Ed Sheeran, J Balvin Hit Studio and Party in Mansion for Surprise Collaborations

Here’s an unlikely pairing with an even more unlikely origin story: Sometime last year, J Balvin and Ed Sheeran were working out at a gym in New York when they suddenly crossed paths. “It was just me and him very early in the morning. I recognised his voice when he was on the phone so I just went up and said hi,” Sheeran remembered in a recent tweet. “We chatted so long we ended up having lunch and then afternoon tea. Then just went to being mates who chatted non stop.”

That chance meeting turned into time in the studio, where the two pop artists came up with a bunch of songs, including “Forever My Love” and “Sigue,” which both premiere today. “Sigue” is a much more upbeat track with a video that shows them partying in a mansion, which Balvin released on his YouTube channel. Meanwhile Sheeran posted a black-and-white video for “Forever My Love” on his, filled with scenes of the two artists playing guitar together and talking over FaceTime.

The pairing is definitely random, but Sheeran isn’t new to teaming up with Latin pop stars. He’s worked with Camila Cabello twice, including on the recent “Bam Bam” and the Cardi B-assisted “South of the Border,” and his hit “Shape of You” got a reggaeton remix by the legendary duo Zion Y Lennox. Balvin’s last album, Jose, came out last year and included features from English-speaking pop acts, such as Khalid, Skrillex, and Dua Lipa.

From Rolling Stone US.