1. J Balvin has always had a super-creative mind. His favorite subject in school was arts and crafts.
2. His father has a PhD in international marketing, and his mother studied medicine.
3. His favorite gift as a child was a guitar his father gave him for Christmas when he was 10 years old.
4. He fell in love with music through heavy metal and rock music. He and his friends would perform covers and play songs from their favorite bands.
5. He went to Oklahoma when he was 18 years old for a student exchange program. According to him, his host took his passport and tried to keep him away from computers so he wouldn't be able to access the internet. He was finally able to retrieve his passport, escape the town, and get in touch with his father.
6. Before fully transitioning into music, he studied international business at a prestigious university in Medellin.
7. His younger sister is a model and has worked with major brands.
8. He struggled with panic attacks and anxiety, and he now meditates to help him cope.
9. He has deliberately continued to almost exclusively sing all of his songs in Spanish. He refuses to compromise his Spanish language roots.
10. He's able to remember his lyrics through sound memory. It's difficult for him to recite his lyrics a cappella, but if he hears the beat of a song, he's able to seamlessly remember the words.
11. He is releasing a new documentary titled The Boy from Medellin on Amazon's Prime Video, which follows his journey performing in his hometown during a time of anti-government protests.
J Balvin’s legacy will forever be imprinted on our culture. Be sure to check out The Boy from Medellín on Amazon Prime Video May 7 to get a full glimpse of the global icon.
All images courtesy of Getty Images.