J Balvin is one of the world's biggest and most colorful Latin artists. Reggaeton music is rooted in the Caribbean, and the Colombian superstar put his hometown of Medellín's take on the genre on the map. J Balvin also used his platform to champion acts like Bad Bunny, Anitta, Karol G, and Rosalía early into their careers. Looking back on J Balvin's impact on Latin music in the past few years, here are 20 must-hear songs and collaborations.
One of J Balvin's first big hits was "6 AM" in 2013. J Balvin teamed up with Puerto Rican singer Farruko, who would score a global hit of his own with "Pepas" a few years later. In the slinky reggaeton track, J Balvin and Farruko traded verses about trying to piece together what happened after a night of hard partying.
J Balvin has supported the career of fellow Colombian singer Karol G many times throughout his career. The two superstars put the spotlight on other talents from their hometown of Medellín by jumping on the remix of "Poblado" in 2021. They teamed up with Crissin, Totoy El Frio, Natan y Shander, and reggaeton icon Nicky Jam on the freaky banger.
The song that turned J Balvin into a global superstar was 2015's "Ginza." The success of that song also turned Medellín, Colombia into a new hub for making reggaeton hits. In the alluring reggaeton banger, J Balvin sang about wooing a woman on the dance floor.
J Balvin showed a more sentimental side to his music when he released "Sigo Extrañándote" as a single in 2017. In the heartfelt reggaeton track, he sang about missing a loved one who was no longer in his life. The song was co-written by Feid, who has since become another one of Colombia's biggest music stars.
J Balvin solidified his place in Latin music history with the success of the global smash "Mi Gente" in 2017. He turned French DJ Willy William's "Voodoo Song" into a reggaeton anthem about unity. Later that year, pop icon Beyoncé jumped on a remix of "Mi Gente" alongside J Balvin and William.
J Balvin helped Anitta break further into Latin America beyond Brazil in 2017. He joined the Brazilian superstar on her sensual reggaeton romp "Downtown." Anitta and J Balvin sang to each other about how a woman prefers to be pleased in the bedroom.
Latin stars collided in 2017 on one of the biggest singles from The Fate of the Furious soundtrack. J Balvin joined forces with Cuban-American acts Pitbull and Camila Cabello on the swaggering banger "Hey Ma." A fun fact about this song is that it originally featured Pitbull with Britney Spears and Romeo Santos. For unknown reasons, Cabello and J Balvin took their places.
In 2018, J Balvin leaned into refreshing tropical sounds on his album Vibras. Those feel-good vibes best came through in the breezy love song "No Es Justo." Puerto Rican reggaeton icons Zion y Lennox joined J Balvin for that reggaeton gem.
J Balvin helped usher Rosalía into the world of reggaeton when he jumped on her song "Con Altura" in 2019. The Spanish pop star's longtime producer, El Guincho, also featured on the fierce club banger. Rosalía and J Balvin sang together about living the high life literally in an airplane.
J Balvin was one of the first reggaeton artists to collaborate with Bad Bunny when he was on the come-up. The two later teamed up for the joint album Oasis , which was like a Latino version of Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch The Throne project. The song from J Balvin and Bad Bunny's LP that really resonated with people was the heartbreaking reggaeton track "La Canción."
Nicky Jam and J Balvin teamed up for a monster hit in 2018. The reggaeton stars' alluring dancehall track "X" went viral thanks to their kooky dance moves in the music video. Over on YouTube, the colorful video for "X" has over 2.2 billion views as of press time.
In 2018, Cardi B enlisted J Balvin and Bad Bunny to feature on her global hit "I Like It." The Dominican-American superstar embraced her Latina roots by mixing a sample of the Boogaloo classic "I Like It Like That" with trap music. The explosive collaboration shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which was a first for both J Balvin and Bad Bunny.
The Black Eyed Peas dabbled in Latin music alongside J Balvin in 2019. For the Bad Boys For Life movie soundtrack, they turned Corona's classic song "The Rhythm of the Night" into a reggaeton-infused banger. Their club-ready collaboration called "Ritmo" was also released on the Black Eyed Peas' album Translation.
In 2020, J Balvin released his color-coded album Colores. Each song on the LP was named after a color of the rainbow. One of the most standout moments on the album was the haunting reggaeton track "Morado."
One color-themed song that surprisingly wasn't released on the Colores album was "Anaranjado." J Balvin joined forces with Puerto Rican reggaeton stars Jowell y Randy for the hypnotic banger, which was released in 2020. The underrated track in J Balvin's discography was co-produced by Bad Bunny.
Two of Colombia's biggest stars collided in 2019. J Balvin joined forces with Maluma for "Qué Pena," which seamlessly blended the former's playfulness with the latter's signature sensuality. They put to rest the rumors of a rivalry drummed up by the media. The Medellín natives will team up once again for the highly-anticipated follow-up "Gafas Negras."
J Balvin and Bad Bunny joined forces once again thanks to Puerto Rican hit-maker Tainy. The producer linked up with them and pop star Dua Lipa for the otherworldly collaboration "Un Día (One Day)." The song earned all four artists a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nomination at the 2021 Grammy Awards.
J Balvin loves to champion new artists with his platform. In 2021, he teamed up with rising Argentine singer Maria Becerra for the sexy and swaggering reggaeton track "Qué Más Pues?" From that breakthrough hit, Becerra was able to extend her success across Latin America and the US to become one of Argentina's most-streamed artists.
J Balvin celebrated Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October 2021 in a special way. He released a music video for his inclusive reggaeton song "Lo Que Dios Quiera," which starred Juliana Zuluaga, one of his fans with Down Syndrome. J Balvin also showed his support for the LGBTQ+ community with appearances from gay and lesbian couples.
For his big comeback last year after spending time away to enjoy fatherhood, J Balvin teamed up with Usher and DJ Khaled. J Balvin flashed a smile with "Dientes," which turned Usher's classic song "Yeah!" into a reggaeton banger. With Usher performing at the Super Bowl halftime show this year, there's a chance that J Balvin could pop up during his hits-filled set.
Lucas Villa (@myprerogative15) is a freelance music journalist with his work featured in places like Rolling Stone, Billboard, Teen Vogue, SPIN Magazine, and MTV News. He often covers pop and Latin music and explores how the two genres are overlapping.
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