Reggaeton megastar Karol G explains how she was losing ‘the most precious things’ in her life as her fame exploded

Karol G’s career and fame have exploded in recent years. With over 59 million Instagram followers and 38 million monthly Spotify listeners, the reggaeton megastar was the most streamed Latina on Spotify last year and the most viewed artist on Vevo. Her music videos have been viewed billions of times and she performed on the main stage at Coachella last year.

But as she reached new heights in her career last year, she was internally processing her split from Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA and coping with the feelings of isolation that can come with fame.

“Not all [is] on figures and graphs. It was difficult because everyone saw that I was at the peak of my career, but maybe… inside I was losing like the most precious things in my life” Karol G told CBS News.

She said many of the songs on her new album – which comes out at midnight – stem from her breakup. The album is titled “Mañana Será Bonito” (“Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful”) and features a highly anticipated collaboration between Karol G and fellow Colombian superstar Shakira.

Karol G said she allowed herself to feel sad and cry, while keeping hope for the future.

“I always try to keep a positive attitude all the time. And I talk to myself a lot all the time and all those times I was like, letting myself be sad, letting myself feel while I’m crying and in a lot of things and just keep in mind, like, maybe tomorrow will be different and maybe tomorrow will be beautiful,” she said.

Not so long ago, Karol G, née Carolina Giraldo Navarro, was the headliner of small stages – performing at family parties as a child and at school events in Medellín, Colombia. , with the support of his father. She learned from there that she could have a career doing something she really loved.

She adopted the stage name “Karol G” after auditioning for the Colombian version of “The X Factor” reality competition. Disheartening encounters with record labels and corporate executives followed, leaving her wondering if she could break into the male-dominated reggaeton industry.

Born out of Jamaican reggae and dancehall, reggaeton originated in Panama and later became popular in Puerto Rico. He often placed women at the center of the song, but historically more often as object rather than subject.

“They were like, ‘Hey, you’re a woman doing reggaeton and that’s not gonna happen. But we want your lyrics. We want you to be a songwriter for different artists.’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t want that. Like, I write my own songs and I want to keep doing that for my music,'” she said.

Eventually she broke through and in 2016 Karol G signed with Universal Music Latino as a reggaeton singer. Two years later, she won the Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist. She has collaborated with big names including Bad Bunny and Nicki Minaj.

She also introduced a new lifestyle to her female fans – coining the term “Bichota”, which roughly translates to “bad ass”. Karol G’s lyrics offer a scorching, raw perspective on the female gaze that doesn’t shy away from topics like sex.

“We’re human. Humans just have the same experiences, it doesn’t matter if it’s a boy, if it’s a girl. I think that’s why I connected with my people, it’s because they find their life in a song,” she said.