MIAMI, FL. (Top40 Charts/ Univision Communications) - A mix of nostalgia, blasts from the past, surprise guests, and cutting-edge performances were spectacularly woven together
Thursday night on the very special 20th edition of 'Premio Lo Nuestro a La Musica Latina,' America's most popular and most-watched Latin music awards show, broadcast live on the Univision Television Network.
The biggest winners of the night with four 'Premio Lo Nuestro' awards were Dominican bachata super group Aventura, followed by popular Regional Mexican group Intocable with three awards. Artists who received two awards include rock group Mana, pop group Camila, Puerto Rican diva Olga Tanon, Dominican singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, Regional Mexican artist Marco Antonio Solis, and Puerto Rican reggaeton artists Wisin y Yandel. Aventura received their four awards in the Tropical category as they were honored as Traditional Tropical Artists of the Year, Group or Duo of the Year, and for Album and Song of the Year. Intocable received three awards in the Regional Mexican category including Group or Duo of the Year, Album of the Year for 'Crossroads: Cruce de Caminos,' and Norteno Artist of the Year.
In a show repleat with some of the biggest stars of Latin music, the audience that filled the arena exploded in an emotional standing ovation as legendary 'King of Ranchero' Vicente Fernandez made his 'Premio Lo Nuestro' debut performance, after which he received this year's 'Premio a la Excelencia' award which was presented by TV legend Don Francisco and Univision Network News anchor Maria Elena Salinas.
Later, Univision personality Cristina Saralegui made one of the night's most moving award presentations to international superstar Ricky Martin, who crossed two continents and an ocean to personally accept the first ever 'Maxima Excelencia' award, as selected by the public from all 19 previous 'Premio a la Excelencia' winners.
The star-studded show kicked off with a crowd-pleasing performance by Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes singing his chart-toppers 'Me Enamora' and 'Gotas de Agua Dulce.'
Later, in one of the evening's most colorful numbers, ranchero superstar Pepe Aguilar sang the classic hit '100% Mexicano' in the midst of a recreation of a typical Mexican plaza fiesta, complete with folkloric dancers, craft kiosks, and typical decorations.
The next musical number featured international pop idol Enrique Iglesias singing his current No 1 hit 'Donde Estan Corazon' with a 30 member children's choir followed by 'Dimelo.'
It was also a big night for cumbia fans as one of the genres most popular groups, Cruz Martinez Presenta Los Super Reyes, paid a rousing homage to the Jackson Five with their rendition of 'Quedate Mas' and their hit song 'El Rey.'
Performing a medley of her greatest hits, Premio's most awarded female artist, Olga Tanon, led an elaborate production of nearly 30 musicians and 20 dancers, after which she was awarded the 'Trayectoria Artistica' award honoring her 20-year career.
In keeping with spectacular grand finales, this year's historic show featured the reunion of one of tropical music's most entertaining merengue groups, Grupo Mania, with their former lead singer Elvis Crespo in an electric and fireworks-filled medley of their greatest hits.
Univision.com experienced unprecedented interactivity with red carpet voting and thousands of message postings during the show. The dedicated mini-site will continue to provide exclusive Premio coverage with streaming video highlights, in-depth winner profiles and thousands of behind-the-scenes photos. Univision.com's fully-loaded Premio offerings will continue to keep users engaged on a daily basis, even after the broadcast. For more information, visit Univision.com, keyword: Premio.
A complete list of the awards presented follows:
POP GENRE
Album of the Year
"Ricky Martin MTV Unplugged" - Ricky Martin
Male Artist of the Year
Chayanne
New Soloist or Group of the Year
Jennifer Lopez
Female Artist of the Year
Belinda
Group or Duo of the Year
Camila
Song of the Year
"Todo Cambio" - Camila
ROCK GENRE
Album of the Year
"Oye" - Aterciopelados
Artist of the Year
Mana
Song of the Year
"Bendita Tu Luz" - Mana and Juan Luis Guerra
TROPICAL GENRE
Album of the Year
"K.O.B." - Aventura
Male Artist of the Year
Juan Luis Guerra
Female Artist of the Year
Olga Tanon
Group or Duo of the Year
Aventura
Song of the Year
"Mi Corazoncito" - Aventura
Tropical Merengue Artist of the Year
Olga Tanon
Tropical Salsa Artist of the Year
Marc Anthony
Traditional Tropical Artist of the Year
Aventura
REGIONAL MEXICAN GENRE
Album of the Year
"Crossroads: Cruce de Caminos" - Intocable
Male Artist of the Year
Marco Antonio Solis
Female Artist of the Year
Jenni Rivera
Group or Duo of the Year
Intocable
Song of the Year
"La Noche Perfecta" - El Chapo de Sinaloa
Banda Artist of the Year
Joan Sebastian
Grupero Artist of the Year
Marco Antonio Solis
Norteno Artist of the Year
Intocable
Ranchero Artist of the Year
Pepe Aguilar
Duranguense Artist of the Year
Los Horoscopos de Durango
New Soloist or Group of the Year
Banda Guasavena
URBAN GENRE
Album of the Year
"Sentimiento" - Ivy Queen
Artist of the Year
Wisin y Yandel
Song of the Year
"Pegao" - Wisin y Yandel
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
"Impacto" - Daddy Yankee
