Elvis Crespo will be honored with the Billboard Hall of Fame Award at the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Billboard and Telemundo announced on Tuesday (Oct. 14).
The merengue star from Puerto Rico will also deliver a performance at the ceremony — set to air Thursday, Oct. 23 on Telemundo — that will celebrate his legendary career and lasting impact. Crespo will be joined on stage by rising Dominican star Ebenezer Guerra, legendary merengue singer Toño Rosario, and Dominican urban artist La Insuperable.
“Receiving the Billboard Hall of Fame Award is one of the greatest honors of my career,” Crespo said in a statement. “This award is not only for me, it’s for merengue, for Puerto Rico, and for every fan who has danced and celebrated life with my music. To share this moment on the Billboard Latin Music Awards stage is truly unforgettable.”
The Billboard Hall of Fame Award celebrates a career that extends beyond musical performance and takes into account the incredible influence the recipient enjoys as an artist globally in multiple fields, according to a press release. Previous winners of the award include Vicente Fernández, Rocío Dúrcal, Marco Antonio Solís, Joan Sebastian and Marc Anthony, among others.
Crespo will be honored for his three decades in music that include his global smash hits “Suavemente” and “Tu Sonrisa,” which turned him into a cultural phenomenon. “Suavemente” topped Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart for six weeks in 1998 and “Tu Sonrisa” peaked at No. 1 for two weeks that same year. In addition to those merengue classics, he bridged genres with crossover hits like “Azukita” alongside Steve Aoki, Daddy Yankee, and Play-N-Skillz, and “Bailar” with Deorro.
The awards show will broadcast live on Telemundo and stream on the Telemundo App and Peacock, and air throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional. Tickets to the event are now available on Ticketmaster.
Crespo joins a long list of artists confirmed to perform at the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2025, such as Carlos Vives, Danny Ocean, Emilia, Grupo Frontera, Kapo, Laura Pausini, Netón Vega, Olga Tañón, Óscar Maydon, Peso Pluma, Ozuna, Wisin and Xavi.
The awards coincide with Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place at The Fillmore Miami Beach Oct. 20-24. The full programming schedule and ticket sales are available at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com.
