J Balvin Travels Back to His Beginnings With New Album ‘Rayo’

Colombian hitmaker J Balvin has captivated the world with his music for more than a decade. Fans from Latin America to Europe can’t get enough of “The Boy From Medellín” and his high-energy, infectious beats. In fact, every second, 140 J Balvin songs are streamed on Spotify, and his songs have been added to more than 240 million user-created playlists.

The star is not just one of the biggest names in urban music; he’s the second-most-streamed Latin artist on Spotify—ever. His top hits include “LA CANCIÓN” with Bad Bunny, “I Like It” with Bad Bunny and Cardi B, and “Mi Gente” with Willy William, each having racked up well over 1 billion streams.

Now the reggaetón pioneer is back with a new album, Rayo, that drops today. J Balvin is well-known for his collaborations, and the album’s first single, “Polvo de tu vida,” features Puerto Rican singer Chencho Corleone. Since its release in June, the track has garnered more than 16 million streams. And just to give a taste of where those listeners are, Bogotá takes the spot as the city with the most streams, followed by Madrid, Barcelona, Santiago de Chile, and Mexico City.

A follow-up single, “Gaga,” finds him collaborating with Spanish artist SAIKO. It, too, is rapidly finding listeners, with more than 7 million streams since its July release, and has surged in listens in Spain, Mexico, and the United States.

For the Record caught up with J Balvin to learn more about the inspiration for his latest project, whom he wants to collaborate with in the future, and what other Colombian genres he enjoys listening to.

Tell us about Rayo.

Rayo is about returning to my essence. Rayo is the name of my first car, a car that my father went through a lot of effort to buy me. I used to drive my school friends around and charge them a monthly fee as the driver. 

That car allowed me to take my music to different neighborhoods, clubs, and schools. I sold CDs on the street and at events like “Sonido sobre Ruedas” [Sound on Wheels], where everyone shows up with their sound systems and cars. I even sold clothes from the trunk of Rayo.

Rayo played a big role in the reggaetón history of Medellín because it took me to so many places that, nowadays, have been hugely impacted by the reggaetón scene. So, Rayo, the album, brings a lot of nostalgia, because it’s about returning to my essence, to who I was when I made music with no pretensions, without thinking about numbers or streams, but just enjoying it like a little kid.

Which artists inspire you?

Daddy Yankee is the reason I decided to enter the world of reggaetón. But I have many inspirations: Craig David, Kurt Cobain, James Hetfield from Metallica, and Ed Sheeran, who is a great friend of mine. 

Every era has artists who make a huge impact with different moments. These are some of them, but there are hundreds more.

What other genres of Colombian music do you listen to?

I really love Colombian salsa, especially the salsa from Cali and Medellín. I’m also fascinated by vallenato music, like that from Silvestre Dangond. I love what Andrés Cepeda does—same with Fonseca. And I really enjoy the rock music from Juanes, who is from my hometown. El Rock De Mi Pueblo from Carlos Vives is also an album I like a lot. I think Colombia has a lot of incredible music. Of course, there’s also native music like cumbia and joropo. While that music may be less commercial, their flavor and groove is carried in the rhythm of the music from the country.

You’re known for your collaborations. Which artists, songwriters, or producers would you like to collaborate with from the new urban music scene in Colombia?

So many have emerged. Right now, there’s Kapo with his Afrobeat song “Ohnana,” Esteban Rojas from Cali, who I really like, and Philip Ariaz from Medellín, who is amazing. Nath from Medallo is also very good. Pirlo from Cali is also fantastic, and El H from the coast is great, too. There are so many artists. But with all of them, I know that if the opportunity arises, we can work together and enjoy the connection we have.

How has Spotify supported you and your music?

Spotify has contributed a lot to my career. The platform helped me reach a truly global audience. Since becoming the most-streamed artist worldwide a couple of years ago, it has really shown me how great Spotify is for helping artists get discovered, and how listeners can explore different cultures from other countries through their Top 50 lists. 

How do you like to discover new music on Spotify?

Thousands of songs are released every day. I like to focus on the Top 50 lists—not just in Latin countries, which is typically the core or base where our music plays, but I’m also very interested in what’s being listened to in places like Nigeria, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Lithuania, and Poland. It helps broaden my perspective and makes me think about other genres and languages that I didn’t know before.

Go back to the beginning with J Balvin and his new album, Rayo, available now.