And now he's collaborating with the biggest artists, winning the Latin Grammy awards, and on the billboards of every Latin American country.
But he didn't start that way.
He wasn't discovered as a teen prodigy.
In fact, when he told his mother he wanted to be a big music star, she told him he'd stop shining for her the day he did.
But J Balvin knew what he wanted and he started working at it early on.
He moved to the U.S. to learn English as an exchange student in high school.
He went back to the U.S. after he graduated to work his way into the music business -- and the only job he could get was painting walls and roofing houses.
So he swallowed his pride, went back to his hometown in Colombia, and spent the next 10 years building his music, performance, and network slowly but surely.
