Maps of Music

Rayo (2024)

Where the lyrics of Rayo take you, and where it was really made.

The title Rayo is described as an expression of an earnest need for human connection, and the album is said to feel more like a house party than a collection of songs.

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Album story

Overview

• Rayo: sixth studio album by Colombian singer J Balvin
• Released 9 August 2024 through Capitol Records
• Guest appearances from Chencho Corleone, Luar la L, Feid, Saiko, Bad Gyal, Zion, Dei V, Ryan Castro, Blessd, Carín León, Omar Courtz, Yovngchimi, Quevedo, Mambo Kingz and DJ Luian
• The Italian Wikipedia track list gives fifteen songs
• Spanish Wikipedia describes it as a personal project centred on the car his father gave him when he was very young

Background

• In a July 2023 interview with Nylon, Balvin said he would release a seventh overall studio album later that year
• That album was to contain mainly reggaeton and Afrobeats tracks, along with electronic dance songs
• Planned promotion included "Click, Click, Flash", which remains unreleased
• Also planned was "Dientes" with DJ Khaled and Usher, inspired by Usher's hit single "Yeah!"
• In the same year, Balvin revealed he was working on a collaborative album with English singer Ed Sheeran
• In July 2024 he revealed the album's title as Rayo
• Rayo is described as an "expression" for an earnest need for human connection
• The album is described as feeling more like a house party than a collection of songs
• Spanish Wikipedia notes it was also a special return, as Balvin had been out of the public eye for two and a half years

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born José Álvaro Osorio Balvín on 7 May 1985 in Medellín, Colombia, into an upper-middle-class family of Spanish and Syrian descent.
• Grew up on rock acts such as Metallica and Nirvana and was drawn to reggaeton after listening to Daddy Yankee.
• Moved to the United States at 17 to study English, living in Oklahoma and New York before returning to Medellín.
• Adopted the stage name J Balvin "El Negocio" at 19 and began a career in music with his DJ and business partner David Rivera Mazo.

Career

• Breakthrough came in 2014 with "6 AM" featuring Farruko, which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
• "Ginza" and "Ay Vamos" followed; "Ay Vamos" became the first reggaeton song to exceed one billion views on YouTube.
• The 2017 single "Mi Gente" with Willy William topped the Spotify Global Top 50, and its Beyoncé remix became his first US top-ten single.
• "I Like It" with Cardi B and Bad Bunny became his first number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
• Released albums including Energia, Vibras, Colores, José and Rayo, and the joint album Oasis with Bad Bunny.
• Became the first Latino to headline Coachella, Tomorrowland and Lollapalooza.

Recognition

• Sold 35 million records worldwide and won multiple Latin Grammy and Billboard Latin Music Awards.
• Guinness World Records recognized him as a leader of a second-generation reggaeton revolution.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Variety: critic Thania Garcia described the album as a pretty polished collection of pop and reggaeton
• Variety: wrote that nothing on the album feels like a waste of time
• Variety: noted that the lyrical material is less vulnerable and personal than in the previous record projects
• Billboard: wrote that the album keeps the rhythm-leaning sound that made Balvin a household name
• Billboard: wrote that the album takes listeners on a joyride, often detouring from reggaeton to dembow, house music or electro-pop

Records

• "En Alta", the lead single, peaked at number 63 on Spain's song chart
• "Gaga" with Saiko, the third single, peaked at number 45 in Spain
• Singles chart results are the only chart figures given in the available source

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Spanish Wikipedia describes the album as a project dedicated to the car his father gave him when he was very young
• The lead single "En Alta" was released on 23 June 2023, before the album title was revealed
• "Gaga" with Saiko was released as the third single on 11 July 2024
• "Doblexxó" with Feid was released on 8 August 2024 as the fourth single, one day before the album
• Spanish Wikipedia notes Balvin had not been in the public eye for two and a half years before this release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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