Shelly Lares, Jay Perez, Stevie D, and JR Gomez top winners at 40th annual Tejano Music Awards featuring virtual performances

The 40th annual Tejano Music Awards honored the best in Tejano music on Tuesday night during a virtually streamed event because of the current pandemic. Shelly Lares, Jay Perez, Stevie D, and JR Gomez won two awards each leading all winners.

Lares, who had the most nominations with six in multiple categories, won Female Vocalist of the Year and Collaboration of the Year with Ernestine Romero for their duet “Estupida.” It was a dream come true for Romero, the New Mexico singer who was tragically murdered in July 2019.

“Our angel, may she rest in peace and I know she is celebrating right now in Heaven. I know it,” Lares exclaimed in her acceptance speech for Collaborationof the Year. “She was always saying, ‘I want to work with you, I want to do something with you’…Thank you to Eddie Perez for making that happen, he’s the producer of the song…This is for Ernestine’s fans and all of New Mexico.”

Jay Perez won Male Vocalist of the Year and Tejano Album of the Year with 25th Anniversary Contigo. Stevie D took the trophies for Song of the Year with “Ahora Sigo Yo” and Video of the Year for “El Primer Tonto.” JR Gomez won Best New Male Artist and Best New Group with his band Los Conjunto Bandits.

Gary Hobbs was named Entertainer of the Year. “Off the bucket list of a dream come true,” he said when accepting the award. The singer from Eagle Pass, Texas, who recently celebrated 37 years in Tejano music, thanked God, his family, friends, fans, and band members. “I want to thank every musician that has been on stage with us during these 37 years of nothing but Tejano music.”

The Tejano Music Awards were streamed at FierroHD.com and TejanoMusicAwards.com featured a special tribute to Selena and performances by Jay Perez, Gary Hobbs, Shelly Lares, Stefani Montiel, Isabel Marie & The Vibe, JR Gomez, South TX Homies, The Mavericks, Monica Saldivar, Ricky Valenz, and an all-star performance of “America The Beautiful.”

The best performance of the night was a Stefani Montiel video montage featuring collaborations with Savannah V on “Vive” and “Echame La Culpa” with Leonel Correa of La Calma sandwiched around Stefani’s “Lo Que Me Gusta”. The amazing performance montage, produced by Gabriel Zavala, can be seen below.

Full list of winners at 40th annual Tejano Music Awards:

Entertainer of the Year

• Gary Hobbs — WINNER!

Song of the Year

• “Ahora Sigo Yo” — Stevie D and the All-Star Cast — WINNER!
• “Ayer” — Shelly Lares ft. JR Gomez
• “Basta De Tu Amor” — Jay Perez & The Band
• “Echame La Culpa” — La Calma ft. Stefani Montiel
• “Inquebrantable” — Elida Reyna Y Avante

Male Vocalist of the Year

• Gary Hobbs
• James Arreola — Los Palominos
• Jay Perez — WINNER!
• Leonel Correa, Jr — La Calma
• Stevie D

Female Vocalist of the Year

• Ernestine Romero
• Isabel Marie Sanchez
• Linda Escobar
• Shelly Lares — WINNER!

Album of the Year — Tejano

• 25th Anniversary Contigo — Jay Perez — WINNER!
• Con La Fuerza De Un Huracan — Los Palominos
• IV — Isabel Marie Sanchez
• Mi Tesoro — Ernestine Romero
• Obra De Amor — Shelly Lares

Album of the Year — Conjunto

• Calm Before The Storm — Los Desperadoz — WINNER!
• El Baile Se Encendio — Da Krazy Pimpz
• La Revancha — Linda Escobar
• Por Ser Una Gran Mujer — Conjunto Madrigal de June P Garcia
• Si No Me Quieres – Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez

Collaboration of the Year

• “Ayer” — Shelly Lares ft. JR Gomez
• “Con La Fuerza De Un Huracan — Los Palominos ft. Ivan Oscar Trevino
• “Cuatro Copas” — Isabel Marie Sanchez ft. Ramon Vargas
• “Echame La Culpa” — La Calma ft. Stefani Montiel
• “Estupida” — Ernestine Romero ft. Shelly Lares — WINNER!

Best New Male Artist

• David Lee Rodriguez
• Ismael Gutierrez
• Javi Guerra
• JR Gomez — WINNER!
• Vidal Perez

Best New Female Artist

• Brenda Martinez
• Cindy Ramos
• Magali Delarosa
• Monica Saldivar — WINNER!

Best New Group

• Ismael Gutierrez Y Su Pasion Del Norte
• JR Gomez Y Los Conjunto Bandits — WINNER!
• Kompleto
• Monica Saldivar and The Band

Music Video of the Year

• “Amor Amor” — Selia ft. DJ Kane
• “El Primer Tongo” — Stevie D — WINNER!
• “La Vida Es Justa” — Los Chamacos
• “Me & My Girlfriend” — Cinco Doce ft. Monica Saldivar
• “Yo Te Extrañare” — Anjelique ft. Shelly Lares

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