Shakira	Julieta Venegas	Calle 13

In addition to top album recognition, Shakira's mega-selling Spanish-language CD also earned a Best Engineered Album nod for engineers Gustavo Celis and Mauricio Guerrero.

Ricky Martin	Gustavo Celis

Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Calle 13 picked up the Best Short Form Music Video win for their smash "¡Atrevete Te, Te!" Made up of half-brothers Residente (René Pérez ) and Visitante (Eduardo Cabra), Calle 13 also nabbed the coveted Best New Artist Latin Grammy and Best Urban Music Album for their self-titled CD, winning all three awards for which they were nominated.

Richie Ray & Bobbie Cruz	Cesar Camargo Mariano

Held for the first time in New York City, the seventh annual ceremony also named Limón y Sal by Mexican singer/songwriter Julieta Venegas (SGAE) Best Alternative Music Album, while her contenders Café Tacuba tied for Best Long Form Music Video award with "Un Viaje." The Mexican rock band shared the video prize with "Blanco Y Negro En Vivo" by Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés, who also earned a Best Instrumental Album Latin Grammy.

Los Tigres del Norte	Café Tacuba	Gustavo Santaolalla

Also on the BMI winners list were Cachorro López, named Producer of the Year; Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who took home the Best Tango Album Latin Grammy as producer on Café De Los Maestros; and Best Norteño Album winners Los Tigres Del Norte.

Latin pop singer Ricky Martin was honored Nov. 1 as the Latin Recording Academy's Person of the Year during a special star-studded tribute dinner and concert at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers. A portion of the evening's proceeds went to Martin's charitable efforts.

Also in the spotlight were Cesar Camargo Mariano and Richie Ray & Bobbie Cruz, who each received the 2006 Latin Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award at a special ceremony held at New York's historical Rainbow Room also on Nov. 1.

The 7th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on the Spanish-language Univision Network.

BMI's 2006 Latin Grammy Award winners:

Shakira
Record of the Year
"La Tortura"
Song of the Year
"La Tortura"
Album of the Year
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1
Best Female Pop Vocal Album
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1

Calle 13
Best New Artist
Best Urban Music Album
Calle 13
Best Short Form Music Video
"¡Atrevete Te, Te!"

Gustavo Celis
Record of the Year
"La Tortura"
Album of the Year
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1
Best Engineered Album
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1
Mauricio Guerrero
Album of the Year
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1
Best Engineered Album
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1

Luis Fernando Ochoa
Album of the Year
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1
Song of The Year
"La Tortura"

Bebo Valdés
Best Instrumental Album
Bebo
Best Long Form Music Video (tie)
"Blanco Y Negro En Vivo"

Pepe Aguilar
Best Ranchero Album
Historias De Mi Tierra

Café Tacuba
Best Long Form Music Video (tie)
"Un Viaje"

Michel Camilo
Best Classical Album
Rhapsody In Blue

Edgar Cortazar
Best Regional Mexican Song
"Aun Sigues Siendo Mia"

Ernesto Cortazar
Best Regional Mexican Song
"Aun Sigues Siendo Mia"

Cachorro López
Producer of the Year

Lester Mendez
Album of the Year
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1

Los Tigres Del Norte
Best Norteño Album
Historias Que Contar

A.B. Quintanilla III y Los Kumbia Kings
Best Tropical Regional Mexican Album
Kumbia Kings Live

Gustavo Santaolalla
Best Tango Album
Café De Los Maestros

Julieta Venegas (SGAE)
Best Alternative Music Album
Limón y Sal

Marcos Witt
Best Christian Album (Spanish Language)
Dios Es Bueno]]> 2006-11-03T03:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/533486 Artists, Brooks & Dunn, Fernando, Five For Fighting, John, Elton, Ondrasik, John, Musical Styles, Pop, Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Musicworld, On The Scene It requires considerable artistic agility to write deeply personal songs that also reflect the broader world. That’s just what platinum-certified Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter John Ondrasik and his band Five For Fighting has consistently accomplished on each of his previous CDs. Now with Two Lights, his new Aware/Columbia release, John delivers his most personal album to date, creating nothing less than an American family portrait.

John’s Grammy-nominated song “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” from the America Town CD, was already a hit when 9/11 happened. Afterwards, the song became a spiritual national anthem, and John joined superstar headliners Mick Jagger, Elton John, Paul McCartney and others for the post-9/11 fund-raiser “The Concert for New York.” “Here’s a kid just getting over shock of hearing himself on radio for first time,” recalls John, “sitting at a piano in Madison Square Garden playing a song that seems to provide solace to the emergency workers and their families. Halfway through, seeing these burly firefighters with tears rolling down their faces: it was the most important thing I’ll ever do musically.”

In 2004 he recorded The Battle For Everything, which yielded the hit “100 Years,” once again proving Ondrasik’s ability to craft inspirational songs with a social message. “It means a lot as a writer when your songs find their way into everyday lives,” he says. “To hear mp3s of ‘100 Years’ sung at graduations, or to speak to folks about how certain songs helped out, inspires me to keep on swinging.”

Two Lights should yield no less. Produced by John and band mates Curt Schneider (bass, guitars) and Andrew Williams (guitars), the album was inspired in part by conversations John had with ordinary Americans. Cops and cruisers, soldiers and surfers all have a place in John’s America. Overall the CD is classic Americana, grittier and riskier than his previous work. That’s especially so on songs like “California Justice” and the darkly comic “Policeman’s Xmas Party,” both based on real events.

Yet he also touches unflinchingly on the personal. The CD’s debut single “The Riddle” is a song he wrote for his children, while the companion video features his beloved blue Mustang (a car passed down to John from his father and the inspiration for the song “‘65 Mustang"). Says John of the single, “A lot of my songs touch on mortality, but at its heart it’s a love song from a father to his son.”

The father-son motif is most poignantly expressed in “Two Lights,” a song that came to John after having dinner with a young soldier bound for Iraq, and the soldier’s father, a Vietnam veteran. “I talked with the kid’s father,” John remembers. “In that moment, I saw a mixture of pride and fear in the old man’s eyes. I wanted to write a song that talked about the reality of how these parents feel. The simple thing of ‘Two Lights’ is two lives: the father’s and the son’s. That’s what inspired this song, the look of pride and fear in a father’s eye.”

Whatever subject he tackles, John’s music is always infused with an empathetic spirit and sung in one of the most richly distinctive voices in contemporary pop. Still, the new CD may surprise those unaccustomed to the sharper edge of John’s musical persona. “Producing is rewarding but also an extra slice of pain and suffering,” he says. “Songs like ‘The Riddle’ and ‘California Justice’ are 90 percent craft, whereas others like ‘Road to Heaven’ and ‘I Just Love You’ are essentially live takes. In either case, the band has to be in the room, the clock has to be turned off, and the red light (or hard drive)...blinking.”

John Ondrasik was born in L.A.’s sprawling San Fernando Valley, and grew up in a musical family. At two, he began studying piano and later added guitar. He majored in math at UCLA, but his heart was always in music. His hard work paid off, and today he’s right where he wants to be: a working touring musician with a great family to come home to. “Being in a band,” he says, “you spend a lot of months on a bus rolling through America. Unless you do that you don’t have a sense of the expanse and the differences that make it so great. My music just comes from my experience putting the miles on tires.”

Over the last year, John has also been busy working on music for films. He wrote, produced and performed “The Best,” the main title song for the upcoming animated baseball-comedy feature Everyone’s Hero (he also teamed up with country greats Brooks & Dunn to co-write “Keep On Swinging” for the same film). For the movie August Rush, John produced and wrote “Break,” which is performed on screen by actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Although primarily known for performing his own compositions, John also recorded a compelling new version of the classic Jimmy Webb composition, “All I Know” (a chart-topping pop hit song for Art Garfunkel in 1973), for the hit Walt Disney Pictures Film, Chicken Little.

But right now, Two Lights remains first and foremost in his musical life; that, and reaching out to an ever-expanding audience of admirers, whether in a darkened concert hall or on an iPod during morning rush hour. “I just try to get better as a songwriter,” he says. “That’s all I can do: try to write things that matter. At the end of the day all you can do is say what you believe.”

Website: www.fiveforfighting.com

Workshop Artistic Coordinator Pat Cook (left) and BMI's Jean Banks flank 2006 BMI Foundation/Jerry Harrington Award winners Jim Colleran, Beth Falcone and Justin Warner.

Winners included first year student Carl Danielsen, second year student Jim Colleran, advanced class student Beth Falcone and librettist student Justin Warner. The Foundation also presented its first Shelley Pinz Prize to Joy Son, a member of the Workshop's advanced class.

Shelley Pinz Prize winner Joy Son (center) is congratulated by BMI's Jean Banks and Pat Cook.

Established by Harrington's longtime friend and colleague, BMI executive Evelyn Buckstein, the awards are given each year in Harrington's honor to celebrate the late attorney's lifelong love of musical theater. Over the past seven years, these awards have given early recognition to some of the most talented and promising young musical theatre composers and librettists working in the field today, including the Tony Award-winning writers of Avenue Q, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who received the first Harrington Awards in 2000.

Deemed "the Harvard of musical theatre" by The New York Times, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop was founded in 1961 by the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, to create a setting where new writers could learn their craft. Included among the prestigious honors the Workshop has received are a special 2006 Drama Desk Award "for nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater" and the 2005 Drama League Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre.

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 97% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.  

photos by Fernando Leon

BMI's Porfirio Piña and Insomnia's Pablo Garcia

Dominican Republic native and New York transplant L. Negro combines his childhood admiration of New York-style rap and his mother country's Spanish for a groundbreaking sound that has helped push Latin hip-hop/soul to the forefront of the rap music community.

Eric Medina, Candela Soul's Luis Burgos, BMI's Porfirio Piña, and Candela Soul's Lisa and Marlon

Trio U-NIQ was formed by brothers Migz and Tonio Vasquez, along with good friend and musical cohort Alex Salabarria. As their name suggests, the group produces a unique, soul-driven concoction derived from instinctively smooth harmonies.

Frankie Cutless

Brothers Sr. Escobar and M. Corcho were born and raised in Guatemala City and made the trek to the United States while they were still young men. The two cite influences including Snoop Dogg, Tupac and Jay-Z, and plan to deliver Latin hip-hop to mainstream audiences through their moody, deliberate lyrics.

Insomnia's Pablo Garcia

Una Via aims to combine classic rock sounds with Latin music's signature beats. Formed by guitarist brothers Johnny and Leonel Cayamcela, Una Via also relies on bassist George Vivanco, drummer Juan Pablo Calvo and charismatic lead singer Mauricio Cardenas.

KMW's Kevin K, BMI's Porfirio Piña and Sonido Secreto's Gaia

Sonido Secreto combines visual and auditory art for an inimitable live experience. The rock quartet displays images conceived by band members Pozo, Gaia, Oveck and Sol as a backdrop, and now classify themselves as blues and art rock.

L. Negro and Insomnia's Pablo Garcia

Longtime friends Pablo Garcia, Eli Menezes, Ricardo "Rico" Ramos, Waldo Chavez and Jotan Afanador form rock band Insomnia. The members have enjoyed success individually with major names such as Lauren Hill and Obbie Bermudez, and together create raucous, fast-paced Latin rock.

Loki, L. Negro and LP

The BMI Latin Urban Alternative Showcase was sponsored by Gibson, nochelatina.com, lamusica.com, Latination, American Latino TV, Nivel Musical, El Especial and El Especialito.

Sano, Sr. Escobar, BMI's Porfirio Piña, M. Corcho, Capicu and Mr. Miggs

Sonido Secreto's Oveck

Sonido Secreto's Sol

Sr. Escobar and M. Corcho

The Clear Picture's Deanna & Audrey and BMI's Porfirio Piña

Una Via

Una Via's Mauricio Cardenas

U-NIQ's Alex and Tonio, BMI's Porfirio Piña, and U-NIQ's Miquelito

photos: Fernando Leon

Café Tacuba	Rafa Sardina

Emmanuel Del Real, keyboardist/songwriter of rock en español group Café Tacuba, won two Latin Grammys out of five nominations, including one with the band for Best Alternative Album (Cuatro Caminos), and one as a songwriter for their smash hit "Eres," which was named Best Rock Song.

Other Latin Grammy winners included Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizrraga, Soraya, Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz and Bebo Valdés. BMI composers José Serebrier and Paulo Jobim tied for Best Classical Album.

BMI songwriter/artist Carlos Santana, who performed with newcomers Los Lonely Boys, was feted the previous evening as the Latin Recording Academy's Person of the Year. This prestigious award honors the important musical, social and philanthropic accomplishments of leading members of the Latin music community.

BMI's 2004 Latin Grammy winners:

Rafa Sardina
Record of the Year
"No Es Lo Mismo"
Album of the Year
No Es Lo Mismo
Best Engineered Album
No Es Lo Mismo

Emmanuel Del Real (Café Tacuba)
Best Rock Song
"Eres"

Café Tacuba
Best Alternative Music Album
Cuatro Caminos

Fernando Osorio
Best Tropical Song
"Ríe Y Llora"

Bebo Valdés
Best Traditional Tropical Album
Lãgrimas Negras

Soraya
Best Singer-Songwriter Album
Soraya

Albita
Best Contemporary Tropical Album
Albita Llegó

Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizrraga
Best Banda Album
Por Ti

Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz
Best Tejano Album
Live En El Valle

Los Tigres Del Norte
Best Norteño Album
Pacto De Sangre

José Serebrier
Best Classical Album (tie)
Carmen Symphony

Paulo Jobim
Best Classical Album (tie)
Jobim Sinfônico

Robi Draco Rosa
Best Music Video
"Mas y Mas"

In 2000, they signed with Warner Music Latina, and delivered a self-titled release that won fans from Latin America to Spain, garnered two Latin Grammy nominations and earned the band gold status — albeit in Colombia. Still, it was an auspicious introduction; the single "Tabaco y Chanel" hit #1 on Latin radio and a tour opening for Spanish superstar Alejandro Sanz showcased them to the world.

It set the stage for the group's next album, Caraluna, which takes its title from a phrase invented by the band to mean "the face of the moon." The blockbuster album earned the threesome two awards at the 2003 Latin Grammys, "Best Tropical Song" for "Mi Primer Millon," their humorous account of trying to make it in the music industry (performed live on the show) and "Best Pop Album by a Group." Additionally, at this year's 45th Annual Grammy ceremony at Madison Square Garden, Caraluna walked away with "Best Latin Pop Album."

Cross-pollinating bossa nova, tango and flamenco with flavors of Caribbean, cumbia and ska, Caraluna reflects Bacilos' widescreen influences, while one song, "Elena," also features lyrics in English. A headlining tour concurrent with this release has taken Bacilos from New York to Bogota; Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, establishing the band as a premier concert attraction. Additionally, primary songwriter Villamizar has distinguished himself as a writer for other artists, with cuts by Alejandra Guzman and Fernando Osorio.

Despite the group's successes, they express no interest in becoming a glossy pop band. Their hit "Me Primer Millon" may feature strings and brass, but Bacilos continues to honor their origins with real songs, acoustic instruments and unadorned harmonies, an organic approach in an ever so techno world.

For their growing legion of fans, it's a sound that is absolutely contagious.

Thanks to the hit single “Wherever You Will Go,” a BMI Pop Award winner as one of 2002’s 50 Most Performed Songs, the album has sold close to a million in the U.S., and more than two million around the world. The Calling are even bigger outside America, where they have earned gold or platinum in 12 countries, including the U.K., Brazil, Canada and Mexico. They were voted Best New Artist by fans at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards in Barcelona, Spain, beating out The Strokes, Avril Lavigne and Shakira.

“Our fans are just so committed,” marvels Band, who is in the process of putting the finishing touches on the band’s second effort, Two , set for release May 18. “Having thousands of people greet you at the airport in all these different countries you never thought you’d ever go to or that anybody would know who you are, was quite an experience.”

Having written “Wherever You Will Go” when he was just 16 and performed it in the film Coyote Ugly long before it spent 20 weeks at the top of the Adult Contemporary charts, Alex was anxious to show his songwriting growth on the new album. The first single, “Our Lives,” is a post-Sept. 11 admonition to stop and smell the coffee, with a radio-ready, U2-styled chorus that offers inspiration: “These are the moments/These are the times/Let’s make the best out of our lives.”

“Most people never take the time to appreciate their accomplishments,” explains Alex, “and I think we were guilty of that, too. We were on tour in Europe when Sept. 11 took place, so we got to experience first-hand how it affected people there. It was scary, but it definitely made for some good songwriting. This record’s a little more grown up. We’re talking about bigger issues than our girlfriends.”

As for avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump, Alex insists: “Sure, there’s pressure following up such a successful record. I want to convert all those people who heard the hit, but don’t know who this band is. There are five separate singles on this album. We’re out to prove we’re no ‘one-hit wonder’.”

photo: Dana Rodriguez

]]> 2003-06-09T18:00:00-05:00