This week’s Billboard magazine cover star J Balvin took some time during his photo shoot to look back at a handful of memorable moments from throughout his musical career, ranging from his 2009 hit “Ella Me Cautivó” to his 2018 Coachella performance with Beyoncé to his very recent Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Bunny. You can check out the full Throw It Back video above.
The video kicks off with J Balvin being shown the 2009 music video for his track “Ella Me Cautivó,” which he calls his first national hit in Colombia, and his 2012 video for “Tranquila,” which he notes was his first song to go global.
J Balvin also takes a look back at 2015’s “Ginza,” which he says was a game-changer since no one was singing reggaeton at the time.
“I don’t know why they started calling [it] urban music,” he says. “It was like nobody was really embracing the reggaeton.” He also points out that it was that song that earned him a Guinness World Record for the longest stay at No. 1 on the US Hot Latin Songs chart by a single artist.
Another moment J Balvin is shown is his 2018 Coachella performance with Beyoncé, which he calls a “great moment,” while confessing that he was nervous, excited, and grateful for the experience.
“I think that’s one of those moments that are game changers,” he says. “When I received the call that they wanted to see me and perform with her at Coachella, just mind-blowing. And that’s the day I met JAY-Z, too, and his family…One of my best days of my life.”
Another moment that J Balvin is fond of is “I Like It,” his 2018 collaboration with Bad Bunny and Cardi B. “We made the Hot 100 No. 1, the biggest song in the United States and the world, too,” he says. “We [are] all Latinos, so we made a great statement.”
J Balvin also takes a look at a much more recent event, when he joined Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Bad Bunny for he 2020 Super Bowl halftime show.
Calling is one of the happiest days of his life, J Balvin says that only a few artists can say they have played on that stage.
“I’m really grateful to be part of that,” he adds. “That moment that changed my life and the perception of Latinos and immigrants. It was a cool reason to be with Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and…Bad Bunny.”
You can check out the full video above to see J Balvin look back on many more career moments, including his 2014 collaboration with Farruko “6 AM,” his 2014 Latin Grammy Awards performance, and his first ever Billboard cover in 2017, where he says he looked a bit like Kurt Cobain.