# Premios Gardel

The Premios Gardel a la Música (originally called Premios Carlos Gardel), or just Premios Gardel (in English, the Gardel Awards), is an award presented by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF) to recognize the best of Argentine music and to award the talent of Argentine artists in a diversity of genres and categories. The trophy depicts a sculpture of French Argentine tango singer Carlos Gardel, one of Argentina's music icons. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have more popular interest.
The honorees are chosen by a jury consisting of musicians, journalists and other members of the media, event producers, sound engineers, and personalities related to music. The awards are the Argentine equivalent to the American Grammy Awards and the British BRIT Awards. The Premios Gardel have been described as the "most important prize in the country's music business".

## History

After the ACE Awards (1992–1997) failed to become Argentina's standard music awards due to lack of support from the industry, the Gardel Awards appeared to take over that spot.
The awards are named after Carlos Gardel, one of Argentina's earliest and most well-known popular music performers. The awards were organized by CAPIF with the first ceremony held in 1999 for music released between June 1, 1997, and November 30, 1998. The jury for the first awards comprised 500 members.
In 2003, the voting committee was made "truly independent from the record companies, whose staffs can no longer vote," according to then-CAPIF executive director, Gabriel Salcedo. The jury increased to 1,500 members, including artists, producers, and journalists of "every musical genre". In the past, the Gardels were viewed as a "pat on the back" from the industry to its favorite, best-selling artists, but the revamped voting was viewed as giving transparency to the selection process and a new-found credibility to the awards themselves.

## Ceremonies

| No. | Year | Date | Gardel de Oro | Host(s) | Venue | Broadcast |
| 1 | 1999 | 14 April | Sandro | Jorge Guinzburg | Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 2 | 2000 | 24 April | Mercedes Sosa | Dady Brieva | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 3 | 2001 | 31 March | León Gieco | Marcos Mundstock | Luna Park Arena, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 4 | 2002 | 16 April | Charly García | Roberto Pettinato | Teatro Opera, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 5 | 2003 | 17 March | Charly García | Roberto Pettinato | Luna Park Arena, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 6 | 2004 | 31 March | Babasónicos | Roberto Pettinato | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 7 | 2005 | 13 April | Bersuit Vergarabat | Roberto Pettinato | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | Telefe |
| 8 | 2006 | 5 April | Andrés Calamaro | Manuel Wirzt and Hilda Lizarazu | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | Telefe |
| 9 | 2007 | 17 April | Gustavo Cerati | Roberto Pettinato | Luna Park Arena, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 10 | 2008 | 26 March | Andrés Calamaro | Bebe Contemponi | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | El Trece |
| 11 | 2009 | 22 July | Luis Alberto Spinetta | None | None | None |
| 12 | 2010 | 4 November | Gustavo Cerati | None | None | None |
| 13 | 2011 | 30 November | Divididos | None | None | None |
| 14 | 2012 | 8 November | Escalandrum | Soledad and Bahiano | Usina del Arte, Buenos Aires | CM |
| 15 | 2013 | 21 August | Abel Pintos | Deborah de Corral and Mex Urtizberea | Teatro Opera, Buenos Aires | C5N |
| 16 | 2014 | 4 September | Abel Pintos | Roberto Pettinato and Sandra Mihanovich | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | C5N |
| 17 | 2015 | 2 June | Axel | Roberto Pettinato and Catarina Spinetta | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | TN |
| 18 | 2016 | 7 June | Luis Alberto Spinetta | Lalo Mir | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | TN |
| 19 | 2017 | 6 June | Abel Pintos | Lalo Mir and Maju Lozano | Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires | TN |
| 20 | 2018 | 29 May | Charly García | Germán Paoloski | Kirchner Cultural Centre, Buenos Aires | TVP |
| 21 | 2019 | 14 May | Marilina Bertoldi | Iván de Pineda | Ángel Bustelo Auditorium, Mendoza | TNT |
| 22 | 2020 | 18 September | David Lebón | Ale Sergi and Natalie Perez | None | TNT |
| 23 | 2021 | 23 July | Fito Páez | Jey Mammón and Eleonora Pérez Caressi | None | TNT |
| 24 | 2022 | 23 August | Wos | Jey Mammón and Eleonora Pérez Caressi | Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires | Star+ |
| 25 | 2023 | 16 May | Trueno | Iván de Pineda | Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires | Star+ |
| 26 | 2024 | 28 May | Miranda! | Iván de Pineda | Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires | Star+ |
Footnotes:
* ↑ The 11th Annual Gardel Awards ceremony could not be held due to the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Winners were announced on the morning of 22 July 2009, with trophies being sent to them.
* ↑ The 12th Annual Gardel Awards ceremony was not held. Winners were announced on 4 November 2010.
* ↑ The 13th Annual Gardel Awards ceremony was not held. Winners were announced on 30 November 2011.
* ↑ The 22nd Annual Gardel Awards ceremony was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ale Sergi and Natalie Perez hosted the event live from a studio in Buenos Aires, while winners, presenters and performers were shown from their homes or recording studios.
* ↑ The 23d Annual Gardel Awards ceremony was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Categories

The Gardel Awards are awarded in a series of categories, each of which isolate a specific contribution to the recording industry. The standard awards list nominees in each category from which a winner is selected. Twenty-four Gardel Awards were awarded in the first award ceremony, but the number of awards has grown and fluctuated over time as new categories are added and some older ones removed. As of 2022, the number of categories is forty-eight.

### General Field

The General Field are standard awards for musical works which do not restrict nominees by genre or some other criterion:
* Album of the Year is awarded to the performer(s) of a full vocal or instrumental album. The winner of this category receives the Gardel de Oro Award, a golden version of the trophy and the Awards' greatest distinction.
* Song of the Year is awarded to the performer(s), songwriter(s) and composer(s) of the song.
* Record of the Year is awarded to the performer(s), producer(s) and recording engineer(s) of a full album. Formerly known as Production of the Year, it also allows songs to be nominated since 2020.
* Best New Artist is awarded to the performer of a full album or song who has not released more than two albums or twenty songs. From 2007 to 2018 (except in 2010), the category was replaced genre-specific versions for pop, rock, tango, folklore, tropical and cuarteto.
* Collaboration of the Year is awarded to the performers, songwriter(s) and composer(s) of the song. It is awarded since 2020.

### Winners

| No. | Year | Album of the Year (Gardel de Oro) | Song of the Year | Record of the Year | Best New Artist(s) |
| 1 | 1999 | Al Despertar (Mercedes Sosa) | "Volver a empezar" (Alejandro Lerner) | Volver a Empezar (Alejandro Lerner) | Marcela Morelo |
| 2 | 2000 | Signos (Los Nocheros) | "Campeones de la Vida" (Alejandro Lerner) | La Marcha del Golazo Solitario (Los Fabulosos Cadillacs) | Laura Miller |
| 3 | 2001 | Narigón del Siglo (Divididos) | "Soy Cordobés" (Rodrigo) | Narigón del Siglo (Divididos) | Roxana Carabajal |
| 4 | 2002 | Un Mundo Diferente (Diego Torres) | "Shima Uta" (Alfredo Casero) | Casaerius (Alfredo Casero) | Alfredo Casero |
| 5 | 2003 | Influencia (Charly García) | "Tu Vicio" (Charly García) | Influencia (Charly García) | Mambrú |
| 6 | 2004 | Infame (Babasónicos) | "Irresponsables" (Babasónicos) | Infame (Babasónicos) | Emme |
| 7 | 2005 | La Argentinidad al Palo (Bersuit Vergarabat) | "Los Caminos de la Vida" (Vicentico) | MTV Unplugged (Diego Torres) | Juana Molina |
| 8 | 2006 | El Regreso (album) (Andrés Calamaro) | "El Ángel de la Bicicleta" (León Gieco) | Café de los Maestros Vol. 1 y 2 (Gustavo Santaolalla) | Migue García |
| 9 | 2007 | Ahí vamos (Gustavo Cerati) | "Crimen" (Gustavo Cerati) | Ahí vamos (Gustavo Cerati) | David Bolzoni |
| 10 | 2008 | La Lengua Popular (Andrés Calamaro) | "5 Minutos Más" (Andrés Calamaro) | Laberintos entre aristas y dialectos (Catupecu Machu) | Ella Es Tan Cargosa |
| 11 | 2009 | Un mañana (Luis Alberto Spinetta) | "Mi elemento" (Luis Alberto Spinetta) | Quebrado (Pedro Aznar) | Romina Vitale |
| 12 | 2010 | Fuerza natural (Gustavo Cerati) | "Déjà vu" (Gustavo Cerati) | Fuerza natural (Gustavo Cerati) | De Bueyes |
| 13 | 2011 | Amapola del 66 (Divididos) | "Sólo Un Momento" (Vicentico) | Amapola del 66 (Divididos) | Tan Biónica |
| 14 | 2012 | Piazzolla Plays Piazzolla (Escalandrum) | "Paisaje" (Vicentico) | Piazzolla Plays Piazzolla (Escalandrum) | Deborah de Corral |
| 15 | 2013 | Sueño Dorado (Abel Pintos) | "Sueño Dorado" (Abel Pintos) | Chances (Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas) | Rosario Ortega |
| 16 | 2014 | Abel (Abel Pintos) | "Aquí Te Espero" (Abel Pintos) | Abel (Abel Pintos) | Indios |
| 17 | 2015 | Tus Ojos, Mis Ojos (Axel) | "Afinidad" (Axel) | Tus Ojos, Mis Ojos (Axel) | Lali |
| 18 | 2016 | Los Amigo (Luis Alberto Spinetta) | "Antes y Después" (Ciro y los Persas) | Único (Abel Pintos) | Julieta Rada |
| 19 | 2017 | 11 (Abel Pintos) | "Cómo Te Extraño" (Abel Pintos) | Barro y Fauna (Eruca Sativa) | Benjamín Amadeo |
| 20 | 2018 | Random (Charly García) | "Aire" (Axel) | Random (Charly García) | J Mena |
| 21 | 2019 | Prender Un Fuego (Marilina Bertoldi) | "Sin Querer Queriendo" (Lali featuring Mau y Ricky) | Studio 2 (Escalandrum) | Destino San Javier |
| 22 | 2020 | Lebón & Co. (David Lebón) | "Canguro" (Wos) | Lebón & Co. (David Lebón) | Wos |
| 23 | 2021 | La Conquista del Espacio (Fito Páez) | "Ladrón" (Lali and Cazzu) | Calambre (Nathy Peluso) | Nathy Peluso |
| 24 | 2022 | Oscuro Éxtasis (Wos) | "Miénteme" (Tini and María Becerra) | "Mafiosa" (Nathy Peluso) | Tiago PZK |
| 25 | 2023 | Bien o Mal (Trueno) | "La Triple T" (Tini) | "Argentina" (Trueno and Nathy Peluso) | Noelia Recalde |
| 26 | 2024 | Hotel Miranda! (Miranda!) | "Obsesión" (Lali) | "La Rueda Mágica" (Fito Páez featuring Andrés Calamaro and Conociendo Rusia) | Milo J |
Footnotes:
* ↑ The Album of the Year and Gardel de Oro were different categories until they were merged in 2003. Since then, winning the Album of the Year award is equivalent to winning the Gardel de Oro award.
* ↑ Formerly known as Production of the Year.
* ↑ The category awarded albums exclusively until 2019. In 2020, songs started to be allowed. In 2022, it was made a song-exclusive category.
* ↑ In the years 2007-2009 and 2011-2018, specific genre categories were introduced for the Best New Artist award. However, they were re-merged into a single category starting from the 2019 ceremony. The names for Best New Artist on this chart stand for Best New Pop Artist.
* ↑ Subtitled "EADDA9223".

### Genre-specific categories

As of the 2024 ceremony, there are 49 categories, including the General Field.
Pop
* Best Pop Album (since 2020)
* Best Pop Song (since 2022)
* Best Pop Group Album
* Best Traditional Pop Album (since 2024)
* Best Urban Pop Album (since 2024)
* Best Urban Pop Song (since 2024)
Rock
* Best Rock Album (1999–2001, 2003–2005, 2016–2017, 2020–)
* Best Rock Song (since 2022)
* Best Rock Group Album
* Best Hard Rock/Punk Album (since 2014)
Dance/Electronic
* Best Electronic Music Album (since 2018)
Folk
* Best Folklore Album (1999, 2020–)
* Best Folklore Song (since 2022)
* Best Folklore Group Album (since 2000)
* Best Chamamé Album (since 2015)
Tango
* Best Tango Album (1999–2001, 2003, 2020–)
* Best Tango Song (since 2022)
* Best Instrumental Tango Orchestra Album (2000–2003, 2005–)
Alternative music
* Best Alternative Pop Album (since 2019)
* Best Alternative Rock Album (since 2019)
* Best Alternative Folklore Album (since 2008)
Tropical/Cuarteto
* Best Tropical Album (2004–2006, 2020–)
* Best Tropical Song (since 2022)
* Best Tropical Group Album (2003–2010, 2012–)
* Best Cuarteto Album (2003–2009, 2012–)
* Best Cuarteto Song (since 2022)
* Best Cuarteto Group Album (2012–)
Classical
* Best Classical Album (since 2001)
Jazz
* Best Jazz Album (since 2003)
Instrumental/Fusion/World Music
* Best Instrumental/Fusion/World Music Album (since 2010)
Urban/Reggae
* Best Urban Album (since 2022)
* Best Urban Song (since 2022)
* Best Urban Collaboration (since 2022)
* Best Reggae/Ska Album (since 2019)
Live
* Best Live Album (since 2020)
Singer-Songwriting
* Best Singer-Songwriting Album (since 2004)
Children
* Best Children's Album
Music for Visual Media
* Best Cinema/Television Soundtrack Album (since 2007)
Historical
* Best Catalog Collection Album (since 2007)
Concept
* Best Concept Album (since 2008)
Producer
* Producer of the Year (1999–2004, 2020–)
Recording Engineer
* Best Recording Engineering (since 2005)
Package
* Best Cover Design (since 2000)
Music Video
* Best Music Video (1999, 2001–)
* Best Long Form Music Video (since 2005)

### No longer awarded

Pop
* Best Female Pop Album (1999–2019)
* Best Male Pop Album (1999–2019)
* Best New Pop Artist (2007–2009, 2011–2018)
Rock
* Best Female Rock Album (2002, 2006, 2017–2019)
* Best Male Rock Album (2002, 2006, 2017–2019)
* Best New Rock Artist (2007–2009, 2011–2018)
Dance/Electronic
* Best Dance/Electronic Album (2003–2007)
* Best Electronic Tango Album (2008–2009)
* Best Remix Album (2008–2009)
Folk
* Best Female Folklore Album (2000–2019)
* Best Male Folklore Album (2000–2019)
* Best New Folklore Artist (2007–2009, 2011–2016, 2018)
* Best Nuevas Formas Folklore Album (2004–2006)
Tango
* Best Female Tango Album (2002, 2004–2019)
* Best Male Tango Album (2002, 2004–2019)
* Best New Rock Artist (2007–2009, 2011–2018)
* Best Nuevas Formas Tango Album (2004–2006)
Alternative music
* Best Alternative Rock/Pop Album (2009–2018)
* Best Alternative Tango Album (2011–2017)
Urban/Reggae
* Best Urban/Reggae Album (2012–2018)
* Best Urban/Trap Song or Album (2019–2021)
* Best Urban/Trap Collaboration (2019–2021)
Romantic/Melodic
* Best Romantic/Melodic Album (2003–2023)
Instrumental/Fusion/World Music
* Best Instrumental/Fusion Album (in 2009 only)
* Best Instrumental Album (2007–2008)
Tropical/Cuarteto
* Best Female Tropical Album (2001–2003, 2007–2010, 2012–2019)
* Best Male Tropical Album (2001–2003, 2007–2010, 2012–2019)
* Best New Tropical Artist (2002–2003, 2007–2009)
* Best New Cuarteto Artist (in 2012 only)
* Best New Tropical/Cuarteto Artist (2006–2009, 2011)
* Best Female Tropical/Cuarteto Album (in 2011 only)
* Best Male Tropical/Cuarteto Album (in 2011 only)
* Best Tropical/Cuarteto Group Album (in 2011 only)
* Best Tropical/Bailanta Album (in 1999 only)
* Best Female Tropical/Bailanta Album (in 2000 only)
* Best Male Tropical/Bailanta Album (in 2000 only)
* Best Tropical/Bailanta Group Album (1999–2000)
Christian music
* Best Christian Album (2008–2012)
Performance
* Performance of the Year (2006–2007)
Adult Contemporary
* Best Adult Contemporary Artist or Group (2002–2003)
Latin
* Latin Album of the Year (1999–2002)
* Best Female Latin Album (1999–2002)
* Best Male Latin Album (1999–2002)
* Best Latin Pop Group Album (1999–2002)
* Best Latin RockGroup Album (1999–2002)
* Best New Latin Artist (1999–2002)
* Best Mercosur Artist Album (in 1999 only)
Music Video
* Best Music Video Director (1999–2000)

## Voting process

The voting process begins every year with media companies entering albums, songs and music videos for consideration. Entries are made online. Once the postulation date expires and all entries have been registered in the differed categories, CAPIF summons the Revision Committees, work groups consisting of journalists, producers, musicians and specialist that revise the entries to revise that the entries have been registered in the right category according to its music genre and particular characteristics. Once it has been revised, the selection of nominees begins.
For selecting the nominees, CAPIF informs the jury of the Gardel Awards that the first stage of the voting process is open for each category. Members of the jury can access online to the audio and video contents that habe been submitted for nomination and choose those that consider should be nominated. Once this stage of the voting process finishes, CAPIF publishes the official list of nominees.
After the list of nominees has been defined, the voting members must select one winner for each category. This is also made online. Lastly, CAPIF informs the winners in the pre-telecast ceremony and the official awards show ceremony.