The 'El Clavo' singer also opens up to ET about his hopeful collaboration with Cardi B.
Prince Royce knows he has some competition!
The 29-year-old singer will be performing twice at Thursday's 2018 Latin American Music Awards, but it's the show's five female hosts who are making history. Aracely Arambula, Becky G, Leslie Grace, Gloria Trevi and Roselyn Sanchez will take the stage to host the awards show -- which Royce couldn't be more happy about.
"I think it's awesome," he told ET's Denny Directo at rehearsals at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre on Tuesday, before praising the influx of Latina singers taking over the industry.
"You know, I get along well with Karol G, Becky G, and we got a record coming out later this month. I've collabed with J.Lo, I've collabed with Thalia, with Shakira and I think, to see all these women representing our culture, and then also the upcoming females and actresses and singer-songwriters who are doing their thing, I think it's great," Royce said. "We've been waiting for that time, and I'm so proud to see that there's kind of like this movement of women taking over the Latin charts."
"They're kicking my a** on the charts," he joked. "But it's cool though. It's cool. It's all good."
Royce seemingly has worked with everyone in Latin music, but he's still got a few dream collaborations he'd like to put together. "I would love to collab with Marc Anthony. I think he's somebody that I've always looked up to. He's doing a really great job. He's from New York," he said, also calling out a fellow Bronx native on his wish list. "I'd love to collab with Cardi B, as well."
The "I Like It" rapper is nominated for Favorite Crossover Artist at the Latin AMAs, where Royce teased he could be setting up his next projects.
"There's so many artists, man, and you know, sometimes these collaborations, you don't really plan them. Sometimes you get a song, you say, 'Man, this reminds me of this person. I wonder if they'll vibe with it.' So it's been friendships and collabs that happen pretty much organically," he shared. "You go out for a drink, you know, the studio. It happens all the time, actually. I think a lot of collaborations and songs actually happen after awards shows."
For now, Royce is focused on his scheduled performances for Thursday. He'll be singing his hit, "El Clavo," with Maluma, as well as taking the stage with Pitbull and Ludacris to sing a new song that will drop on Thursday night.
"It's a slow jam," he teased of the latter. "Remember Usher's song, 'Lovers and Friends?'... We kind of bring that back, and that's a really cool, sensual, romantic song."
His performance with Maluma will be a little more high-energy. "It's going to be dope!" Royce promised. "It's a different vibe, we got the whole stage. I'm really excited about that, lots of pyro, lots of dancers."
“I'm going to be surrounded by women, but you're going to see it, you're going to love it,” Maluma added while speaking to ET about the performance. “I have a big surprise for you, and it's, like, showing girl power. That's what I want to do [with] this performance.”
Celebrating his collaborations and honoring female artists has been a big focus for Royce lately. "I think the last year for me has been experimenting with different rhythms, also collaborating with a lot of artists. I think in the last two, three years, we're seeing so much talent in Latin music, and we see so many people getting success, and that makes me really proud," he gushed. "I've been in the game for a while now, and I think it feels good to see all this young talent come up."
And after Thursday's Latin AMAs, there will most definitely be more on the way. "Two things are going to happen. Either you get a collaboration, or you get hungover the next morning," Royce said. "Either way, it's a fun time."
The 2018 Latin AMAs air Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on Telemundo.
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