80 free J Balvin trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This J Balvin trivia quiz follows José Álvaro Osorio Balvín from Medellín club nights and a dog-walking job on Staten Island to Super Bowl halftime and the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The easy questions cover his hometown, the meaning of Vibras, the French producer on Mi Gente, the Cardi B album that gave him his first US number one and the Puerto Rican partner on Oasis. Medium questions ask about the sample behind I Like It, the Guess and Nike collaborations, the Latin Grammy wins for Colores and Con Altura and the Instagram filter that named Ginza. The hard and expert questions dig into his first song from 2004, the 122-week chart run of La Familia, the Voodoo Song origin of Mi Gente, the Colores video director, his mother's rare condition and his 2025 anime voice role. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Difficulty is shown on every question so you can build a Latin music round for a pub quiz or play the whole set solo. When you finish, try our other reggaeton and Latin pop quizzes.
30 of 80 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which Colombian city was J Balvin born?
Medellín
He still lives there most of the time, saying it keeps him connected to his roots.
Q 02J Balvin's family is of Spanish and which other descent?
Syrian
His father was an economist and business owner whose company later went bankrupt.
Q 03At what age did J Balvin move to the United States to learn English?
17
He lived in both Oklahoma and New York before returning home.
Q 04In which US state did a teenage J Balvin do a disappointing English-exchange program?
Oklahoma
He said he had been expecting the America everyone knows from Hollywood.
Q 05What job did J Balvin work while living with an aunt on Staten Island?
Dog walker
He also worked illegally as a roofer and house painter in the US.
Q 06What did J Balvin study for seven semesters at EAFIT University?
International business
He adopted a stage-name nickname that fitted the subject.
Q 07What did the nickname "El Negocio", which J Balvin adopted at 19, mean in English?
The Business
He began seriously pursuing music at that age.
Q 08How did J Balvin meet his DJ and longtime partner David Rivera Mazo?
In a street freestyle battle
The two started producing and promoting music without a record label.
Q 09What was the title of J Balvin's first released song, from 2004?
Panas
He signed to EMI Colombia five years later.
Q 10Which one-night-stand-themed song was J Balvin's first international hit?
Yo Te Lo Dije
He signed with Capitol Latin, a Universal subsidiary, a year later.
Q 11Which Puerto Rican singer features on J Balvin's 2014 breakthrough single "6 AM"?
Farruko
The song reached number one on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart in May 2014.
Q 12J Balvin described "6 AM" as the Latin version of which Hollywood comedy?
The Hangover
In the song, the two singers try to remember what happened during a night of partying.
Q 13How many weeks did J Balvin's album La Familia spend on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart?
122
It peaked at number ten on the chart.
Q 14Which J Balvin video was the first reggaeton clip to reach one billion YouTube views?
Q 21"Mi Gente" remakes which earlier track by the same French producer that went viral in 2016?
Voodoo Song
That song was itself taken from a Bangla track.
Q 22Which superstar's remix of "Mi Gente" gave J Balvin his first US top-ten single?
Beyoncé
The remix reached number three on the Hot 100 in 2017.
Q 23Where did the proceeds from the "Mi Gente" remix go?
Caribbean hurricane relief charities
The guest singer donated all her proceeds from the song.
Ay Vamos
It won the Latin Grammy for Best Urban Song and has since passed two billion views.
Q 15J Balvin cancelled a July 2015 performance at which event over Trump's comments on immigrants?
Miss USA
It would have been his first performance on national mainstream US television.
Q 16Where did the title of J Balvin's hit "Ginza" come from?
An Instagram photo filter
His fans took to the name, so he kept it; it is also a fashion district in Tokyo.
Q 17"Ginza" set what world record in 2015?
Longest number-one run on Hot Latin Songs by a solo act
Its video also broke the 24-hour view record for a Latin music video.
Q 18Which 2016 album was the first by J Balvin to top the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart?
Energía
It also debuted at number 38 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Q 19Which American artist sings the hook in Spanish on J Balvin's 2016 single "Safari"?
Pharrell Williams
Balvin called getting non-Latino musicians to sing in Spanish one of his biggest dreams.
Q 20Which French singer and producer is credited alongside J Balvin on "Mi Gente"?
Willy William
The pair released six further remixes with DJs including Steve Aoki and Alesso.
Q 24Which rapper released a "Mi Gente" remix after its shout was heard to resemble his signature grito?
Pitbull
He later secured a US trademark on the shout in 2020.
Q 25"Mi Gente" was the first Spanish-language song to top which chart?
Spotify's Global Top 50
He went on to become the platform's most-streamed artist in 2018.
Q 26Whose record did J Balvin break to become Spotify's most-streamed artist in 2018?
Drake
He was still in the top five as of April 2020.
Q 27Which Brazilian singer features with Jeon on J Balvin's 2018 single "Machika"?
Anitta
It was one of the two lead singles from Vibras.
Q 28J Balvin's first US Billboard Hot 100 number one came on which artist's debut album Invasion of Privacy?
Cardi B
The song was also his first RIAA Diamond certification.
Q 29J Balvin's first Hot 100 number one interpolates which 1967 boogaloo hit by Pete Rodriguez?
I Like It Like That
Atlantic Records hired musicians to replay the sampled elements so it retained full rights.
Q 30The music video for "I Like It" was filmed in which Miami neighbourhood?
Little Havana
The video has passed 1.7 billion views.