Things are really starting to take off for the 33-year-old Colombian reggaeton artist known as J. Balvin. Born in Medellín, Colombia, Balvin moved to the United States at the age of 17 to both Oklahoma and New York to learn English; it was here that he gained some inspiration for his music.
After returning to his home city, J.Balvin grew his fan base and popularity by performing at local clubs. His first breakthrough hit was released in 2014. The single, “6 AM”, which featured established Puerto Rican singer, Farruko, reached a peak at number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The positive reaction to this single as well as one of his most well-known songs, “Ay Vamos”, helped the success of his 2014 album, “La Familia”.
Balvin’s 2016 album, “Energía” featured smash singles like “Ginza”, “Bobo” and “Safari”, which featured Pharrell. J. Balvin’s music features scenes from relationships and the club, all set to the pulsing rhythm of the reggaeton genre, or other influences like rap, R&B, and hip-hop.
J. Balvin is known for his changing hair color, sense of style and charismatic personality on his social media in addition to his undeniable musical talent and creativity.
Balvin broke into the United States music scene through a number of hits and performance in the past two years, including his song “Mi Gente”, which was remixed with Beyoncé. He also has had many strong collaborations with a number of both American, Latinx and international artists, including Anita, Major Lazer, and Sean Paul.
He most recently has been on tracks with sassy female rapper Cardi B and surprised everyone at Coachella 2018 with a performance. J.Balvin has stayed true to his heritage in that he sings almost exclusively in Spanish and hopes to introduce more Spanish-language music to a global audience.