J. Balvín was born José Álvaro Osorio Balvín on the 7th of May 1985. Born and raised in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, he debuted as a reggaeton singer in 2009 and has since become one of the country’s biggest musical exports in recent memory.
The young Balvín was surrounded by music from an early age. There was a true melting pot of music that he heard on the radio in his youth, but it was the rap, champeta, bachata, and reggae that truly inspired him later in life. After studying music whenever he could during his schooling, he started writing and producing his own music in 2004 at the age of 19.
He amassed a back catalogue of 100 songs before signing to EMI Colombia in 2009, and his first single, the same years "Ella Me Cautivó”, made as much of a name for himself in the States as it did in his home country. Even from then on it was clear that this was an artist with an appeal that could cross continents.
His first album, “Real” was released the same year as well but it wasn’t until the year after when he became a star in his home country. His second album’s lead single "Ella Me Cautivó" went straight into the Colombian charts at number two and the third single from that album “En Lo Oscuro”, reached number one in 2011.
That year he was nominated for ten awards at the Premios Nuestra Tierra music awards but even then, things were only going to get better. His third album, 2013’s “La Familia”, went four times platinum in Colombia, platinum in Romania and Peru and Gold in Argentina and Venezuela. It was also his first record to chart on the Billboard Heatseekers chart as well.
He rounded off 2014 on an arena tour with Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias and his star continues to rise to this day. Where he goes next will hopefully propel him into the stratosphere, and we should all stick around to see it.
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