Peso Pluma leads the Billboard Latin Music Awards with 17 nods, ten days before the 22 October show

The 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards are ten days away, and the finalists list tells a clear story: regional Mexican music is running the room. Peso Pluma leads with 17 finalist mentions, ahead of his duo partner Tito Double P with 15 and Fuerza Regida with 12.

The ceremony is on 22 October 2026 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, live at 8 p.m. ET on Telemundo and Peacock, with 47 awards across genres from Latin pop and tropical to Latin rhythm and regional Mexican. It closes Billboard Latin Music Week, which runs in Miami from 19 to 22 October. Hosts and honorees had not been announced at the time of writing.

Who is up for the big prizes

Artist of the Year is a five-way race between Bad Bunny, Fuerza Regida, Karol G, Peso Pluma and Tito Double P. Peso Pluma and Tito Double P also share the Top Latin Album of the Year nomination for DINASTÍA, where it faces Rosalía's LUX, Beéle's BORONDO, Omar Courtz's Por Si Mañana No Estoy and Clave Especial's MIJA NO TE ASUSTES.

Four of the pair's songs ("daño", "dopamina", "chiclona" and "7-3") account for nine of their mentions, including Hot Latin Song of the Year for "daño" and "dopamina". Fuerza Regida's "Marlboro Rojo" is up for four awards, including Hot Latin Song of the Year, and sits in the Global 200 Latin Song of the Year category alongside "daño", Rosalía and Yahritza y Su Esencia's "La Perla" and W Sound, Beéle and Ovy On The Drums' "La Plena (W Sound 05)".

Karol G has nine mentions, the most of any woman, including Tour of the Year, where she is up against Bad Bunny, Pitbull, Ricardo Arjona and Shakira. Prince Royce has eight, Rosalía and Romeo Santos six each, and Beéle, Omar Courtz, Shakira, Herencia de Grandes and Los Dos De Tamaulipas five each.

Bad Bunny's quieter year

Bad Bunny has seven mentions, well behind the regional Mexican names at the top. He is still in Artist of the Year, Tour of the Year, Global 200 Latin Artist of the Year and Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year (Male). The finalists are decided by chart performance between 13 September 2025 and 5 September 2026, so the list is a snapshot of what Latin listeners actually streamed and played, rather than a critics' pick.

A new fan-voted prize

This year adds a Fan Artist category, decided only by public vote among the five artists with the most mentions. Fans can vote on Telemundo's voting page until 8 p.m. ET on 22 October, and the winner is revealed during the show.

Why it matters

Regional Mexican music has been the engine of Latin streaming in the United States for the past few years, and this list is the clearest sign yet that the genre is not slowing down. Watch for Rosalía and Beéle as the pop and urbano challengers, and for whether Karol G's tour numbers can hold off a regional Mexican sweep.

We will have the winners on the night. For more Latin stories in the meantime, see ADMC's latest.