José Álvaro Osorio Balvín is a Colombian reggaeton singer and record producer, better 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 genre's most successful representatives internationally, having placed many of his songs at the top of major charts.
His debut album was released in Colombia, and with the second, La familia, launched in 2013, he received significant international recognition by achieving gold and platinum status in several countries, thanks to his award-winning track 6 AM in collaboration with Puerto Rican Farruko, which managed to reach the top positions on the Billboard charts and became the first Spanish-language single to earn diamond status in the United States. The song won two Premios Lo Nuestro for Best Song and Urban Collaboration.
In 2015, he/she went on 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 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it remained at the top for twenty-one consecutive weeks, in addition to reaching number one in Spain (platinum record), Mexico (gold record), Italy, and the USA (platinum record). With this song, the Colombian performed in 2016 at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy, being the first representative of his country to do so.
He has won the Latin Grammy Awards four times, for 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 during the halftime show of Super Bowl LIV, held on February 2, 2020, alongside Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. 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, alongside Cuban-American Pitbull and Cuban Camila Cabello. The latter has praised the singer several times, stating he has been an inspiration for her.
Balvin has publicly acknowledged that he suffers from depression and is on medication. The musician aims to shed light on an illness that he says was difficult for him to recognize, and his references to the topic are frequent, such as 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 versions of urban genre songs.
In August 2020, former President Obama Obama shared a list of his favorite summer music, which included One Day by J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and Dua Lipa. In 2018, Obama mentioned the Colombian artist during a speech where he asked the audience, "Who doesn’t like J Balvin and reggaeton?" thus validating the presence of Latin music in the United States.
In February 2021, he announced his fatherhood alongside his girlfriend, Argentine model Valentina Ferrer.
