The 38-year-old Colombian singer has officially joined Roc Nation as a management client, where he will be overseen directly by Jay Brown and Chris Knight.
Balvin was previously managed by Fabio Acosta and Scooter Braun’s SB Projects. He parted ways with the latter on June 30, 2022, after nearly three years together.
He continued working with Acosta and his company, Akela Family Music, through March. Acosta had managed or co-managed Balvin in some capacity for the past decade. Sources say the two parted on amicable terms.
Balvin, one of the biggest Latin stars in the world, has had a series of management shifts over the past five years. In 2019, he parted ways with manager Rebeca León, who had managed him since the onset of his career in the United States, and signed with Braun.
Throughout both deals, Acosta remained part of his management team and worked in partnership with SB Projects, helping bring in groundbreaking deals and partnerships. These included his celebrity menu collaboration with McDonald’s — a first for a Latin act.
7/14 – Tenerife, Spain – Ritmo del Mundo
7/15 – Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal – Meo Mares Vivas Festival
7/21 – Byron Bay, Australia – Splendour in the Grass
7/23 – Melbourne – Margaret Court
7/25 – Sydney – Hordern Pavillion
The 37-year-old Colombian singer’s sneaker collaboration sold out within hours of being released on the Nike SNKR app.
The collaboration debuted on Thursday, September 15 in commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Balvin’s shoe offers a fresh take on the classic 1986 design. It features a celestine blue colorway with cloud graphics along the heel, collar and insole, and puffed-up panels on the upper ankle, with premium materials and air cushioning designed to keep your feet comfortable.
Although Balvin is known for his unique style, there’s a deeper meaning to the design aesthetic.
“Everything I do has to tell a story,” he explained in an interview with Complex. “I talked to Nike about how I wanted to reflect my mental health journey in a creative way. We discussed how I had to overcome walking through dark moments to find the light. That’s where we came up with the concept for this sneaker. I wanted it to be reflective of how you jump towards the light and your dreams and elevate yourself to get through the dark situations in life.”
The J Balvin x Air Jordan 2 sneaker retails for $300 in adult sizes, $100 for kids, and $80 for toddlers. All three sizes are sold out at Nike, but like with any limited drop, you can usually find the shoes on resale sites likeStockX, Fight Club, GOAT, and Grailed.
The 33-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder will soon be donning the Arizona Diamondbacks’ recently unveiled gold uniform.
The uniform is a reference to the Sonoran Desert and the state’s Hispanic culture as the latest alternate jersey in the City Connect collection.
The jersey reads “Serpientes” across the front, intended to highlight Arizona’s Hispanic culture, while the uniform patch features the Arizona state flag and a reference to Phoenix’s nickname as the Valley of the Sun.
The Diamondbacks will debut the uniforms on June 18 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and plan to wear them six more times: July 16 against the Chicago Cubs, July 30 against the Dodgers, August 13 against the San Diego Padres and for a three-game series with the Dodgers on Hispanic Heritage Weekend from September 24 to 26, which includes Roberto Clemente Day.
“I was really excited about that because we are involving the Spanish community in a special way. Arizona has a really big Hispanic community, and for me to be part of that, I am really proud and excited about it,” said Peralta. “We have Venezuelan guys, Dominican guys on our team to represent the Spanish community in Arizona. It really is a big deal for us, especially the way they’re doing it with the team name.”
Arizona will join the Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox and Cubs with a City Connect jersey.
The Diamondbacks conducted Zoom calls during the 2020 season to survey players on their thoughts about potential City Connect uniform designs. Peralta said that while many of the uniforms featured a nod to Arizona’s Hispanic culture — according to the most recent U.S. census data, more than 42% of the state’s residents identify as Hispanic — the gold design jumped off the page.
“I was looking at the colors in the computer and I thought it looked good, but when I saw the jersey, the way the colors come out, the contrast levels, it was like whoa, this is unique,” Peralta said. “This is something different.”
Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall said the jersey will replace the current alternative that reads “Los D-backs” and could become a regular part of the rotation depending on the reaction from fans and whether the team wins while wearing the uniforms.
“If we have an overwhelmingly favorable reaction to it, then we are going to start working them in a little more,” Hall said. “If we see that the hoodies and the T-shirts and jerseys are flying off the shelf in the team shop, we’ll know that fans want to see it more, and we’ll get feedback from fans and players. Our players are extremely superstitious, and if we turn the season around, you’ll see Serpientes out there a lot more, especially if we can rattle off some wins with it.”
When approached by MLB and Nike regarding City Connect, the Diamondbacks immediately agreed to take part in the inaugural run of uniforms. When deciding on which colors to use, they decided to stick to their existing set.
“Our preference was to have more of a bright or loud color, but we thought that it was a reflection of the desert,” Hall said. “It was a color that we already had, so it’s not an escape from what we have already, but I think our fans would have been more shocked if we had completely abandoned our colors.”
The Diamondbacks historically have been one of the more experimental teams when it comes to uniform designs. Ahead of the 2016 season, the team unveiled a complete redesign featuring a polarizing gradient snakeskin pattern on the uniforms and pants, widely considered among fans to be among the worst in the sport. When Nike took over as the uniform provider for MLB, Arizona once again redesigned its jerseys.
“We’ve been bold at times, maybe too bold, had too many options in the past, and we simplified,” Hall said. “We were one of the first teams to completely abandon our original colors and we were purple and teal, and for years, we had MLB asking us to consider changing our colors. We already had the Rockies with the purple. The purple never really matched up, and on TV, it looked more blue. The purple and teal was somewhat outdated.
“There was no red in our division, and they put on an entire presentation for us where baseball was showing us that we should be the color red because of the Sedona Mountains and the sky and we said, no, thank you, but the more we thought about it, it made sense. We’re such a young franchise, and you can do that.”
Peralta said that while gold is not a typical color for a baseball uniform, he thinks the unique look will appeal to fans. During a photoshoot ahead of the jersey reveal, the outfielder noticed a similar shade of gold on a snake’s skin to the one found on the jerseys.
“It’s just all about doing something different,” Peralta said. “The fans, the young guys, they like it, all of the kids. With these new uniforms, it’s different, and I think that’s the best part of that. People are going to be like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen something like that.'”
Balvin also makes Nike history by becoming the first Latino artist to collaborate with the Jordan brand.
“Sold Out Global Sold out. From what I counted, they were gone in a minute,” Balvin wrote on Instagram, thanking all his fans. (Nike said it was unable to disclose unit numbers or how long the shoes took to sell out to Billboard.)
Inspired by his latest studio albums Colores and Vibras, the Air Balvins have a cool tie-dye effect with pink soles, pink, white and black laces, and interchangeable patches, including a smiley face, lightning bolt, a basketball, and a Jumpman.
“Even the people who don’t know a lot about me are going to be into the shapes and colors,” Balvin said in an official statement. “It’s another way for me to connect with the world. It’s a dream come true.”
The Air Jordan I x J Balvin was released globally via SNKRS and sold for $190 at various retailers including Foot Locker, Shoe Gallery and SoleFly.
The 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer offers a preview of what appears to be his upcoming collaboration with Adidas in the music video for his latest single, “Yo Visto Así.”
Several frames in the video show Bad Bunny wearing an unreleased version of the Adidas Forumsneaker while various skateboarders in the shots are seen rocking the Adidas Busenitz Vulc 2.0.
Bad Bunny’s Forum collaboration features a predominantly brown color scheme, unlike the cream-based colorway that surfaced last month.
The forthcoming version introduces new details to the classic model, including the artist’s eye logo on the double-stacked tongue, a thicker ankle collar, and a toggle lacing setup at the heel.
Adidas has yet to officially reveal Bad Bunny’s Forum collaboration, but it’s expected to hit sneaker shelves sometime in 2021.
In September, his quirky glow-in-the-dark Crocs arrived — and quickly sold out.
The originally $60 “Glow Up” Crocs featuring space-themed Jibbitz charms launched in limited quantities and pairs have since been reselling for upward of $200 on secondary market websites like StockX.
Puma has announced the signing of the 28-year-old Brazilian soccer star after the Paris Saint-Germain player left Nike following a 15-year association.
Neymar’s arrival was announced on the Puma website alongside the banner “The king is back” and “Welcome to the family Neymar JR.”
Neymar wrote in a statement on his Twitter page: “At the beginning of each new season, I take some time to think about my career and the choices I have made. I think about the dreams I had when I started this sport, and the path that lies ahead.
“This will be a different season, a special season. For that reason, as I have done in the past, I decided to write this text.
“I am about to live a unique experience, a new challenge. I consider myself privileged to have had a life filled with unique experiences and wonderful challenges.
“I grew up watching videos of great football legends such as Pele, Cruyff, Matthaus, Eusebio and Maradona … These were the kings of the pitch, the kings of my sport. And they had something in common — a love of the game, a drive to be the best version of themselves and a spirit that unites all. It’s not always about being the best or the greatest but instead, to inspire future generations. That is exactly what I have dreamt of for myself, to give all of me to football because football has given me everything I have. I want to do it my way, using my gift.
“New challenges, new responsibilities, I understand that. I wish to bring back the legacy that those athletes created on the pitch. I was to help bring back memories from each of their football histories and the magic they gave us in their classic leather boots — and through boots like those, leave behind my own legacy. They each played in PUMA, and each of them created their magic in The KING.
“And so now, as I begin this new season, I want the KING to reign on the pitch and inspire generations as it has inspired me and others.
“To be in this project, associating myself to those Kings of football, through KING, it is a dream. For these reasons, from today onward, I have the honour to unite with the brand that helped the biggest legends of football become what they are. Every time I lace my boots, my KING boots, I will do anything to achieve all of my dreams to honour my name and that of all those great ones who wore the KING before me. This will be my PUMA history. The KING is back!”
Sources told ESPN that only four executives knew about the deal to land Neymar and it was “a big secret in the company” that they had been working to sign the player for several months.
He returned to training with PSG on Friday after missing their opening Ligue 1 fixture of the campaign, a 1-0 defeat at Lens, following a positive test for the coronavirus.
Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world-record €222 million fee and has won three Ligue 1 titles in Paris. He also helped the French club reach the Champions League final in August, where they were beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich.
During his time at Barca he won the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and two La Liga titles.
Lionel Messi is kickin’ his way to the top of the earnings charts…
The 33-year-old Argentine soccer star, who plays for FC Barcelona, is the top-earning Latinx celebrity on Forbes’ recently released The Celebrity 100 list, which ranks the world’s highest-paid celebrities of 2020.
Messi, who has been awarded both FIFA’s Ballon d’Or and the European Golden Shoe for top scorer on the continent a record six times, comes in at No. 5 with earning of $104 million.
His current contract with Barcelona is through 2020-21 and pays him more than $80 million annually. He also has a lifelong deal with Adidas, and he launched his own clothing line and opened his first retail outlet, The Messi Store, in September 2019 in Barcelona.
The World Health Organization (WHO) tapped Messi in March 2020 to help lead a worldwide campaign aimed at stopping the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nipping on Messi’s heels is another soccer star and his former teammate… Neymar.
The 28-year-old Brazilian soccer player comes in at No. 7 on the list with earning of $95.5 million.
Neymar is currently on a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain through June 2022 worth $350 million in salary.
His transfer from Barcelona to PSG stands as the most expensive in the world at $263 million, which the French club paid in full ahead of his signing.
He’s the second most popular athlete on social media with a combined 244 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Nike‘s Jordan Brand signed Neymar as its first soccer ambassador in 2016. In March 2020 its film unit released a movie about his life.
Jennifer Lopez is this year’s highest-paid Latina on the list.
The 51-year-old Puerto Rican superstar comes in at No. 56 on the list with earnings of $47.5 million.
One of the more popular celebrities when it comes to endorsements, J.Lo has deals with Versace, DSW, Quay sunglasses and her own fragrance.
In 2018, she played her final shows at Las Vegas’ Zappos Theater, grossing more than $100 million in two years–the top Vegas residency by a Latin artist. She tacked on another $55 million in 2019 ticket sales for her ensuing world tour, which included stops in Egypt, Israel and Russia.
Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his first appearance on The Celebrity 100.
The 40-year-old Puerto Rican actor/rapper/lyricist/composer and Broadway star, the creator of the hit musical Hamilton, comes in at No. 62 with earning of $45.5 million.
Disney acquired worldwide rights to the film version of Hamilton in February 2020 for $75 million. And he helped create a $1 million emergency relief fund to benefit artists impacted by COVID-19 in Puerto Rico.
Other Latinx celebrities making the list include Howie Dorough (as a member of Backstreet Boys); Sofia Vergara, the world’s highest-paid actress; Robert Trujillo (as a member of Metallica); tennis star Rafael Nadal; and Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez.
Forbes’ list ranks “front of the camera” stars around the globe using pretax earnings from June 2019 through May 2020 before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents. Figures are based on information from Nielsen Music/MRC Data, Pollstar, IMDB, NPD BookScan and ComScore as well as interviews with industry experts and many of the stars themselves.
In total, the 100 celebrities racked in a total of $6.1 billion in pretax earnings, which took a $200 million dip from last year after the pandemic halted — or rather redirected — lots of business models.
Here’s a look at the Latino/a celebrities who made the list this year:
No. 5 Lionel Messi, 33, Argentina, Soccer, $104 million
No. 7 Neymar, 28, Brazil, Soccer, $95.5 million No. 56 Jennifer Lopez, 51, USA (Puerto Rican), Entertainment, $47.5 million
No. 62 Lin-Manuel Miranda, 40, USA (Puerto Rican), Entertainment, $45.5 million No. 64 Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys), 47, USA (Half-Puerto Rican), Music, $45 million No. 71 Sofia Vergara, 48, Colombia, Entertainment, $43 million
No. 78 Robert Trujillo (Metallica), 55, USA (Half-Mexican)Music, $40.5 million No. 80 Rafael Nadal, 34, Spain, Tennis, $40 million No. 91 Canelo Alvarez, 30, Mexico, Boxing, $37 million
The project includes the participation of famed photographer Estevan Oriol and iconic Los Angeles-based artist Mister Cartoon aka Mark Machado.
Michael Connolly, under his Mad Hatter Entertainment banner, brought the elements together.
Lopez is in final talks to star and executive produce the project through his Travieso Productions, with Javier Rodriguez writing the pilot. Oriol and Cartoon will executive-produce.
“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Cartoon, Estevan, Jada and Michael for this series and developing a show with STXtv,” Lopez said. “Cartoon and Estevan are the DaVincis of our community; they have been the street chroniclers of our uniquely Chicano story … our American story. I’m looking forward to working with them and the rest of the team to expand their canvas to capture the diverse stories and people that make our culture and community so amazing, colorful and vibrant.”
This authentic L.A.-based series examines a family coming to terms with the falsehoods of the American Dream and their ability to defy expectations.
“I want to create a vision of Los Angeles inspired by my tattoos and murals that enriches and showcases the culture, opening it up to new audiences,” Cartoon said. “Putting together the dream team of Latino street culture and a collection of creative minds headed up by George Lopez, who is born and raised in L.A. and is an icon of our community. George’s experience and sense of humor acts as a foundation for this team.”
The pilot will be directed by Ricardo de Montreuil, who helmed Eva Longoria and Demián Bichir in the Blumhouse/Imagine East L.A.-set drama, Lowriders.During that production, he worked closely with Oriol and Cartoon, who were also involved in the production.
Oriol and Cartoon’s longtime collaborators Mark Suroff and Marco Valadez, who produced LA Originals, also will serve as executive producers with Connolly.
“I’m looking forward to developing this with Cartoon, George, Jada and Michael,” said Oriol. “STXtv truly gets what it takes to develop a real show that can only be made in LA. This is the dream team. Period. It doesn’t get more authentic than this and I’m proud and privileged to be invited on this ride.”
He previously starred in Lopez for TV Land and Saint George for FX. And he had a talk show that ran from 2009-11. While his hit comedy George Lopez, whichended in 2007, ran on ABC, STXtv will zero in on buyers in the cable and streaming markets.
Cartoon is L.A.’s legendary tattoo artist, designer and cultural icon whose stylish and influential global work has been featured on countless celebrities including Kobe Bryant, Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Beyoncé, Lewis Hamilton, Snoop Dogg and many others. Cartoon also designed the logos for Cypress Hill and Eminem’s Shady Records, and his résumé includes cutting-edge designs for Nike, the LA Clippers and T-Mobile and others.
Oriol is an internationally celebrated photographer, director and urban lifestyle entrepreneur. Beginning as a tour manager for Cypress Hill and House of Pain, he developed a passion for photography as he documented life on the road to become hip-hop’s best-known chronicler; his work has been showcased in bestselling books, select galleries, and institutions, including the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives,Mesa Contemporary Art Center, Petersen Automotive Museum, and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’ and New York’s Art in the Streets exhibit. He has photographed Eminem, Kim Kardashian, Cypress Hill, Dennis Hopper, Blink-182, Forest Whitaker, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Danny Trejo, among many others. He most recently executive produced the film Lowridersand directed the hit Netflix documentary L.A. Originals.
L.A. Originalswas critically acclaimed and extremely successful, introducing new fans to the world to Oriol and Cartoon.
Messi comes in at No. 3 on the list, behind Roger Federer and Cristiano Ronaldo, with earning reported at $104 million.
The Futbol Club Barcelona star’s earnings includes his $72 million salary with his team, as well as $32 million in endorsements, including his lifelong deal with Adidas.
Nipping on Messi’s heels… Neymar.
The 28-year-old Brazilian footballer, on a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain through June 2022 worth $350 million, comes in at No. 4 with combined earnings of $95.5 million.
Nike‘s Jordan Brand signed Neymar as its first soccer ambassador in 2016. In March 2020, its film unit released a movie about his life.
Messi and Ronaldo had previously held the No. 1 spot in three of the past four years.
Rafael Nadal comes in at No. 27 on the list.
The 33-year-old tennis star has combined earnings of $40 million. The greatest clay court player of his generation captured two of Grand Slam titles in 2019, his 12th French Open title and fourth U.S. Open.
Here’s a look at the Latino athletes making this year’s top earners list.
No. 3: Lionel Messi, Soccer, Argentine, $104 million No. 4: Neymar, Soccer, Brazil, $95.5 million No. 27: Rafael Nadal, Tennis, Spain, $40 million No. 30: Canelo Alvarez, Boxing, Mexico, $37 million No. 46: Andres Iniesta, Soccer, Spain, $29.6 million No. 56: Oscar, Soccer, Brazil, $27.5 million No. 67: David de Gea, Soccer, Spain, $25.7 million No. 69: Alexis Sanchez, Soccer, Chile, $25.6 million No. 79: Al Horford, Basketball, Dominican Republic, $24.4 million No. 100: Sergio Ramos, Soccer, Spain, $21.8 million
During Sunday’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, the Colombian reggaeton singer performed alongside Jennifer Lopez, while donning his new Nike sneaker.
The neon-rainbow-hued shoe with a pink-tinted sole is the first collaboration between J Balvin and Nike’s Air Jordan 1 line, according to Billboard.
The wild design, which features a Miami-appropriate rainbow-packed upper with extended edges, exposed sponge on the tongue, and a happy face logo stamped on the heel.
Beyond his impressive footwear, J Balvin stuck close to home, wearing black track pants and a black hoodie from his own merch collection, with the words “Made In Medellín” emblazoned on the front in his trademark, colorful hues. Also on the hoodie: a flower with a smiley face in the middle.
Balvin was previously managed by Fabio Acosta and Scooter Braun’s SB Projects. He parted ways with the latter on June 30, 2022, after nearly three years together.
