Nicky Jam entered the Billboard Hall of Fame on Thursday (Sept. 29) during the Billboard Latin Music Awards. Before accepting the special award, the hitmaker performed his latest single “Sin Novia.”
Then, he was surprised by his father, José Rivera, who took the stage to present his son with the award. “Wow, I was not expecting this,” he started the speech.
“I thought another artist would give me this, not my dad. But dad, you look beautiful. Thank you to Billboard, Leila Cobo for bringing my dad. I want to thank everyone that helped me get to where I’m at. Thank you to everyone who shared their studios with me. To Zion for giving me $500 to buy my ticket and go to Colombia. Thank you to all the old-school reggaetoneros because thanks to them, there’s a Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro. People ask me what I feel when I see Bad Bunny [succeed], I feel proud, my work has paid off. It’s been 28 years and I’m still here. Thank you to my father, he showed me humility. To my mom that’s watching me, I love you. My manager Juan Diego and my four kids that are also watching. This is for all of them.”
The 29th annual Billboard Latin Music Awards, taking place at Miami’s Watsco Center, are broadcasting live on Telemundo and simultaneously on the Spanish entertainment cable network Universo and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional. The awards — produced by MBS Special Events and executive produced by Mary Black Suarez — coincide with Billboard Latin Music Week, which returned to Miami from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 at the Faena Forum, with a roster of star speakers that included Romeo Santos, Maluma, Grupo Firme, Chayanne, Ivy Queen and Nicky Jam, among many others.
