For more than 30 years, Ivy Queen has held the crown as the Queen of Reggaetón, starting her career in the early ‘90s when the genre was an underground movement dominated by men.
Her first Billboard entry arrived in 1999 with “In the Zone” featuring Wyclef Jean, debuting at No. 38 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart. She’s charted regularly since, landing 20 entries on Latin Rhythm Airplay and nine titles on Top Latin Albums, including three top 10s; and 11 solo entries on Latin Rhythm Albums chart, including eight top 10s and two No. 1s. Ivy’s most iconic song to date, “Quiero Bailar” — where she powerfully sings on how arousal and flirtation don’t translate to consent — peaked at No. 16 on the Tropical Airplay chart and debuted on Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay in 2005.
Ivy, who received the Icon Award at the 2023 Billboard Women In Music Awards, will now be honored with the Pioneer Award at Billboard‘s 2026 Latin Women in Music — which honors female artists who have reshaped the music industry, broken barriers, forged new paths and inspired future generations.
Puerto Rican artist Wisin, who will soon drop a collaboration with Ivy Queen, speaks on the artist’s pioneering career as a force in the reggaetón movement.
Watch Billboard’s Mujeres Latinas en la Música live April 23, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Telemundo, and stream live on Peacock and the Telemundo app. Watch Billboard’s red carpet livestream on the Billboard.com and the Billboard Latin YouTube channel. For more coverage on Latin Women In Music click here.
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I’ve been listening to Ivy Queen since I first dreamed of becoming an artist — right from her early days on The Noise (a rap collective formed by DJ Negro). She’s one of those figures who inspired the majority of us artists who made a living from our craft today. She was one of our key role models.
When I was starting out, there weren’t many women in the movement, and Ivy held the title of the woman amidst a sea of men. She was one of those women who rubbed shoulders with a crowd that was 90% male and 10% female — operating within a genre that was entirely dominated by men. She served as the sole female representation within that inner circle, which included artists like Daddy Yankee, Maicol & Manuel and Baby Rasta & Gringo.
I believe it’s crucial to acknowledge the immense effort Ivy Queen has invested — not only on behalf of women but also in representing a movement that, at one point, was denigrated and rejected by many institutions.
It was people like her who raised their voices to pry open those gates, allowing so many of us to walk through. We owe her a great deal. Many of us are able to make a living through our art today thanks to people like her. What she has accomplished is truly incredible — not just for women, but for the entire urban music genre.
When Wisin & Yandel first began achieving success, we would cross paths with her at various venues and events; she always treated us with the utmost respect and professionalism. Yes, Wisin & Yandel already have a collaboration with her (“Acércate,” 2010), but there is also a brand-new, unreleased track in the works featuring Wisin and Ivy — recorded in my own studio, La Base. It’s a reggaetón track that absolutely fascinates me — I love it. Ivy Queen delivered a sizzling performance — exactly the way I like it — infused with that classic ’90s rap DNA.
It’s a tremendous honor to be able to call her my friend and to be able to publicly acknowledge everything she has achieved. I do this not just for my own sake, but for the sake of the entire movement — a movement where, for so many years, countless dreamers have been striving to achieve greatness. To this very day, I hold her in the highest esteem.
Moreover, she’s a very humble person — someone truly from the barrio (the hood). She never abandons her roots. She’s someone who may achieve economic and musical success, but she will always remember where she comes from and the struggles she had to overcome. She represents the hood. I believe that is extremely important — to represent people who perhaps do not have the opportunities that others do.
Her legacy is undeniable. I believe that all historians — or anyone who follows the movement — understand what she has accomplished over the course of more than three decades. There is no need to say much about Ivy Queen, because her history speaks for itself.
