Miami Music Blog

​You know here at Crossfade we like to give you guys plenty of locally relevant music news. Like cool goings on having to do with some of your favorite local acts, MP3s you can download for your own listening pleasure, the skinny on concerts in town and other fun stuff you can get down with, or reviews of some of those same concerts, where one of our talented writers most likely committed a few important notes to their phone or memory before turning their attention to the nearest bar. What I'm trying to say is, we're Miami-centric, and rightly so.

Well, this particular post has got nothing at all to do with our local music scene or any artists coming to town for a live show. Although, a few of these artists are 305 residents.

So, the news in question: the nominees for the 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards have been announced. Who's up for the coveted little golden phonograph, you ask?

The genre-bending Puerto Rican group known as Calle 13 leads the pack with five nominations, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year (for "No Hay Nadie Como Tu") and Best Short Form Music Video (for "La Perla" featuring Ruben Blades).

El Caballero de la Salsa Gilberto Santa Rosa, reggaetoneros-turned-MTV niche hip-poppers Wisin y Yandel, whom you may have caught at the AAA last night (if you weren't watching The U beat up on G-Tech), and Jorge Luis Piloto, who's not only a Miami native but composer of some of the Latin pop's biggest hits, all nabbed three nods.

Ricardo Arjona, Babasonicos, Café Tacvba, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, and a couple more Miami natives (pop icon Luis Fonsi and powerhouse Salsa producer Sergio George) grabbed two nominations.

And among the other nominees, that Cuban songstress you know we love, CuCu Diamantes, the legendary Jose Feliciano, Mexican rocker groups Jaguares and Kinky, the Latin Billy Joel Franco De Vita, Fito Paez, Carlos Vives, and yet another Miami native, Peruvian singer-songwriter Gian Marco.

So there you have it, impress your friends and co-workers around the water cooler or at the nearest watering hole with your expansive knowledge of the Latin recording industry using lines like, "Hey, did you see Andres Cepeda was nominated for Album of the Year?" or "Who do you think will win for Best Urban Music Album? My money's on Calle 13, but Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Wisin & Yandel are all stiff competition." Won't they be impressed?