Univision Announces ‘Premio Lo Nuestro’ Nominees.

Thalia, Enrique Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz, Paulina Rubio, Lupillo Rivera and Carlos Vives are among the recording artists nominated in the 15th annual Latin music awards competition, “Premio Lo Nuestro A La Musica Latina” (Lo Nuestro Latin Music Awards). Singers Celia Cruz and Juanes lead the race for nominations with six nominations each. A total of 170 nominations in 32 categories were announced by Univision, which created “Premio Lo Nuestro” in 1989. Nominated entries compete for awards to be given in a live, nationally broadcast ceremony on Univision on February 5, 2003 at 8 pm ET.

“Premio Lo Nuestro” honors music in the genres of Pop, Rock, Tropical, Regional Mexicana, and Urbana. “Best Artist” nominees include Enrique Iglesias, Chayanne, Shakira, Thalia and Juanes (Pop), Marc Anthony, Brenda K. Starr, and Celia Cruz (Tropical), and Marco Antonio Solis (Regional Mexicana). Pilar Montenegro is the only singer nominated for “Best Artist” in two genres, Regional Mexicana and Pop. A “Song of the Year” award is given in three genres, Pop, Tropical, and Regional Mexicana. “Song of the Year” nominations include work by Pop singers Juanes, Shakira, and Chayanne, and Tropical artists Celia Cruz and Marc Anthony. “Quitame Ese Hombre” by Pilar Montenegro, “No Me Sé Rajar” by Banda El Recodo, and “Perdóname Mi Amor” by Conjunto Primavera are nominated for “Song of the Year” in the Regional Mexicana genre.

The 2003 “Premio Lo Nuestro” awards, whose nominations were announced, honor the best in Latin music and music video released between October 1, 2001 to September 30, 2002. This year more than 1,600 entries were submitted. In 14 years, “Premio Lo Nuestro,” the first-ever Latin Music awards competition in the United States, has become the most popular musical event among US Hispanics. The annual Univision TV broadcast of “Premio Lo Nuestro,” is now the most watched television program by Hispanics in the United States, beating even the Superbowl. To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of “Premio Lo Nuestro,” Univision will host a star-studded pre-award gala on February 4, 2003.

Each year record companies throughout the United States which distribute Latin music enter albums released during the eligibility period. Entries are voted on for nomination by the program directors of Latin radio stations (so-defined by the Arbitron Ratings Company). Nomination ballots are tabulated by the accounting firm of Ernst &
Young.

The “Premio del Pueblo Internet” (People’s Internet Award) is given in five genres: Pop, Tropical, Regional Mexicana, Rock, and Urbana. All eligible artists are voted on for nomination by members of the public who log onto http://www.univision.com.

For “Video of the Year” record companies may enter up to five videos released during the eligibility period. Ten nominations are selected from the entries and the winner is selected by a jury of industry professionals.

To view a complete list of 2003 “Premio Lo Nuestro” nominations by genre and category CLICK above on ‘More Images’.