Latin pop (Pop Latino, in Spanish, Italian and in Portuguese) generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a "Latin" influence. The definition of "Latin" varies, however. Linguistically, pop music sung in Spanish, or other languages derived from Latin, may be considered Latin pop. Geographically, it could refer to pop music from Latin America or sung by Latin Americans, generally regarded as Hispanics (although this classification does not include the Portuguese).^[1]

Major Latin Pop songwriters include Emilio Estefan, Estefano, Kike Santander, Shakira, and Robi Draco Rosa.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

[edit] Latin Pop Music

There are two main variants. The first one is regular pop performed in the Spanish, Spanglish, Portuguese or English for international audiences. The second one mixes pop with a wide variety of Latin American or Iberian rhythms such as salsa, samba, cumbia, norteña, merengue, banda, tex-mex, flamenco, tango, reggaeton, vallenato, and reggae.^[7]

The specialized website [DigitalDreamDoor] published 3 music lists focus on Latin Pop Culture in the Americas: 100 Greatest Latin Pop Songs of the [1980s], [1990s], [2000s].^{[8] [9][10]}

[edit] Latin Pop Artists

Latin Pop is usually marked by polished productions while incorporating unobtrusive Latin rhythms and instrumentation into tracks. Latin Pop first reached a global audience through the work of vocalist Ritchie Valens in the late 1950s; in later decades, Julio Iglesias, the versatile Gloria Estefan, the Mexican idol Luis Miguel and the boy band Menudo carried the style forward.^[11] Since the late 1990s, Latin pop and songs with significant Latin pop influences have achieved mainstream success in the United States and worldwide.

Latin pop and rock are now some of the best-selling albums in the world. Read about the artists that have made this significant impact on the music world.^[12]

• Gloria Estefan's is a Grammy Award-winning Cuban-American singer and songwriter. She is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 90 million albums sold worldwide,^[13][14] 26.5 million of those in the United States alone.^[15] She has won seven Grammy Awards, placing her among the most successful crossover performers in Latin music to date.

• Luis Miguel is the most known Mexican singer of the last two decades, and the most important Latin American singer of the 1990s. His Amarte Es Un Placer Tour had a length of 8 months and run through Mexico, USA, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil and Spain between 1999 and 2000. It was the highest-grossing tour ever made by a Latin artist, as well as the most extended. These two records were broken by his 2005 Tour. Luis Miguel is praised for his extraordinary vocals and for having performed successfuly several genres like latin pop, bolero, ballads and mariachi. He has refused to crossover and records his music only in Spanish. Luis Miguel has been dubbed "The Latin Frank Sinatra".^[16][17]

• Ricky Martin is a Grammy Award- and Latin Grammy Award- winning, Puerto Rican pop singer who rose to fame, with his worldwide smash hit "Livin' La Vida Loca" written by Robi Draco Rosa. Martin rose to fame as a member of the Latin American boy band Menudo after which he became a solo artist in 1990. He is considered a major star in the world of Latin Pop and is considered to have opened the doors for some of his fellow (Latin American singers).

• Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish singer, songwriter and actor. Iglesias started his musical career with Mexican indie label Fonovisa, which helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Latino market in the United States, selling more Spanish language albums than any other artist in that period of time. Despite being critized by his lack of vocal talent, Iglesias has sold over 60 million records worldwide, won a Grammy and Latin Grammy and has had two Billboard Hot 100 #1s and one #3, and holds the record for producing 19 number #1 Spanish–language singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks.

• Shakira's particularly with the most successful songs in the twenty-first century to date, Whenever Wherever and Hips Don't Lie. She has won two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, and has been Golden Globe-nominated. She is also the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time,and the second most successful female Latin singer having sold 60 million albums worldwide, according to BMI.^{[18] [19]} Additionally, she is the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Canadian Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, and the UK Singles Chart.

[edit] Best Selling Latin Artists

Some of the most successful artists are Luis Miguel, Ricky Martin, Selena, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Vicente Fernandez and Juanes. Julio Iglesias is regarded to date as the world's best selling Latin artist selling 250-300 million albums worldwide.^[20][21]

[edit] Most Awarded Latin Artists

[edit] Non-Latin Pop Artists that have performed in a Latin language

[edit] See also