Establishing himself as one of Latin music's biggest stars, Colombian J Balvin crossed over to a huge mainstream audience in 2017 when Beyoncé featured on his huge hit 'Mi Gente'. Born in the central town of Medellion, Balvin grew up in a comfortable, middle class family, but when his father's business failed and the family moved into a tougher, poorer neighbourhood, the youngster struggled to fit in and make new friends. He ended up heading to America when he was 17 and, inspired by the New York hip-hop stars like Puff Daddy and 50 Cent, he returned home to finish his studies and kickstart a music career. His mix of woozy, trap beats, carnival colour and calypso rhythms and flourishes was crafted with the help of his friend DJ David Riviera Mazo, and from the local clubs and rap battle scene he began to lead a new generation of reggaeton artists who were more emotionally open, street savvy and fashionably current than 1990s originals like Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen. He landed his first number one single in Columbia with 'En Lo Oscuro' in 2011 and went on to have a string of big party hits that helped re-shape pop music across the continent, including '6 AM' which notched up nearly one billion views on YouTube and 'Ay Vamos' which won Balvin his first Latin Grammy Award. He also featured on the remix of Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' and Ariana Grande's 'The Way', toured with Enrique Iglesias and topped the Billboard Latin Charts with fourth album 'Energia' before 'Mi Gente', his collaboration with French producer Willy William, became popular on US radio. The infectious, upbeat singalong came to Beyoncé's attention when her five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy started singing it to her and when she and Balvin re-mixed 'Mi Gente', the song shot to number three in the US charts. Balvin returned in 2018 with his fifth studio album 'Vibras' which he described as being an equal mix of dancehall, reggaeton and R&B sounds and featured guest appearances from Brazilian pop queen Anitta, Mexican indie songwriter Carla Morrison and DJ duo Wisin & Yandel.
Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved
