It's time for the Grammy Awards and while that's not as big a deal as it used to be in the Latin music world - now that the Latin Grammy Awards are a regular part of our lives - it's always fascinating to look at the difference between the nominations in Latin music between the 'regular' Grammys and the Latin Grammys.
There has to be a big difference because, while the Latin Grammys recognize artistic merit in 17 fields and, within them, 49 categories, the 'regular' Grammys narrow that down to 2 fields and 9 categories.
Still, we'd expect to see the same major artists appear in both lists. And, to a certain extent, they do. But there are always surprises and differences. Here's the breakdown between the two lists for your consideration.
Best Latin Pop Album
Spain's Miguel Bose and Alejandro Sanz made both Grammy lists with, respectively Papito and El Tren De Los Momentos. That's where the similarity in the two lists ends.
The winners in the 3 Latin Grammy 'pop' categories did not make the list. (Ricky Martin - MTV Unplugged, Laura Pausini - Yo Canto, La Quinta Estacion - El Mundo Se Equivoca.)
Instead, Luis Miguel's seasonal Christmas album Navidades Luis Miguel, Jennifer Pena's Dicen Que El Tiempo and Jorge Drexler's 12 Segundos De Oscuridad received the nod.
With all the Latin pop albums that came out last year, it seems a waste of a slot to artistically reward Miguel for Spanish-language versions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". As for Pena, this seems a well-deserved nomination and it's curious that she did not get the nod at the Latin Grammys. Drexler's album is a wild card, but one well worth considering.
In the interests of brevity as even 9 fields of commentary can be quite copious, here are the remainder of the categories and a short breakdown on the differences.
If you're interested in the full lists, you can check the 50th Annual Grammy Nominees and Winners in Latin music and the winners of the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.