JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Bad Bunny made history last night at the Grammys, taking home the most-coveted prize, album of the year, for his release, "DeBi TiRAR MaS FOToS."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DTMF")
BAD BUNNY: (Singing in Spanish).
SUMMERS: The Puerto Rican artist also took home the Grammy for best musica urbana album and best global music performance. The album of the year win comes after a seismic, record-breaking global tour last year, and an upcoming performance at the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday. NPR Music's Anamaria Sayre is here to tell us more. Hi.
ANAMARIA SAYRE, BYLINE: Hey, Juana. How's it going?
SUMMERS: It's going good. Tell us what exactly does this big win mean for Bad Bunny?
SAYRE: So this is the top prize in music being awarded to someone who has been Spotify's most-streamed artist in the world four times, including last year. He's mounted multiple stadium sellout global tours, did a 31-day residency on his island, and this is all before last night's win. Juana, it's important to note this does kind of feel out of order. Bad Bunny has to consistently be the best of the best - no slipups - to get the top mainstream award.
SUMMERS: Put this into context for us. Where does this win fit in the context of the Grammys?
SAYRE: The closest thing we can find to compare it to is when Carlos Santana won with his band's album, "Supernatural," in 2000. There's some key differences here. He's an artist of Latin descent, born in the mainland United States, and his album was almost entirely in English with a lot of industry credit. Most importantly, it was kind of a pan-Latin sound that was really consumable for a larger U.S. audience. "DeBi TiRAR MaS FOToS" is entirely in Spanish and made by someone who's from outside the mainland U.S. Most importantly, it's super representative of where it's from, pulling influences from all parts of Puerto Rico. It's about as Puerto Rican as an album can get, and that's something that Bad Bunny has always insisted on being.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA MUDANZA")
BAD BUNNY: (Singing in Spanish).
SUMMERS: Do you think this represents some kind of larger cultural or social shift?
SAYRE: Absolutely. I've been saying for years that the Latin crossover is dead because Spanish-language music has become so widely successful. But more than a language crossover, what we're looking at is an authentic cultural crossover. In Benito's insistence on getting to No. 1 while not watering down who he is or where he's from, he's brought Puerto Rico to No. 1 with him. The tone of the award supported this. His success is powerfully, broadly Latino success displayed on national television. It notably invites the celebration of the independent growth of a U.S. colony on a mainstream U.S. stage.
SUMMERS: And of course, this one is happening at a really turbulent time in America, especially for Latinos in the United States. Did he address that at all at the Grammys?
SAYRE: I mean, the album that he won for, one of the clear focus themes is migration - forced migration specifically - and he made that clear in his speeches, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "68TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS")
BAD BUNNY: Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say ICE out.
(CHEERING)
SAYRE: His messaging has consistently been pro-immigrant and pro-Latino. These are stances that in the past may have been perceived as barriers to success for Latin artists. He's converted it into superpower, made it the key to his success because of how he communicates it.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "68TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS")
BAD BUNNY: We don't hate them. We love our people. We love our family, and that's the way to do it, with love.
SAYRE: In focusing in on our strengths, the beauty he finds uniquely in our community, we become humanized, and there's nothing more unifying than that.
SUMMERS: NPR Music's Anamaria Sayre, thank you.
SAYRE: Thanks.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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