Latin phenomenon J Balvin will play Tinderbox Friday 28th June

South America’s biggest star J BALVIN along with Gilli and Khea are the latest additions to this year’s Tinderbox Festival poster

In June 2018, Spotify issued a press release revealing that Drake was no longer the most streamed artist in the world. That honour had been snapped up by reggaeton singer J BALVIN, who after the release of the album “Vibras” hit more than 48 million monthly listeners on the streaming service. J Balvin ended up as the 4th most streamed artist last year (in front of Ed Sheeran), and the tremendous success is not least due to the single “Mi Gente”. The track has not only been number one in virtually every Spanish-speaking country in the world. It has also been a crossover hit in the US and Europe including Denmark, where it hit no. 3 on the official Danish Top 40.

Colombian singer JOSÉ ÁLVARO OSORIO BALVIN made his debut in 2009 and quickly achieved great success in his home country with his catchy hybrid of reggaeton, trap, and dancehall. In 2012, he broke through in the United States with songs like “Yo Te Lo Dije” and “Tranquila”, and the following year he replaced the rapper T.I. on a version of “Blurred Lines” recorded for the Spanish-speaking market, which resulted in massive attention for the colourful singer.

The song meant he got discovered by American pop and rap stars, which opened the door for collaborations with Justin Bieber, Pharrell, Pitbull, Future, David Guetta, and not least Beyoncé, who sang on a remix of “Mi Gente”. The two versions of the megahit have more than 1.1 billion plays on Spotify, while “Like It (feat. Cardi B and Bad Bunny”) has been streamed well over 700 million times.

J BALVIN is undoubtedly the largest Latin star in the world right now, and earlier this year he was revealed as a headliner for the renowned American festival Lollapalooza. On Friday 28th of June, however, it is a Danish audience who can experience the vibrant superstar at Tinderbox, where he will play his first ever Danish concert.

“Mi Gente”, together with the “Despacito”, gets credit for launching a tremendous interest in Latin music, which in recent years has made acts like Ozuna, Romeo Santos, and Bad Bunny stars. The latest name on the list is the Argentine rapper KHEA, who has had viral hits with “Loca” and “Wheat”. The 19-year-old rapper successfully mixes hip hop and reggaeton, which has resulted in crazy streaming numbers on the different versions of “Loca” (750 million on YouTube). The young Latin comet is still a largely newcomer in a live context, but this summer he is going on his first European tour, which means that KHEA can be experienced on Thursday 27th of June at Tinderbox.

The last name for Tinderbox this time is Danish rapper GILLI, who over the past five years has achieved an incredibly great success in Denmark. He was the third most streamed artist in Denmark (in front of Ed Sheeran and Eminem in particular), and “Slow” was the second-most streamed track in 2018. Songs like “C’est la vie”, “Tidligt op”, and “Helwa” still dominates radio playlists, and current hits like “Planer” and “Kolde nætter” point towards a long-awaited follow-up to the rapper’s debut release. GILLI is undoubtedly one of the biggest acts in Denmark right now, and on Thursday June 27th, the popular rapper returns to Tinderbox.

The three new additions mean that a total of 62 acts have now been released including headliners NEIL YOUNG, MILEY CYRUS and SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA. Next month organisers expect both to be able to release the schedule and the official app, and soon there will also be news about Tinderbox Comedy, artists for Groovebox, and much more.