‘Uforia Mix Live’ Will Be J Balvin’s First Performance Following His Latin Grammy Nomination “Beef” With Puerto Rican Rapper Residente
Jay Wheeler and J Balvin, who recently brought down the house with their performance at the J Balvin x Neon festival in Las Vegas back in September, will perform at the Uforia Mix Live concert in Miami, FL, on October 1. The duo will perform their track “OTRO FILI” from Balvin’s latest album José.
Elite Media & Marketing, one of the leading Latin music concert production companies in the world, teased the duo’s upcoming performance on social media with a behind-the-scenes clip of them brainstorming and going over the logistics of performing. “I’m super grateful to Jay Wheeler. I think this is a combination that I had no idea would be this special until I called him,” said J Balvin in the Instagram video.
Presented by radio station Mix 98, Uforia Mix Live is a music event featuring today’s most prominent artists in Latin music. J Balvin, Wisin y Yandel, Anitta, Cazzu, Chesca, Cornetto, Jay Wheeler, and Nicky Jam will take the stage at the FTX Arena to a nearly sold-out show. Balvin also praises Wheeler’s character and artistic ability in the video, saying that this collaboration is unique and something the fans will most definitely enjoy.
Earlier this week, both J Balvin and Jay Wheeler were nominated for Best Urban Song and Best Reggaeton Performace for this year’s Latin Grammys. The nomination ceremony took place Monday, September 20, via live stream, where Balvin’s song “Agua” was nominated for Best Urban Song, along with Wheeler’s track “La Curiosidad.” For Best Reggaeton Performance, Balvin’s “Tu Veneno” and Wheeler’s “La Curiosidad” were nominated again.
“I feel beyond blessed to be considered by The Academy for such a prestigious award like the Latin GRAMMYs. This is a dream come true and I want to thank everyone who’s supported me since day one, Myke Towers and DJ Nelson for saying yes to this project, and all the fans who’ve made ‘La Curiosidad’ a movement,” Wheeler said.
Jay Wheeler also took to Instagram to personally share his excitement and gratitude with his fans. The nearly four-minute-long video goes on to say that it’s been an amazing journey, and this nomination is an incredible thing. “I, by myself, began making romantic music. I created a path where a lot of people underestimated me. So many people said I wasn’t going to go anywhere and that I should make common music like everyone else’s. But I was always different, and thanks to you, thanks to you, we are nominated for two Grammys,” he says.
However, not everyone shared Wheeler’s same sentiment. Following the nominations ceremony, Balvin took to Twitter to express his disappointment over the lack of representation for Reggaeton artists. In a now-deleted tweet, the singer posted, “The Grammys don’t value us, but need us. It’s my opinion, and I have nothing against other genres because they deserve all the respect, but this is getting tiring. We give them ratings, but they don’t give us respect. P.S. I’m nominated, so don’t come saying I’m hurt.”
Balvin also went as far as to call on fellow Reggaeton artists to boycott the ceremony adding, “For those who have power in the genre, NONE OF YOU SHOULD GO!! None of us should because we’re a movement.”
This call to action did not sit well with some artists, such as Grammy-nominated Cuban singer Yotuel and Li Saumet from Bomba Estereo, who voiced their opposition to Balvin’s point of view. But, it was Puerto Rican rapper Residente who made the harshest remark to Balvin’s opinion. In a video uploaded to Twitter, the multi-winning Grammy artists not only defended this year’s nominees but also compared Balvin’s music to a typical hot dog stand.
“I’m lost, Jose. If the Grammys don’t value us, why do I have 31?” began his remark. “Are you really telling Myke Towers that it’s possibly his first time nominated, and he shouldn’t go to the Grammys?” (Myke Towers was nominated for the first time in 2020 for Best Urban Album and is nominated again this year for Best Urban Music Album and Best Reggaeton Performance. He is also on Balvin’s new album José in the track “Billetes De 100.”)
Residente’s remark to Balvin’s call to boycott implied that the singer was not only being disrespectful to the nominees and Rubén Blades – who is being honored as the Latin Grammys’ Person Of The Year – but that this year, he was speaking out of jealousy rather than valid concern. At last year’s 21st Latin Grammys, Balvin spoke out for the first time about the lack of genre representation, despite being nominated for 13 awards and even performing his song “Rojo” off his album, Colores.
“I would believe your boycott if, last year, when you were nominated 13 times, you didn’t go, but then you didn’t boycott.”
Residente’s video response has been deleted from social media, but not before one essential part of his rebuttal was recorded, shared, and turned into memes. Towards the end, Residence took a swing at Balvin’s musical talents by making an analogy to hot dog street vendors.
“You have to understand, Jose, it’s like if a little hot dog cart got bothered and pissed off because it can’t win a Michelin star. Don’t misunderstand me, Jose — everyone likes hot dogs,” he said with mock patience. “But I’ll explain it to you so you get it: Your music is like a little hot dog cart that a lot of people might like — almost the whole world. But when those people want to eat well, they go to a restaurant, and that restaurant is what wins the Michelin stars.”
Aside from implying that Balvin was bitter about only receiving two nominations, he also called out the global singer for not writing his own songs and offered some advice amid his street food analogy. “So, if you want to get nominated, you have to stop making hot dogs and open a restaurant. Or just make a really good hot dog, with Kobe beef, I don’t know, or really good bread.”
J Balvin has not directly responded to Residente’s comments. But he did throw subtle shade by posting a picture of him chilling next to a hotdog stand as he promotes the release of his music video to the remixed track “Sal y Perrea” ft Sech and Daddy Yankee.
The 22nd Latin Grammys will take place Thursday, November 18, at the MGM Grand Garden Arean in Las Vegas. Tickets to Uforia Mix Live concert can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.
