Vibras | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 May 2018 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:44 | |||
Language | Spanish | |||
Label | Universal Latin | |||
Producer |
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J Balvin chronology | ||||
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Singles from Vibras | ||||
Vibras (English: Vibes [3] ) is the third studio album by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin released on 25 May 2018 through Universal Latin. The album was promoted with five singles, including the international hit, "Mi Gente", which was released as the lead single of the album.
Even though you don't understand what I’m saying, you are going to really feel it. The same thing happened to me when I used to listen to English music. I didn't even understand one word. You know? But, it just makes me feel great.
In June 2017, Balvin together with French producer and DJ Willy William released the single, "Mi Gente". The song became a major commercial success reaching number one in over thirty countries worldwide, including number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart; it stayed on the chart for 35 consecutive weeks. [5] According to Balvin he developed the concept for the album from the moment "Mi Gente" started "connecting with audiences around the world", wanting to make a fusion of different world beats and rhythms and refine the reggaeton music. [6]
In an interview with Ebro Darden for Beats 1 Radio on Apple Music in April 2018, Balvin described the sound of the record as 33% dancehall, 33% R&B, and 33% reggaeton. Balvin further elaborated that a lot of love was put into the album's work and that contains different vibes, hence the name, Vibras, "The real meaning of this album was what's going on with Spanish music that's going so global, the fact that we did an album that the beats are so amazing that you don't have to understand what we say, you just have to love the songs." [7]
Talking to NBC News Balvin explained how the core of the album is still the reggaeton, but according to him you can present the genre "in a way that people that don't know reggaeton or don't understand it, they would feel great." The singer further elaborated that he went back to his roots, but also "added some extra spice to it". [4] Apart from William, the album features multiple other collaborators including the reggaeton duos Wisin & Yandel and Zion & Lennox, Brazilian singer Anitta, Mexican indie-pop musician Carla Morrison, flamenco singer Rosalía and Aruban singer Jeon. [4]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 80/100 [8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
The Guardian | [1] |
Pitchfork | 8/10 [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Vibras received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80 based on 4 reviews. [8] Thom Jurek of AllMusic described Vibras as Balvin's attempt to reach English-speaking audience without singing in English. He wrote that the singer's ambition on the record is "grand" and further called it more "consistent" and "varied" than his previous album, Energia (2016), "its songwriting, performances, and production are truly inspired, making for an utterly compelling listen and one of the essential soundtracks of summer." [5] Juana Giaimo of The Guardian gave the album four out of five stars commending its production, lyrics and Balvin's vocals. She also praised the sound of the reggaeton music on the album calling it "smooth" and "sensual", "tracks such as this still make Vibras perfect as a party playlist, but confirm that the noisy style of early reggaeton hits such as Daddy Yankee's 'Gasolina' is slowly being left behind." [1] Rolling Stone 's Will Hermes stated that Vibras "happens to be a pan-Latin masterstroke of its own, a set of primo Spanish-language pop with vibe deep enough to make it universal." [10]
Raisa Bruner of Time magazine named Vibras the fifth best album of 2018, writing "[J Balvin] has carved out a space in mainstream music on his own terms; he makes no concessions for English speakers, instead serving up a colorful tour of Latin America's hottest musical trends." [11] Billboard ranked it at number nine on their year-end list. [12]
Vibras achieved the highest first-week streams for a Latin album on Apple Music globally, replacing Romeo Santos' 2017 album Golden . It also claimed the record for the most-streamed Latin album in 24 hours on the streaming platform for 2018. [13] In the United States, it debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart for the issue dated 9 June 2018. According to Nielsen Music, the record sold 22,000 album-equivalent units and became Balvin's second number-one album on the chart, following Energia in 2016. Out of the starting sum, 10,000 were in traditional album sales, which marked the second largest sales week of 2018, behind only CNCO's self-titled album that sold 13,000 copies. Additionally, Vibras scored the largest streaming week ever for a Latin album by an artist; its songs were streamed 16.1 million times. [14] Subsequently, it debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 and became his highest-charting album on the chart. [15]
To further promote the album, Balvin began The Vibras Tour [16] [17] in Mexico City, Mexico on 26 May 2018.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Vibras" (featuring Carla Morrison) |
|
| 1:06 |
2. | "Mi Gente" (with Willy William) |
| William | 3:05 |
3. | "Ambiente" |
|
| 4:09 |
4. | "Cuando Tú Quieras" |
|
| 3:25 |
5. | "No Es Justo" (featuring Zion & Lennox) |
|
| 4:11 |
6. | "Ahora" |
|
| 4:15 |
7. | "Brillo" (featuring Rosalía) |
|
| 2:40 |
8. | "En Mí (Interlude)" |
|
| 0:54 |
9. | "En Mí" |
|
| 3:16 |
10. | "Peligrosa" (featuring Wisin & Yandel) |
|
| 3:22 |
11. | "Noches Pasadas" |
|
| 3:42 |
12. | "Tu Verdad" |
|
| 3:25 |
13. | "Dónde Estarás" |
|
| 3:12 |
14. | "Machika" (with Jeon and Anitta) |
|
| 3:10 |
Total length: | 43:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "Positivo" (with Michael Brun) | Osorio | Brun | 2:53 |
16. | "Ginza" |
|
| 2:51 |
17. | "Safari" (featuring Pharrell Williams, BIA and Sky) |
|
| 3:25 |
18. | "Bobo" |
|
| 3:29 |
Total length: | 56:29 |
Credits adapted from AllMusic and Tidal. [20]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [36] | Diamond | 160,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [37] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [38] | 3× Platinum+Gold | 210,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [39] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [40] | 8× Platinum (Latin) | 480,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Formats | Labels | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 25 May 2018 | Universal Latin | [18] [41] [42] | |
Japan | 11 July 2018 | CD | Universal Music Japan | [19] |
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín, known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He has been referred to as the "Prince of Reggaeton", and is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with over 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to the United States to learn English, where he lived in both Oklahoma and New York. He then returned to Medellín and gained popularity performing at clubs in the city.
Willy Fauade William is a French DJ, record producer and singer famous for his club remixes and vocal collaborations with a number of dance music artists. He is most famous for his French hit "Ego" and his Latin hit "Mi Gente", the latter with J Balvin.
Colombian singer and rapper J Balvin has released six studio albums, one collaborative album, three mixtapes, three EPs, sixty-nine singles, thirty featured singles, and ten promotional singles. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with over 45 million singles and over 4 million album sales
"Ginza" is a song performed by Colombian singer J Balvin. It was released as the lead single from the singer's studio album Energía on July 17, 2015.
Energía is the second studio album by Colombian singer J Balvin. It was released on June 24, 2016, by Capitol Latin and Universal Music Group. Balvin received a nomination for the Lo Nuestro Award for Urban Album of the Year.
"Mi Gente" is a song recorded by Colombian singer J Balvin and French singer and producer Willy William. It was released on 30 June 2017 through Scorpio Music and Universal Music Latin. It is a remake of Willy William's song "Voodoo Song" which is an original French song by Willy William that went viral on Facebook in 2016 and released one year after. The single was serviced to United States contemporary hit radio on 18 July 2017. A remix version with American singer Beyoncé was released on 28 September 2017. J Balvin and Willy William released six more "Mi Gente" remixes on 20 October 2017 with Steve Aoki, Alesso, Cedric Gervais, Dillon Francis, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and Henry Fong.
"Downtown" is a song by Brazilian singer Anitta and Colombian singer J Balvin fully sung in Spanish, despite its title being in English. It was written by Anitta and Balvin together with Justin Quiles and producer Sky Rompiendo. The song was released as a single on 19 November 2017 as part of Anitta's project entitled Check Mate, in which she released a new song each month. The track was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song at the 19th Latin Grammy Awards.
"Machika" is a song recorded by Colombian singer J Balvin, Aruban singer Jeon and Brazilian singer Anitta. It was released as a single on 19 January 2018 through Capitol Records and Universal Music Latin from Balvin's studio album Vibras. The song was written by Balvin, Jeon and Anitta together with producer Sky Rompiendo. The song is produced by Clyde Narain and CHILDSPLAY.
"Ahora" is a song recorded by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin for his studio album, Vibras (2018). It was written and produced by Marco "Tainy" Masis and Alejandro "Sky" Ramirez with an additional writing done by Balvin and Jesús Manuel Nieves Cortes.
"X", also "X (Equis)" listed as is a song by American singer Nicky Jam and Colombian singer J Balvin. Written by the two singers, Juan Diego Medina, Giordano Ashruf and its producers, Jeon and Afro Bros, it was released by Sony Music Latin on March 2, 2018. It is a Spanish dancehall song, featuring a synth trumpet hook and elements of reggae, reggaeton, Latin pop and Afrobeats. A Spanglish version of the song was released on April 27, 2018. On June 28, 2018, a remix version featuring vocals by artists Maluma and Ozuna was released. The accompanying audio was also released on Nicky Jam's YouTube channel on the same day. The song topped the charts in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bolivia, El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. Nicky Jam performed the song solo during the 2018 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony.
"I Like It" is a song by American rapper Cardi B, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Colombian singer J Balvin. It was released on May 25, 2018, to radio stations through Atlantic Records as the fourth single from her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy (2018). "I Like It" is a Latin trap and hip hop song that comprises a trap drum beat and boogaloo music. It was written by the three performers along with Pardison Fontaine and Klenord Raphael, while the production was handled by J. White Did It, Tainy, Craig Kallman and Invincible. The song contains a sample from "I Like It Like That", replayed by musicians during production, with Tony Pabón, Manny Rodriguez, and Benny Bonnilla being credited as co-writers.
"Noche Sin Día" is a song recorded by Italian trio Il Volo, featuring Cuban reggaeton duo Gente de Zona. It was released digitally on May 25, 2018, by Sony Music Latin as the lead single from Il Volo's upcoming fifth studio album Ámame.
"Brillo" is a song by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin in collaboration with Spanish new flamenco singer Rosalía. Released on May 25, 2018, through Sony Music Latin, It is the seventh track on Balvin's fifth studio album Vibras (2018). It is written by Alejandro Ramírez, Jesús María Nieves, Marco Masis and both performers.
Oasis is a collaborative album by Colombian singer J Balvin and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, released on June 28, 2019. The pair previously collaborated on Cardi B's 2018 single "I Like It". "Qué Pretendes" was released as the lead single with a video alongside the album, being later followed by "La Canción", "Yo Le Llego", and "Cuidao por Ahí".
"China" is a song by Puerto Rican rappers Anuel AA and Daddy Yankee and Colombian singer Karol G with Puerto Rican singer Ozuna and Colombian singer J Balvin from Anuel AA's second studio album Emmanuel, released July 19, 2019, through Anuel AA's label, Real Hasta la Muerte, featuring a music video directed by Marlon Peña. The official music video was immediately popular, and has received over 2.1 billion views on YouTube, placing it among each respective artist's most-viewed videos on the platform. "China" samples the 2000 song "It Wasn't Me" by Jamaican musician Shaggy, which itself interpolates War's “Smile Happy” hence the writers of both songs are credited as songwriters for this song. It was also written by Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna, and J Balvin, and was produced by Puerto Rican record producer Tainy.
Colores is the fourth solo studio album by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin, released on 19 March 2020 through Universal Latin. The album was produced by Sky Rompiendo. It was preceded by the singles "Blanco", "Morado" and "Rojo", with the latter being released the same day as the album pre-order. Each song on the album received a music video directed by Colin Tilley. "Amarillo" was released as the fourth single off Colores the same day as the album's release. At the 2020 Latin Grammy Awards, the album won the Latin Grammy for Best Urban Album.
"Con Altura" is a song by Spanish singer Rosalía and Colombian singer J Balvin, featuring Spanish producer el Guincho. Written by Rosalía, Balvin, Aury "Mariachi Budda" Pineda, el Guincho, Frank Dukes, Teo Halm, and Sky Rompiendo and produced by the last four alongside the Spanish singer, the song was released by Columbia Records on 28 March 2019.
Jose is the fifth solo studio album by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin, released on September 10, 2021, through Universal Latin. The album was preceded by six singles: "Otra Noche sin Ti", "7 de Mayo", "Qué Más Pues?", "Otro Fili", "In da Getto", and "Que Locura". The album also includes the standalone single "Un Día " with Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy. It is the longest studio album Balvin ever released, clocking at 79 minutes.
Alejandro Ramírez Suárez, better known as Sky Rompiendo, Sky Rompiendo el Bajo or just Sky is a Colombian producer, songwriter and DJ. He gained recognition at a young age, creating hits with Latin trap and reggaetón artists such as Bad Bunny, Feid, J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma, Nicky Jam and Ozuna. He has received six Latin Grammy Awards as a producer and songwriter.
Afrodisíaco (transl. Aphrodisiac) is the debut studio album by Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro. It was released on November 13, 2020, by Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment. After releasing several projects including a mixtape, an extended play, and many singles since 2016, Alejandro finally announced recording his debut studio album in early 2020. He worked with several producers, including Caleb Calloway, Mr. Naisgai, Dímelo Flow, Eydren, and Tainy to create the album. Musically, Afrodisíaco consists of traditional reggaeton tracks, Latin trap songs, R&B numbers, electronic elements, and perreo rhythms. After his sophomore album's release, Alejandro embarked on the Rauw Alejandro World Tour in 2021 to promote both albums.