By Leila Cobo
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Youth-driven music once again tops Billboard's year-end Latin charts, with TV phenomenon RBD leading the Top Latin Albums and Top Latin Album Artists charts thanks to strong first-week sales of "Celestial."
The EMI Televisa album was released during Thanksgiving week of 2006.
At No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums recap is "K.O.B.: Live" (Premium/Sony BMG Norte) by urban bachata group Aventura, whose popularity continues to rise four years after its hit "Obsession." The No. 2 artist on the Top Latin Album Artists chart is the late Valentin Elizalde, whose romantic banda and corridos draw younger fans.
Also in the top five of both charts is reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, who previously topped the Top Latin Albums chart for two consecutive years.
Beyond these three acts, the top 15 of the Top Latin Album Artists and Top Latin Albums charts are evenly divided between two general camps: one encompasses youth-leaning reggaeton (Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar) and regional Mexican (Alacranes Musical), while the other comprises established, veteran acts with broad fan bases (Mana, Vicente Fernandez, Marco Antonio Solis).
The two extremes highlight two emerging markets for Latin music. A steady, young consumer base is getting its music from multiple sources while the more traditional, broad fan base still looks for albums by stalwarts like Fernandez and Solis.
MARKET CLOUT
In a depressed market, where only 15 Latin albums had surpassed the 100,000 mark by November 13, Univision Music Group is the market leader thanks to the combined clout of its formidable labels: Univision Records, Fonovisa, Disa and the year-old tropical imprint La Calle.
Univision also leads the Top Regional Mexican Album Labels chart while Disa tops the Top Regional Mexican Album Imprints chart.
But the top-selling artist in the regional Mexican genre is Elizalde, whose albums sales -- most on Universal Music Latino -- soared after he was fatally shot in November 2006. The top title on the Top Regional Mexican Albums recap is Fernandez's "Historia de Un Idolo" (Discos 605/Sony BMG Norte).
Sony BMG Norte also had a particularly strong year, topping all Latin pop sales and airplay charts and most tropical ones as well thanks to an eclectic roster that blends old and new.
Sony BMG Norte also leads the Top Latin Albums Imprints and Hot Latin Songs Labels and Imprints recaps.
The relatively new Latin Rhythm genre is dominated by Universal-owned Machete, which ranks No. 1 on the Top Latin Rhythm Album Labels, and its imprint VI, leading the Top Latin Rhythm Album Imprints chart.
Reggaeton king Daddy Yankee remains the top Latin rhythm seller, but Machete's Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel and Hector "El Father" follow on the Top Latin Rhythm Album Artists recap.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is Aventura's "Mi Corazoncito," a tropical track, topping the Hot Latin Songs chart. It undoubtedly received play on pop, tropical and Latin rhythm stations as urban bachata grew as a genre.
While Mana leads the Hot Latin Songs Artists chart with four charting titles, RBD ranks No. 1 on the Top Latin Pop Album Artists recap with four charting albums.
Reuters/Billboard
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