J Balvinâs most recent Instagram image is dated September, and it shows him smiling at home with his infant child Ro, whom he had with his longterm partner, Argentine model Valentina Ferrer. In June, he released âNivel de Perreo,â which featured Ryan Castro. Despite being sighted at events like as Paris Fashion Week and the Super Bowl, the Colombian musician has opted to take a sabbatical from social media and music.
âReally right now, Iâve been focused on my family,â he tells Billboard. âI left social media to be connected to my reality and to my family. That has taught me a lot. To live more in the present. Obviously, I miss my fans, but when the time is right, Iâll be back.â
Balvin postponed his 25-city JosĂ© U.S. tour, which was set to begin April 19 in San Antonio, Texas, in spring 2022, claiming âunforeseen production issuesâ owing to COVID-19. That summer, he announced a seven-day âNio Soadorâ tour of South America, stopping in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, and Paraguay. He performed the reggaeton-heavy âNoche de Perreoâ at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, and his latest sneakers, the Air Balvin Jordan 2, were released in September. He has recaptured his title as the artist with the most videos in YouTubeâs Billion Views Club (he now ties with Ozuna with 12 entries each).
The musician born JosĂ© lvaro Osorio Balvn had his fourth No. 1 on Billboardâs Top Latin Albums list the year before with his ultra-personal album JosĂ© (Sueos Globales/Universal Music Latino/UMLE). Despite his recent accomplishments, Balvin is not yet ready to make a comeback.
âI have made music to have a good time as always, but I donât have a concept or an album to make yet,â he says. âBut itâs because I want to have a clear, different and fresh concept. Possibly these days, the muse arrives and the concept comes to me, and from there, an album is born. It may be this year, it may be the next.â
For the time being, Balvin, who helped launch the careers of Bad Bunny, Karol G, Rosala, and Feid, is enthused about the current generation of Latin urban musicians, most notably La Gabi, a young Dominican rapper he signed.
âI am totally in love with what she does,â he says. âIn the future, I would like to work with her, but I want her to work hard to earn her space [in the industry]. I really love what Blessd and Ryan Castro are doing with Colombian reggaeton too, but at this moment, La Gabi interests me a lot. I will continue to see what other new artists come out, because I love collaborating and elevating that.â