Leila Cobo

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities in Latin music and the Latin music industry, Leila Cobo is a novelist, speaker, journalist, TV host and Billboard’s Chief Content Officer for Latin/Español, overseeing the brand’s coverage of Latin music in all its platforms, as well as all its Spanish-language content. A Fulbright scholar and pioneering music and media leader who has been called “The top Latin music journalist in the U.S.” by Variety, and “one of the world’s foremost experts on all things Latin music” by Pollstar, Leila was the first U.S. based journalist to prominently cover Latin music daily and has been instrumental in transforming its coverage and perception in the U.S. 

Leila programs Billboard’s yearly Latin Music Week, the most prestigious and largest gathering for the Latin music industry. In 2022, she spearheaded the launch of Billboard Español, which is now the most visited Spanish language media platform dedicated to music in the world. She also launched Billboard’s new Latin Women In Music franchise, which airs on Telemundo, and in 2025, spearheaded the launch of the new Billboard Latin channel on YouTube. She is also the first Latin invited to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee.

Leila is a classically trained pianist with a degree in performance from Manhattan School of Music who toured extensively in the classical music circuit, and is also a graduate of the Annenberg School of Communications at USC, where she got her master’s degree as a Fulbright scholar. A speaker, novelist, and biographer, her most recent book, Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music (Penguin Random House), was featured in the New York Times’ summer reading list. She has published two award-winning novels with Grand Central Publishing/Hatchette –The Second Time We Met and Tell Me Something True – and biographies on Jenni Rivera and Ednita Nazario with Penguin. She hosts “In-Tune With Leila Cobo,” her in-depth interview show seen on all U.S. airports via Reach TV.

Leila is a frequent speaker at colleges and institutions and was a curator for Carnegie Hall’s 2024-2025 Latin program. Among many accolades, she received the 2024 “Icono Máximo” award at Premios Icono; the 2020  “Wonder Women of Latin Music” award from the LAMC; the “Music Industry Trailblazer” award from the TJ Martell foundation in 2019; and was named an inaugural “Leading Latin Lady” by the Latin Grammys.

Prior to Billboard, she worked at the Miami Herald and the Los Angeles Times.