In 2022, Billboard‘s Latin Artists on the Rise series featured throughout a select group of artists who had a breakthrough inside or outside of their genre, scored a significant chart feat and/or created a buzz that was impossible to ignore.
This year, the series went from featuring two artists a month to only having one Artist on the Rise per month, which leaves us with a total of 12 up-and-coming acts who were spotlit — including 25-year-old Silvana Estrada, who was the first Artist on the Rise of 2022 and went on to win best new artist at the Latin Grammys in November (in a tie with 95-year-old musician Ángela Álvarez).
April’s Artist on the Rise was Mexican-American teenage trio Yahritza Y Su Esencia, who made history with their first-ever single “Soy El Único.” Siblings Yahritza, Armando, and Jairo Martinez first created a fan base on TikTok and then made history on the Billboard charts after their debut single (released March 25 via Lumbre Music) debuted at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs, and hit No. 20 on the Hot 100 chart, making the then 15-year-old Yahritza the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre tally.
Another artist that was part of the exclusive list was Spanish artist Quevedo who, alongside Bizarrap, scored his first No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. thanks to their summer smash hit “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52.”
Below, we highlight all the artists who formed part of the coveted Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise series throughout 2022.
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Silvana Estrada
Featured On: January 20
Memorable Quote: “I feel like I learned to tell stories only with the quality of my vocals and tell the story of who I am only because of my voice, even if I’m actually telling a story with words as well. There’s something more profound in the quality of my voice.”
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Los Del Limit
Featured On: February 17
Memorable Quote: “I didn’t believe in my music. I didn’t think it was good and I wanted to quit … My last hope was to reach out to my colleagues for their feedback. The only person to reply to me was [music engineer] New Music Limit, who said my music was good and would support us. In a span of eight months, he helped us work on our debut album.” — band member Rubén Leyva.
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Yendry
Featured On: March 24
Memorable Quote: “When I’m creating music, it comes from me and it’s about something that I really care about, you know? Even if there’s another writer in the room, I always say, ‘I would love to talk about this’ or ‘I would never say that. It’s my inspiration and it’s the message I want to put out so these are the words.’”
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Yahritza y Su Esencia
Featured On: April 7
Memorable Quote: “I know that the words are very strong but honestly, when it comes down to me writing my songs, it’s more like a research process … I see other people’s stories on TikTok — that’s how I found ‘Soy El Unico,’ because I saw a clip that said, ‘It’s crazy how someone can leave you when you’re the only one who’s best for them.’ No one’s going to believe me when I say that I get my inspiration from TikTok.” — Yahritza
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Luis R. Conriquez
Featured On: May 26
Memorable Quote: “I had been writing corridos for like a year already and the day I decided to quit the gas station, it was because I was actually making really good money as a songwriter … I was like, ‘I’m never coming back to this gas station,’ and I made music my main gig. And well, here we are.”
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Ryan Castro
Featured On: June 23
Memorable Quote: “My story begins in my humble barrio of Pedregal (located in northern Medellín, Colombia) … Since I didn’t have enough resources for my studies, I began singing at bus stops and on the buses. That’s how I was able to buy my own clothes and support my household.”
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Quevedo
Featured On: July 28
Memorable Quote: “My music is now heard around the world and it’s something that’s honestly just incredible … [Bizarrap] told me he liked what I was doing and was hoping we could do music together. The timing was perfect because I was actually in Argentina recording ‘Si Quieren Frontear’ with Duki. So we decided to do the session then.”
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Santa Fe Klan
Featured On: August 18
Memorable Quote: “I began doing hip-hop in the barrio between the age of 12 and 13. My barrio taught me what hip-hop and rap music is. That’s when I began writing my own music … [My father] discovered my talent when I was a little kid. He would buy me a lot of toy instruments and I would play pretend drums with the pots and pans.”
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Lili Zetina
Featured On: September 22
Memorable Quote: “My childhood was difficult because we were very poor … But living in poverty marked my life and it now makes me value what God gives me every single day. For me music was and will always be my comfort and a sort of release of joy or grief.”
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Lasso
Featured On: October 27
Memorable Quote: “My friends and I began learning how to play the guitar … We had no clue about music, but we somehow convinced our school to do a talent show so that we could perform.”
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GALE
Featured On: November 24
Memorable Quote: “[My father] used to make me perform every single time at every family reunion … He would tell me, ‘If this is what you want to do your whole life, you need to practice.’ I was like, ‘I just want to go play hide and seek with my cousins!’ But then I’d sing 10 songs and I’d enjoy it.”
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Grupo Frontera
Featured On: December 22
Memorable Quote: “The group’s appeal is very easy … we’re trending, we’re moving up, and we’re doing great music that everyone likes. We’re creating music for people of all ages. We’re making romantic songs that you can dedicate. I feel that a lot of artists right now want to release love songs as opposed to party songs, and that’s why they want to work with us.” — band member Julian Peña Jr.