José Álvaro Osorio Balvín is a Colombian reggaeton singer and music producer better known as J Balvin. He was born in Medellín, Colombia on May 7, 1985. With a highly established music career, Balvin is one of the leading representatives of the genre, having achieved numerous international hits and placing many of his songs at the top of major music charts.
His first album was introduced in Colombia, and with the second one, La familia, released in 2013, he received significant international recognition by achieving gold and platinum records in several countries thanks to his multi-awarded 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 status in the United States. The track won two Premios Lo Nuestro, for best song and urban collaboration.
In 2015, he embarked 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 to enter the main Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it stayed at the top for twenty-one consecutive weeks, in addition to achieving number one in Spain (platinum record), Mexico (gold record), Italy, and the USA (platinum record). With this song, 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 4 times, for which he has been nominated many times.
In 2017, he recorded with French singer and producer Willy William the song Mi gente, another one of his most popular hits, which he performed during 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 the 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 artist aims to raise awareness about an illness that he says was difficult for him to recognize, and he frequently references the topic, as he did on 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 renditions of urban music 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 mentioned the Colombian artist during a speech, asking the audience, "Who doesn't like J Balvin and reggaeton?" thus validating the presence of Latin music within the United States.
In February 2021, he announced his fatherhood alongside his girlfriend, the Argentine model Valentina Ferrer.
