Key Takeaways:
- Bad Bunny’s Billboard win highlights his unmatched influence across Latin genres and global pop.
- Rita Moreno presented the award which symbolizes a generational bridge in Puerto Rican excellence.
- With 11 wins out of 27 nominations, Bad Bunny’s dominance in Latin music remains unmatched.
The Super Bowl isn’t until February 2026, but Bad Bunny is already winning big in 2025. The Puerto Rican superstar just scored the “Best Artist of the 21st Century" award at the Latin Billboard Awards.
On Thursday (Oct. 23), the legendary actress Rita Moreno, a fellow Puerto Rican, presented the award to Benito at the James L. Knight Center in Downtown Miami.
“For me, it’s an honor to receive this award from your hands. I respect you and admire you so much,” said Bad Bunny to Moreno after accepting his award (as translated from Spanish by The Hollywood Reporter). “Every time I hear other artists speak as you did of me, it tells me that doing things from a good place and with your heart, it’s always the best decision.”
And that was just one of his trophies. At the end of the night, Bad Bunny cleaned up with 11 Latin Billboard Awards — out of a historic 27 nominations.
The evening was a clear indicator of Bad Bunny’s dominance in the Latin music world. Some of his other wins included “Top Latin Album of the Year” for Debí Tirar Más Fotos and “Artist of the Year.” In the “Global 200 Latin Song of the Year” category — out of the five nominees, he had three songs; “Baile Inolvidable,” “DTMF,” and “Nuevayol.” But, he actually lost in that category to Karol G for “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.”
Bad Bunny also won “Hot Latin Song of the Year” for “DTMF” — a category where he was nominated for four of the five entries. As for the forthcoming, much-discussed Super Bowl 2026 halftime performance, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently doubled down in support of the decision to have Bad Bunny headline.
“It's carefully thought through," said Goodell at a press conference, dismissing notions of a replacement act. "I'm not sure we've ever selected an artist where we didn't have some blowback or criticism. It's pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching."