Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
He’s never had a hit in the UK, but it’s still fair to say J Balvin is a global superstar. Despite having a title that sounds like a children’s TV character, his latest single Bobo has gained almost 150 million views in just six weeks. That’s 25 million a week. 3.5 million a day! 31-year-old Colombian José Balvin is one of the world’s biggest reggaeton artists. He had his first no.1 in Colombia in 2011, and his international breakthrough with 6 AM in 2014. His latest three singles have all topped the US Billboard Latin chart, and he has become the go-to featured artist for reggaeton remixes. He has been called upon to give some of the hugest hits of the past few years extra appeal to the Latin market, including Ariana Grande’s Problem, Justin Bieber’s Sorry, Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and Major Lazer’s Lean On. With reggaeton proving to attract such a large following, it’s surely only a matter of time before a major act experiments with this sound, and teams up with J Balvin in a more official capacity, giving him his long-awaited crossover moment.