While reggaeton and música Mexicana currently dominate the Latin music scene, Latin pop is experiencing a vibrant revival — with female artists leading the charge. Both legacy and newer acts are putting a fresh spin on the genre, and their work is resonating with a new generation of fans.
Latin pop was one of the first Spanish-language genres to go global in the 1980s, thanks to the success of artists like Gloria Estefan and Luis Miguel. Into the next decade, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Thalia, and Paulina Rubio continued to put a proudly Latin American and Spanish twist on popular musical trends in the U.S. at the time.
After the Latin pop explosion of the 2000s with Shakira’s global crossover, Christina Aguilera embracing her Ecuadorian roots, and the breakthroughs of co-ed group RBD and Belinda, the genre waned in popularity in the decades that followed as reggaeton and Latin trap became the leading Spanish-language sounds.
As nostalgia for Latin pop reaches a fever pitch, it has experienced a resurgence. Shakira made Latin pop a main event again last year when she explored electronica with trap beats in the kiss-off anthem "BZRP Music Sessions #53." Beloved 2000s co-ed group sold out arenas across the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia with its comeback tour. Female-fronted trio Belanova is coming back from a hiatus with the Vida En Rosa Tour after its electro-pop classics went viral on TikTok.
In honor of Women’s History Month, here are 10 female artists to watch out for in Latin America and Spain who are leading a new Latin pop revolution.
Belinda
The most veteran artist on this list is Spanish-Mexican star Belinda. After making her mark on Latin America with children's telenovelas and in the U.S. in The Cheetah Girls 2 movie, she reshaped the pop-punk sound of the 2000s with her breakthrough album Utopía. At the 2007 Latin GRAMMY Awards, she was the only teen nominated for Song of the Year, for the angst-driven "Bella Traición."
Following a hiatus to work on other projects, she's primed to reclaim her place in Latin pop after signing with Warner Music last year. Belinda blends Mexican corridos tumbados with a twinkle of Latin pop in the fiery single, "Cactus." Like Shakira, she used her song as a therapeutic way to roast an ex (in this case Christian Nodal). Her recent studio sessions with corridos tumbados pioneer Natanael Cano and Peso Pluma's co-writer Tito Doble P hint at further exploration of her pop spin on música Mexicana she's dubbed "corridos coquette."
Danna Paola
Danna Paola is another veteran making her mark in Latin pop. She first secured her star status in Mexico and Latin America appearing in children's telenovelas and through her teenage music career. After starring in the Netflix series Elite from 2018 through 2020, she gained global notoriety. In 2021, she garnered her first Latin GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album for her sixth studio album, K.O.
After scoring a few reggaeton-infused hits, Paola broke onto the Latin pop scene in 2022, with the euphoric pop song "XT4S1S." She continued to explore genres with a nod to house music in the kiss-off anthem "1Trago" and synth-pop in the introspective "Tenemos Que Hablar." In the music video for the latter, Paola revealed there was a point in her career where her image and sound were controlled by a past management team. Now that she has reclaimed her career, she has co-produced most of her recent tracks. There's a darkness in the haunting "Aún Te Quiero" as Paola lets go of the past. Her progressive Latin pop album is due out later this year.
Daymé Arocena
Daymé Arocena emerged as a Latin jazz star in 2014 as part of the Cuban-Canadian collective Maqueque. Her work with the jazz troupe garnered her a GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2018 for her work on Jane Bunnett and Maqueque's Oddara collaboration.
After growing up in Cuba, Arocena moved to Canada and more recently Puerto Rico. There she worked with Eduardo Cabra, most known for his work in progressive urbano group Calle 13, on her new LP, Al-Kemi, which was released on Feb. 23.
With her latest work, Arocena is proving she's an all-around Latin pop star. She blends the sounds of the Caribbean with stateside influences of jazz, R&B, blues, and disco. Showing there's no limits to the sounds of Latin pop, the reggaeton-fused R&B of "Suave y Pegao" with Puerto Rican artist Rafa Pabön and the funky "American Boy" also highlight how Arocena's soulful voice can't be bound to one genre.
Kenia Os
Following in the footsteps of Belinda and Danna Paola is Mexican artist Kenia Os. Like many Gen-Z artists, the 24-year-old singer first started out as an influencer on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, where she has amassed millions of followers. Os parlayed her massive social media audiences into a successful music career.
With her debut album Cambios De Luna in 2022, Os mixed elements of Latin trap and reggaeton into pop songs. After going full Latin pop on her follow-up LP K23, she went global. Os explored nineties house music in the alluring "Flores" and synth-pop in the flirty "Malas Decisiones." The latter became one of the biggest Latin pop hits of 2023 after it went viral on TikTok. The visual project for the K23 album later earned Os her first Latin GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Long Form Music Video.
As she prepares her third album, Os continues to push the genre to new places, dabbling in drum and bass in her latest single "Bobo" featuring Álvaro Díaz.
Sofia Reyes
Throughout her career, Sofia Reyes has seamlessly weaved together Latin genres with elements of pop. In 2017, the Mexican star was nominated for Best New Artist at the Latin GRAMMY Awards. A year later, Reyes scored her first global hit with the cumbia-infused reggaeton of "1, 2, 3." Reflecting her boundless Latin pop sound, the song featured Jason Derulo and Puerto Rican singer De La Ghetto.
Last November, Reyes released Milamores, the most adventurous album of her career yet. She became one of the first mainstream Latin acts to explore hyperpop in the frenetic "tqum" featuring Danna Paola. One of hyperpop's top artists, GRAMMY winner Kim Petras, jumped on the remix with Reyes and Paola. To create a therapeutic pop experience, she incorporated the healing frequencies of sound bowls in a few of the songs. That feel-good energy came through in the tropical "Rosas" and reggae-infused "Gaia" featuring Dēlian. A celestial standout on the album was "Luna" where Reyes sang about wanting to take a trip with her lover to the moon. Reyes' unique vision of Latin pop is out of this world.
Aitana
Aitana is one of Spain's biggest Latin pop stars who has had success translating the sound of Y2K pop into her own fun and fierce version. The Barcelona-based singer became a household name in her home country after finishing as a runner-up on the reality show singing competition Operación Triunfo in 2017. Though she didn't win, Aitana achieved international recognition. A year later, she leveraged that exposure into her breakthrough hit "Teléfono," which was certified platinum in the U.S. and resulted in a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2019 Latin GRAMMY Awards.
For her third album Alpha, which was released in September 2023, Aitana was fully inspired by music from the nineties and 2000s. The feel-good "Las Babys" recalled the Eurodance of the Vengaboys and she embraced pulsating electro-pop in "Los Ángeles." The dreamy "Formentera" featuring Nicki Nicole sounds like something that could've come from The Cardigans. Aitana also teamed up with Danna Paola for the techno fantasy "AQYNE," reminiscent of the songs from Dance Dance Revolution.
Emilia
Emilia is leading the Latin pop scene in Argentina. Thanks to the Y2K aesthetic on her latest album .MP3, the Argentine star is going global. Because of her refreshing spin on Latin pop, she was listed as one of GRAMMY.com's 25 Artists To Watch In 2024.
Emilia first broke through the Argentina music scene with her debut album Tú Crees En Mí? in 2022. That LP was loaded with trap and reggaeton-infused bangers like "Cuatro Viente" and "Intoxicao" featuring Nicki Nicole.
On her follow-up .MP3, she leaned fully into the Latin pop genre. Living up to the LP's retro name, Emilia embraced music from the nineties and 2000s with tracks like the Kylie Minogue-inspired "GTA.mp3." On "La_Original.mp3." she introduced pulsating house beats, teaming up with fellow Argentine pop star Tini to sing in Spanish about having a "legendary flow" like "Madonna in the nineties." Emilia has since sold-out dates in Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain for her upcoming .MP3 Tour.
GALE
Before becoming a rising Latin pop star and receiving a Latin GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist last year, GALE was co-writing hits for other artists. The Puerto Rican singer helped pen songs for Selena Gomez, Christina Aguilera, Anitta, Cardi B, and Shakira. After letting Shakira know that she wanted to become an artist of her own, the Colombian pop icon encouraged GALE to go for it.
For her debut album, Lo Que No Te Dije, which was released in May 2023, GALE seamlessly blended the music of her island with nods to the pop music she grew up with from Britney Spears, Aguilera, and Avril Lavigne.
GALE channels the angst of Lavigne into the pop-punk of "Inmadura" and the explosive "Problemas." She pushes back against receiving unsolicited explicit photos from men in the defiant "D Pic." Against the dreamy synth-pop of "Nubes," she sings about the joys of female self-pleasure. Her breakup anthem, "Nuestra Canción," features house music colliding with reggaeton. Recently, GALE paid homage to Shakira by covering her classic "Inevitable."
Mariangela
Another artist bringing an alternative edge to Latin pop is Mariangela. She was born in Monterrey, Mexico and later grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Mariangela's bicultural upbringing is reflected in her music, which blends Latin American genres with elements of pop and alternative music. As a singer/songwriter, she is inspired by artists like Paramore's Hayley Williams, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Lana Del Rey.
In 2022, Mariangela pulled inspiration from Depeche Mode’s "Never Let Me Down Again" for her song "Soñarte," which mourned the passing of a friend. The following December, she released her first EP 4+1, in which she explored other genres with her alternative grit. The EP included an entrancing and rock-infused take of the classic "Cama y Mesa" by Roberto Carlos.
On Feb. 1, Mariangela dropped her debut album Sensible, which included a few of her past singles with newly-recorded songs. In her kiss-off anthem "Acto Final," she goes pop-punk as she bids an ex farewell from her life for good. Mariangela's electrifying spirit is reviving Latin pop like a shock from a defibrillator.
Nohemy
Nohemy is reshaping music from Puerto Rico with a pop perspective. The rising Puerto Rican star gained attention in 2020 starring in the Natti Natasha-produced series "Bravas." Post-show, Nohemy continued forward with her music career, working with German producer The CRVV.
On her debut album NOHAUS, released in March 2023, Nohemy's sound blends the pop that she grew up on, Caribbean rhythms, and European influences from The CRVV. Nohemy wrote the songs and co-produced the LP, collaborating closely with The CRVV to blend house, elements of trap, reggaeton, and pop in the fierce club banger "Loca" and the heart-wrenching "Perdón."
Nohemy received a co-sign from one of her compatriots, Robi, who was featured on a remix of her dreamy love song "Te Vas." She continues to evolve, releasing singles including the atmospheric "¿Y Ahora Que?" and reggaeton-infused romp "On Top."
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