One of the most anticipated categories at the Latin Grammys is Best New Artist. In the past, the once-in-a-lifetime award has gone to people who have gone on to become major stars: Puerto Rican disruptors Calle 13, Colombian superstar Karol G, and Mexican
singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada. Recent winners include Venezuelan prodigy Joaquina, Bogotá-based pop girl Ela Taubert, and Mexico City’s alt-star Paloma Morphy. For the 2026 ceremony, which takes place on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, 11 upstarts from Latin America, the U.S., and Spain are hoping to take the honor next.
With 11 nominees this year instead of the usual 10, Rolling Stone caught up with four of the promising nominees ahead of the biggest night in Latin music. We spoke to Aria Vega, who is bringing the sound of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to the mainstream; rising Mexican-American singer Delilah, who has been blending genres with ease; Fabian, the son of Peruvian icon Gian Marco, who is blazing his own trail; and Mexican-Swedish maverick Sofia Monroy.
Aria Vega
What does the nomination for Best New Artist mean to you?
It means a lot because it represents more than just me. It represents my family, my people, my team, Barranquilla, and everybody who’s believed in me along the way. It also feels like an invitation to bring my world to a bigger audience. I’m still at the beginning of my journey, and having this kind of recognition gives me even more motivation to keep creating, experimenting, and showing people what I’m capable of. I’ve worked so hard to get here, and to have the music and everything we’ve been building recognized in this way is incredibly special. I’m grateful, excited and honestly just hungry for everything that’s still ahead.
How do you feel about representing Barranquilla and the culture of Colombia’s Caribbean coast?It’s a huge responsibility, but also something I do very naturally because it’s who I am. I don’t have to pretend to be from the coast or try to represent it in a certain way. It’s already in my accent, my humor, my music, my personality, and the way I see the world. I love showing people a different perspective of Barranquilla and the Caribbean coast. There’s so much creativity, beauty, character, and culture there. I want people to see us beyond the stereotypes and experience the coast through my eyes. If I can make somebody curious about where I’m from, or make someone from back home feel proud to see themselves reflected in what I do, that means everything to me.
You recently met Shakira during her residency in Madrid.
Meeting Shakira was incredibly special. She’s someone who has represented Colombia and Latin culture on a global level for so many years, so being able to share that moment with her was surreal. She’s opened doors for so many Colombian artists and I have so much respect for what she’s built. Of course I’d love to work with her one day! Imagine two Barranquilleras in the studio together. That would be something very special. I think we’d have a lot of fun!
What can we expect from your debut album that you’re working on?
My album Costeñita Core is my baby. It’s a project where I’m putting together all the different pieces of who I am and the world I’ve been building. It’s very personal, but it’s also playful, colorful, feminine, a little chaotic, and full of personality. Musically, I want people to discover different sides of me. I’m exploring sounds, emotions, and ideas while staying connected to my Caribbean roots. Visually, I’m also putting a lot of myself into the project. I want people to feel like they’re stepping into my world when they listen to it. It’s my universe, my perspective, and my way of showing people what “Costeñita Core” really means. I’m so excited for everyone to finally experience it.
Delilah
How do you feel about being nominated for Best New Artist?
It’s honestly a dream come true. It’s one of those things you hope and dream about as an artist, but you never really know if or when it’s going to happen. To be recognized by my peers, fellow musicians, and members of the Latin Recording Academy is such a huge honor. It means that the music I’m putting out into the world is being heard, and that means everything to me. It’s also a reminder of how far I’ve come and all the people who have believed in me and supported me along the way. I know there is still so much I want to do and so much I want to explore as an artist. This nomination makes me even more excited to keep creating, growing, and sharing my music with the world.
What does it mean for you to represent women in música mexicana in this category?
It’s a huge honor and something I take very seriously. I want to do the category justice and make sure my voice and my sound are heard and heard well. I want to represent my music, my fans, and everyone who has supported me in a way that makes them proud. Música mexicana has such a rich history. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of a generation that gets to bring new ideas and sounds into the genre while still honoring its roots. I hope I can contribute something meaningful to that. This is especially meaningful to me as a young woman, but also as a big sister. I take that responsibility seriously because I know how important it is for young girls to see women being themselves, having a voice, and making their own choices. I hope I can show other young women that they don’t have to fit into a certain mold to belong in this industry. They can be themselves and do things their own way.
How would you say that being both Mexican and American influences the way that you make music?
It influences my music in so many ways, sometimes in ways I don’t even think about consciously. Growing up in a bilingual household, both cultures have always been part of my everyday life. You can hear it in the way I mix English and Spanish, in different touches throughout my songs, and even in the way I express myself. My background, the music I grew up listening to, and the different influences around me are all incorporated into what I create. I don’t feel like I have to separate those parts of myself. They’re both who I am and I think that combination is a big part of my sound.
What was the experience like opening for Natanael Cano’s concerts at the Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City?
It has been an incredible experience both times. Mexico City has such an amazing energy, and being able to perform there and share my music with those audiences, especially opening for an artist like Natanael Cano, is something I’ll always remember and those experiences hold a really special place in my heart. It’s also meaningful to be the only woman to have had that opportunity. I feel proud to represent women in that space and show that I can be myself and do things my own way. I don’t feel like I have to change who I am or fit into a certain expectation to belong on that stage. Being able to connect with those audiences while staying true to myself has made both experiences even more meaningful.
Fabian
What does it mean for you to be nominated for Best New Artist?
It still feels pretty surreal. I think it’ll really hit me once I get to Vegas. It’s something I’ve dreamt about for a long time, especially because it’s one of those things you only get to experience once in your career. I’m mostly excited about the opportunity to represent Peru and show people just how much talent and how many new, interesting proposals are coming out of our country. I feel really proud to be part of that.
Your sister Nicole was previously nominated for Best New Artist in 2022. How do you feel about following in your family’s legacy?
My family was incredibly excited [about the nomination]. They’ve seen all the work and love that’s gone into this since day one. Nicole actually cried when I called her, which was really sweet. I can only imagine what it’s like to see your little brother experience something you’ve experienced yourself. I’m especially excited that my first Grammy experience is something I get to share with her, especially since she’s also nominated twice this year. It’ll definitely make the whole thing even more special. I’ve always thought that sharing music with my family is one of the biggest blessings. It’s pretty much all we’ve ever known at home. Growing up, I was always taught to approach this career with a lot of respect, love, and appreciation for what it means to make music. I think those values have stuck with me from the beginning. At the same time, I want to find my own way of doing things and build something that feels very much like me.
How are you carving out your own space in Latin pop music?
When I moved from Lima to Los Angeles at nine, I was suddenly exposed to so many different kinds of music. I would go to festivals, discover new artists every week, and find myself getting really excited about all these new sounds and proposals. A lot of what I was hearing resonated with me, but when I tried to find something with a similar approach in Spanish, I couldn’t really find it. I think that’s where the idea for my project started. I wanted to bring some of those Anglo-inspired sounds into Spanish-language music, without losing the way I naturally write and express myself. I guess I’m trying to create the kind of music I wish I had more of when I was growing up.
What can we expect from you next?
I’m currently wrapping up everything for my debut album, which is coming out next year. It’s been an insane process. I started writing the first demos back in July 2025, so the fact that I’m now finishing everything in November 2026 feels pretty crazy. I’ve always been an album person. I think there’s something really special about creating a complete project, and I hope we never lose that culture of making albums.
Sofia Monroy
How do you feel about being nominated for Best New Artist?
It means a lot, especially because it feels like recognition of a journey that hasn’t necessarily been linear. I’ve spent years figuring out who I am as an artist, experimenting, making mistakes, and finding my own voice. I think being nominated is a beautiful reminder that there’s space for different perspectives and ways of making music. But more than anything, I see it as a confirmation that you should always trust your intuition and follow your own path, even when it doesn’t necessarily make sense to anyone else at the time. Sometimes you just have to trust that little voice in your head.
Would you say that being both Mexican and Swedish influences the way that you make music?
I think growing up between two cultures has shaped almost everything about the way I see the world, and naturally, that translates into my music. I’ve always felt like I exist somewhere in between, never entirely one thing or the other. But I’ve also come to realize that I don’t necessarily have to choose. I think I’m a walking contradiction in many ways. I’m made up of two cultures, two languages, two very different ways of seeing the world, and sometimes those things coexist beautifully, and sometimes they clash. I think that’s something that has become a big part of my artistic identity. I’ve stopped trying to make all those different parts of myself fit together into one coherent picture. They’re all equally me.
You’re nominated for your Best New Artist for your album Morena. What do you want people to take away from that album?
I want people to feel something. Morena was born out of a personal search, an attempt to make sense of a lot of things I was experiencing at the time: identity, belonging, grief, love, my roots, and my relationship with life and death. It was also a way for me to reconnect with my father, who passed away when I was young. I think Morena exists somewhere in between all these things. She’s a reflection of different parts of me, but also something that exists beyond me. I guess the album became a way of navigating all these different versions of myself and understanding where I come from. There’s a quote I really like about how we’re not just one thing, but little pieces of everyone and everything we’ve encountered. I think that’s very much what Morena is about: accepting that you can be many things at once, that you don’t necessarily have to choose, and that all these seemingly contradictory parts can coexist within you.
What do you want to achieve with your music?
I want to build a world that people can enter and feel connected to. I want to make music that challenges me creatively, that allows me to experiment and evolve, and that doesn’t necessarily sound or look the same from one project to another. Of course, I have ambitions. I want to reach more people internationally, perform on bigger stages, collaborate with artists I admire, and continue growing my career. But I think one of the most beautiful things about making music is being able to connect with people through emotions. To share something so personal and have someone on the other side of the world recognize a piece of themselves in it. I think that’s quite extraordinary.
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