Nickelodeon has teased a brand-new collaboration between the network's hit animated series, SpongeBob SquarePants, Chicago-based visual artist and designer Louis De Guzman, and Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin!
Titled SpongeBob x Louis De Guzman x J BALVIN, Nickelodeon revealed that the collaboration will be "coming soon".
Update (9/25) - Billboard has revealed that the forthcoming project will feature art, apparel and home goods.
A representative for Balvin tells Billboard: "In honor of SpongeBob SquarePants' 20th anniversary, Chicago-based visual artist and designer Louis De Guzman joins forces with music superstar and fashion/Pop Art connoisseur J Balvin for a special collaboration of art, apparel, and home goods celebrating the iconic figure's impact on pop culture over the last two decades.”
Louis and J Balvin also teased the project with a video on their respective Instagram pages:
Update (9/24) - The official SpongeBob Instagram page is teasing that the project will include apparel, including t-shirts!:
The artists and media giant seem to have been working on the project for a long time. On April 23 of this year Louis posted a picture next to a neon Nickelodeon sign, captioning it with, “Never give up on the things that matter the most to you // The future is bright." On April 22 he had already posted a picture next to J Balvin and referred to their duo as “Filatino,” making reference to J Balvin's popular phrase “Latino Gang.” The two artists of different mediums seem to go way back. On November 2018, Balvin supported Louis at one of his exhibits and Louis thanked Balvin for his constant support.
J Balvin (José Álvaro Osorio Balvín) is a Colombian-born Spanish-speaking reggaeton singer who is among the most influential Latino artists changing the way the top-10 charts across America sound. Balvin is best known for hits like “Ginza,” “Que Pretendes,” “Mi Gente,” and Cardi B’s “I Like It”—and with the help of artists like Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Rosalía, and Ozuna, he’s helping make 2019’s MTV VMAs super latino. Even President Barack Obama recently added “Con Altura” to his playlist. J Balvin has received nominations in Nickelodeon's global Kids' Choice Awards and Kids' Choice Awards Colombia. In 2017, he participated in Nickelodeon's Hispanic Heritage campaign.
Louis De Guzman is a Chicago-based visual artist and designer who creates artwork that merges his past with his present. De Guzman’s geometric abstraction style often blends together images and stories that evoke his family’s immigrant journey, and his own experience as a second generation Filipino American. Over the last decade De Guzman has proved himself as a prominent designer and creative director. De Guzman has been able to blend both traditional and experimental techniques in his work, which has attracted attention from corporate clients and culturally relevant figures alike.
SpongeBob SquarePants, which was recently greenlit for a 13th season, has reigned as the number-one kids’ animated series on TV for the last 17 years, while generating a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, theatrical releases, consumer products, a Tony award-winning Broadway musical which is now touring North America and a global fan base. SpongeBob SquarePants is seen in more than 208 countries and territories, translated in 55+ languages, and averages more than 100 million total viewers every quarter. SpongeBob SquarePants is created by Stephen Hillenburg and produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank, Calif.
Nickelodeon's is currently in the midst of the network's "Best Year Ever", a year-long global celebration of one of the most iconic TV series and characters ever created. The “Best Year Ever” launched with the premiere of “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” an original mixed live-action and animated special earlier this summer, and leads up to the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies theatrical, The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, coming 2020.
More Nick:Nickelodeon to Host 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Panels at New York Comic Con 2019!
Originally published: Monday, September 23, 2019 at 21:27 BST.
Additional sources: Wikipedia, The Oprah Magazine, Google, HOLA!.
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon and SpongeBob SquarePants News and Highlights!
Titled SpongeBob x Louis De Guzman x J BALVIN, Nickelodeon revealed that the collaboration will be "coming soon".
Update (9/25) - Billboard has revealed that the forthcoming project will feature art, apparel and home goods.
A representative for Balvin tells Billboard: "In honor of SpongeBob SquarePants' 20th anniversary, Chicago-based visual artist and designer Louis De Guzman joins forces with music superstar and fashion/Pop Art connoisseur J Balvin for a special collaboration of art, apparel, and home goods celebrating the iconic figure's impact on pop culture over the last two decades.”
Louis and J Balvin also teased the project with a video on their respective Instagram pages:
Update (9/24) - The official SpongeBob Instagram page is teasing that the project will include apparel, including t-shirts!:
The artists and media giant seem to have been working on the project for a long time. On April 23 of this year Louis posted a picture next to a neon Nickelodeon sign, captioning it with, “Never give up on the things that matter the most to you // The future is bright." On April 22 he had already posted a picture next to J Balvin and referred to their duo as “Filatino,” making reference to J Balvin's popular phrase “Latino Gang.” The two artists of different mediums seem to go way back. On November 2018, Balvin supported Louis at one of his exhibits and Louis thanked Balvin for his constant support.
J Balvin (José Álvaro Osorio Balvín) is a Colombian-born Spanish-speaking reggaeton singer who is among the most influential Latino artists changing the way the top-10 charts across America sound. Balvin is best known for hits like “Ginza,” “Que Pretendes,” “Mi Gente,” and Cardi B’s “I Like It”—and with the help of artists like Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Rosalía, and Ozuna, he’s helping make 2019’s MTV VMAs super latino. Even President Barack Obama recently added “Con Altura” to his playlist. J Balvin has received nominations in Nickelodeon's global Kids' Choice Awards and Kids' Choice Awards Colombia. In 2017, he participated in Nickelodeon's Hispanic Heritage campaign.
Louis De Guzman is a Chicago-based visual artist and designer who creates artwork that merges his past with his present. De Guzman’s geometric abstraction style often blends together images and stories that evoke his family’s immigrant journey, and his own experience as a second generation Filipino American. Over the last decade De Guzman has proved himself as a prominent designer and creative director. De Guzman has been able to blend both traditional and experimental techniques in his work, which has attracted attention from corporate clients and culturally relevant figures alike.
SpongeBob SquarePants, which was recently greenlit for a 13th season, has reigned as the number-one kids’ animated series on TV for the last 17 years, while generating a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, theatrical releases, consumer products, a Tony award-winning Broadway musical which is now touring North America and a global fan base. SpongeBob SquarePants is seen in more than 208 countries and territories, translated in 55+ languages, and averages more than 100 million total viewers every quarter. SpongeBob SquarePants is created by Stephen Hillenburg and produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank, Calif.
Nickelodeon's is currently in the midst of the network's "Best Year Ever", a year-long global celebration of one of the most iconic TV series and characters ever created. The “Best Year Ever” launched with the premiere of “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” an original mixed live-action and animated special earlier this summer, and leads up to the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies theatrical, The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, coming 2020.
More Nick:Nickelodeon to Host 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Panels at New York Comic Con 2019!
Originally published: Monday, September 23, 2019 at 21:27 BST.
Additional sources: Wikipedia, The Oprah Magazine, Google, HOLA!.
Follow NickALive! on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, via RSS, on Instagram, and/or Facebook for the latest Nickelodeon and SpongeBob SquarePants News and Highlights!