By: Roy Trakin
The 18th annual Latin Grammy Awards, set for Thursday, November 16, will air live on Univision from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The three-hour telecast will be preceded by a one-hour red-carpet pre-show, with nominees to be announced on Sept. 20.
The Latin Recording Academy will honor its Person of the Year and Special Awards recipients, including Lifetime Achievement and Trustees Awards, with special presentations.
At the 2016 Latin Grammys, Carlos Vives and Shakira’s “La Bicicleta” took home two of the top prizes — song and record of the year — while legendary Mexican singer Juan Gabriel, who died three months before the show, won his first-ever Latin Grammys: three, including album of the year. Other big winners included best new artist Manuel Medrano and J Balvin, who took home best urban album for “Energía.”
Last year, Univision finished fourth in the ratings, beating out Fox, for its telecast of the Latin Grammy Awards, with an average 3.2 million viewers, though the network announced 9 million 2+ tuned in to all or part of the broadcast. The telecast landing in third place with the 18-34-year-old demo, ahead of CBS, Fox and CW.
Latin Recording Academy President/CEO Gabriel Abaroa commented: “The Latin Grammys have become the premier U.S. and international musical showcase for Latin talent, diversity, relevance, and excellence and this year we are planning to bring our audience an even more spectacular evening celebrating the hard work, perseverance and achievements of those in our artistic communities.”
Source: Variety