Karol G

Carolina Giraldo Navarro (born February 14, 1991), known professionally as Karol G, is a Colombian singer and songwriter.

Considered one of the most influential reggaeton and urban pop artists, she has received several awards including a Grammy Award, five Latin Grammy Awards and four Billboard Music Awards.

She was recognized with the Woman of the Year and Rulebreaker Award at the Billboard Women in Music, with the Spirit of Hope Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, and her works have broken five Guinness World Records.

Born and raised in Medellín, Giraldo launched her career as a teenager, appearing on the Colombian spinoff of The X Factor.

Carolina Giraldo Navarro was born on 14 February 1991 in Medellín, the youngest child of three children.

At age 14, she appeared on El Factor X.

Giraldo posted covers of songs by Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill on YouTube, in hopes of being discovered like Justin Bieber.

Ultimately, she obtained her first record contract with Flamingo Records (Colombia) and Diamond Music (Puerto Rico) and chose "Karol G" as her artistic name.

She performed with J Balvin at a quinceañera party soon after.

In the following years, Gialdo recorded and released songs sporadically, including "En la Playa" (On the Beach) in 2007, "Por Ti" (For You) in 2008, "Dime Que Sí" (Tell Me Yes) in 2009 and "Mil Maneras" (A Thousand Ways) in 2010.

She studied music at the University of Antioquia and sang backup for other artists during her studies, including Reykon, recording the songs "Tu Juguete" (Your Toy) in 2011 and "301" in 2012.

Shortly after, she traveled to Miami to meet with Universal Records, who declined to sign her at the time, insinuating that a woman would not be successful in the reggaetón genre.

In response to Universal Music's rejection, Giraldo and her father decided to promote her career independently, touring domestically across Colombia at colleges, clubs, and festivals.

She recalled, "I always said that if we'd made money per miles, we'd be millionaires. It was a long process... and because of it, I can truly enjoy what's happening now."

The increased publicity through these tours led to her 2013 collaboration with Nicky Jam on the song "Amor de Dos" (The Love of Two).

She moved to New York City in 2014 to learn more about the music industry and signed with Universal Music Latino.

However, finding that her music career was not progressing fast enough in South America, a disillusioned Giraldo moved to New York in 2014 to work and stay with her aunt.

Feeling somewhat lost over her lack of success at the time, she later said that when taking the NYC Subway each day, to and from work, she would see various advertisements offering educational courses and certifications for the music business.

Taking this as a sign, Giraldo eventually decided to enroll in music business administration classes.

The decision helped reinvigorate her passion for music, motivating her to continue furthering her career.

Her 2014 dancehall song "Ricos Besos" (Sweet Kisses) became a hit in Colombia.

In 2016, she signed with Universal Music Latino.

During that year, she released the singles "Casi Nada" (Almost Nothing), "Hello" with then-rising star Ozuna, and "Muñeco de Lego" (Lego Doll) as lead-ups to her album release.

Her collaboration with Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, "Ahora Me Llama" became her breakthrough hit and was the third single for her debut album Unstoppable, released in 2017.

Other popular tracks from the record include the female-empowerment anthem "A Ella", "Casi Nada", "Hello" (featuring Ozuna) and "Muñeco de Lego".

In January 2017, Karol G joined the reality talent show Pequeños Gigantes USA (Little Giants) as a judge, offering advice to children 6–11 years of age who performed on the show.

In February, she released the breakup song "A Ella" (To Her), a song inspired by real-life events.

In May, her collaboration with Puerto Rican trap artist Bad Bunny "Ahora Me Llama" (Now He Calls Me) became regarded as her breakthrough hit.

The video garnered more than one billion views on YouTube and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.

In late 2018, her duet "Secreto" became a hit in Latin America, as she and Puerto Rican artist Anuel AA publicly confirmed their relationship via the music video.

That same year, she won the Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

In July 2019, she released "China" in collaboration with Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, and J Balvin, which became her first music video with over one billion views on YouTube.

In May 2019, she released the album Ocean, which served as a stylistic departure from Unstoppable, incorporating a more relaxed and less "pop" sound in her music while also incorporating reggaetón influences.

Popular singles from the album include the title track (later released as a remix with Jessie Reyez), as well as "Pineapple", "Punto G" and "Mi Cama", the latter reaching the top 25 of the U.S. Hot Latin Songs chart.

Later that year, her song "Tusa" (with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj) charted internationally and was certified 28× Latin platinum by the RIAA, staying on the Hot Latin Songs chart for 25 weeks.

In 2020, Giraldo received four nominations at the Latin Grammy Awards.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic of that year, and into early 2021, she would release several successful songs, including some of her most famous ("Ay, Dios Mío!", "Bichota" and "Location"), in the lead-up to her third album, KG0516, which was released in spring of that year, topping the U.S. Latin albums chart.

In early 2023, Giraldo released her much-anticipated fourth album, Mañana Será Bonito, in the spring of 2023; the record was immediately recognized as the first-ever Spanish-language album (by a female artist) to debut at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

At the same time, she achieved her highest-charting single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with the song "TQG", a collaboration with fellow Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, reaching the No. 7 position.

In early 2024, she received her first Grammy Award, at the 66th annual ceremony, for the recently created Música Urbana Album category.