Omar Courtz Just Became Latin Music's Official New Artist
The Puerto Rican singer went from a SoundCloud upload and a mall job to Billboard's New Latin Artist of the Year. Here's how he built it.
Puerto Rican pride. Carolina's Omar Courtz is Billboard's New Latin Artist of the Year. Photo: Ricardo Dominguez / Unsplash.
Every era of reggaeton has a moment when the new kid stops being "one to watch" and becomes one you have to deal with. For Omar Courtz, that moment came last Thursday in Miami, when Billboard named him New Artist of the Year at the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
He also won Latin Rhythm Album of the Year for "Por Si Mañana No Estoy," according to winners lists published by El Comercio and Latination. Telemundo's tally puts him at two awards on a night when Bad Bunny took seven. Two is not seven. But for a first win in front of the industry, it is a statement.
Here is the thing: "new" is doing a lot of work in that title. Courtz has been building in public for nearly a decade. This is the profile of how that happened, built from what's on the record.
From a clothing store to the studio
Courtz was born Joshua Omar Medina Cortés on Oct. 11, 1997, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, per his Wikipedia biography. As a teenager he worked at a clothing store called Change, where, by that account, he met reggaeton stars Farruko, Anuel AA and Ozuna, artists who later became collaborators.
Think about that for a second. A retail job became his first network. Every young creative in New York who works the register at a sneaker shop on 125th or a boutique in SoHo should hear that story twice. You never know who is walking in the door.
In 2017 he uploaded "Volvemos Otra Vez" to SoundCloud, and it picked up local buzz. A year later he released a four-track EP, "Invierno," while studying mechanical engineering. Engineering by day, verses at night. That detail tells you a lot about how he approaches the music: structured, patient, a little technical.
The quarantine breakout
His turn came in 2020. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, his single "En Su Nota" went viral, and it led to a deal with Mr. 305, Pitbull's label, according to Wikipedia. By 2021 he had a song on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, "Ten Cuidado," alongside Pitbull, Farruko, IAmChino and El Alfa.
The next few years read like a checklist of an artist doing the work. In 2023 he collaborated with Daddy Yankee, Tainy, J Balvin and Wisin, was selected for TikTok's Elevate program and was named by Billboard as a rising artist to watch. In September 2024 he released his debut album, "Primera Musa," which reached No. 8 on Billboard's Latin albums chart and No. 1 in Spain.
From an ad tech lens, his path is a case study. Viral moment, label deal, platform programs, high-profile features, then a full album. Nothing skipped. A lot of artists catch the viral wave and never build the boat. Courtz built the boat.
"In Case I'm Not Here Tomorrow"
Then came Feb. 19, 2026, and "Por Si Mañana No Estoy," which translates to "In Case I'm Not Here Tomorrow." The 18-track album blends reggaeton, R&B, trap, electronic textures and Afrobeats, according to Live Nation and LaMezcla.
The numbers moved fast. Live Nation reported the album debuted at No. 1 on Spotify's Top Albums Debut Global chart and No. 3 on the U.S. chart, landed at No. 3 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums and placed 11 tracks on Hot Latin Songs. By April, it had passed a billion streams, per Live Nation; LaMezcla reported 1.4 billion by July.
The single "KOKO," produced by Sky Rompiendo, did the heavy lifting on social. It reached No. 1 in Spain and on streaming charts across several Latin American markets, and fans made millions of TikTok videos with it, according to Live Nation and LaMezcla. His track "Veldá," with Bad Bunny and Dei V, reached No. 5 on Billboard's Latin chart, per Wikipedia.
He has also covered Rolling Stone en Español and GQ Spain, per LaMezcla, and picked up three Premios Tu Música Urbano nominations this year, including Album of the Year and Rising Star, Male.
The New York connection
Courtz may be from Carolina, but New York is part of the run. When Live Nation announced his "Por Si Mañana No Estoy" USA Tour in April, it listed a Sept. 9 date at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, an arena booking for an artist still on his second album. LaMezcla reported the tour's Puerto Rico stop at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on Sept. 24.
That matters here. New York has always been a proving ground for Boricua artists. Booking Barclays instead of a club says the promoters believed the city would show up.
Why he matters
The sound is the point. Courtz's lane, Latin R&B with reggaeton bones and Afrobeats color, is where a lot of younger listeners live right now. It is softer than old-school perreo and more melodic than trap. It is music for the 18 to 30 crowd that grew up with Drake and Bad Bunny on the same playlist.
On the same night Courtz won, Burna Boy took Billboard's Crossover Artist of the Year. That pairing says something. The walls between Afro and Latin sounds are coming down, and artists who move comfortably across them are going to own the next few years.
The Den's take
The "new artist" label undersells him, and that is exactly why the win means something. Courtz is proof that a decade of steady work can still be called an overnight success when the moment finally lands. He came up through a retail job, a SoundCloud upload, engineering classes on the side and a pandemic-era viral hit. That is not luck. That is a plan.
Our advice for anyone building something right now: study the sequence, not the spike.
Your turn
What's your Omar Courtz song of the year: "KOKO," "Veldá" or a deep cut we should be playing? Tell us.
Follow @theinnovatorsden.
Sources: El Comercio · Latination · Telemundo · Wikipedia · Live Nation · LaMezcla: tour · LaMezcla: nominations