Rosalía Takes Latin Grammys' Album of the Year for the Third Time

Lux joins El Mal Querer and Motomami as winners, and Janet Jackson presented Daddy Yankee with the Person of the Year honor.

Rosalía opened the Latin Grammys on Thursday on a set built to look like clouds in heaven, with dancers wearing halos all around her. By the end of the night in Las Vegas, she'd won album of the year for Lux, The Associated Press reported in a story published by The Hollywood Reporter.

It's her third win in the category, after El Mal Querer and Motomami, Deadline noted. Her speech sounded less like a victory lap than a progress report. "If El Mal Querer was a dream, and Motomami was a bold gamble, then LUX has been a leap into the unknown," she said, according to Billboard, before adding that she was "certain that I likely haven't even created my best work yet."

Juanes handed her the trophy, and Billboard reported that it was the award that brought her to tears. She thanked him for backing her when "there were only 100 people in a room in Madrid."

The album she was talking about is a strange one for a pop star. According to the AP, Lux goes all in on her classical training, leaning on a full orchestra and taking its inspiration from women saints. When the record turned one on Nov. 7, she marked it with a playlist of the music behind it, from Kate Bush to Mozart, Pitchfork reported.

Voters kept rewarding it. Deadline's winners list gives Rosalía five trophies, and "La Perla" alone won both best pop song and song of the year, while Lux also took best alternative music album. She recorded "La Perla" with Yahritza y Su Esencia, an American urban sierreño trio. According to the AP, she thanked Mexico and called the trio up to share the stage.

She didn't sweep the top categories. Record of the year went to Milo J, the 19-year-old Argentine, for "Niño," according to the winners lists from Billboard and Variety. Billboard reported that he also won best folk album and said a folk trophy blew his mind, since he came up in trap.

The veteran's moment belonged to Daddy Yankee, the academy's 2026 Person of the Year and, according to the AP, the first Latin urbano artist to receive the honor. About an hour into the telecast, he ran through a catalog that stretches from "Rompe" to "Despacito" to "Gasolina," with LL Cool J, Feid and Bad Gyal among his guests.

Janet Jackson presented his honor, the AP reported. Billboard reported that his peers had already celebrated him at an invite-only gala on Wednesday night, and he also won best urban song with Bizarrap.

When he accepted, he closed with a line meant for home, the AP reported: "Puerto Rico no es pequeño. Pequeño el mapa." Puerto Rico isn't small, he told the arena. The map is.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved November 13, 2026. Other sources: Deadline, Billboard, pitchfork.com, Variety, Billboard (2).