FEATURE:
An Ocean of Talent
PHOTO CREDIT: Jingyu Lin for The New York Times
The Brilliant and Hugely Inspirational Karol G
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AN artist who is breaking ground…
IN THIS PHOTO: Karol G at the premiere of Barbie, held at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on 9th July, 2023 in Los Angeles, California/PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Polk for WWD
and establishing herself as one of the most remarkable in the world, I must admit I did not know a great deal about Karol G until recently. Her live performances are a thing of unity and joy. She is one of the most astonishing and powerful artists in the world. I am going to end with a playlist featuring some of her best songs. There will be others who do not know about Karol G. Before I get to some interviews, it is pertinent to bring together some biography regarding the astonishing artist born in Medellín, Colombia. I will talk about her potential in the acting world, how she is transforming a particular male-dominated genre, and why one of her most live performance is so revered ands spectacular. First, this website provides us with some useful and impressive background about an artist that everyone should know about:
“Who Is Karol G?
Karol G is a star of música urbana, which includes reggaeton, Latin trap and Spanish-language hip-hop. Her music also incorporates R&B and pop. Karol initially struggled to succeed as a female performer in the male-dominated world of reggaeton. To help her career take off, she sang backup and traveled extensively to perform at small venues and festivals. Doing this, she met fellow musicians who would become collaborators, such as Ovy on the Drums, who went on to produce much of her music. Karol's albums are: Unstoppable (2017), Ocean (2019) and KG0516 (2021). Her hit songs include "Tusa," "Bichota" and "Mamii"; among her collaborators are J Balvin, Nicki Minaj and the Jonas Brothers. Karol has headlined a tour in North America and was the first female reggaeton star to perform at Colombia's Estadio Atanasio Giradot.
When Was Karol G Born?
Carolina Giraldo Navarro was born in Medellín, Colombia, on February 14, 1991.
Early Life and Education
Karol grew up listening to music that included the Bee Gees, Thalía, Spice Girls and Red Hot Chili Peppers. She performed with her father, Juan Guillermo Giraldo, who worked as a musician.
Karol studied music at the University of Antioquia.
Early Career
In 2021, Karol told the Los Angeles Times, "When I started making music in 2006, there was already a very strong reggaeton movement in Latin America. The music I wanted to make was the music I loved listening to."
As a teenager, Karol appeared on "El Factor X," Colombia's take on "The X-Factor." In 2007, she signed with a Puerto Rican label. Her first single came out that same year. However, she found it difficult
After her father bought out her first contract, Karol met with another label in Miami around 2010. The label appreciated her work but wasn't open to signing her. "They said I could maybe be a songwriter, but a woman making reggaeton? That wouldn't work."
Pursuing a music career also led to Karol receiving unwanted sexual propositions. With her career not advancing as she'd hoped, Karol moved to New York. There, a subway ad inspired her to attend a music business conference in Boston and reignited her commitment to music.
Karol returned to Colombia and recorded her own songs in a home studio. She kept performing wherever she could get a gig.
Success in Music
Karol signed with Universal Music Latino in 2016. Working with Bad Bunny on "Ahora Me Llama" ("Now He Calls Me," 2017) raised her international profile.
Karol's debut album, Unstoppable, arrived in 2017 and reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. Her second album, Ocean, came out in 2019 and also debuted at No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart.
Singing about sex is common for male reggaeton artists but more unusual for their female counterparts. Yet Karol embraced her sexuality in hit songs like "Mi Cama" ("My Bed"; 2018) and "Punto G" (2019).
Karol reached another level of success with "Tusa" (2019). The song, made with Nicki Minaj, started at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs—a first for a female-led song since 2016—and reached more than 1 billion views on YouTube.
As the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world in 2020, Karol worked on her third album, for which she scrapped an almost-done project to create new music that better reflected her.
KG0516 arrived in 2021 and was the first record Karol co-produced. It reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart and No. 20 on the Billboard 200. The album featured collaborations with artists from Ozuna to Ludacris.
Karol had another success with "Bichota" (2020). She explained the song title refers to an "empowered, strong woman."
"Ever since 'Bichota,' I am even more connected to my music," she said in an interview with Billboard. "Now, even if there are other songwriters involved, the direction of the lyrics and style are in my hands because I am at that point in my career where I know what I want to and don’t want to release."
Karol's first English-language song, "Don't Be Shy," arrived in August 2021. She worked with Becky G on “MAMIII" (2022), which reached No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Karol's "Provenza" (2022) was another No. 1 hit on that chart.
Karol hasn't forgotten the obstacles she encountered on her way to the top. She included up-and-coming artists, like Mariah Angeliq and Nathy Peluso, on her third album. Karol also hosts an Apple Music show called "Bichota Radio" that features Latina performers”.
I am going to be bring a few interviews from earlier this year into the mix. Karol G is one of the most influential and important artists of her generation. Inspiring women hoping to break through in the male-dominated Reggaeton genre, I think that she is going to go from strength to strength and make big changes in the music industry – and open up conversations and enrich Latin and Reggaeton music. I want to start off with an interview from The New York Times. They chatted with her ahead of the release of the brilliant Mañana Será Bonito. Before getting to the interview, I want to swerve slightly and introduce a passage from one of the many impassioned and positive reviews for the album. this is what AllMusic offered:
“What's most immediately noticeable is how in control of her vocals Karol is here -- she flicks between perreo smooth-talker and harmonic seductress on "Gatúbela," breathes sly inflections and layers deep harmonies, slurs into the "beber y beber" loops of "Ojos Ferrari," then lances venom through the sinister "TQG." Her vocals sit naturally and authentically on top of open-air production, a constant presence, subdued when needed but never unremarkable: she is every part the anchor of this album. From this core blooms a range of reggaeton. Karol captures a joyous night on the town on "Besties," coyly crosses lines on "Dañamos la Amistad," and conjures blue skies on the project's arcing title track. The genre bends of fan favorites like "La Vida Continuó" find new avenues in dancehall "Kármika," Regional Mexican "Gucci los Paños" and road-trip cruiser "Tus Gafitas," while opener "Mientras Me Curo del Cora" joins Bad Bunny's "Si Te Veo" as an instant karaoke classic, weaving Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" into an easygoing self-healing anthem. Collaborations form organically with contemporaries, too. Romeo Santos and Quevedo deliver crisp and deep melodies, respectively, Maldy and Sean Paul hammer out calls to the dancefloor, and longtime collaborator Ovy on the Drums adds a sun-washed touch to 11 of the project's tracks. The Shakira-assisted duet "TQG" -- undoubtedly one of the genre's biggest moments of 2023 -- sees both stars standing triumphant in singlehood, fanning their feathers atop a throne of their own making. This is an album of wanderlust, of new opportunities, of the here and now. It's vital and authentic, confident yet emotive, and refined in its simplicity. Karol G has produced her best work yet”.
Let us get to an interview with an artist who has this enormous fanbase. Some people may think that her music and Spanish-language songs might be impenetrable and hard to appreciate and understand. Karol G is an artist who can make her songs resonate and connect with any audience. I think everyone should investigate her latest album:
“From an early age, she knew she wanted to sing. As a teenager, she auditioned unsuccessfully for the Colombian edition of the music reality competition “The X Factor,” but soon afterward signed to record with the Puerto Rican label Diamond Music — a contract her father bought her out of two years later. By 2012, she had grown so discouraged that she decided to give up on music and study marketing in New York City.
“My father stopped talking to me for three months,” she recalled. “He was like, ‘No, you can’t do that. You are throwing away seven years of our hard work. I know who you are. I know we can get it. It’s hard, but when we get it, it’s going to be bigger than the rest.’”
An advertisement for a music-business conference in Boston caught her eye as she was riding buses in New York. On an impulse, she attended, and it was a turning point. “I know I love music and I do this for passion,” she said. “But the teaching at that conference was how the music can be a really big business, and how you can work like that.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Jingyu Lin for The New York Times
She returned to Colombia, enrolled to study music at the University of Antioquia, released songs independently and performed at every opportunity, eventually singing duets with established reggaeton stars like Nicky Jam. Her 2017 debut album, “Unstoppable,” included duets with Bad Bunny and Quavo (from Migos), and it brought her a 2018 Latin Grammy Award as best new artist. Her popularity has only grown since then, stoked by lusty songs like “Mi Cama” (“My Bed”) and “Punto G” (“G-Spot”). In Latin America, she headlines stadiums.
Her constant collaborator has been Daniel Echavarría Oviedo, who records as Ovy on the Drums and has produced the vast majority of her songs. He tailors and refines reggaeton and other beats to suit her voice; he also strives to match her ambitions. “Karol’s mind is always going,” he said in a video chat from Los Angeles. “She always has an objective as to where the direction of the song should be, where the lyrics should go. She’s always thinking what’s the next move, the next step, the next accomplishment?
On “Mañana Será Bonito,” Karol G worked with Finneas (Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator), the Jamaican dancehall singer Sean Paul, the Bronx-born bachata singer Romeo Santos, the Dominican dembowsero Angel Dior, and her forerunner as a Colombian superstar, Shakira. She also embraces an elder generation of reggaeton with “Gatúbela” (“Catwoman”), a racy duet with Maldy, a Puerto Rican rapper from the duo Plan B, which released its first album in 2002.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jingyu Lin for The New York Times
“I had never done anything with a woman before,” Maldy said in a phone interview via a translator. “But it was very natural. Being with a woman that brings that sensuality made the right combination for the song to have such an impact. She has the charisma to bring reggaeton to another genre. And international collaborations expand reggaeton, to maximize it culturally.”
Karol G stares at the camera, her red hair blowing across her face.
“For me to go to different styles of music, different genres is not hard, because I have music from everywhere that I really love,” Karol G said.Credit...Jingyu Lin for The New York Times
Karol G insists that her hybrids and connections are a matter of instinct, not crossover marketing. “For me to go to different styles of music, different genres is not hard, because I have music from everywhere that I really love,” she said. “I’m trying to show the world more what I do, instead of just doing things to open that door. I want to do it with my real identity. If I feel in my mind that a song has that feeling I go that way: ‘This is a rock, this is a salsa, this is a corrido mexicano’”.
The authenticity and honesty Karol G reveals through her music and interviews has made her accessible and so loved. There is this trust between her and the fans. People can relate because, despite her enormous success, there is this humbleness and sense of earnestness. She is an icon who will inspire so many other artists coming through. Karol G has achieved worldwide domination. ELLE spoke with her back in May. It is amazing learning about her relationship break-up struggles and heartache and how she has responded to that:
“Recently, the stories in Karol’s life have involved healing from personal struggles amid professional triumphs. In 2021, her two-and-a-half-year relationship with fiancé Anuel AA, a Puerto Rican rapper, ended. Around the same time, her third album, KG0516, became her first to debut atop Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, driven by her megahits “Tusa” (with Nicki Minaj) and “Bichota,” the blustering female anthem that became synonymous with the singer as she embarked on her first headlining U.S. tour in the fall of 2021.
In the aftermath of the breakup, Karol learned to project confidence publicly, despite her private heartache and the scrutiny that came with her rising fame. She channeled the experience into Mañana Será Bonito, a perreo-ready dance album with melancholic undertones. Karol, working with her longtime producer Ovy on the Drums, experimented with more musical influences than ever before, weaving in traditional Mexican banda sounds, electric guitars, Afrobeats, and electronic music. She named the record after a mantra that got her through that time: “Tomorrow will be beautiful.” “I could never have imagined that such a dark period in my life would transform me into the person I am today,” Karol says. “The situation challenged me to learn, to appreciate what I had, to find happiness within myself, not in someone else.…I think that is really the soul of the album and what has made it so successful.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Zoey Grossman for ELLE
On Mañana Será Bonito, Karol also collaborated with one of her idols, Shakira, on the kiss-off hit “TQG,” short for Te Quedó Grande, loosely translated as “I’m Out of Your League.” The two Colombian stars had been eyeing a partnership for some time before Karol sent her the track last year. Riding a catchy chorus and sultry music video—and public interest in Shakira’s high-profile split from soccer star Gerard Piqué—“TQG” debuted at the top of both Billboard Global charts (Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US) in February and landed Karol her first top 10 hit in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. “When we were filming the video, and [Shakira] was shooting her scenes, I was sitting and watching, and my life flashed before my eyes,” Karol says. “I was thinking about the World Cups she performed in; I watched Wizards of Waverly Place, and she was in an episode. I couldn’t believe it.”
Karol is venturing onscreen this year, too. A few years ago, she was considered for the role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (a role for which Ariana DeBose went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). Now Karol is making her acting debut as a drug mule on a new Netflix series, Griselda, which stars Sofía Vergara as the head of a powerful Colombian cartel, due out later this year. She’s setting aside time to explore new business ventures and has big plans for her nascent company, Girl Power, including brand deals and investments. (The company recently opened an office in Medellín.) She also appeared in her first luxury campaign this year, for Loewe.
PHOTO CREDIT: Zoey Grossman for ELLE
ow did Karol come to dominate a Latin music industry that is notoriously difficult for women? Part of her success is due to timing; she ascended in the U.S. just after streaming broke barriers for Latin artists, who had struggled to get airtime on American radio stations or distribute their CDs in mainstream record stores. Latin stars once needed English lyrics to find success here. Shakira’s breakthrough 2001 album Laundry Service, for example, featured her first fully English-language songs, and some of the tracks were released in both English and Spanish. Today, American listeners are more receptive to listening to music in a foreign language, particularly Spanish. As of 2020, Latinos represented 19 percent of the U.S. population, up from 13 percent in 2000. Another part of the answer is Karol’s resilience, and the years she spent honing her rich voice and confidence onstage. She is also meticulous, according to her sister Jessica Giraldo Navarro, a lawyer who joined her management team full-time in 2019. “Everything you see onstage, in a video, in a commercial—she was involved in every detail,” Jessica says. Her dad describes Karol as a perfectionist, especially on her latest album, for which she wrote 40 extra songs.
But what really differentiates Karol from other artists, especially in Latin music, is her approachability. “Her superpower is being so real and authentic that it makes people fall in love with her,” says J Balvin. He and Karol first met when he performed at her cousin’s quinceañera in 2008, and they later became close friends. Karol’s vulnerability is never more apparent than on Mañana Será Bonito. “This was a moment when I wanted to say we’ve already taught women how beautiful it is to be self-confident and empowered,” she says. “But it is also beautiful to reach this point, to use a platform as global as mine, and tell people that it is okay not to feel good. It’s normal....That’s my personal experience.” As she sings on arguably its most personal track, “Mientras Me Curo del Cora,” “Está bien no sentirse bien”—it’s okay to not be okay”.
I am going to round things off soon. Before I get to the last few bits, I want to source a GQ interview. They underlined how this Colombian superstar is taking on and domination the Reggaeton's boys' club. That is one of many reasons why she is such a vital artist. Any genre dominated by men needs to be shaken up and changed. It means that future generations have a more open and welcoming space:
“Karol G is part of an emerging nucleus of reggaeton artists, producers, and engineers centred in Medellín – a city that’s exploded in recent years as both tourist destination and nightlife mecca. Reggaeton originated in 1980s-era Panama, when Black musicians created renditions of Jamaican dancehall and reggae tracks in Spanish. The nascent genre then reached Puerto Rico, where MCs melded hip-hop with lyrics often decrying police brutality, racism, and social inequity. Then called “underground”, the movement picked up steam in the ’90s, despite the Puerto Rican government’s attempts to criminalise it. But in the early 2000s, when stations started playing Tego Calderón’s “Cosa Buena” nonstop and a song called “Gasolina” hit the radio, reggaeton was suddenly everywhere, and it was worldwide.
The Medellín scene began coalescing around studios like La Palma, launched by teenagers out of their garage in 2002. Karol says that producers making those early reggaeton beats tried to emulate the sounds coming out of Puerto Rico, but they didn’t have the same drums or beats in their music libraries. Their attempts to interpret those ideas meant that a “different kind of dembow” would emerge.
For all the momentum behind her, Karol’s become part of the debate about why non-Black Latino reggaetoneros, such as Maluma and Bad Bunny, are bestowed heightened visibility in a genre with undeniably Black origins. And like a lot of successful artists, she’s had her share of stumbles. Karol caught heat during the 2020 racial reckonings after she posted an image of her black and white bulldog, with a caption in Spanish that translates to “the perfect example that Black and white together look beautiful.” Karol says she never intended for the photo to come off how it did, and admits that she didn’t fully realise the scale of racism’s pervasiveness at the time. “I feel that I learned a lot of things,” she says of the moment. The post was “ignorant,” as she puts it now, adding that, “Sometimes, you make a mistake and there is nothing you can do to explain it.”
For all her gifts, she’s still learning how to best express herself. Karol’s longtime producer, Ovy on the Drums, notes that the thing that distinguishes Colombian reggaeton is the simplicity of the instrumentation. “TQG,” for instance, is pretty minimal – a bass, some drums, a distant bell sound – that nevertheless manages to elicit tension. Ovy says the success of a song like that comes from Karol’s ability to connect with her audience and tap into their feelings. “She’s always been very clear about what she wants to express, what she wants to tell people,” he adds. “Another artist can sing a Karol G song and it might sound good. But when she sings it, she transmits something through her music.”
IN THIS PHOTO: Karol G performs during Lollapalooza at Grant Park on 3rd August, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois/PHOTO CREDIT: Erika Goldring/Getty Images
Although the music industry might be fairly open and welcoming of Latin artist, maybe they are still considered quite niche and uncommercial. If they sing in Spanish for instance, there is a fear people cannot literally understand the music and will not appreciate it. The fact is that artists like Karol G cross language and genre borders. She made history recently she is the first Latin female artist to headline Lollapalooza 2023. NME explain more:
“Karol G has made history by becoming the first Latin female artist to headline the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.
No Latina artist has ever headlined the famous music festival since its inception back in 1991. The first Latino artist to headline the event was J Balvin back in 2019. Taking on the first day of the four-day fest, G’s set began at 8:40 pm and went on for two hours.
The Colombian singer has reached a few other milestones this year such as being the first Latina in history to reach the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 chart with her album ‘Mañana será Bonito’. The previous Latin singer to hold the spot was Bad Bunny with 2022’s ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ and 2020’s ‘El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo’.
She is set to release her fifth album, ‘Mañana será Bonito (Bichota Season)’ on August 11 via Interscope. Visit here to pre-order the album.
In a five-star review of G’s history-making Lollapalooza headlining set, NME shared: “The performance and set list is perfectly edited for both old fans and new, and the importance of the history-making moment is palpable. Whether it be the doodle-like stage design that reflects her album artwork her band made entirely of talented women or her sweet interactions with the crowd, G easily cements the festival’s choice to have her close out night one.”
I am going to flip ahead to a surprise album that is due from Karol G. In such a busy year – I think that we will hear even more news and music from the superstar before 2023 is done -, we are being gifted with yet another album from the Colombian wonder. Variety tell us about what we can expect on 11th August:
“Karol G is celebrating the launch of her first stadium tour across the United States with the release of a new surprise album titled “Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season),” set to arrive on streaming platforms the same day her trek starts on Aug. 11.
News of “Bichota Season” was revealed with a 30-second video trailer starring the pink-haired Colombian singer who, over a hard-hitting beat, draws her new album’s artwork using grains of pink and black salt. Towards the end of the clip, a voice ebulliently announces the start of “Bichota Season.”
In the caption of the teaser on Instagram, Karol wrote: “…this tour would not be the same without the end of this story,” alongside a note to pre-save the album with the link that appears in her bio. The album will be her second of the year, following the February release of “Mañana Será Bonito.”
Karol previously released the single “S91,” an EDM-infused track produced by Ovy on the Drums, with a matching music video directed by Pedro Artola. The video, which has since amassed over 30 million views on YouTube, teased “Bichota Season” with the message that it would be arriving soon though the news of the incoming album remained unclear seeing that “Bichota” is a trademark Karol has used for the past several years.
The single was released under Bichota Records LLC, Karol’s new imprint under an exclusive license to Interscope Records which she signed with shortly after the chart-topping release of “Mañana Será Bonito,” earlier this year.
“‘Mañana Será Bonito,’ marked a new era for me that came with many unforgettable milestones,” Karol shared at the time of her signing was announced. “I’m continuously amazed at the support my fans give me, which motivates me to deliver the best of me, and I’m certain that this partnership with Interscope and their incredible team will help us continue building and making history. I’m thrilled to see what’s to come.”
“Mañana Será Bonito” made history on the Billboard 200 earlier this year as the first all-Spanish-language record by a female artist to hit No. 1. The 17-song collection — which makes the most of pop, rock, reggaeton, regional Mexican and electronica — is also the artist’s first leader on the Billboard 200.
“Bichota Season” will drop on the same day that Karol will launch her first-ever stadium trek across the U.S. Produced by Live Nation, the six-date tour is set to begin on Aug. 11 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and will hit Pasadena, Miami, Houston and Dallas with an end date of Sept. 7 at the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey”.
I, like millions, have so much respect and love for Karol G. Pioneering and groundbreaking, here is a female artist who is making waves and redefining a genre (Reggaeton) once dominated by men. A fairly homogeneous style of music, I think Karol G is adding so much personality,. colour, flavour, variety and brilliance to the pot. She is such an empowering artist; I feel we will be talking about her decades from now. An early interview I sourced did mention Karol G’s previous acting work. Not to lazily link her to Jennifer Lopez – another iconic Latin artist -, but I feel she has that same star power and cinematic pull as her. Karol G is going to feature in more massive films. She has that electricity and natural talent that means she will be in demand as an actress for many years. I am excited to see how that side of her career blossoms. Like contemporaries such as Taylor Swift, Karol G is bringing her brilliance to the big screen. Karol G is one of the most remarkable artists we have. I think this is a statement that…
NO one can deny.