Gerardo Ortiz is this year’s king of Mexican Music…
The 23-year-old Mexican American norteño singer leads the list of finalists for the for the third annual Billboard Mexican Music Awards, which will air live on Telemundo on October 9 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
Ortiz earned 14 nods in 13 categories, highlighting his overwhelming success in every arena of the business, from album sales and digital downloads to airplay and songwriting.
Ortiz is nominated for Artist of the year, Songs Artist of the Year, Airplay Artist of the Year, Digital Download Artist of the Year, Albums Artist of the Year and Songwriter and Producer of the Year, among other categories.
In the Norteño Album of the Year category, his El Primer Ministro will compete against another of his own albums, Sold Out: En Vivo Desde El NOKIA Theatre L.A. Live.
Right behind Ortiz in number of nods is the late Jenni Rivera, a 10-time finalist in eight categories thanks to the huge surge of sales following her death last December.
Rivera’s finalist nods include Artist of the Year; Artist of the Year, Female; Albums Artist of the Year, Songs Artist of the Year and Digital Download Artist of the Year.
Two of her albums, La Misma Gran Señora and Joyas Prestadas are vying for Album of the Year and Banda Album of the Year.
The list of top finalists, which also include banda star Roberto Tapia, norteño trio Voz de Mando, Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga, Calibre 50, 3BallMTY and Joan Sebastian, represent the diverse nature of regional Mexican music, which has long been the top-selling genre of Latin music in the U.S.
Next up, La Arrolladora Banda el Limón de René Camacho, the super-popular traditional banda known for registering massive radio hits. The group will vie for seven awards, including Artist of the Year; Artist of the Year, Duo or Group; Songs Artist of the Year; Airplay Artist of the Year and Banda Artist of the Year. Their song “Cabecita Dura” from their hit album Irreversible is a finalist for Song of the Year and Banda Song of the Year.
The Billboard Mexican Music Awards are given in 32 award categories—including honors in the subgenres of Banda, Norteño, ranchero/mariachi and duranguense/grupero/cumbia—as well as awards for top labels and publishers.
Finalists and winners are determined by chart performance as chronicled in Billboard magazine and on Billboard.com during the eligibility period of August 18, 2012 through August 10, 2013. Award categories are based on album and digital track sales data provided by Nielsen SoundScan and radio airplay monitored by Nielsen BDS.
Click here to see the complete list of nominees.
