Reggaeton as MTV-grade Pop

Wisín and Yandel's "Abusadora" is nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the best pop video category. The other nominees are: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Cobra Starship and Britney Spears. Hhmmm...



Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a reggaeton or Latino urban music act has been nominated to the SAME category (in one of these big deal awards) as pop megastars like Britney and the others. Right? In that case, while no reggaeton song has ever matched the ubiquity of "Gasolina," this nomination seems like yet another type of milestone for reggaeton.

I know... I know... "Abusadora" is dembow-less, so is it still reggaeton?

But while we try to figure that one out, Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson celebrates the nomination as a "welcome (if unexpected) step toward breaking down genre barriers," adding, "as far as I’m concerned, labels like 'pop' and 'reggaeton' confuse more than they enlighten, anyway."

So as he celebrates the breaking-down of barriers, Vozick-Levinson is still calling it reggaeton.

Marisol has the following to add: "Of course depending on how people view this nomination, this might only lend credence to the claim that reggaeton is dead."

How can "she" be dead?

Hey Raquel,

Hope all is well. A friend sent me the new Joell Ortiz song on Hip Hop dying and I thought about you. Creo que lo que dice aplica al Reggeaton tambien...no se si algun reggaetonero ha escrito sobre "la muerte anunciada" del reggeaton. Dejame saber si sabes de alguna cancion.

Paz,
Rox
(Roxanna García González)





Wow... thanks so much for this link.

"How can she be dead when she's a spirit?" BEAUTIFUL!

I haven't seen the equivalent of these types of songs in reggaeton. Just statements by artists.

Again, thank you!
RZ
(Raquel Z. Rivera)