Alejandro Sanz is the night’s big winner at the 40 Principales Music Awards

Prize winners include Taylor Swift, Pablo Alboran, Adele and One Direction

The biggest night in the Spanish music calendar, the 40 Principales Music Awards, celebrated the best of national and international music on Thursday January 24. Now in their seventh year,  the 40 Principales Music Awards have quickly become one of the world’s leading showcases of music talent. Among this year’s winners are Alejandro Sanz, Pablo Alboran, Taylor Swift, Adele and One Direction.

Alejandro Sanz was the night’s big winner, with three awards including Best Music Video for 'No me compares', Best Album for 'La Musica no se toca' -- both prizes awarded by the jury -- as well as the special prize for Best Spanish Artist of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Pablo Alboran, riding a wave of success, garnered two of the most important awards, both voted for by the public, in the categories of Best National Artist and Best Song for 'Te he echado de menos'.

The remaining awards were fairly evenly distributed, with a winner in each category: Auryn (Best National Newcomer), La Oreja de Van Gogh (Best Festival, Tour or Concert)  for the Cometas en el Cielo Tour, Shakira (Best International Spanish-Language Artist), Cali y el Dandee (Best International Spanish-Language Song) for Yo te esperaré', Taylor Swift (Best International non Spanish-Language Song), David Guetta (Best International non Spanish-Language Album) for 'Nothing but the Beat 2.0 ', Adele (Best International non Spanish-Language Song) for 'Someone Like You ', and One Direction (Best International Newcomer). There was also a lifetime achievement award for Alicia Keys, who was honored as Best US Artist or Songwriter of the Last Decade, while Pitbull was named Most Influential Latino Artist and Producer.