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6 Mar 2026 14:48
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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

    Golf:
    Kiwi golfer Nick Voke (like folk] is soaring at the Japan-Australasia Championship in Auckland, after a blemish-free second round 14:47

    Entertainment:
    John Davidson's home was burgled while he was away in London attending the BAFTAs ceremony 14:35

    International:
    Air travel may be disrupted by the Iran war for months. This is why 14:27

    International:
    US 'accelerating' war in Iran as Israel threatens to 'bring hell' to Lebanon 14:07

    National:
    English doesn’t need protecting in New Zealand – but other languages do 14:07

    Entertainment:
    Lindsay Lohan and her family are "safe" in Dubai and she is "praying for peace" after the city was shaken by Iranian missile launches 14:05

    International:
    Death toll mounts as war spreads to more than a dozen nations beyond Iran 13:47

    Law and Order:
    Police have arrested one young person in relation to an aggravated robbery in Castlecliff, Whanganui, but they're still hunting for more alleged offenders 13:47

    Entertainment:
    Seth Rogen wishes he didn't have to accept Catherine O'Hara's Actor Award after her death 13:35

    Motorsports:
    A former teammate's predicting Kiwi Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson will maximise his results, in what's likely to be a challenging year in Formula One 13:27


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