J Balvin
José Álvaro Osorio Balvin, known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian reggaeton singer. Balvin was born in Medellín, Colombia. At age 17, he moved to the United States states of Oklahoma and New York to learn English and was influenced by the music he heard there. He then returned to Medellín and gained popularity performing at clubs in the city.
His 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. The song, along with the single "Ay Vamos", bolstered sales of his album La Familia (2014). In 2016, he released Energia, which included the hit singles "Ginza", "Bobo", "Safari", and "Sigo Extranandote". In June 2017, J Balvin released the single along "Mi Gente" featuring Willy William. On 1 August 2017, "Mi Gente" topped the Global Top 50 on Spotify, and later reached 1 billion views on YouTube. The song, and its remix featuring American artist Beyoncé, helped J Balvin achieve international fame. In January 2018, he released the hit single "Machika" featuring Jeon and Anita.
Though his music is primarily reggaeton, J Balvin has experimented with a variety of musical genres in his work, including electronica, house music, trap, and R&B. His original musical inspirations were rock groups such as Metallica and Nirvana. He has collaborated with artists such as Pharrell, Major Lazer, and Sean Paul. Despite working with many English-speaking artists, J 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.
J Balvin was born into a middle-class family in Medellín, Colombia on May 7, 1985. His father was an economist and business owner, and he grew up in a large home in the hills outside the city. He grew up listening to rock groups such as Metallica and Nirvana, and states that he incorporates the grunge aesthetic into his personal style, having a Nirvana tattoo on his knee. He developed an interest in reggaeton after listening to Daddy Yankee. He recalls that "I was such a fan that I was copying his style, the way he moved onstage, his flows, his raps", comparing him to the reggaeton equivalent of Jay-Z. His father's business went bankrupt, and the family lost their home and car, requiring the family to move to a poorer neighborhood. On this period of his life, J Balvin notes, "When I would go to the barrio, people saw me as a rich person, but when I'm around rich people they see me as someone from the ghetto. It's all perceptions. I like moving between worlds. I feel equally comfortable in both."
When J Balvin was 17, he participated in an English-exchange program in Oklahoma, but was disappointed by the experience, saying, "I was expecting the U.S. that everyone knows from Hollywood". Soon after the program, he moved to New York City to further study English and music, living with an aunt on Staten Island and working as a dog walker. During his time in New York, he became fascinated by the business savvy of New York rappers 50 Cent and P. Diddy. J Balvin worked various jobs in New York, Miami, and Medellín, including working illegally in the United States as a roofer and house painter. He ultimately decided to return to Colombia and began performing at various urban clubs in Medellín and increasing his social media following. He enrolled at the prestigious Eafit University in Medellín for seven semesters, studying international business. At age 19, he began to seriously pursue a career in music and adopted the stage name J Balvin "El Negocio", meaning "The Business" in English.
On January 16, J Balvin premiered his new single "Ginza" from his upcoming album, at the Premios Juventud. Later that week, he premiered the music video on Vevo. The music video broke the record for the most views for a Latin music video in the first 24 hours, at over two million views. Since then, the video has racked up over 600 million views. The song reached number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart for the week of October 17, 2015. The song also set a new Guinness World Record for the longest stay at number one on the chart. J Balvin became the first artist to receive a diamond certification in the Latin field from the RIAA, denoting digital sales of 600,000 units for his songs "6 AM" and "Ay Vamos". Andrew Casillas of Rolling Stone wrote that "with its deliciously liquid beat, ["Ginza"] among the finest three minutes in reggaeton history."
On 24 June 2016, J Balvin released his fourth studio album Energia. He launched 3 hit singles from the album, "Bobo", "Safari", and "Sigo Extranandote", which all reached the top 10 of the Latin charts
On 30 June 2017, J Balvin released his new single along with the official music video "Mi Gente" featuring Willy William. On 1 August 2017, "Mi Gente" became the number 1 song in the world according to Global Top 50 on Spotify. It soon reached 1 billion views on YouTube. In September 2017, the song was remixed with American artist Beyoncé. The remix reached the top ten in the United States, giving Balvin his first USA top ten single. J Balvin and Willy William released six more "Mi Gente" remixes with Steve Aoki, Alesso, Cedric Gervais, Dillon Francis, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and Henry Fong. Despite the song's success, "Mi Gente" did not win any awards at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards, with many awards going to Luis Fonsi's hit "Despacito". At the ceremony, he performed "Mi Gente" as well as "Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola" alongside Bad Bunny and his remix of "Unforgettable" with French Montana.
On 19 January 2018, J Balvin released his new single along with the official music video "Machika" featuring Jeon and Anita. His collaboration with Nicky Jam, "X", was released on March 1, 2018 and the music video received 288 million views on Youtube in less than a month. Nicky Jam stated that he attributes the success of "X" to J Balvin's contribution.
J Balvin has called fashion "his life's passion, on the same level as music." He appeared as an ambassador during the 2017 New York Fashion Week, and has called for greater representation of Latinos in the fashion world. He utilizes eccentric accessories such as cowboy hats, colorful tracksuits, and ripped jeans. Isabela Raygoza described his aesthetic at the 2017 Latin Grammys as a "Latin raver Eminem" due to his neon blonde hair and brightly colored athletic clothing.
