Maps of Music

Real (2009)

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

This 2009 Special Edition was a re-release of a 2007 mixtape, yet it still earned gold in Colombia for high sales.

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Real: Special Edition, a 2009 re-release of J Balvin's first mixtape
Original mixtape Real released in 2007
Re-release published on 7 May 2009 by EMI Music
J Balvin is a Colombian reggaeton singer
The original 2007 mixtape featured collaborations with Jowell, Final & Shako, Jutha, Sara Tunes, Andy Aguilera, Karma, El Tigre, Under Pressure, Bufalo and K-Litos
The original mixtape includes "Éxtasis", "Sencillo" and "Una obra de arte" with Final & Shako

The standard edition of the first mixtape appeared in 2007
The 2009 special edition re-released this first mixtape with new material
The special edition added collaborations with Golpe A Golpe, Héctor El Father, J Álvarez and Reykon
Songs on the special edition include «Ella me cautivó», «No me vuelvo a enamorar» and «Hola que tal»
Sales of the special edition were high enough to earn gold certification in Colombia
The period around the special edition was the time Balvin started to gain wider attention in Colombia

1	Éxtasis
2	Inalcanzable

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.

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.

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.

Real: Special Edition released on 7 May 2009 by EMI Music
Re-release of the first mixtape by Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin, first released in 2007
The special edition added collaborations with Golpe A Golpe, Héctor El Father, J Álvarez and Reykon
Songs «Ella me cautivó», «No me vuelvo a enamorar» and «Hola que tal» featured on this edition
A version with a DVD was also issued in 2009

Gold in Colombia for high sales, 2009
First Colombian artist of the urban genre to receive this recognition
«Ella me cautivó» entered Billboard's Tropical Songs chart at number 35 in the United States
That chart entry became his first on an international list
2009 accolades: La Mega revelation artist; young revelation composer of Antioquia, according to the Departmental Assembly of Antioquia
2009 accolades: artist of the year at Tropicana in Barranquilla; best summer artist of Los 40 Principales; best artist of the year at Oxígeno Bogotá

The original 2007 mixtape brought together ten collaborating artists, including Jowell, Karma, El Tigre and K-Litos
The special edition's song «Ella me cautivó» was the one that reached Billboard's Tropical Songs chart in the United States
Balvin was named the revelation artist of the 2009 radio station La Mega, helped by songs from this special edition
A version of the special edition came with a DVD in 2009
The special edition's gold certification made Balvin the first Colombian urban-genre artist to receive that recognition