Kirsty Mckenzie
SPANISH pop singer Amaia has received her first Grammy award nomination.
The star, 21, is best known for taking part in series nine of the TV talent show Operación Triunfo and performing at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest as one half of Amaia y Alfred.
But this nod is in recognition of her blossoming solo career, picking up a Latin Grammy Award nomination for her documentary film Amaia, Una vuelta al Sol.
The film was released earlier this year on Amazon Prime Video and follows Amaia during the process of creating her debut album Pero No Pasa Nada.
The movie charts Amaia’s time in New York City where she worked on the recording of her acclaimed indie-pop album.
While the album itself did not pick up any nominations, the recognition of the film is a nod to the quality of Amaia’s debut release in the category Best Long Form Music Video category, which recognises longer music-related film releases.
The nomination caps a successful start to her solo career and she joins a long list of Spanish and South American artists battling each other in many of the major categories.
While reggaton megastars J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Ozuna were all snubbed in 2019, this year they are dominating the awards.
Blavin scored a whopping 13 nominations for the 2020 Latin Grammys, including two nominations for album of the year and two for record of the year.
Meanwhile Ozuna are behind Balvin with nine and eight nominations, respectively.
In a controversial move, last year Balvin skipped the live show and Bad Bunny, who won best urban music album during the telecast, told the audience: “With all due respect, reggaeton is part of the Latin culture.”
Only a few American acts received nominations this year, including Nicki Minaj, who received two nominations, rappers Tyga andTravis Scott, jazz master Chick Corea and his Spanish Heart Band, DJ-producer Diplo and rapper Tyga.
The 21st Annual Latin Grammys will be held remotely on November 19.
