J Balvin

José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, who is professionally known as J Balvin, was born in Medellín, Colombia. In 2001, he moved to the United States to learn English and lived in Oklahoma and in New York.

J Balvin performed at clubs in Medellín when he returned to the city from the U.S. Here are 13 more fact about the Colombian singer:

1. He grew up listening to rock bands including Metallica and Nirvana.
2. In 1997, he got his first tattoo.
3. He studied international business at Escuela de Administración, Finanzas e Instituto Tecnológico (Universidad EAFIT) in Medellín.
4. On May 7, 2009, EMI Music Mexico released his debut studio album titled “Real.”
5. In 2014, his Spanish-language song “6 AM” featuring  Puerto Rican singer Carlos Efrén  “Farruko” Reyes Rosado peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
6. As a musician, he considers Ramón Luis “Daddy Yankee” Ayala Rodríguez as his biggest inspiration.
7. Released on July 17, 2015 as the lead single of his third studio album “Energia” his song “Ginza” reached the top of the charts on October 11, 2015 where it stayed until March 12, 2016. In February 2017, it was recognized by Guinness World Records for the longest stay at number 1 on Hot Latin Songs chart ever by a single artist.
8. In August 2016, he survived a plane crash while leaving the Bahamas where he spent a vacation with his family.
9. In 2017, he appeared as an ambassador during the New York Fashion Week.
10. “Hey Ma” was his first all-English song. He recorded it in 2017 with Armando Christian “Pitbull” Pérez and Camila Cabello from “The Fate of the Furious” soundtrack.
11. In January 2019, he became the first Latin man to collaborate with Guess. He launched the Guess x J Balvin clothing collection inspired by his fourth studio album “Vibras,” which was released on May 25, 2018.
12. He was 34 years old when he became the first recipient of the Global Icon Award given by Lo Nuestro Awards in February 2020.
13. He was the first Latino artist to headline world-musical events including Coachella, Lollapalooza and Tomorrowland.