Latin Grammys 2019: ‘Mi Persona Favorita,’ ‘Calma (Remix),’ ‘Un Año’ & More Song of the Year Nominees

Earlier this week, the Latin Recording Academy unveiled the nominees for its 2019 Latin Grammy Awards, taking place Nov. 14 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. Spanish artist Alejandro Sanz is this year’s top nominee with eight mentions, followed by compatriot Rosalia with five nods. 

One of the most-anticipated awards of the night will be song of the year, which is between 10 tracks that, through their lyrics, have made us either dance, reflect, cry or laugh. They include Pedro Capó and Farruko’s infectious reggaeton song “Calma (Remix),” Fonseca’s acoustic ballad “Ven” and “Querer Mejor,” the all-Spanish collab between Juanes and Canadian singer Alessia Cara, to name a few. 

Check out the 10 song of the year nominees at the 2019 Latin Grammys below.

“Calma (Remix)” – Pedro Capo, Farruko
Pedro Capó, Gabriel Edgar González Pérez & George Noriega, songwriters
Label: Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

In “Calma (Remix),” Capó and Farruko sing about disconnecting from the Internet and social media and enjoying the simple things in life, such as the beach, the breeze and a nice cold beer. “Calma (Remix)” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in March and has more than 1.6 billion video views on YouTube.

“Desconstrução” – Tiago Iorc
Tiago Iorc, songwriter
Label: Universal Music Ltda

In “Desconstrução,” which is Portuguese for deconstruction, Brazilian singer-songwriter and record producer Tiago Iorc sings about a person who’s dealing with depression. The music video, released in May 2019, features Brazilian model Michele Alves and has more than 8.9 million views on YouTube.

“El País” – Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades, songwriter
Track from: Paraiso Road Gang
Label: R B Records Corporation

Forming part of his Paraiso Road Gang, a bilingual album where all the musicians are Panamanian, Blades presents “El País” (The Country), a jazzy-rock song that raises awareness on the social issues many Latin American countries face.

“Kitipun” – Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra, songwriter
Label: Universal Music Latino

As the lead single from Literal, his first studio album in five years, Juan Luis Guerra brought to life “Kitipun,” a romantic bachata song with an electronic sound that talks about a person’s unconditional love to his partner. “Everything I have is yours,” Guerra repeats throughout the infectious track.

“Mi Persona Favorita” – Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello
Camila Cabello & Alejandro Sanz, songwriters
Track from: #Eldisco
Label: Universal Music Spain S.L.U.

Released in March, “Mi Persona Favorita,” which translates to “My Favorite Person,” is a feel-good Latin pop song that highlights all the beautiful qualities a person has. On Instagram, Camila Cabello expressed how the song was born, stating that Sanz invited her to Miami in summer 2017 to record the song and film the music video together.

“No Tengo Nada” – Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz, songwriter
Track from: #Eldisco
Label: Universal Music Spain S.L.U.

The Spanish singer wrapped up 2018 by surprising fans with his single “No Tengo Nada,” which, in true Sanz fashion, features deep lyrics about life. "Basically we spend time thinking about the past and the future and they are two times that totally do not exist. The past is gone and the future is not even here,” Sanz previously told Billboard.

“Quedate” – Kany Garcia & Tommy Torres
Kany García & Tommy Torres, songwriters
Track from: Contra El Viento
Label: Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

The first single from Garcia's 2019 Contra el Viento album, “Quedate” is in collaboration with her good friend and fellow singer/songwriter Tommy Torres. With an intro on risking it all for love by Thalia, the song is beautiful in its simple melody and harmonies. The music video, with more than 28 million views, features both artists.

“Querer Mejor” – Juanes feat. Alessia Cara
Rafael Arcaute, Alessia Cara, Camilo Echeverry, Juanes, Mauricio Montaner, Ricardo Montaner & Tainy, songwriters
Label: Universal Music Latino

Canadian singer Alessia Cara was up for the challenge, singing for the first time ever and completely in Spanish in Juanes’ “Querer Mejor” track. The song has a sweet melody and is about a couple who is in love and encouraged to love more regardless. In August, the two artists performed their collab on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“Un Año” – Sebastian Yatra feat. Reik
Mauricio Rengifo, Andrés Torres & Sebastián Yatra, songwriters
Track from: Fantasía
Label: Universal Music Latino

Yatra teamed up with Mexican band Reik for "Un Año," a song that puts into words the real meaning of love: patience, unconditional commitment and overcoming obstacles together. The romantic pop ballad hit No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart dated April 20 as it surged 16-1 in its eighth week.

“Ven” – Fonseca
Fonseca, songwriter
Label: Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC

Fonseca wrote the acoustic ballad for his daughter, Paz. “She resents my traveling so much. She’s at an age where it affects her and saddens her, and that touched me to the core. Obviously what affects her affects me and at the end of the day there’s not much I can do,” he previously told Billboard.