What to know
- Puerto Rican singer and rapper Bad Bunny won Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
- This is the first time a Spanish-language album has won the coveted award.
- Latin Toronto artists Bebeboy and Renato Monteverde say the win represents community and Latin music’s global reach.
Latin Toronto artists applaud Bad Bunny’s historic Album of the Year win at the 2026 Grammy Awards for Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos), making it the first Spanish-language album to win the honour.
The Puerto Rican rapper and singer was nominated for six awards at Sunday’s Grammys — Best Album Cover, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Global Music Performance, Best Música Urbana Album and Album of the Year — and walked home with three.
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He beat out industry heavyweights like Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar for the night’s top award. The other nominees were Justin Bieber’s Swag, Sabrina Carpenter‘s Man’s Best Friend, Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, Clipse’s Let God Sort ‘Em Out, and Leon Thomas’s Mutt.
Toronto musicians who have been fans of Bad Bunny since his early 2016 to 2019 trap music days say they hoped, but didn’t expect him to win best album, as the Grammys have always prioritized English-language albums.
“I feel like being just Latino, especially in the Anglo world, we’ve always kind of been counted out,” Toronto-based artist Bebeboy tells Now Toronto.
To him, Bad Bunny winning the Grammy wasn’t just collecting another accolade, the win represents community and Latinos being bigger than just the Latin community.
“I was just as emotional as him and everyone else [in the room] not only because it’s Bad Bunny, but what it represents. This represents community and that Latinos are bigger than just the Latin community. Now, we’re touching the hearts and the minds of everyone, and not just our own community.”
As a musician himself, Bebeboy looks at Bad Bunny’s career with awe and inspiration. He recalls the time Bad Bunny played the CAA Centre in 2018 and “it had a crowd of like 500 people.” Now, Bad Bunny is the most listened to artist on Spotify and was crowned 2025’s Global Top Artist.
He hopes Bad Bunny’s Album of the Year win helps open up more opportunities for him and other Latino artists to make it big in the music industry.
“Yes, we’re Latin. But we’re making music that connects with the world. I really do hope that this opens the doors for more Latin creatives and artists to get themselves heard and put a [spotlight] on themselves.”
Renato Monteverde, who works in music management and producing in Toronto, says Bad Bunny is a master at authenticity, understanding trends and how to connect with his audience. The biggest example being his switch from making trap music about drugs and women to his current more poppier style that delves into culture, family and politics.
“Regardless, you can still make music that connects with the people. That’s one of [Bad Bunny’s] main keys to be successful. Nowadays, he knows how to adapt to different markets. He knows how to adapt to trends and how people think. I feel like it’s like a very good resource to use in this industry,” Monteverde says.
“Bad Bunny doesn’t care to be in line with what people are doing. He’s like, I’m gonna do me, and I’m gonna do it authentically. And if people like it, they like it, and if they don’t like it, they don’t like it.”
Growing up in South America, Monteverde says he feels incredibly proud to see the growth in Latin American culture worldwide, which to him, is evident in Bad Bunny’s Album of the Year win.
“As a South American, it makes me really proud to see all this growth in the cultural industry. So, yeah, I don’t think it’s going to be a one-time thing. It’s going to happen more often than we think.”
Bad Bunny will be continuing his streak of global dominance with the Super Bowl, airing on Feb. 13, where he is slated to play the halftime show.
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