Karol G walked off the Premios Juventud stage in southern Spain with the night's biggest prize, Album of the Year, as the 23-year-old award show left the Americas for the first time to stage its ceremony at the Starlite Auditorium in Marbella.

Premios Juventud has run since 2004, built around a young, bilingual fan base and voting across Univision's platforms. This year's edition moved outside the Americas for the first time, landing in Spain after previous ceremonies in Miami, Puerto Rico and Panama, according to Infobae. The rollout also included a companion event, PJ Fest, with creator activations and concerts in Houston, Miami and Los Angeles ahead of the live gala. Karol G's winning album carried its own track record into the night. Rolling Stone ranked the 20 track Tropicoqueta among the best Latin albums of 2025, pointing to how it pulls from multiple eras of Latin pop across genres including cumbia, vallenato and salsa.

Karol G's Tropicoqueta Takes the Night's Top Prize

Released in June 2025, Tropicoqueta is Karol G's fifth studio album and her first full length project since Mañana Será Bonito. The record was built with producers including Édgar Barrera, Ovy on the Drums and Pharrell Williams, largely with live instrumentation. At Premios Juventud, the album took the ceremony's central honor, Album of the Year, over projects from artists including Rosalía, Bad Bunny and Carín León. Karol G also won Best Urban Rhythmic Song for "Verano Rosa," a track she recorded with fellow Colombian artist Feid, also drawn from Tropicoqueta.

DJ Snake, Morat, Xavi and Young Miko Add to the Label's Night

The wins extended well beyond Karol G. DJ Snake shared Best Urban Mix for "Tonto" with J Balvin and Ryan Castro, a track that carried across Latin radio and streaming charts through the summer. Morat won Best Pop/Rock Song for "Sin Ti," its collaboration with Puerto Rican singer Jay Wheeler. Música mexicana artist Xavi took Best Mexican Music Fusion for "No Capea" with Grupo Frontera and performed during the broadcast. Puerto Rican artist Young Miko closed out the label's wins with Best Urban Album for Do Not Disturb. The ceremony aired live on Univision, UNIMÁS, Galavisión and ViX.

The ceremony also crowned Shakira, Bad Bunny and Spanish pop singer Aitana in top categories, according to Variety, with each picking up multiple trophies over the course of the night. Moving the ceremony to Spain after years in Miami, Puerto Rico and Panama signals an attempt to grow the show's European audience without losing its core Latin American base. For Karol G, the Album of the Year win keeps Tropicoqueta in the conversation more than a year after its release, a harder feat in a streaming era built around singles.