Biography
Life and career of Netón Vega
Early life in Baja California Sur and Sinaloa
Luis Ernesto Vega Carvajal, known professionally as Netón Vega, is born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and moved with his family to Sinaloa, where he grew up in Culiacán. Music entered his life early: he sang at school concerts around age nine, and by his mid-teens he had assembled a band with classmates and a neighbor, singing lead at private parties across the region. The work was practical as well as artistic — the group charged modest fees and played often enough that Vega often reached school exhausted but with money in his pocket.
Culiacán's regional Mexican scene shaped his ear. He absorbed the corrido tradition through artists such as Chalino Sánchez, Ariel Camacho and Alfredo Olivas, while also gravitating to norteño at home and to rap from Mexico and the United States, including Cartel de Santa and Tupac Shakur. That double exposure — corridos on one side, hip-hop and reggaeton on the other — later became the signature of his own records. His parents supported his playing, sometimes accompanying him to events, and he began writing his own material, starting with romantic songs, reggaetón and traditional corridos requested by audiences on both sides of the border.
Songwriting years and the Peso Pluma connection
Vega's first professional foothold came through writing rather than performing. A friendship with Tito Double P — Peso Pluma's cousin and a fellow fixture of the Culiacán scene — connected him to the circle that would record his songs. Peso Pluma chose "Rubicon" and "La People" for his 2023 album Génesis, a release that became one of the defining regional Mexican albums of its moment and won a Grammy. Vega has called that breakthrough a before-and-after in his career: other artists knew his name as a writer, and the songs kept coming.
Credits accumulated quickly for Luis R. Conriquez, Código FN, Gabito Ballesteros and others. Around the same time he began working closely with Jesús Josafat Chávez Angulo, a local music-scene organizer who became his manager and founded Josa Records, the independent label that releases his music. Studio time and video budgets — the practical resources he needed most — followed. Vega has described writing as the best possible first step, because hits recorded by other artists opened doors that eventually led singers, and then listeners, to his own voice.
Stepping in front of the microphone
Vega released his first single, "Nos Amaneció," in 2023, but his move into the spotlight happened gradually. Featured appearances on recordings by Peso Pluma, Tito Double P and Gabito Ballesteros let him test his voice in front of audiences already primed for his songs. The decisive duet came in 2024: "Si No Quieres No" with Luis R. Conriquez, which gave both singers their first Billboard Hot 100 entry when it debuted at No. 86 and climbed to No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs.
Later that year Peso Pluma invited him onto "La Patrulla," from the album Éxodo, a collaboration that also reached No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs and later drew a Best Latin nomination at the MTV Video Music Awards. Vega meanwhile issued the EP Jalense la Greña in October 2024 and, in December, "Loco," a reggaeton experiment he was not sure would work. It became his breakthrough as a solo performer, peaking at No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs and entering the Hot 100 — evidence that a corridos-trained voice could travel in urban Latin music.
Mi Vida Mi Muerte and the arrival as a solo star
Vega's debut album, Mi Vida Mi Muerte, arrived on February 14, 2025, after a short postponement announced through Remezcla. The 21-track set gathered the brotherhood of artists he had written for — Peso Pluma, Tito Double P, Luis R. Conriquez, Óscar Maydon, Gabito Ballesteros and Alemán among them — and mixed corridos with hip-hop and reggaeton, including the title track and "Loco." It opened at No. 1 on Billboard's Regional Mexican Albums chart and No. 2 on Top Latin Albums and debuted at No. 19 on the all-genre Billboard 200, according to Luminate data cited by Billboard. The entry also marked the first Billboard chart appearance for Josa Records.
Singles from the album kept momentum running through 2025. "Morena," with Peso Pluma, and "Te Quería Ver," with Alemán, both reached No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs, while "M&M" and other cuts charted as well. Billboard had named him a Latin Artist on the Rise in February 2025, and SPIN reported that Mi Vida Mi Muerte was the top-selling música Mexicana album in the United States that year. The reggaeton single "Qué Motor" followed in June.
On the road and at the podium
Touring converted streaming momentum into packed rooms. After three headline shows in Mexico in early 2025 — Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara — Vega played a U.S. festival date at Michelada Fest in El Paso in May 2025 and then launched a 30-date U.S. headlining tour on June 27 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, where tickets sold out in under two hours, Billboard reported. The run included a stadium show in Los Angeles with special guests. Vega has spoken about the tour as a test he could not have imagined years earlier, saying he never expected to play at that scale so soon.
Awards followed the record. At the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards he won artist of the year, new and songwriter of the year, drawn from eight nominations, while Mi Vida Mi Muerte and "La Patrulla" collected further nods. "La Patrulla" also earned a Best Latin nomination at the 2025 MTV VMAs, where Shakira's "Soltera" took the prize. At the 2026 American Music Awards he was nominated for best Latin album for Mi Vida Mi Muerte and for breakthrough Latin artist. TelevisaUnivision had also announced five Premios Juventud nominations for him in 2025.
Delirium and the present day
Delirium, released November 13, 2025, marks a deliberate break. Across 15 tracks Vega works with producers Edgar Barrera and benny blanco, moving through reggaeton, rap, bachata, merengue and dance-pop on songs such as "90 60 90" with Myke Towers, "AQNGP" with Ryan Castro and "Perro Fiel" with blanco, before closing with the corrido "Desvelaos" as a nod to his roots. Blanco told Rolling Stone that Vega is one of the best songwriters and artists he has been in the room with, and the singer has described the sessions as a new level of musical maturity.
Through 2026 he has kept releasing music, including "Canasteo" with Régulo Molina and Óscar Maydon, "Aguas" with Luis R. Conriquez and Rey Quinto, "Nalguita & Teta" and "Riki," extending a run that spans writing credits, headlining tours and genre experiments without abandoning corridos. Vega has said he does not like boxing himself in and intends to keep making what he has made from the beginning alongside new work. He records for Josa Records and continues to move between the corrido tradition that launched him and the urban sounds that widened his audience.
Selected moments
Career highlights
-
Songs land on Peso Pluma's Génesis
Vega writes "Rubicon" and "La People" for Peso Pluma's Grammy-winning 2023 album Génesis, establishing him as a sought-after corridos songwriter before his own performing career takes off.
-
First Billboard Hot 100 entry
"Si No Quieres No" with Luis R. Conriquez debuts at No. 86 on the Hot 100, giving both singers their first chart entry, and later reaches No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs.
-
Jalense la Greña EP
His first EP, Jalense la Greña, arrives on October 18, 2024, on Josa Records, collecting early singles as he prepares to step from the writing room to the stage.
-
"Loco" opens the reggaetón door
Released in December 2024, the reggaeton single "Loco" peaks at No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs and enters the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Vega's breakthrough as a solo performer.
-
Debut album tops Latin charts
Mi Vida Mi Muerte opens at No. 1 on Regional Mexican Albums and No. 2 on Top Latin Albums and debuts at No. 19 on the Billboard 200, giving Josa Records its first Billboard chart showing.
-
Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise
Billboard names Vega its February 2025 Latin Artist on the Rise, spotlighting his leap from behind-the-scenes hitmaker to headlining singer.
-
Two Billboard Latin Music Awards
At the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards he wins artist of the year, new and songwriter of the year, part of an eight-nomination haul that also included Mi Vida Mi Muerte.
-
First U.S. headlining tour
His 30-date U.S. tour opens June 27, 2025, at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, with tickets selling out in under two hours, and later plays a Los Angeles stadium date.
-
Delirium widens the palette
Released November 13, 2025, Delirium pairs Vega with producers Edgar Barrera and benny blanco and moves through reggaeton, rap, bachata and dance-pop across 15 tracks.
-
American Music Awards nominations
He is nominated for best Latin album for Mi Vida Mi Muerte and for breakthrough Latin artist at the 2026 American Music Awards, extending his recognition beyond regional Mexican circles.
Recognition
Awards and nominations for Netón Vega
Netón Vega has won two Billboard Latin Music Awards from eight nominations at the 2025 ceremony, including artist of the year, new and songwriter of the year. He has also been nominated for MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards and Premios Juventud honors.
Results below follow published winners lists from Billboard, Variety and People alongside nomination announcements from Billboard and TelevisaUnivision.
- Billboard Latin Music Awards wins
- 2
- Billboard Latin Music Awards nominations
- 8
- American Music Awards nominations
- 2
| Year | Award | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Artist of the Year, NewWinner | |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Songwriter of the YearWinner | |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Top Latin Album of the YearNominee | Mi Vida Mi Muerte |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Top Regional Mexican Album of the YearNominee | Mi Vida Mi Muerte |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Regional Mexican Artist of the Year, SoloNominee | |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Regional Mexican Song of the YearNominee | La Patrulla |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year, MaleNominee | |
| 2025 | Billboard Latin Music Awards | Global 200 Latin Artist of the YearNominee | |
| 2025 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best LatinNominee | La Patrulla |
| 2026 | American Music Awards | Best Latin AlbumNominee | Mi Vida Mi Muerte |
| 2026 | American Music Awards | Breakthrough Latin ArtistNominee |