![]() In spring 2018, I managed to scam my way into Coachella as a backing dancer (a long story) and my highlights were Beyoncé’s epic Homecoming and Cardi B’s set, where she twerked with abandon at five months pregnant. In 2018, J Balvin had his first No 1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 on Cardi B’s I Like It, alongside Puerto Rican trap star Bad Bunny. ![]() Photograph: Frank Micelotta/Rex/Shutterstock In her Netflix series Vai Anitta, which documents her transition from the Brazilian scene into America, Anitta ends the recording session for Machika with Balvin and his producer Sky Rompiendo by humbly thanking them, saying: “In Brazil, I’m like huge, but here I’m like nobody … and you guys are doing something for me that nobody else has.” But Balvin in particular has used the space that he has carved out in the Anglophone market to pull in other artists, including Brazilian pop icon Anitta, with whom he released two tracks – Downtown in 2017 and Machika in 2018 – both of which helped launch her international career. He is almost always the centrepiece of each collaboration he does, singing exclusively in Spanish – just like other popular Latin acts like Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny, despite the fact that they all speak fluent English. ![]() Safari, his 2016 single with Pharrell Williams cemented his international standing in 2017 he collaborated with French artist Willy Williams for Mi Gente, generating 2.5bn views on YouTube, and when Beyoncé jumped on the remix a few months later she switched to singing in Spanish, a clear indicator of Balvin’s influence. As well as being the charismatic go-to for the infectious fun and sensuality that makes Latin music so appealing, an impressive, tactical body of collaborations with international artists has helped maximise his reach in different markets.
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