Marc Anthony has perfected how to “Vivir Mi Vida.”
The Salsa summer hit and his latest “3.0” album made the Puerto Rican star the big winner at the 2014 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Thursday night. Anthony won 10 awards, including Artist of the Year, Hot Latin Song, Digital Song and more.
Broadcast live from Miami, the Latin Billboards brought together some of the biggest names in music to celebrate with rhythm, tears and plenty of awards. Raúl González hosted the event for Telemundo just months after leaving the network’s ratings rival, Univision.
With humor and poise González led the night filled with performances by Juanes, Marc Anthony, Prince Royce, Chayanne and more.
Special awards during the evening included Franco de Vita’s Billboard Hall of Fame Award, which the Venezuelan singer-songwriter received for his more than three-decade long career in music.
“Thank you for everyone, this is an acknowledgement of all the years of work, of sacrifice. I love music, I adore it, but it’s difficult,” de Vita said after receiving the honor. “Those who think about doing this, it isn’t easy. Thanks to all of my colleagues and all of the composers that help me create songs. This award goes to my country, Venezuela. Don’t rip me out by my roots because you’re only born once.”
After a series of awards were handed out, Salsa superstar Gilberto Santa Rosa took the stage to pay tribute to the late Salsa great Cheo Feliciano, who died in a car crash in Puerto Rico last Thursday.
“One week ago Puerto Rico and the world lost Cheo Feliciano, a man admired and respected by many generations of artists,” an emotional Santa Rosa said. “Fifty-six years of an impeccable career... this year we say goodbye to him like we do to a great master, on our feet and clapping. We’ll see each other soon brother.”
After gracing the stage several times during the night to receive his numerous awards, Marc Anthony finally had the opportunity to present a statuette to another deserving artist. The Boricua presented Colombian singer Carlos Vives with the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award, which is given to artist who have gone beyond their musical careers and dedicated their time to the community.
“This is an important award, that I received it from Marc Anthony makes is much more important,” Vives said. “It’s an award that you don’t dream of or that you don’t aspire to, but I am very grateful, very honored to receive. During times when humanity seems to move screaming “Every man for himself!” what we can do for our fellow humans is offer our services to those who need it most... I’m going to accept it with all my heart and I propose that it’s for the conscious of the towns and the cultures of Colombia’s Pacific region and our ancestral culture. They have marked our music. This award is for them because their pain and their sadness is where much of our happiness was born.”
The night’s most emotional moment came with Chayanne’s performance of his new single, “Humanos a Marte.” Dressed in all black and with his best effort, the Puerto Rican singers let the show go on just days after losing his mother.
At the end of the performance, the audience expressed their solidarity with the star’s mourning with a standing ovation and Chayanne could not hold back the tears as he acknowledged his colleague and friends’ gesture.
More awards and performances followed but it was the king of the 2104 Latin Billboards, Marc Anthony, that brought the night to a close with his single, “Vivir Mi Vida.”
Check out the night’s winners in the list below and photos of the show at the bottom of the page.
OVERALL ARTIST CATEGORIES
Artist of the Year
Marc Anthony
Artist of the Year, New
Luis Coronel
Tour of the Year
Luis Miguel
Social Artist of the Year
Shakira
Crossover Artist of the Year
Bruno Mars
SONGS CATEGORIES
Hot Latin Song of the Year
Marc Anthony "Vivir Mi Vida"
Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event
Enrique Iglesias feat. Romeo Santos "Loco"
Airplay Song of the Year
Marc Anthony "Vivir Mi Vida"
Digital Song of the Year
Marc Anthony "Vivir Mi Vida"
Streaming Song of the Year
Prince Royce "Darte Un Beso"
ALBUMS CATEGORIES
Top Latin Album of the Year
Marc Anthony "3.0"
Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Male
Marc Anthony
Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Female
Jenni Rivera
Check out the full list of winners here
Before You Go
