LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS

Latin Grammy noms announced

Juan Luis Guerra, Ricky Martin, Miguel Bosé and Calle 13 lead the pack.

By Agustin Gurza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

August 29, 2007

Marking a year of career revivals, three veteran performers -- the Dominican Republic's Juan Luis Guerra, Puerto Rico's Ricky Martin and Spain's Miguel Bosé -- dominated the top categories in nominations for the eighth Latin Grammy Awards announced today in Miami Beach.

Guerra, a singer-songwriter who pioneered a sound in the 1980s that might be called the thinking-man's merengue, was the only artist to show up in the three top categories -- record, album and song of the year -- for "La Llave De Mi Corazón" ("The Key to My Heart"), the title of his latest album and single. He emerged with the most nominations, five, including merengue album and tropical song.

The victory for Guerra is especially meaningful since he had been largely written off by the industry after a religious conversion several years ago that prompted him to emphasize Christian messages in his music. Although the new album is considered a return to form with primarily secular, romantic songs, Guerra doesn't downplay his faith.

"I continue to commit my life to Jesus, and I made this album as a testimony of his grace," Guerra said in a phone interview today from Miami, where he was among the presenters at a news conference announcing the nominations. "Even when I write romantic songs, I still do it with faith in God. So the first thanks go to him."

Martin and Bosé, who are experiencing comebacks of their own in the Latin music market, received nominations for record and album of the year.

The moment is especially sweet for Martin, who plunged from the pinnacle of global superstardom after leading the crossover surge of the late 1990s with English-language hits such as "Livin' La Vida Loca." After releasing a couple of Spanish pop albums that faltered, Martin reconnected with his fan base this year with "MTV Unplugged," an album consisting mostly of his Spanish-language hits that is nominated for album of the year.

In a departure from nostalgia, Martin's album featured a stand-out new number, "Tu Recuerdo" ("Your Memory"), a tender torch song that became a hit and earned a nod for record of the year. Martin was joined on the tune by Mari, a relatively unknown Spanish singer from the flamenco/chill group Chambao, and by the album's Puerto Rican producer, guitarist Tommy Torres, who share the nomination.

Martin earned four nominations, with nods for male pop vocal and long-form music video. Calle 13, the subversive Puerto Rican duo named last year's best new artist, is the only other act with four nominations, including album of the year for the provocative, sometimes shockingly profane "Residente O Visitante."

Spanish singer and actor Bosé, the son of a famed bullfighter, started his pop music career in the 1970s and today garnered three nominations, including album of the year for "Papito," his most commercial work in years.

Following a series of albums that took esoteric, sometimes artsy directions, Bosé returned to the top of the charts with the help of Mexican pop singer Paulina Rubio, who performs on "Nena," a duet nominated for record of the year.

agustin.gurza@latimes.com

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On the Net:

The Latin Recording Academy, www.grammy.com