Sara Schell, the 23-year-old Venezuelan songwriter who has contributed to recordings by KATSEYE, Becky G and J Balvin, won Songwriter of the Year at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards. Six years earlier, she was planning to study business in London before the pandemic disrupted her plans. Online collaborations and early songwriting sessions opened an unexpected path into the industry, eventually placing her work behind several major international hits.
Sara Schell arrived at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards as the youngest and least established name in a category dominated by experienced songwriters. On November 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, she emerged as the winner of Songwriter of the Year. The award recognized the creative work of a 23-year-old whose songs have reached audiences far beyond her native Venezuela.
Her fellow nominees included Edgar Barrera, who had won the category for three consecutive years, along with Yoel Henríquez, Iván Gámez and Jenni Mosello. Schell was the only newcomer among them. Her victory placed her alongside writers with extensive careers and established a new level of recognition for work that listeners often encounter without knowing the person who helped create it.
In 2020, a music industry career was not part of her immediate plans. After graduating from high school in Venezuela, she intended to move to London to study business. The pandemic intervened, universities closed and her family relocated to Mexico. With her original plans on hold, she began posting song covers and other recordings on Instagram.
Those posts introduced her to musicians and songwriters she had never met in person. She started attending online writing sessions through Zoom, developing songs with collaborators in different locations. What initially emerged as a way to stay creative during lockdown gradually became the foundation of a professional career.
Music had been part of her life long before that period. Born in Barquisimeto, Schell began studying at the Vicente Emilio Sojo Conservatory when she was four years old. She played cello until the age of 14 and traveled to Peru and the United States through her musical activities. She also studied piano and singing, gaining experience in several aspects of performance.
Her first attempt at writing an original song came at 15, following a teenage breakup. She has recalled hearing a melody while falling asleep, then getting up and moving to the bathroom to avoid waking anyone while she worked on the idea. The song became “Sin Ti o Contigo,” an early recording that she later removed from digital platforms.
Despite her musical background, Schell did not personally know many people who earned their living from songwriting. A university education therefore seemed like the more practical option. Her father encouraged her to pursue music instead, suggesting that she devote two years to exploring the career she had always wanted.
His advice came from his own experience. He had grown up with an interest in music and sports, but his parents had steered him toward a more conventional profession. Rather than repeat that approach with his daughter, he wanted her to have the freedom to make a different decision.
A decisive opportunity arrived in 2024 when Schell traveled to Miami carrying demos of her songs. She hoped to meet an industry professional whose first name, Ben, was almost the only information she had. During the visit, she arranged multiple writing sessions each day, and her work attracted the attention of Nir Seroussi at Interscope.
After hearing her songs, Seroussi introduced her to Ben Tischker of Wide Eyed Entertainment. He turned out to be the person she had traveled to Miami hoping to find. Tischker became her manager, while the new professional connections helped secure placements for her writing with established recording artists.
One of those early opportunities was “PXTXS” by Fuerza Regida. Originally written as a bolero, the song explores the aftermath of a breakup through excess and self-destructive behavior. Its adaptation into the group’s regional Mexican sound involved translating elements of Schell’s vocal melody into guitar parts, reshaping the original composition for a different musical setting.
Another important credit followed with KATSEYE’s “Gabriela.” Schell’s contribution was specific: she was asked to write the Spanish-language bridge. She submitted two alternatives, one was selected, and the song was released soon afterward. She has described the process as unusually quick and said she had not fully understood the group’s international following at the time.
Her catalogue also includes work connected to “Mercedes” by Becky G and Óscar Maydon, “Ojos verdes” by Nicki Nicole, and “Si Te Vas” by J Balvin and Jay Wheeler. These are songwriting contributions, not solo performances. They also do not mean that Schell was the only writer involved in each recording.
The Latin Recording Academy recognized her work across several songs, including “Ahí Estabas Tú” and “Barco de Papel” by Fonseca, “Bendito” by Rawayana, and “Vas a Quedarte” by Diego Torres and Manuel Carrasco. Her credits illustrate the range of artists and musical styles she has worked with in a relatively short period.
A particularly personal collaboration was “A La Niña Que Fui” by Kany García, which also received a Best Pop Song nomination. During their writing session, Schell suggested creating a song addressed to García’s younger self. The idea connected with the singer’s existing creative direction, and the two developed it alongside fellow songwriters Rafa Arcaute, Nate Campany and Richi López.
Although Schell has appeared on some recordings as a performer, she has said her preferred career remains writing songs for other artists. She is associated with MPub and Wide Eyed Publishing, working in a profession where the people responsible for melodies and lyrics are not always as visible as those who perform them.
The distinction she received is Songwriter of the Year, an award recognizing songwriting work across multiple compositions. It is separate from Song of the Year, which honors an individual song and its writers. That difference matters in understanding the achievement: Schell was recognized for a growing body of creative work, not for being the lead performer of a single hit.
Six years after preparing to leave for London, Sara Schell has built a career through classical training, online collaborations and songwriting sessions with musicians around the world. Her Latin Grammy win brings a name into the spotlight that many listeners may be hearing for the first time, even if they already know the songs she helped write.
