Jose by J Balvin – New Album Review

At long last, the day is here. Jose, the new album from J Balvin is here. This is the 5th solo studio album from the Colombian mega-star. Disclaimer – I’ll try to be as objective as possible but J Balvin is tied for my favorite artist of all-time with Marc Anthony. I’ll do my best for you.

J Balvin is Jose

Jose serves as a kind of reintroduction to J Balvin. What’s clear off the bat is that this is Balvin is heading right back to his urban roots. This album is as close to pure reggaeton as you can get.

Jose includes a number of collaborations from huge artists like Jhay Cortez, Yandel, Sech, Myke Towers, Bad Bunny, and so many more. The crop of singles off this album are not to be trifled with. I won’t talk about all of them but “In Da Getto” is making the rounds at the moment and “Una Locura” is one of my favorite songs of the year.

As for the songs exclusive to the album, there are some real standouts. I’m a huge fan of “Billetes de 100”, “Bebe Que Bien Te Ves”, “La Venganza” and “La Familia”. “La Familia” is a fun reminder of Balvin’s first real album. It brings you back to the roots of it all and reminds you of how far Balvin has come as an artist and icon. “Bebe Que Bien Te Ves” with Feid is probably the biggest standout of the album.

There are some songs that don’t do it as much for me. “Querido Rio”, “Te Acuerdas de Mi”, and “F40” don’t really get the job done. “Querido Rio” is the only song that I actively dislike. The general issue with this album is that there aren’t many songs that really grab you. On Vibras there are songs like “Peligrosa” or “En Mi” which have a way to really grab you. Those sorts of songs are missing here. That really holds the album back in my mind.

If I have to rank Balvin’s studio albums, I would have to put them this way: (List very much subject to change)

1. Oasis
2. Vibras
3. La Familia
4. Energia
5. Jose
6. Colores

Final Thoughts

Jose isn’t the next Vibras but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a very solid album. There is a ton of depth on this album with a fantastic crop of singles and some very good songs exclusive to the album. It’s hard to say that this is one of the best albums that Balvin has put out. It’s loaded with some very good songs, but it’s missing some special element to really put it over the top.

7.6/10

For the rest of this week’s New Music, click here.