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27 Feb 2026 22:33
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    J Balvin named his son Rio because he wanted him to "float"

    The 37-year-old rapper - whose real name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvín - welcomed his first child back in June 2021 with model Valentina Ferrer and revealed that the inspiration behind the name Rio was because it is the Portuguese word for river


    He said: "Rio like River... I want him to just float."

    The 'I Like It' hitmaker - who is initially from Medellín, Colombia - also opened up about moving to Oklahoma to learn English as a foreign exchange student and claimed he eventually felt "inspired" to kickstart a music career once he arrived in New York.

    Speaking on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', he added: "I did not choose Oklahoma... I loved Oklahoma, don't get me wrong. But when I got to New York I felt inspired to conquer the world with my music."

    The revelations come just days after the Grammy Award winning star spoke out about his struggles with mental health and claimed that there is a "stigma" that stems from his culture.

    He said: "I never thought that I was going to suffer about mental health. I remember seeing people go to the psychiatric and I would be like, 'Why are they going there? They're crazy. Because that's a stigma, something that has always been in the Latino culture or even around the world and once I started suffering from anxiety and depression, I understood that it was a chemical disbalance.

    So I feel that I need to speak out because I think ... I go to that pain with myself ... because we have a voice. So I think music is the way it's helped us to send a message. And I really can feel that it's to tell other people about mental health and how to help them."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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     Today's News

    Law and Order:
    A 26 year old will face court after allegedly trying to steal a necklace worth more than 70 thousand dollars from Auckland's CBD 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Drew Barrymore travels down "memory lane" when looking at pictures of herself from her 1990s heyday 21:51

    Entertainment:
    Cruz Beckham's 21st birthday celebrations have gone on for a week 21:21

    Rugby:
    Fa'alogo Tana Umaga is reminding his players the only thing they can control is their own effort 21:17

    Entertainment:
    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived at the World Health Organisation's country office in Amman 20:51

    Entertainment:
    Jameela Jamil has called out women at the BAFTAs for being "scarily thin" 20:21

    Entertainment:
    Sinitta has described her marriage to Andy Willner as a "revenge move" aimed at Simon Cowell 19:51

    Entertainment:
    Jennifer Garner has spoken candidly about the realities of co-parenting her three children with her former husband 19:21

    Soccer:
    A huge 8-nil win over Samoa for the Football Ferns in their Fifa World Cup qualifier in Honiara 18:57

    Politics:
    An economist says benefit sanctions aren't working 18:57


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