Shakira, Romeo Santos, Prince Royce Among Top Winners at Premios Juventud 2026
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Shakira, Prince Royce and Romeo Santos led the winners at Premios Juventud 2026, a ceremony broadcast live from the Starlight Amphitheater in Marbella, Spain, on Thursday night. The event marked the first time the awards show, which celebrates Latin music and entertainment, has been held in Europe, capping a week of related events staged in cities around the world. Jesús Vázquez hosted alongside Alejandra Espinoza and Clarissa Molina.
Royce and Santos shared three prizes for their joint album "Better Late Than Never," which was named best tropical album, with its tracks "Dardos" and "Lokita Por Mí" also winning tropical hit and tropical mix respectively. Shakira was named female artist and picked up OMG collaboration for "Dai Dai" with Burna Boy and best pop song for "Bésame" with Alejandro Sanz, while Aitana and Alejandro Fernández also each collected three awards. Bad Bunny, Karol G, Bizarrap, Carín León, Ovy on the Drums, Santos Bravos, Grupo Frontera, Beéle and Angelique Boyer each won two prizes, and the show's Agent of Change award went to Antonio Banderas, Marc Anthony, Yandel and La Oreja de Van Gogh.
- Shakira, Prince Royce and Romeo Santos topped Premios Juventud 2026's winners.
- First edition of the awards held in Europe, staged in Marbella, Spain.
- Antonio Banderas, Marc Anthony, Yandel and La Oreja de Van Gogh won Agent of Change.
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Since Shakira, Prince Royce and Romeo Santos won big, and Premios Juventud honours Latin music each year, here's the essential background.
Premios Juventud, meaning "Youth Awards" in Spanish, is an annual Latin entertainment awards show broadcast on Univision, with winners chosen by public online voting rather than an industry panel. It typically celebrates the biggest names in Latin music, film and television from the past year, and for its 2026 edition it moved outside the Americas for the first time, staging the ceremony in Marbella, Spain, after a series of related events held in various cities.
Among this year's winners, Shakira and the bachata duo Romeo Santos and Prince Royce were singled out as top performers, with Santos and Royce recognised for a joint album, and Shakira honoured for solo work and collaborations, including one with Nigerian star Burna Boy. Other prizes went to a wide mix of established and emerging Latin artists, reflecting the genre's growing international reach and the show's role as one of the industry's most closely watched fan-voted events.
Full account
Shakira, Prince Royce and Romeo Santos led the winners at the 2026 Premios Juventud, held on Thursday night at a Marbella amphitheatre for the first time the youth-focused Latin music awards have taken place outside the Americas. The 23rd edition of the show, staged under the banner 'Conéctate al Vibe', brought together stars from across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking music world alongside homegrown Spanish pop acts on the Costa del Sol.
Prince Royce and Romeo Santos each picked up three prizes on the strength of their joint record 'Better Late Than Never', which was named best tropical album, while its singles 'Dardos' and 'Lokita Por Mí' took the tropical hit and tropical mix categories respectively. Shakira also collected three honours, being crowned Premios Juventud's female artist of the night in addition to winning the OMG collaboration prize for 'Dai Dai', her track with Nigerian star Burna Boy, and best pop song for 'Bésame' with Alejandro Sanz. Aitana and Alejandro Fernández were likewise each recognised three times, while Bad Bunny, Karol G, Bizarrap, Carín León, producer Ovy on the Drums, Santos Bravos, Grupo Frontera, Beéle and actress Angelique Boyer all left with two awards apiece.
Beyond the music prizes, the ceremony paid tribute to Antonio Banderas, Marc Anthony, Yandel and La Oreja de Van Gogh with its Agent of Change accolade. The Marbella show marked the culmination of a week-long series of events staged in several cities as part of what organiser TelevisaUnivision billed as its inaugural PJ Fest, which had earlier taken in Miami, Houston and Los Angeles before culminating in Spain. Presenting duties in Marbella fell to Jesús Vázquez, who hosted alongside Alejandra Espinoza and Clarissa Molina.
The evening was also built around a heavy live schedule that paired artists from different generations and sides of the Atlantic. Farruko, Juan Magán and DJ Rous opened proceedings with new event anthem 'Marbella Nights', after which Farruko was joined by Greeicy for their chart-topping dance collaboration 'Yapaque', a track that also features Steve Aoki. Quevedo paid homage to his Canary Islands roots in a medley with Elvis Crespo and Las Cuatro, Natanael Cano delivered a rowdy rendition of 'Mar Azul' backed by a brass and string ensemble, and Kenia OS and Xavi gave the live debut of their new single 'Malas Mañas'. A broader line-up including Ángela Aguilar, Camilo, Christian Nodal, Eladio Carrión, Elena Rose, Marc Anthony, Morat, Wisin, Xavi and Yandel further underlined the scale of the show's first European outing.
Where outlets differ
The two reports give slightly different names for the venue — one refers to it as the Starlight Amphitheater, the other as the Starlite Auditorium.
Source 1 concentrates on the full roster of winners, including categories such as best actress (Doménica Montero) and best Mexican music album, which the second report does not mention at all.
Source 2 focuses far more on the live performances and show's staging (its European debut, the 'PJ Fest' build-up, and detailed reviews of individual sets, including a note that one performance appeared to be lip-synced), while treating the winners list as secondary, pointing readers to a separate full list rather than detailing it in the text.