J Balvin

José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, known artistically as J Balvin, is a Colombian reggaeton singer. Balvin was born in Medellín, the largest city of Antioquia, where he became interested in rap, dancehall, champeta and bachata at a young age. He is known for his song "Yo Te Lo Dije" and "Tranquila."

In popular culture, J Balvin was featured on the Colombian version of "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Williams & T.I., although the remix was received poorly. J Balvin is also featured in the Colombian remix of "The Way" by Ariana Grande.

His breakthrough came in 2014 with the single "6 AM" featuring Puerto Rican singer Farruko which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. In 2016, he released Energia, which included the hit singles "Ginza", "Bobo", "Safari", and "Sigo Extranandote".

In June 2017, J Balvin released the single "Mi Gente" with Willy William. On 1 August 2017, "Mi Gente" topped the Global Top 50 on Spotify, and later reached one billion views on YouTube. In January 2018, he released the hit single "Machika" featuring Jeon and Anitta. He collaborated with Cardi B and Bad Bunny on the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "I Like It".

Though his music is primarily reggaeton, J Balvin has experimented with a variety of musical genres in his work, including electronica, house music, trap, and R&B. His original musical inspirations included rock groups such as Metallica and Nirvana, and reggaeton king Daddy Yankee. He has collaborated with artists such as Pharrell Williams, Major Lazer, and Sean Paul.

J Balvin became the first recipient of the Global Icon Award given by Lo Nuestro Awards, in recognition of his contribution to spread Latin music worldwide, and the first recipient of the inaugural Contemporary Song of the Year at the BMI Latin Awards with "Ay Vamos". His other achievements includes 35 million singles sold worldwide, and 25 billion streams reached in his career as of 2020.

Despite working with many English-speaking artists, J Balvin continues to sing almost exclusively in Spanish, and hopes to introduce Spanish-language music to a global audience.

J Balvin was named one of Time Magazine's Most Influential People in 2020.