MIAMI, Fl. (Top40 Charts) - Stars will shine at this year's Billboard Latin Music Awards on Thursday, May 9 as the best in Latin entertainment will be joined by special guest star Celine Dion for an unforgettable evening. Marc Anthony, Thalia, Juan Gabriel, Los Tri-O, Jaci Velazquez, Cristian, A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia Kings, Victor Manuelle, Carlos Vives, Olga Tanon, Alexandre Pires, Alejandra Guzman and Lupillo Rivera form the line-up of Latin artists who are scheduled to perform at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach, Florida. The Billboard Latin Music Awards, one of Latin music's most prestigious awards shows, is produced by Telemundo and will be broadcast on the Spanish language network on May 12, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

This year's show will be hosted by the lovable wannabe Don Juan in "Pedro El Escamoso," Miguel Varoni, Spanish-language television's favorite little devil from the novela "Por Que Diablos," Manolo Cardona, and the beautiful and popular actress Itati Cantoral, who will soon appear in "Vale Todo," the first original co-production between Telemundo and TV Globo.

Special performance by Celine Dion
Marc Anthony - Thalia - Juan Gabriel - Los Tri-O - Jaci Velasquez - Cristian - A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia Kings - Victor Manuelle - Carlos Vives - Olga Tanon - Alexandre Pires - Alejandra Guzman - Lupillo Rivera -

Telemundo is proud to announce world renowned Celine Dion makes her musical debut on Spanish language television at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. The Canadian singer is a favorite among U.S. Hispanics. Her popularity was made clear when her song "My Heart Will Go On" became the first and to date only English-language track ever to top the Hot Latin Tracks chart.

The star-studded event will feature performances by six-time finalist Lupillo Rivera; Mexico's most influential contemporary songwriter, and finalist in five categories, Juan Gabriel; as well as contemporary Christian music cross-over artist, Jaci Velasquez and prominent Latin Pop singer Cristian, who are both three-time finalists.

The audience will be delighted with performances by top selling tropical salsa artist, Marc Anthony; A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia Kings with their contagious sounds of cumbia with pop, hip-hop and R&B; and Puertorican salsa sensation Victor Manuelle, all three of which are finalists in two categories.

Fans will enjoy great musical talent combined with incredible beauty and energy as top selling recording artist Thalia hits the stage at this year's awards. Carlos Vives, better known as the "King of Vallenato," for making this Colombian music genre popular worldwide, will make viewers dance, as will Olga Tanon, the top-notch interpreter of tropical music who elevated merengue to unprecedented heights. The star-studded event will also feature the acclaimed bolero group from Colombia, Los Tri-O, young Brazilian singing sensation Alexandre Pires and Latin rock superstar Alejandra Guzman.

Telemundo, the fastest growing U.S. Spanish-language television network, reaches 90% of Hispanic viewers. Telemundo Communications Group, Inc. owns and operates ten U.S. full-power UHF stations serving the eight largest Hispanic markets, and also owns and operates the leading full-power television station and related production facilities in Puerto Rico. NBC announced on October 11, 2001 that it had reached an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the equity of Telemundo Communications Group, Inc. Under the agreement, Telemundo's extensive broadcast and cable properties will be brought into NBC, making NBC the only major broadcast network with a business fully devoted to developing and airing programming specifically created for the Spanish-speaking market. NBC is a division of General Electric. Telemundo is currently privately held by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Liberty Media and a consortium of financial investors.

Now in its 108th year of publication, Billboard magazine is the world's premier music industry publication. It is read weekly by more than 150,000 people in 110 countries. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music and entertainment issues and trends. Billboard is the flagship property for the Billboard Music Group, which also consists of Airplay Monitor, Amusement Business, Music & Media, Billboard Bulletin, Billboard.com and Billboard Licensing. The Group is a unit of VNU Business Media, a worldwide media company that provides specialized publications, electronically delivered data, expositions and marketing services and is owned by VNU Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Netherlands-based VNU, an international publishing and information company.