Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known globally as Bad Bunny, is poised to make history at the 68th Grammy Awards, per abcnews.go.com. The Puerto Rican superstar has secured six nominations for the upcoming February ceremony, becoming the first Spanish-language artiste to be shortlisted for Album, Song and Record of the Year simultaneously.
His latest work, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, is only the second Spanish-language LP ever to contend for Album of the Year. The first was his own 2022 blockbuster, Un Verano Sin Ti. This milestone comes at a pivotal moment for the artiste, who is also scheduled to headline the Super Bowl halftime show just one week after the awards.
Experts suggest these nominations represent more than just individual success; they signify a long-overdue institutional embrace of Caribbean sounds.
“Music from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean has been shaping global tastes since the 19th century,” explains Albert Laguna, associate professor at Yale. “Bad Bunny is another link in a much longer chain.”
Historically, the genres that birthed Bad Bunny – Latin trap and reggaetón – were criminalised in Puerto Rico, mirrored by the treatment of hip-hop in the US. Vanessa Díaz, associate professor at Loyola Marymount University, notes that seeing an artiste from these marginalised roots dominate the “Big Three” categories is “the most groundbreaking thing about the entire situation.”
While many artists “water down” their sound to achieve global commercial success, Bad Bunny has done the opposite. Debí Tirar Más Fotos is his most “homegrown” project to date, weaving traditional Puerto Rican styles like bomba, plena, and salsa into a modern framework.
“He went in the opposite direction,” Laguna says. “It’s his most Puerto Rican album ever.”
The 68th Grammy Awards will be held on 1 February 2026 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
