The 2026 Latin Grammy nominations span Karol G, Rosalía, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Jorge Drexler, Silvana Estrada and dozens of musical traditions across 60 categories. But Prince Royce has zeroed in on one conspicuous absence: bachata is named in a category where he says none of the five nominated albums is actually a bachata record.
The Latin Recording Academy announced the nominees on September 16. Producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera leads the field with 10 nominations, while Karol G, Rosalía, Drexler and Argentine duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso each received seven.
Royce challenged the Best Merengue/Bachata Album category shortly afterward. The award is explicitly designed to recognize both Dominican-rooted genres, yet the singer argues that this year’s five nominated projects represent merengue while leaving bachata effectively absent.
That turns one category dispute into a broader music question. Bachata and merengue may share a country of origin, but they are not interchangeable sounds. When two distinct traditions share one award, inclusion in the category’s name does not necessarily guarantee representation among its nominees.
Edgar Barrera Leads the 2026 Latin Grammy Nominations
Barrera enters the 27th Latin Grammys with more nominations than anyone else, although his presence differs from the kind of sweep usually associated with a superstar performer.
The Mexican-American songwriter and producer earned 10 nominations through work spread across multiple artists and records. His credits include Karol G and Marco Antonio Solís’ “Coleccionando Heridas,” Santana and Becky G’s “Mi Gran Amor,” and recordings involving Carín León, Grupo Frontera, Alejandro Fernández and Juanes.
Billboard places Barrera at the top of the nominations count, followed by four artists with seven nods each: Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso. Silvana Estrada and Mon Laferte follow with six apiece.
The distribution gives the major categories an unusually broad musical shape. Karol G’s Tropicoqueta draws from Latin pop, urban and tropical traditions, while Rosalía’s LUX (Complete Works) occupies a different experimental-pop space. Drexler represents a deeply established singer-songwriter tradition, and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso continue the genre collisions that have made the Argentine duo difficult to file neatly into one category.
Several of those artists also appear repeatedly across the general field. Karol G, Rosalía, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso and Silvana Estrada all have representation among Album, Record and Song of the Year.
That breadth makes the absence Royce is pointing to more noticeable rather than less.
Prince Royce Wants to Know Where the Bachata Went
Best Merengue/Bachata Album has five nominees this year: Fariana’s Música Para Bailar, Manerra’s Todo Llega, Gabriel Pagán’s No Era El Plan, Covi Quintana’s Oye Eta Vaina and Techy’s Chula.
The official nominations define the category around albums containing at least 51% newly recorded merengue and/or bachata material. The “and/or” is important: an album does not need to represent both genres to qualify.
Royce argues that the resulting ballot has tilted completely toward one side.
In a public statement after the nominations were revealed, he said there is “not a single bachata album” among the five choices and estimated that bachata accounts for only about 15% of the music across the nominated projects. EFE reported his criticism following the announcement.
He also drew a distinction between recognizing Dominican musicians and representing bachata itself. A Dominican artist making merengue does not become a bachata nominee simply because both traditions emerged from the Dominican Republic.
That distinction is central to his complaint. Royce is not arguing that merengue has too much recognition or that its nominees do not belong there. He is questioning whether combining two genres under one award leaves either one vulnerable to disappearing from the final ballot in a given year.
Romeo Santos and Prince Royce Were Shut Out Entirely
The criticism carries an unavoidable personal dimension because Royce had eligible music of his own.
He and Romeo Santos released the collaborative project Better Late Than Never during the eligibility period, yet the album and its music received no Latin Grammy nominations. Royce and Santos are two of the most internationally recognizable artists associated with contemporary bachata, making their absence particularly visible in a year when the genre’s shared category is already under scrutiny.
Billboard reported that the Royce-Santos collaboration was shut out of the nominations.
Royce has framed his public criticism around bachata’s representation rather than simply asking why his own project was excluded. Still, Better Late Than Never makes the argument more concrete: two major bachata artists released a joint project, while the category carrying the genre’s name ultimately produced a slate Royce says is overwhelmingly merengue.
His comments also extend beyond genre balance. Royce questioned whether awards determined by music-industry professionals can become influenced by relationships, campaigns and personal connections, while acknowledging that the Latin Grammys are not intended to operate as a popularity contest based simply on streams, sales or chart positions.
Those are Royce’s allegations and interpretation of the nominations process, not established findings about how the 2026 nominees were chosen.
The Latin Recording Academy says its voting membership consists of creators and music professionals across disciplines including performers, songwriters, producers, engineers and mixers. The organization has approximately 7,000 members across 62 countries, according to its 2026 eligibility information.
Album of the Year Shows How Broad the Ballot Is Elsewhere
The bachata debate stands in contrast with a general field designed to encompass a wide range of artists, countries and musical approaches.
Album of the Year brings together 10 records:
- Anitta — Equilibrivm
- CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso — FREE SPIRITS
- Jorge Drexler — Taracá
- Silvana Estrada — Vendrán Suaves Lluvias
- Karol G — Tropicoqueta
- Mon Laferte — Femme Fatale
- Carín León — Muda
- Milo J — La Vida Era Más Corta
- Rawayana — ¿Dónde Es El After?
- Rosalía — LUX (Complete Works)
The Academy has emphasized the category’s mix of genre, generation, country of origin and gender. Eligible recordings for this year’s awards were released between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.
The same variety appears across Record and Song of the Year. Rosalía’s “La Perla,” featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia, competes in both categories. Karol G reaches both with “Coleccionando Heridas,” her collaboration with Marco Antonio Solís, while CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso and Silvana Estrada also appear across the top general fields.
Karol G, Rosalía and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso all landed across the major categories, Pitchfork notes.
The point is not that every corner of Latin music can be represented equally across 60 awards. It is that the Academy already maintains a highly segmented category system intended to recognize different musical traditions, which makes the structure of the combined merengue/bachata award worth examining on its own terms.
One Award Is Trying to Hold Two Dominican Traditions
Bachata and merengue are both deeply tied to the Dominican Republic, but grouping them together can obscure how different the two traditions actually are.
Merengue is generally driven by a fast, propulsive dance rhythm, historically associated with instruments including tambora and güira alongside accordion in merengue típico and larger brass-heavy arrangements in other forms. Its rhythmic momentum gives it a distinctive social-dance character.
Bachata developed around a different musical foundation. Guitar is central to the style, with requinto lead lines, rhythm guitar, bass and percussion creating a sound historically associated with romantic and often emotionally direct songwriting. Modern bachata has expanded considerably through pop, R&B and electronic production, but the guitar-led rhythmic identity remains one of its most recognizable foundations.
The genres share history and geography without functioning as two names for the same music.
That is why Royce’s criticism is more interesting than a conventional nominations complaint. A combined category can technically satisfy its eligibility rules while producing a final slate dominated by one of the two traditions named on the trophy.
The Academy has not indicated that the Merengue/Bachata category will be separated or restructured in response to Royce’s comments. The nominations therefore stand as announced.
Final Voting Begins October 1
The nominees are now moving toward the final round of voting rather than another selection stage.
Active voting members of the Latin Recording Academy can cast their final ballots beginning October 1. Winners will be revealed at the 27th Latin Grammy Awards on November 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The ceremony will air live on Univision, and the complete ballot spans 60 categories.
Barrera enters final voting with the year’s largest nomination count. Karol G, Rosalía, Drexler and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso each have seven nominations, while Estrada and Laferte have six.
Best Merengue/Bachata Album will move forward with Fariana, Manerra, Gabriel Pagán, Covi Quintana and Techy as its five nominees. Royce has raised his objection publicly, but no change to the category or its 2026 slate has been announced.
Final voting opens October 1, followed by the Latin Grammy ceremony November 12.
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