the list. Artists have been listed in alphabetical order.
A version of this story appears in the July 18, 2026, issue of Billboard.
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Free Spirits
Less than a year after receiving their first Latin Grammy nominations — 10 total — and winning five for Papota, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso could once again vie for the top prize that eluded them in 2025, this time with Free Spirits. On this acclaimed 12-track set — which ranked at No. 2 on Billboard’s midyear list “Best Latin Albums of 2026 (So Far)” and reached No. 11 on Top Latin Pop Albums — the breakout Argentine duo reflects on the highs and lows of its meteoric rise and newfound fame with vulnerability, while maintaining its signature irreverence. Taking the genre-blending style that made the act an international sensation even further, the pair experiments with Middle Eastern rhythms, dance-pop, rock, bossa nova, bachata and more, inviting stars such as Sting, Anderson .Paak, Jack Black and Fred again.. to the party.
Fonseca, Antes Que El Tiempo Se Vaya
On his 11th studio album, Fonseca sings about life, love, identity and gratitude from a more mature perspective, taking the passage of time and an appreciation of the present as his starting point. Across 12 tracks, the nine-time Latin Grammy winner presents a remarkable set that is intimate and deeply connected to his tropical roots, while also venturing into genres such as merengue, salsa and cumbia alongside acts like Rawayana, Rubén Blades and Juanes (the lattermost on the catchy title track). Previously nominated for album of the year with Fonseca Sinfónico (2014), Conexión (2016), Agustín (2019) and Viajante (2022), the Colombian singer-songwriter — the veteran artist on this list — has yet to win this category. Antes Que El Tiempo se Vaya reached No. 23 on Top Tropical Albums and ranked at No. 5 on Billboard’s “Best Latin Albums of 2026 (So Far)” list.
Carín León, MUDA
The four-time Latin Grammy winner’s last two releases — Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 (2024) and Palabra de To’s (Seca) (2025) — have been nominated for album of the year. In his third consecutive year vying for the prize, MUDA could be a strong contender. Ranked at No. 3 on Billboard’s “Best Latin Albums of 2026 (So Far)” list, the 14-track set continues demonstrating his much-praised versatility, with the regional Mexican star exploring ska, soul, salsa, disco and even carranga (a popular Colombian genre) without turning his back on his original sound. The set also includes two collaborations with acts León has said to be a fan of: Colombian rocker Juanes and Venezuelan trippy-pop band Rawayana.
Rawayana, ¿Dónde Es El After?
After being nominated for best new artist in 2017 and winning its first Latin Grammy last year for best Latin electronic music performance with “Veneka,” the Venezuelan band seems ready to jump into the album of the year category with its latest production: the ambitious, uber-fun ¿Dónde Es El After? (Where Is the Afterparty?). The 23-track album navigates from reggae to electronic to funk, pop and tropical music, resulting in the band’s characteristic “trippy pop” sound while addressing both mundane and profound topics — including the political situation in the group’s home country. Led by vocalist Beto Montenegro, the album wittily plays with double meanings in sultry songs like the act’s first Billboard No. 1 single, “Inglés en Miami” — a viral track featuring singer Manuel Turizo that topped the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart in May. Ranked at No. 1 on Billboard’s “Best Latin Albums of 2026 (So Far)” list in June, ¿Dónde Es El After? also includes guests Grupo Frontera, Jowell y Randy, Elena Rose and DannyLux.
Rosalía, LUX
It’s impossible to imagine that one of the most internationally acclaimed albums of 2025 wouldn’t make the cut this year. Rosalía’s LUX is a towering, one-of-a-kind achievement on which she sings in 13 different languages but enough Spanish to make the cut. (The Latin Grammys require at least 60% of the songs on an album contain at least 60% lyrics in Spanish, Portuguese and/or languages, dialects or idiomatic expressions recognized in Ibero-America.) LUX is a complex orchestral and operatic album recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra on which Rosalía not only stretches the meaning of what a pop album can be but also reaches new vocal heights. Upon its release, LUX made history: Rosalía became the first artist to secure No. 1 debuts across five Billboard charts (Top Latin Albums, Top Latin Pop Albums, Classical Albums, Classical Crossover Albums and World Albums). On the all-genre Billboard 200, it reached No. 4. The set follows her 2022 Latin Grammy-winning album of the year, Motomami, which makes her the only previous winner of the category here.
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