This is a list of notable events in

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

(i.e. music from the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas Latin America, Europe, and the United States) that took place in 1998.

Events

February 25 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. ...

– The

40th Annual Grammy Awards The 40th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss & Union Station, and R. Kelly were the ...

are held at the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. This is the first award ceremony where members of the

Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences pt, Academia Latina da Gravação , image = Latin_grammy_logo_(2022).png , image_border = , size = 150px , caption = , map = , msize = , mcaption = , motto = , formation = , extinction ...

(LARAS) are eligible to vote in the Latin field of the Grammy Award categories. In addition, a new category for Latin rock and alternative music was established. **

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

wins the

Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors in ...

for his album '' Romances''. **

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

wins the

Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance The Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Tropical music, tropi ...

for his production of ''

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the g ...

''. **

La Mafia La Mafia is a five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Tejano music, Latin music band. History La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, TX. ...

wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance for their album '' En Tus Besos''. **

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Argentine ska band from Buenos Aires. Background and style Formed in 1985, they released their first album, ''Bares y Fondas'' (Bars and Boardinghouses), in 1986 and have since released fourteen more albums. They ...

wins the Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance for their album ''

Fabulosos Calavera ''Fabulosos Calavera'' (Spanish for Fabulous Skull) Released in 1997 is the eleventh album by Argentine band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. This album has a much darker theme than the previous album of the band talking about death, the devil and hidden ...

''. **

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

's band Crisol wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Performance for their album ''

Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

''. *

April 5 Events Pre-1600 * 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. * 919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his a ...

— The 9th Annual ''Billboard'' Latin Music Conference is held at the Biscayne Bay Marriott hotel. **The 5th ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards are also held in the same week.

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

is the only artist with multiple wins with two awards. Mexican singer

Vicente Fernández Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México ...

is inducted into the ''Billboard'' Latin Music of Fame. *

May 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1027 – Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks. *1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade. * 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forc ...

— The 10th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards are held at the

James L. Knight Center The James L. Knight Center is a contemporary entertainment and convention complex located in Downtown Miami, Florida. Located within the Miami Central Business District, the venue opened in 1982. The complex is named after famed newspaper publi ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Alejandro Fernández Alejandro Fernández Abarca (; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer. Nicknamed as El Potrillo by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million records worldwide, making him one of the most successful Hispanic music artists. He is the ...

is the biggest winner with five awards.

October 10 Events Pre-1600 * 680 – The Battle of Karbala marks the Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. * 732 – Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France. *1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the ...

–17Due to damage to the

Broadcast Data Systems Broadcast Data Systems (also known as BDS or Luminate BDS), is a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts published by co-owned ...

monitors in Puerto Rico caused by

Hurricane Georges Hurricane Georges () was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde Category 4 hurricane which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making eight landfalls along its path. Georges was the sevent ...

, no charts for the

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, rad ...

are published by ''Billboard''.

Bands formed

Bands reformed

Bands disbanded

Bands on hiatus

Number-ones albums and singles by country

List of number-one albums of 1998 (Spain) The List of number-one albums of 1998 in Spain is derived from the ''Top 100 España'' record chart published weekly by PROMUSICAE (Productores de Música de España), a non-profit organization composed by Spain and multinational record companie ...

List of number-one singles of 1998 (Spain) This is a list of the Spanish PROMUSICAE Top 20 Singles number-ones of 1998. Chart history See also *1998 in music * List of number-one hits (Spain) References {{Spanish number-one hits 1998 1998 was designated as the ''Internation ...

* List of number-one ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums of 1998 * List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1998

Awards

* 1998 Premio Lo Nuestro * 1998 ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards *

1998 Tejano Music Awards 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Albums released

First quarter

January

February

March

Second quarter

April

May

June

Third quarter

July

August

September

Fourth quarter

October

November

December

Unknown

Best-selling records

Best-selling albums

The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 1998, according to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''.

Best-performing songs

The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 1998, according to ''Billboard''.

Births

January 2 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empi ...

–

Christell Christell Jazmín Rodriguez Carrillo (born January 2, 1998 in Talcahuano) is a Chilean child singer. She became known in the popular Chilean TV Show called ''"Rojo Fama Contrafama"'' imitating to the young singer Maria Jose Quintanilla in a c ...

, Chilean singer *

April 12 Events Pre-1600 * 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. * 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted ...

Paulo Londra Paulo Ezequiel Londra (born 12 April 1998) is an Argentine rapper and singer. His music has topped Argentine charts and been highly successful across Argentina and Latin America. Early life Londra was inspired to become a rap artist by watch ...

, Argentine trap singer *

May 29 Events Pre-1600 * 363 – The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city. * 1108 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under ...

–

Lucía Gil Lucía Gil Santiago (; born 29 May 1998 in Madrid) is a Spanish singer and actress, best known for winning the first season of the Spanish version of the Disney Channel singing competition ''My Camp Rock''. She has also starred in several TV se ...

, Spanish singer and actress *

July 18 Events Pre-1600 * 477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army. * 387 BC – Roman- Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, l ...

Luísa Sonza Luísa Gerloff Sonza (born 18 July 1998) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. In 2014, she gained fame on YouTube singing cover songs, then in 2017 she released her first major label song, "Good Vibes". A dozen of Sonza's songs were major hits in Br ...

, Brazilian pop singer *

August 25 Events Pre-1600 * 19 – The Roman general Germanicus dies near Antioch. He was convinced that the mysterious illness that ended in his death was a result of poisoning by the Syrian governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, whom he had ordered to ...

Abraham Mateo Abraham Mateo Chamorro (born 25 August 1998), is a Spanish singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He is known for his soulful and dance-oriented music. Mateo was only seven when he began winning prizes on television shows and at the ag ...

, Spanish pop singer

Deaths

March 15 Events Pre-1600 * 474 BC – Roman consul Aulus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years' truce. *44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar takes place. * 493 – Odoa ...

–

Tim Maia Tim Maia (, born Sebastião Rodrigues Maia; September 28, 1942 – March 15, 1998) was a Brazilian musician, songwriter, and businessman known for his iconoclastic, ironic, outspoken, and humorous musical style. Maia contributed to Brazilian mus ...

, Brazilian MPB singer *

April 18 Events Pre-1600 * 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. * 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...

–

Nelson Gonçalves Nelson Gonçalves (June 21, 1919 – April 18, 1998) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born Antônio Gonçalves Sobral in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, he was raised in São Paulo. As a young man, he worked at a variety of meni ...

, Brazilian samba singer and songwriter *

June 23 Events Pre-1600 * 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu. * 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships. * 1280 – The Spanish Re ...

– Leandro, Brazilian sertanejo singer of sibling duo

Leandro e Leonardo Leandro e Leonardo were a Brazilian '' sertanejo'' duo. The two brothers (third and fourth of eight siblings), Leandro (born Luiz José da Costa, August 15, 1961–June 23, 1998) and Leonardo (Emival Eterno da Costa, born July 25, 1963), were from ...

August 4 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Goguryeo-Sui War: In response to a Goguryeo (Korean) incursion into Liaoxi, Emperor Wéndi of Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo during th ...

– Carmen Delia Dipini, Puerto Rican bolero singer *

August 9 Events Pre-1600 *48 BC – Caesar's Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt. * 378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople: A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens ...

–

Frankie Ruiz José Antonio Torresola Ruiz better known as Frankie Ruiz (March 10, 1958 – August 9, 1998) was an American salsa singer and songwriter of Puerto Rican descent. He was a major figure in the ''salsa romántica'' subgenre that was popular in the ...

, Puerto Rican salsa singer

References

{{reflist, 30em Latin music by year