J Balvin was born as José Álvaro Osorio Balvin in Medellín, Colombia, on May 7, 1985, in the bosom of an upper-middle-class family. His father owned a business and they were doing well financially. However, after the business closed and his father declared bankruptcy, they had to move to a poorer neighborhood. The life of Balvin He changed after that and grew up in a society where hip-hop had a great influence. She enrolled in an English exchange program in Oklahoma and moved to New York City to study English and music. He also worked as a dog walker during those times to earn a living.
Although he is known mainly as a reggaeton singer, Balvin It has been inspired by several other genres, including house music, trap, R&B, and rock. He is a huge fan of the rock bands Metallica and Nirvana. After spending a long time in the United States, he returned to Colombia and began performing in various urban clubs in Medellín and later adopted the stage name of ‘J Balvin The Business‘. He collaborated with his future business partner David Rivera Mazo and began producing his own brand of music without any music label. His music was primarily a hybrid of Puerto Rican reggaeton with elements from other genres.
In 2009, he signed a contract with EMI Colombia and released his first single (under a music label) ‘She captivated me‘which appeared on Billboard’s 50 Tropical Songs chart. In 2014, he tasted great success when he teamed up with Puerto Rican singer Farruko for the single ‘6 AM‘. The single was a huge success in the United States, as well as in Europe and Latin America. The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and number four on the main Colombian charts.
Balvin won its first major award in 2015, when it received the Latin Grammy Award for ‘Best Urban Song’ for the single ‘Oh come on‘. The single topped Billboard’s list of best Latin songs, as well as the best charts in Colombia. In 2015, he released another single, titled ‘Ginza‘, which topped the charts in Colombia, Italy, Mexico and Spain. The song not only reached 600 million views on Vevo, but it also set a new Guinness World Record for the longest stay at number one on the chart.
In 2016, he released his fourth studio album ‘Energy‘which topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart on its debut, and debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200 of all genres. The album released hit singles like ‘Safari‘,’Fool‘ Y ‘I keep missing you‘; ‘Fool‘reached the top of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The album received worldwide accolades from various organizations and earned a spot on Rolling Stone’s Top 10 Latin Albums of 2016.
J Balvin is characterized by composing his songs based on his own experiences and his career as a singer, which has led him to stardom and to be recognized throughout the musical world.