The peculiar story of the J Balvin and Ed Sheeran crossover began at a gym in New York. Six months ago, J Balvin entered to exercise. Suddenly, he saw a familiar face. As he got closer, he realized Ed Sheeran was also there.

“We had a coffee, we talked about life and we found a 'chimba' (good) vibe. We created a genuine friendship by talking about the simplest things,” said the artist from Medellín on his Instagram.

Dealing with everyday topics — fatherhood or their musical careers — they ended up meeting in the studio. The result was productive: two songs together will soon premiere. "Sigue" and "Forever My Love," are their names and after that, a full album will be released.

“I wanted him to be in a song from the world of reggaeton, and he invited me to his world. It was brutal to hear him in Spanish and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do," the Balvin continued. 

In September 2021, rumors arose about a possible collaboration, and those rumors turned out to be true. Then, Balvin posted a photo with Sheeran at a restaurant, with the message "friendship first, business second, the person guides the right vibe."

For now, the only hints revealed are the language of the songs: one in English and the other in Spanish. Photos on social media also potentially hint at Balvin joining on his guitar with Sheeran, who gained fame with his hit "Shape of You."

At first sight, it seems like an unorthodox mix. Balvin is an icon of urban music and reggaeton, and it's become more natural to see him in other collaborations like in ones he's done with Rosalía, Tokischa, Cardi B and Dual Lipa. For his part, Sheeran produced joint songs with Paulo Londra and Dave on the song "Nothing on you." Will their different music styles be compatible?

After posting the short 15-second video on Instagram, where both are playing the guitar and extras from what promises to be a powerful music video, social media exploded with joy. Artists like Justin Quiles, La Gabi or La Mala Rodríguez commented on the post.

Some users celebrated it with messages such as "how to make the world happy for the week," "this collaboration will be incredible, different and something fresher," and "this is how you respond to those who hate." The last message referred to the recent public dispute between J Balvin and the rapper Residente.