The Untold Truth Of Karol G

At the 2018 Latin Grammy Awards, Colombian singer Karol G took home the Best New Artist award. The reggaeton artist showed off her impressive skills during the ceremony with a high energy performance of her hit song "Mi Cama." A few years later, Karol G released her third album "KG0516" and teamed up with Nicki Minaj for the lead single "Tusa." She performed the song at the Latin Grammy Awards, where the track was nominated for both Song of the Year and the Record of the Year. It was one of many collaborative songs for Karol G, who has teamed up with a wide range of other artists like the Jonas Brothers, Pop Smoke, Pit Bull, and J Balvin, per Billboard. This was all part of the singer's plan to curate a mix of tracks to delight all types of fans. "If I do something, I want to make it big," she told Vice.

Showing her crossover appeal and increasing influence in the American market, Karol G made her Coachella debut in 2022. The singer's quick rise has come despite a multitude of challenges, from struggling to break into the music industry to dealing with the end of her relationship with another popular singer, all in the public eye. Not that it slowed Karol G down — she actually came back stronger and set lofty goals for herself in the future. "I simply want to do it all," she told The Guardian.

This is the untold truth of Karol G.

Karol G was born in 1991 in Medellín, Colombia with the birth name Carolina Giraldo Navarro. She grew up with two older siblings and her parents, Rolling Stone recapped. As a kid, Karol G loved listening to the biggest female pop stars from the late '90s in the new millennium including the Spice Girls and Britney Spears. Yet it was Jennifer Lopez's performance in the 1997 movie "Selena" that most inspired young Karol G. "I want to be a singer, and this is my role model," Karol G told Billboard about the late Selena Quintanilla. She also grew up listening to some of her dad's favorite musical artists. She remembered listening to an eclectic mix including "everything from salsa, to metal, to the Bee Gees, to vallenato, Colombia's take on country music," Karol G recalled to The Guardian.

This love of music continued into higher education when Karol G attended the University of Antioquia in Medellín to study music. In addition to her coursework, Karol G also wrote and performed original songs at other schools and various venues, according to Billboard. More than just her taste in music, Karol G also credits her parents for believing in her and giving her the confidence to face the challenges that would come along with life as a star. She remembered them telling her, "Don't get frustrated [about anything]. If you believe in yourself, you'll get it," Karol G told NME.

Karol G claims that from an early age, she knew one day she would be a star. This explains why Karol G put so much effort into getting her name out there when she was first starting. "I thank God that I got to go through visiting little towns to personally hand out my CDs, knocking on doors. Because I can now sit with authority and proudly say, 'I'm here because I worked hard,'" Karol G told Billboard. "It wasn't easy, but I'm here," she added about making her dreams come true. More than just trying to sell as many albums as possible, Karol G's drive is mainly to create music that can resonate with fans across generations, similar to her idol Selena Quintanilla, the Latin Madonna. "My goal now is to create a product that will connect with many people and for people to remember me," she explained.

Part of her early journey involved moving from Colombia to New York to learn more about the music industry. Thanks to an ad on the subway that caught her eye, Karol G ended up at a music business conference in Boston. It also helped rekindle her love with music at a time when she was frustrated with her stagnant music career in Colombia. Karol G then returned to her home country, began working on music again, and as a result, "I realized that this is what I love to do," she told Vice.

When she was only 14 years old, Karol G already aspired to be a huge music star when she signed up for "The X-Factor" in Colombia. According to her Universal Music bio, this was her first time ever performing for others. Though she didn't make it through the audition process, Karol G then signed a record label Diamond Music from Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the matchup wasn't a good fit for Karol G who didn't progress much in her career at the label, she told Billboard. Fortunately, soon after Karol G signed with Universal Music Latino. Then, before both artists exploded in popularity, Karol G teamed up with Bad Bunny on the song "Ahora Me Llama" for the lead single from her 2017 debut album "Unstoppable." Following the success of "Unstoppable," Karol G returned with her album "Ocean" and by that point was a superstar of reggaeton, per Vice. She also had a little help from her song "Mi Cama" with Nicky Jam and J Balvin, who she first met years earlier at a quinceaño celebration, per Rolling Stone.

Other big moments in her career can be attributed to her willingness to take risks. For example, she reached out to Nicki Minaj to collaborate after noticing Minaj was an active follower of hers on Instagram. As a result, the two women made "Tusa" together. "It's one of the most special collaborations of my life because it's so surprising," Karol G told NME.

When she first started performing, Karol G had beautiful long hair – sometimes brunette and other times with blonde highlights, as seen on her Instagram page. Then, in November of 2020, she posted a photo with her hair dyed electric blue. The caption included a lyric from her song "Bichota" that she's always "well-dressed from head to toe / Because you might run into my a**," Billboard translated. The color came from Karol G experimenting during quarantine in the privacy of her own home. "I didn't even think it was going to last more than a month," she revealed to Allure. Karol G also credits her extreme makeover with a radical shift in her mindset. "When I started, I tried to please others. Now, I'm me," she told Billboard. This meant, she added, "I dress how I want to dress, and I believe that when I decided to show myself as I am, people really connected with me."

Since the blue hair became her signature look, Karol G admitted that she might be stuck with the highlights for a while since many of her fans either dye their own hair or buy blue wigs for her concerts. With all this dedication from her supporters, Karol G feels that she owes them her blue hair. "People buy a ticket for a tour like that and I get there with a different color hair? I don't know.... You see that it's complicated," she told Allure.

Karol G is not shy about showing off her body. Her social media posts include many revealing outfits and swimsuits. One distinctive part of her image is an extensive beauty routine. Karol G explained she carries a skin care kit with her everywhere that has over 20 different products. She also uses her skin as self-expression with several tattoos. This includes a heart surrounded by thorns. "The tattoo represents a moment in my life where I questioned myself a lot. I strengthened and weakened myself a lot," she told Allure. "It was a very important moment for me personally, not for my career. For Carolina," she added. In fact, she believes in herself so much that she has a tattoo of her own face on her right forearm. Showing her aspirations, Karol G's portrait is next to tattoos of Rhianna and Selena Quintanilla, Paper Magazine recapped.

Karol G also revealed she had plastic surgery in the past to enhance her image, including breast enhancement when she was 18 years old. She also once had liposuction performed on her back, but upon reflection, Karol G wished she never had the fat reduction procedure, according to Allure. The singer then switched to exercise to stay healthy and keep her body in top form. "I do workout circuits. If there is a great gym at the hotel then I'll lift weights, but we usually bring our own elastic bands. My training is more focused on CrossFit," she told People.

Karol G once declared that she believes other women in reggaeton are not her competition. "We have to generate a movement. It's not about a fight to see who stays — there's space for all of us," she told Billboard. This included star Becky G, who Karol G said she clicked with after first working and spending time together in Colombia. Karol G explained that even if the media tried to paint them as enemies, this was completely false. "We've shared my country. We're going to continue to cross paths," Karol G said about her fellow musician. She was correct that collaboration was better than opposition when both artists joined forces for the 2022 song "Mamiii." It was Karol G's highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of her career up to that point, peaking at the number 15 spot.

Talking about the combined song, Becky G was grateful to work with Karol G, especially as a fellow woman in a historically male-dominated space. "This industry can be very lonely, and sometimes I really crave a connection with people who really understand what it is to be in my shoes," she told Interview Magazine. Additionally, she said, "finding artists who understand the hard work and sacrifice that comes with success makes all of it feel more meaningful." She said of creating "Mamiii" with Karol G among her other hits, "those aren't just hit songs. Those are pivotal moments in my life."

Karol G began dating Puerto Rican musical artist Anuel AA in 2018 and the two became a power couple in the reggaeton world. More than just seeing each other on a personal level, the two collaborated on the song "Secreto" to great success. The music video showing the couple being cute together had nearly 1.3 billion views on YouTube as of 2022. 

The romance was fast and strong. Karol G announced her engagement to AA in the summer of 2019 by posting a photo on Instagram with her fiancé while she showed off an impressive ring. "I think I knew [I was in love] the first time I saw him, but then I really realized I was in love when we would talk from the morning to the night," she told BuzzFeed. Then, before the wedding, Karol G and AA broke up.

Putting aside their relationship troubles, Karol G and AA reunited on the last stop of her 2021 Bichota tour in Puerto Rico only months after separating. After the concert, she shared an Instagram post featuring a photo with AA's arm around her and the two smiling from ear to ear. "We had a lot of happy years together and although that stage in our lives is over, the loyalty and gratitude remain," People translated. She thanked the singer for their time on stage and concluded about her ex, "You are a brilliant person. I will always admire you."

With her commanding stage presence while performing live music and natural swagger, it makes sense that Karol G could translate these skills into another industry. She became interested in films and began taking acting lessons with the end goal of becoming a movie star, NME reported. "I'm in acting and body-movement classes, and it totally opened my eyes to a different perspective," the singer told Billboard. 

It wasn't long until Karol G earned a role in the Netflix limited series "Griselda" about Griselda Blanco, a Colombian drug dealer and business woman played by Sofia Vergara. "I play Carla, one of Griselda's 'mules' who transports drugs to the U.S. It's a great role because there's real character development," Karol G explained. An unexpected benefit of her acting classes was learning how to focus her attention inward instead of trying to please people. As a result, acting "has helped my career as an artist and my development on stage," Karol G said.

With a vision of expanding the reach of her personal brand, Karol G told Billboard she was excited to make her big screen debut. The singer also revealed that exploring different career options meant that anything was possible in the future. "I can sit with you in two, three years and know [that] things are going to be super different," she told Rolling Stone. "I've proven it to myself, so I'd rather not stop and just keep evolving," Karol G added.

Towards the end of 2019, Karol G dropped the track "Tusa" with Nicki Minaj. The music video was a hit and it helped turn Karol G from a popular artist into a superstar. Sadly, the timing of this success was right before most of the world began to implement restrictions as a result of COVID-19. Karol G said this sudden halt was jarring to her progress. "All my concerts were canceled. I thought everything was over. I became depressed, and it's a feeling I don't ever wish on anybody," she revealed to Billboard. 

She began to doubt her abilities and felt that "Tusa" might just be a one-hit wonder that she could never surpass in popularity. The pandemic also put an end to one of Karol G's dream ideas. She envisioned collaborating with one of her favorite artists, Lisa from Blackpink. According to Karol G, she had an idea to remix "Tusa" by adding the Blackpink ladies into the song. "We never tried because of COVID things. We spoke but that would have been the remix of the life," Karol G told MTV.

During her low period, Karol G remembered doing nothing at all in the early months of quarantine. Then, she began rediscovering her old music and reviewing all the success she had leading up to the pandemic. "It's hard to explain but I fell in love with myself all over again," Karol G told Billboard about her period of reminiscing.

During the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Karol G became one of the many celebrities who were slammed on social media for poorly speaking out. In the midst of protests across America, Karol G posted a photo of her dog on a since-deleted post on Twitter to try and equate the animal's fur color to a comment on racism. Since her pet is an Old English Sheepdog, the singer wrote in the caption, "The perfect example that Black and White TOGETHER look beautiful #BlackLivesMatter," Entertainment Weekly translated.

After backlash from fans and the media, Karol G posted an apology note on Twitter that explained her intentions were in the right place but that the way she went about it was wrong. The singer clarified that she is against racism and supported the Black Lives Matter movement. According to Karol G, there are very few racist people in her home country of Colombia and so she had a lot to learn about racism in America. "That somebody would discriminate against someone else because of the color of their skin ... it's something I can't understand and that wasn't a part of my household," she told The Guardian. 

To better understand the movement, Karol G revealed she began "studying, looking into the history, watching videos [to] understand why people were feeling pain and anger." Looking back at her actions and the inappropriate post, Karol G admitted, "I acted in a really ignorant way."

Karol G is successful enough in her singing career, with music videos like "Culpables" earning over one billion views on YouTube and her "Provenza" visual becoming the #5 global top music video on YouTube only a few months after release. Yet, she has much bigger ideas when it comes to growing her personal brand than continuing to make albums. "I'm also doing a lot of meetings because I want to evolve myself as a business girl," she revealed to NME. "I'm super focused on becoming an entrepreneur, launching a makeup brand, clothing lines," Karol G told Billboard.

Karol G is a natural for promoting makeup, as she once showed off her 10 minute beauty routine in a video for Allure. The singer explained she prefers to wear minimal makeup for a more natural look on most days. As for fashion, there seems to be no limit for what Karol G could create given her own personal style exploration. Over the years, she went from wearing subdued looks like black joggers and sneakers to more vibrant outfits like brightly colored bike shorts and matching jackets, Billboard recapped. Much like her style evolution, Karol G said she sees no limits as an entrepreneur. "I want to see how far I can get as an artist and as a businesswoman. I want to be at a point in my life when I can say, 'I've done it all, there's nothing else I can do,'" she told Billboard.

Karol G became popular not just for her catchy songs but for being a standout in the reggaeton genre with mostly men. "We didn't think it was going to be a big movement but over the years it became stronger and stronger," she told Vice about her rise in popularity amongst superstars like J Balvin. Part of the reason was that Karol G considered herself a wild woman, that is, a "bada**," she told Allure. 

Sadly, even this confidence came with struggles. "I've been through some really horrible things as a woman in the industry, but I don't even want to talk about that anymore because I don't want to victimize myself," she told Billboard. The singer kept a positive outlook on her negative experiences and believed "those experiences helped shape the woman and the artist I am today." Still, even as a well-known star, Karol G still felt sexualized by the media but aspired to create a better environment for other women in the music industry. "It's very important for me to tell women that it is possible, there are opportunities," she told Billboard.

Her trailblazing efforts are definitely noticed by others. For example, a popular radio host in Puerto Rico explained that for a long time, listeners rejected the idea of female artists in reggaeton. That is, until artists like Karol G came along with "talent and the right to be part of this genre," the host told Billboard.

Karol G grew up in a musical household and watched her father Juan Guillermo Giraldo, an aspiring singer, perform in a band. In fact, he invited his daughter to perform with him on stage and as a result, Karol G began to think of a career in music, according to The Guardian. As this dream started to become a reality, Giraldo became Karol G's manager, per Rolling Stone. This was a sound career move as the man she affectionately calls Papá G fought for her life in the music industry. While she was still signed to a deal with Diamond Music, Giraldo bought out the contract to free up his daughter. "It was a bad contract but we also didn't know much about what was a good or bad contract back then," Karol G revealed to Billboard.

Papá G stepped up again for his daughter when she began discussions with Universal Music Latino. The record label thought Karol G would make a better writer for other artists instead of a performer. In response, her dad said, "My daughter is not a songwriter for anyone: she's a singer and her songs are going to make millions," she told NME. The bold statement worked and Karol G signed with the record label. Their hard work came full circle when Karol G and her dad both were on stage to accept her award for Best New Artist at the Latin Grammy Awards.

When she's not singing and dancing on stage or dropping hot new singles, Karol G enjoys her life outside of music as well. This includes waking up early every day to fit more activities into her already packed schedule. At the most extreme end, Karol G revealed she can function with just two hours of sleep a night. "When I have a good idea I'll be up all night thinking about it and I always want to call someone to tell them about it," she told NME. Karol G at least admitted that two hours of sleep is not exactly a sustainable amount and that she knew self-care would be important for her longevity. "If I don't take care of myself, I'm going to look so old in a few years," she explained.

One hobby that Karol G loves is spending time with her dog Otto, an Old English Sheepdog. In fact, she loves Otto so much that she created a separate Instagram account for her pet. This includes videos of Karol G dancing with Otto on a talk show and a photo of Otto about to fly on what looks like a private jet. Besides taking care of her dog, Karol G planned to one day grow her family and have children to look after. The singer told NME that he hoped to one day "be a mom and have time to take care of my babies and everything."

In order to make a name for herself and become a successful artist, Karol G put in a lot of hard work. For example, she went all in for her blowout performance at Coachella in 2022. "6 months of work went by in 5 minutes but it was more incredible than I imagined" she wrote on Instagram about her set at the music festival, translated via Paris Beacon.

"I always said that if we'd made money per miles, we'd be millionaires," Karol G told Paper Magazine about all the time she's given for her career. "It was a long process ... and because of it, I can truly enjoy what's happening now," she added. This included earning a real million dollars besides a hypothetical sum. She embarked on her first North American tour in 2021 and the results were staggering, with the artist selling 128,000 tickets and grossing $10.9 million, according to Billboard. To follow up the success, Karol G announced on Instagram her headlining Strip Love Tour starting in September of 2022 across North America. "There has never been a tour where they sing to love so nasty," she wrote in Spanish, via Billboard.

All these tours, in addition to revenue she gets from her album sales and other sources of income, created an impressive bank account for Karol G in her blossoming career. As of 2022, Karol G was worth an estimated $8 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.