MEXICAN ACTRESS AND ARTIST PILAR MONTENEGRO AND SPAIN'S FEMALE TRIO LAS KETCHUP TOP THE LIST OF FINALISTS FOR THE 2003 BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC AWARDS

Awards will take place May 8 at the Miami Arena and will be produced and broadcast by Telemundo

Miami, FL,--February 13, 2003--Latin Music's most distinguished artists, composers, producers and publishers were featured today as Telemundo and Billboard announced the list of finalists for the 2003 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Marc Anthony, Chayanne, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Pilar Montenegro, Las Ketchup, Juanes, Mana, Jennifer Pena and Shakira are featured among finalists in multiple categories.

"This year's finalists include up-and-coming artists who are setting trends with their unique sounds and innovative rhythm, as well as established artists who continue to demonstrate their enormous talent as composers and interpreters," said Manuel Martinez, Executive Vice President of Programming and Production at Telemundo. "We look forward to honoring them in May, in what will be the biggest night in Latin Music."

"Billboard is proud to introduce 14 new awards, including Latin Tour of the Year, Latin Christian/Gospel Album of the Year, and New Artists from each of our radio genre charts: Latin Pop, Tropical Salsa, and Regional Mexican," said Howard Appelbaum, Vice President of Billboard Music Group. "This represents our continuous commitment to reflect the rich musical diversity that exists within the Hispanic community."

Among the major categories, Top Latin Albums Artist of The Year finalists include rock en español artists Juanes (Un Día Normal) and Maná (Revolución de Amor), pop group Las Ketchup (Hijas del Tomate) and regional Mexican group Los Temerarios (Una Lágrima No Basta). Those featured for Hot Latin Track of The Year are Chayanne ("Y Tu Te Vas"), Pilar Montenegro ("Quítame Ese Hombre"), Jennifer Peña ("El Dolor De Tu Presencia") and Sin Bandera ("Entra En Mi Vida"), and finalists for the new category Latin Tour Of The Year include Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Luis Miguel and Shakira.

Topping the finalist list with presence in seven categories are Mexican actress and singer Pilar Montenegro and Spain's female trio Las Ketchup. Colombian Rock en Español sensation Juanes followed as a finalist in six categories; while new pop duo Sin Bandera and up-and-coming artist Aracely Arámbula appear within five categories.

Finalists in four categories included Enrique Iglesias, Alexandre Pires, Maná, Jennifer Peña, and those in three categories were Brenda K. Starr, Chayanne, Thalía, Marc Anthony and Germán Lizárraga.

Several artists were finalists in two categories including: Shakira, Paulina Rubio, Jennifer López, Rudy Pérez Jaguares Elvis Crespo, The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Laura Pausini, Los Temerarios, Jerry Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, India, Monchy & Alexandra, Lupillo Rivera, Conjunto Primavera, Victor Manuelle, Intocable, Grupo Límite, La Onda and Aventura.

The Billboard Latin Music Awards honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales and radio airplay data from Billboard's weekly charts during a one-year period from the issue dated February 16, 2002 through this year's February 8 issue. Finalists, and the eventual winners, reflect performance of new recordings on Billboard's sales charts, including Top Latin Albums, and radio charts, including Hot Latin Tracks, with album categories confined to titles that did not chart before Billboard's Nov. 17, 2001 issue but excluding finalists from the prior-year's Billboard Latin Music Awards. Based on sales data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and radio information monitored by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, Billboard's charts are the world's most authoritative music charts.

from Hispanic PR Wire