Miami, FL – March 24, 2016 – Mexican born Latin music icon Marco Antonio Solis will be honored with the Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding career at the 2016 Billboard Latin Music Awards “Billboard Duets.” The longest-running and most prestigious awards show in the Latin music world will be produced and broadcast live by TELEMUNDO on Thursday, April 28 at 8pm/7c from the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami in Florida, and will be preceded at 7pm/6c by the red carpet preshow “La Alfombra de Premios Billboard.”
Marco Antonio Solis, known as “The Poet of the Century,” is one of the most influential Latin music songwriters in the world. A career that spans over 40 years, having recorded more than 300 songs and released over 20 albums, is proof of his immense success. Among his achievements, he has sold more than 35 million albums, garnered multiple awards, named ‘Latin artist of the Decade’ in 2009 by Billboard and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to mention just a few.
He holds the record for most No. 1s on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, with 12. He has earned 11 No. 1s on the Hot Latin Songs chart, most recently in 2014 as a featured artist on Enrique Iglesias’ “El Perdedor.” But apart from the numbers, the success of Marco Antonio Solis is also supported by the loyalty and affection of his millions of followers around the world, and the large number of performers who have recorded his songs, in ranchera, pop, cumbia, salsa, merengue, bolero, duranguense and including reggaeton, demonstrating his talent and versatility. In addition, his songs have been translated to multiple languages including English and Portuguese. Considered a living legend, romanticism in Latin American pop music could not be understood without Marco Antonio Solis.
Marco Antonio Solis began 2016 earning top honors at the Viña del Mar Song Festival: The Gaviota de Oro and the Gaviota de Plata; after an unforgettable concert performance of the iconic songs of his career. He also recorded the official song to welcome Pope Francis in his native Michoacan during his Holiness’ latest trip to Mexico. Solis is about to embark in a newly produced tour slated to reach the U.S., Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
The Billboard Latin Music Awards “Billboard Duets” are the only awards that honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales, radio airplay, streaming and social data that informs Billboard’s weekly charts.
For the complete list of finalists and the latest news, fans can visit Telemundo.com/PremiosBillboard – the official website of the 2016 Billboard Latin Music Awards. For the latest news, be sure to follow the “Billboard Latin Music Awards” on social media and join the conversation by using the official hashtag #Billboards2016.
Facebook: Facebook.com/LatinBillboards
Twitter: @LatinBillboards
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Join the Conversation: #Billboards2016
The awards are the culmination of the Billboard Latin Music Conference, now in its 27th year and under the slogan “The Top Artists, The Top Trends, The Top Names in Music”. The conference is the biggest and longest-running event dedicated to Latin music in the world. It will take place April 25-28 at the Ritz Carlton in Miami Beach, Florida. The conference is the “must-attend” event for the top power players in the industry, from label presidents to A talent, to top agents, managers, promoters, marketing and advertising executives and radio executives, as well as for those taking their first steps in the business. For information please visit BillboardLatinConference.com or email conferences@billboard.com.
BLMA Tweet:.@MarcoASolis to receive Lifetime Achievement Award #Billboards2016 April 28 on @TELEMUNDO
Billboard is the world’s most influential music brand, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com, the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry’s most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music – the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike. Billboard was named the leading U.S. brand on Twitter, surpassing the NFL, ESPN, BuzzFeed and MTV, with 6.1 million engaged actions in Q3 2015, and named an overall Top 10 U.S. Media Publisher in December 2015 with 11.8 million social actions. Billboard has a social media footprint of 10.6 million social followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Billboard magazine has scored major news-generating covers recently including Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. In December 2015, the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, which honored Lady Gaga as Woman of the Year, was presented to a mass audience for the first time via Lifetime, the exclusive broadcast partner.
TELEMUNDO is a world-class media company leading the industry in the production and distribution of high-quality Spanish-language content across its multiplatform portfolio to U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. The network features original scripted dramas from Telemundo Studios – the #1 producer of Spanish-language primetime content – as well as non-scripted productions, theatrical motion pictures, specials, news and first-class sports events, reaching 94% of U.S. Hispanic viewers in 210 markets through its 17 owned stations and 52 broadcast and MVPD affiliates. TELEMUNDO is part of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
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