The members of 3BallMTY proved to be the beaus of the ball at this year’s Billboard Mexican Music Awards.
The Mexican tribal music troupe – comprised of Erick Rincon, Sergio Zavala (Dj Sheeqo Beat) and Alberto Presenda (Dj Otto) – earned the most awards of any artist/act during Thursday night’s nationally televised awards show, which honors regional Mexican music.
This year’s 12-time nominee 3BallMTY picked up nine awards, including New Artist of the Year, Artist of the Year, Duo or Group; Song Artist of the Year and Digital Download Artist of the Year.
The awards show was broadcast live on Telemundo from Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium and featured genre-breaking performances from 3BallMTY together with reggaetón duo J King & Maximán, as well as more traditional fare from Conjunto Primavera and Los Huracanes del Norte.
3BallMTY’s wins helped to shine a spotlight on the dynamic nature of regional Mexican music, the top-selling Latin sub-genre in the United States. The trio of DJs, who only released their debut album last year – and who had their network performance premiere on the first Billboard Mexican Music Awards – also won Songs Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for the single “Inténtalo,” featuring El Bebeto and América Sierra.
“In Mexico there have always been new waves,” said 3Ball MTY’s Zavala on the red carpet outside of Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium. “We brought something fresh with the electronic sound [and] tribal is really growing.”
Meanwhile, last year’s big winner, norteño star Gerardo Ortiz, picked up seven awards, including Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year, Male. Ortiz’s album Entre Dios y el Diablo also won the Album of the Year Award.
A special award for the evening was given to ranchera singer/songwriter Pepe Aguilar, who received Billboard‘s Legacy Award in recognition of his lengthy and rich musical trajectory that has influenced the genre and its artists.
Legendary ranchera singer Vicente Fernández, currently on a farewell tour, swept the ranchero/mariachi category, winning Ranchero/Mariachi Album of the Year for Otra Vez, Song of the Year with “El Vestido Blanco” and overall Ranchero/Mariachi Artist of the Year.
Jenni Rivera won Artist of the Year, Female and Banda Album of the Year for her album Joyas Prestadas.
Billboard Mexican Music Awards finalists and winners are determined by chart performance as chronicled in Billboard Magazine and on Billboard.com during the eligibility period of August 27, 2011 through August 18, 2012. Award categories are based on album and digital track sales data provided by Nielsen SoundScan and radio airplay monitored by Nielsen BDS.
For a full list of winners, click here.