J Balvin

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Osorio and the second or maternal family name is Balvín.
J Balvin
Balvin in 2017
Born
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín

(1985-05-07) 7 May 1985 (age 39)
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • rapper
  • record producer
Years active2004–present[1]
PartnerValentina Ferrer (2018–present)
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websitejbalvin.com

José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He has been referred to as the "Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reguetón"),[2][3] and is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with over 35 million records sold worldwide.[4][5] Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to the United States to learn English, where he lived in both Oklahoma and New York. He then returned to Medellín and gained popularity performing at clubs in the city.

Throughout his career, Balvin has won eleven Billboard Latin Music Awards, six Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Latin American Music Awards and received four Grammy Award nominations. In 2017, the BMI Latin Awards named him the Contemporary Latin Songwriter of the Year for his contribution in the Latin music industry,[6] and has won the first Global Icon Award given by Lo Nuestro Awards, in recognition of his contribution to spread Latin music worldwide.[7] He became the first Latino to headline world-musical events such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Lollapalooza.[7] The Guinness World Records acknowledged him as a "leader of a second-generation reggaeton revolution".[8]

Balvin's breakthrough came in 2014 with the single "6 AM" featuring Puerto Rican singer Farruko, which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, followed by "Ay Vamos" and "Ginza". In 2016, he released Energia, which included the hit singles "Bobo", "Safari", and "Sigo Extrañándote". In June 2017, Balvin released the single "Mi Gente" with Willy William. On 1 August 2017, "Mi Gente" topped the Global Top 50 on Spotify, and later reached one billion views on YouTube. In January 2018, he released the hit single "Machika" featuring Jeon and Anitta. He collaborated with Cardi B and Bad Bunny on the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "I Like It", which was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Balvin released his fifth studio album José in March 2021 and his sixth album Rayo in August 2024.

Though his music is primarily reggaeton, Balvin has experimented with a variety of musical genres in his work, including electronica, house, Latin trap, and R&B. His original musical inspirations included rock groups such as Metallica and Nirvana, and fellow reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee. He has collaborated with Latin American artists such as Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny and Pitbull. Despite working with many English-speaking artists such as Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Black Eyed Peas, Cardi B, Dua Lipa and Major Lazer, Balvin continues to sing almost exclusively in Spanish, and hopes to introduce Spanish-language music to a global audience. He is also noted for his eclectic and colorful fashion sense.

Balvin received the Vision Award from the Latin heritage Awards in 2016, and in 2019 he won the Golden Artist of Latin Urban Music at the Premios Heat. In 2020 he was included on Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people of the world, and was called one of the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard.[9][10] Balvin is the artist with the most number one songs on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart.[11] He is also the only Latin artist to reach number one on the Billboard charts 174 times.

  1. ^ "J Balvin Panas Primera Cancion". Amino Apps. 24 November 2020. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. ^ Vlessing, Etan (31 August 2020). "Amazon Studios Acquires J Balvin Doc 'The Boy From Medellin'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. ^ Kotler, Sofía (22 July 2020). "J-Balvin. Comparte su pasión por el motocross con su novia argentina" [J Balvin shares his passion for motocross with his Argentine girlfriend]. La Nación (in Spanish). Argentina. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. ^ Collins, Hattie (17 March 2020). ""Ethics Are Not Negotiable": J Balvin On Global Unity & His Friendship With Takashi Murakami". Vogue. United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  5. ^ Savage, Mark (25 October 2021). "J Balvin: Colombian star apologises for controversial Perra video". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  6. ^ "BMI Latin Awards Honor Luis Fonsi, Residente, Horacio Palencia, J Balvin & Sony ATV". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Univision was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference GWR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "J Balvin: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ "GREATEST OF ALL TIME LATIN ARTISTS". Billboard. October 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. ^ Zellner, Xander (12 April 2022). "J Balvin & Ed Sheeran Succeed Themselves at No. 1 on Latin Airplay Chart With 'Sigue'". Power 99.1 - Tri-Cities #1 Hit Music Station!. Retrieved 16 April 2022.[permanent dead link]