José Álvaro Osorio Balvín is a Colombian reggaeton singer and record producer, best known as J Balvin. He was born in Medellín, Colombia, on May 7, 1985. With a well-established music career, Balvin is one of the most successful representatives of the genre internationally, managing to place many of his songs at the top of major music charts.
His first album was released in Colombia, and with the second one, La familia, launched in 2013, he gained significant international recognition by achieving gold and platinum records in several countries, thanks to his award-winning track 6 AM, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Farruko. This song reached the top positions on the Billboard charts and became the first Spanish-language single to earn diamond certification in the United States. The track won two Premios Lo Nuestro for Best Song and Urban Collaboration.
In 2015, he undertook a musical tour, the Sex and Love Tour, featuring Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull.
That same year, he released "Ginza," which corresponds to his third studio album, "Energía." The song became Balvin's first to enter the main Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it stayed at the top for twenty-one consecutive weeks, in addition to achieving first place in Spain (platinum record), Mexico (gold record), Italy, and the USA (platinum record). With this track, the Colombian artist performed at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy in 2016, becoming the first representative of his country to do so.
He has won the Latin Grammy Awards four times, to which he has been nominated many times.
In 2017, he recorded "Mi Gente" with French singer and producer Willy William, another of his most popular songs, which he performed at the halftime show of Super Bowl LIV, held on February 2, 2020, where Jennifer Lopez and Shakira also participated. On that occasion, he also performed "Que Calor."
In 2017, for the soundtrack of the movie Fast and Furious 8, he recorded his first song in English, Hey Ma, along with Cuban-American Pitbull and CubanCamila Cabello. The latter has praised the singer several times, stating that he has been an inspiration for her.
Balvin has publicly acknowledged that he suffers from depression and is on medication. The musician aims to bring awareness to an illness that he says was difficult for him to recognize, and he frequently references the topic, as he did during World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10) when he shared his personal experience with journalist Enrique Santos.
In September 2020, Time magazine selected him as one of the most influential people in the world.
In July 2020, the Colombian sent a message to the Cuban violinist Zamir Muñoz Hernández, known for his violin interpretations of urban genre themes.
In August 2020, former president Obama shared a list of his favorite summer music, which included "One Day" by J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and Dua Lipa. In 2018, Obama had referred to the Colombian artist during a speech where he asked the audience, "Who doesn't like J Balvin and reggaeton?" thereby validating the presence of Latin music in the United States.
In February 2021, he announced his parenthood alongside his girlfriend, the Argentine model Valentina Ferrer.
