[2] The message was soon endorsed by other reggaetóneros, including Puerto Rican musicians Daddy Yankee, Farruko and Tego Calderón, and Boricua-American Nicky Jam, as well as Colombian singers Karol G and Maluma, who criticized the lack of nominations despite reggaetón being one of the most popular musical genres in the world.
[5] The Latin Recording Academy responded to the controversy by stating that their members "select what they believe merits a nomination" and invited the "leaders of the urban community to get involved" with the nomination process, since "many" reggaeton artists were not registered Latin Grammy voters, and "many independent labels and producers [had] no notion of the process of submitting product and becoming a voting member".
[8] Following the controversy, the categories Best Reggaeton Performance and Best Rap/Hip Hop Song were created for the 21st Latin Grammy Awards, where J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma, Daddy Yankee, Puerto Rican acts Anuel AA, Bad Bunny and Ozuna, Puerto Rican producer Tainy and Colombian producer Sky received nominations for Album, Record and/or Song of the Year.
[13][14] The voting system is based on a pool of voters composed of 200 producers, influencers, radio directors and programmers, all specialized in urban music.
"[8] Musical works not restricted by genre, gender or other criteria are nominated in the Artist, Song, Collaboration, Remix, Producer, Songwriter, and Video of the Year categories.
[19][20] Recipients of special awards include Daddy Yankee, Nicky Jam, Puerto Rican duo Wisin & Yandel, Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra, Puerto Rican soloists Farruko, Arcángel, De La Ghetto and Tito El Bambino and American salsa singer Victor Manuelle.