Becky G, Joy Huerta and Julieta Venegas Careers Celebrated by Billboard Latin Women in Music

Telemundo and Billboard announced Monday that Becky G, Joy Huerta, and Julieta Venegas will be the first honorees revealed for the 2026 edition of Billboard Latin Women in Music. The annual event has become a rare televised space devoted entirely to recognizing Latina artists whose impact goes beyond charts and trophies, and this first trio says a lot about where the culture is right now.

Becky G will receive the "Global Impact" award, Joy the "Spirit of Change" honor, and Julieta Venegas the "Artistic Excellence" award, according to Billboard and the event announcement distributed by Telemundo and NBCUniversal. The selections represent three distinct forms of influence: Becky G as a border-crossing pop force, Joy as a songwriter and activist who has turned visibility into advocacy, and Venegas as the gold standard for artistic consistency in Spanish-language music.

For Becky G, the recognition arrives during another year of proving that her career no longer fits neatly into one lane. The Mexican American singer has spent the last decade moving between English-language pop, reggaetón, urbano and música mexicana, and in 2026 she has already placed herself in one of the year's most international music moments.

Earlier this month, she was featured on "Make It Count," the official anthem from the first-ever World Baseball Classic soundtrack, alongside Myke Towers and YEONJUN, in a project produced by Tainy and rolled out by MLB ahead of the global tournament. Billboard and MLB both framed the soundtrack as a multicultural effort built to match the event's international reach, the kind of arena Becky G has increasingly made her own.

She also released "Marathon" last week, a full return to her English roots.

That global dimension is exactly what Billboard is rewarding. Becky G's crossover credentials were established years ago, but what has made her endure is her ability to keep shifting without losing the identity that got her there. She remains one of the few artists who can move comfortably between mainstream American pop culture and the emotional vocabulary of a bilingual Latino audience. Even in 2026, that still feels less common than the industry likes to pretend. Her public profile has also continued to include activism, including a recent anti-ICE message at the MusiCares Person of the Year gala.

Joy's honor may be the night's most meaningful in purely human terms. Best known as one half of Jesse & Joy, she is being recognized for using her platform to press for change, something Billboard tied directly to her advocacy around immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ equality, women's empowerment, and the fight against gender-based violence. But the award also lands at a moment when Joy's artistry is expanding in ways that many mainstream music watchers may have missed.

In 2026, Jesse & Joy are still very much an active touring force. Their official site lists April dates in Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico City, including an April 24 stop at the Auditorio Nacional, showing the duo's continued drawing power across Latin America. At the same time, Joy's résumé now stretches far beyond the duo. The official Broadway site for Real Women Have Curves identifies her, alongside Benjamin Velez, as the composer and lyricist of the musical, which has helped cement her as one of the most visible Latina songwriters working in U.S. theater. Her Instagram bio now openly identifies her as a Tony nominee, a small but telling detail about how far that chapter of her career has traveled.

Then there is Julieta Venegas, who receives the "Artistic Excellence" award, and honestly, if there were ever a category that needed no explanation, this would be it. Venegas has spent more than three decades building one of the most respected catalogs in Latin music, never chasing trends so much as quietly outlasting them. Billboard's announcement points to foundational works like Limón y Sal and enduring songs such as "Me Voy" and "Andar Conmigo," but what makes the honor especially compelling is that it is arriving during an active creative stretch, not a retrospective victory lap.

This year, Venegas released "Tengo que contarte," a collaboration with Natalia Lafourcade that arrived in February, a ranchera-shaped conversation between friends, rooted in affection, vulnerability and a shared tribute to Mexico. The song is part of the rollout for Norteña, her upcoming album, and the next few months already suggest a busy season for her.

The GRAMMY Museum has scheduled a conversation and performance with Venegas on April 28 centered on the upcoming release, while her official site lists a 2026 tour run across Mexico beginning in May, including dates in Tijuana, Mexicali, Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara.

More honorees and performers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Last year's recipients included Anitta, Belinda, Chiquis, Ha*Ash, Natti Natasha, Olga Tañón and Selena Gomez, with Celia Cruz honored as "Legend." This year's show now has its first emotional center, and it is a strong one: three women from different generations, different styles and different trajectories, all being recognized not simply for success, but for what they have changed on the way there.

The live two-hour special set to air April 23 at 9 p.m. Eastern on Telemundo, with streaming on Peacock and the Telemundo app.

Originally published on Latin Times