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Colombian reggaeton superstar J Balvin has been recently named as one of the “100 Most Influential People of 2020,” on the 2020 TIME 100 List. Balvin, whose real name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, took social media to thank the weekly news magazine for the tittle. “Solo agradecimiento 🙏🙏🙏 @time, desde Medellín Colombia, un simple soñador logramos llegar a las 100 personas más influyentes en el mundo. GRACIAS GRACIAS 🙏,” he wrote.
Being one of the top Latin artists is not the only reason why the 35-year-old singer is so influential. Among the few habits, Balvin continually practices, we could notice that he is his number one supporter. For the artist believing in himself is crucial to his mental health. By acknowledging and opening up about them through his platform, he has touched many hearts and helped many more people going through the same struggles, including Camila Cabello . The Cuban singer penned a heartfelt reflection on how the “Que Calor” singer helped her to overcome anxiety.
The Medellín native is known for his good vibes and for treating people with respect. However, he has claimed that he also has “zero respect” for those lyrics that glorify violence, cartels, drugs, and lord drugs. “Lately, our musical genre has been more focused on the attitude of thugs and drug traffickers than on music,” he wrote on Instagram in 2018. “For me, what is happening is a joke. Let‘s better make music!” He advised the other artists. Balvin also said he wants to take them to a neighborhood in his city so that all those of the urban genre who claim to be criminals see and know what the harsh reality is. “[I have] respect for those who are on the streets and are silent. But zero respect for all the clowns of the genre, who are followed by thousands of people and the only thing they have to offer is sh*tty vibes when what we have to do is make people dance and make them happy.”
We also believe that J Balvin made it to the “100 Most Influential People of 2020” list because he is genuine in his art. “We speak facts,” Balvin said to Alt.Latino in an interview. “If you really want to flex, you have to be real.” The star is a proud ambassador of his language and demonstrated that it is unnecessary to do a cross over album or song to become number one. “We proved to the world that a completely Spanish song can take over the world,” he says. “This is just the beginning. The key here is that we’ve been showing the world that we’re not one-hit wonders when it comes to global [reach],” he says. “That’s why the album [Vibras], the sound and the music has to be at the same level as the hits that we’re making. So we made it with the fact that we want everybody to love the album, even though they don’t understand what I’m saying.”
J Balvin practices what he preaches, and by building a musical career emanating positive vibes, he has infected others with the same vibras he regularly sings and talks about.
Besides J Balvin, six other Latinx figures are on the list. Among them is the Mexican chef Gabriela Cámara; the Chilean feminist collective LasTesis; the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro; the indigenous activist in the Ecuadorian Amazon Nemonte Nenquimo; the Mexican feminist Arussi Unda, and the Brazilian influencer Felipe Neto.