For a third consecutive year, Bad Bunny is No. 1 on the Top Latin Artists chart, which Billboard revealed in its 2021 Year-End Charts last week. The 27-year-old artist — who also crowns the Hot Latin Songs year-end chart along with Jhay Cortez thanks to their smash hit “Dákiti” — rules thanks largely to three No. 1 albums on the weekly Top Latin Albums chart and a handful of genre-defying collaborations with a variety of artists.
On the Top Latin Artists Chart, Bunny is followed by Rauw Alejandro, who takes second place, and Karol G lands third place. The top 10 spots are rounded out by Mexican-American teenage-trio Eslabon Armado, who appear at No. 1 on the year-end charts for Regional Mexican Albums and the Top Latin Artists Duo/Group.
In addition to Bad Bunny, Karol G and Rauw Alejandro, see the top 10 Latin artists who ruled the charts this year.
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts dated Nov. 21, 2020, through Nov. 13, 2021. The rankings for MRC Data-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-November time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by MRC Data.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2021 Year-End Charts
1. Bad Bunny
Bunny scored a threepeat thanks to chart-topping albums YHLQMDLG, Las Que No Iban a Salir and El Último Tour del Mundo — all peaked at No. 1 on the weekly Top Latin Albums chart. Additionally, El Conejo Malo placed the No. 1 song, “Dákiti” with Cortez, on the year-end Hot Latin Songs chart. The track debuted and peaked atop the chart dated Nov. 14, 2020 and has spent a total of 27 weeks atop the chart.
2. Rauw Alejandro
With “Todo De Ti,” the 28-year-old Puerto Rican artist scored his highest-charting title. The track reached a No. 2 peak on Sept. 11, 2020 and led the weekly Latin Airplay list for two weeks It also became his first entry on the Hot 100. This year, he also scored his first No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart thanks to Vice Versa, released over the summer. The set has spent, so far, 22 weeks on the chart.
3. Karol G
In March, the Colombian star released her genre-hopping third album, KG0516, which debuted at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart — dethroning Bad Bunny’s El Último Tour del Mundo and earning the biggest debut week by a female Latin act since Shakira’s El Dorado in 2017. (The album also reached a career-best No. 20 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.)
4. Kali Uchis
With “Telepatía,” Kali Uchis became the first female soloist to reach No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs with a song unaccompanied by another act since 2012. The record-breaking track scored the Colombian-American artist her first No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in May. Her album Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios), home to Telepatía, peaked at No. 1 on the Latin Pop Albums chart (dated March 6). The set — which is her first Spanish-language album — also became her first leader on any Billboard albums chart. She’s the highest-ranking artist of the Latin pop genre to finish in the year-end top 10 since 2018, when Shakira was No. 8.
5. J Balvin
The Colombian hitmaker placed 20 titles on Hot Latin Songs within the date range for year-end charts, eight of which hit top 10, and one out of those topped the chart (“Un Día (One Day)” led the chart but before the 2021 year closed). His album Jose debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums and remained atop the list for three weeks.
6. Jhay Cortez
The Puerto Rican artist makes it top 10 mainly on the strong presence of “Dakiti,” with Bad Bunny, which debuted at No. 1 (chart dated Nov. 14, 2020) and topped the list for 27 weeks, the fourth-most. It also reigned for 20 weeks in 2021, the most for any Latin title this year. In total, Jhay placed nine titles on Hot Latin Songs, two of which hit top 10 (“Dakiti” being one of them). His set Timelezz bowed at No. 2 on Top Latin Albums (chart dated Sept. 18).
7. Ozuna
Ozuna’s presence on the year-end tally is based on his 25 entries within the date range on Hot Latin Songs, four of which hit top 10. Enoc debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums, but prior to the opening of the year-end period (Sept. 19, 2020). The album, however, remained for a total of 67 weeks on the chart, 15 out of those, in the top 10 (within the date range). Los Dioses, with Anuel AA, arrived at No. 1 on chart dated Feb. 6 and remained in the top 10 for seven weeks within its 20-week chart run.
8. Maluma
Maluma traces his top 10 entrance to his 10 entries on Hot Latin Songs within the date range, two out of those hit top 10, including “Hawai,” with The Weeknd, which remained on the chart for a total of 49 weeks. The song ruled the list for nine weeks but prior to the opening of the year-end period. It did, however, remain in the top 10 for 41 weeks during the year-end period. He placed two albums on Top Latin Albums: Papi Juancho (a No. 2 debut, chart dated Sept. 5, 2020). The album held in the top 10 for a total of 27 weeks during the eligibility period. #7DJ(7 Días En Jamaica) debuted and peaked at No. 14 and only remained in the chart for two weeks.
9. Myke Towers
The 27-year-old artist placed 23 titles within the eligibility period, six of which hit top 10, including “Bandido,” with Juhn, which peaked at No. 4 on chart dated Feb. 20 (a total of 27 weeks on the chart). His album Lyke Mike debuted and peaked at No. 3 and held in the top 10 for four weeks among its 13-week chart run.
10. Eslabon Armado
Six months after Eslabon Armado’s Corta Venas bowed at No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart in January, the teenage trio took the lead again as its latest effort, Tu Veneno Mortal, Vol. 2, debuted at No. 1 on the July 10-dated survey — becoming the act’s fourth No. 1 total, all in less than 13 months. In 2020, Eslabon scored three consecutive chart-topping albums in 2020: Tu Veneno Mortal, Vibras de Noche and Corta Venas.
