At the 2024 Latin American Music Awards, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Yandel put on an exciting show and proved why he is a pioneer of the genre. The Latin music icon also accepted the Latin AMA Pioneer Award for his pioneering contributions to reggaetón.
Dressed in black leather and silver chains, he looks straight out of a post-apocalyptic Mad Max stage, the Puerto Rican artist rocked the stage alongside dancers in matching black outfits and several of his peers in the genre.
He opened his medley with “Caserio,” a delicious slow dance tune, and moved into “Te Suelto el Pelo” — then the reggaetón beat started to set the mood. The momentum began to build as Yandel released hits like “Permítame”, originally by Tony Dize, and was soon joined by Jay Wheeler.
The superstar then smoothly went on to sing his banger “Encantadora” alongside Farruko, who delivered sultry vocals. As the light act continued to intrigue, Feid took the stage in his trademark neon green and the two began singing “Fecha” from their latest joint album. Event 20-05.
After the nearly 10-minute performance concluded, Jay Wheeler, Farruko, Feid, Steve Aoki and Arcángel gathered to speak candidly about why Yandel made such a big impact in Latin music.
Here's Yandel's full speech below:
“I have been in this career for a long time, since 1998. I chose to be in this career because of my love for music and the true love of those beginnings, when reggaetón was nothing. You experience moments with many obstacles along the way, but when you don't lose faith and put your mind to dedication, effort and passion, there is no one or nothing that can stop you. You will make it.
“And these magical moments are unique and I feel very proud to be here. I thank my work, my team and all the artists and colleagues who have worked with me all this time, all this way of music. Among them my companion in many battles, my brother Wisin, I love you with all my heart, my brother. We've both been blessed as twins and with our new careers and as solo artists, so it's a blessing. Brother, I love you with all my heart and we will continue to break.
“To my people at Warner Latino, Alejandro Duque and Roberto Andrade, thank you for believing in me, for supporting me at this beautiful stage of my career. To my support that you give me every day, without you this would not be possible. So much respect. It manifests itself on the street, it breaks. Thanks.”
Thalia, Becky G, Alejandra Espinoza and Carlos Ponce took part in the award ceremony which was presented in a mix of English and Spanish, marking the first time any major US awards show had a bilingual broadcast on Univision.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/yandel-reggaeton-medley-accepts-pioneer-award-latin-amas-2024-speech-1235666828/
