1991-present
Latest News: Karol G Makes History as Coachella Headliner
Karol G is set to headline Coachella in April 2026, making her the first Latina headliner in the festival's history. The Colombian singer celebrated the news in an Instagram post on September 16, captioning a photo of the full line-up with, “Nos vemos en el desierto,” which translates to “see you in the desert.” Her fellow headliners include Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber.
Karol G previously performed at Coachella in 2022, sharing the stage with fellow Latin artists J Balvin and Becky G as she performed a medley of crossover hits. “I remembered when I told my team I wanted to do that [medley] at Coachella, it was like I was saying I wanted to be that kind of artist in the future, the Latin artist that is super Latina for the world,” she told Rolling Stone earlier this year.
Karol G recently released her fifth studio album, Tropicoqueta, in June, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Her previous record, Mañana Será Bonito, won the 34-year-old her first mainstream Grammy Award in 2024, taking home the trophy for Best Música Urbana Album. The singer, who primarily sings in Spanish, has also earned six Latin Grammys for her pop and reggaeton music.
Who Is Karol G?
Karol G is a Colombian singer known for her unique mix of reggaeton, Latin trap, and Spanish-language hip-hop. Her music also incorporates R&B and pop. The Grammy winner 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), KG0516 (2021), Mañana Será Bonito (2023), and Tropicoqueta (2025). Her hit songs include “Tusa,” “Bichota,” and “Mamii,” and she has worked with J Balvin, Nicki Minaj, and the Jonas Brothers. She won her first Grammy Award in 2024.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Carolina Giraldo Navarro
BORN: February 14, 1991
BIRTHPLACE: Medellín, Colombia
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius
Early Life
Karol G was born Carolina Giraldo Navarro in Medellín, Colombia, on February 14, 1991 to Guillermo Giraldo and Martha Navarro. Her father was a musician and her mother was a homemaker. They divorced when she was 5 years old. She has two older sisters, Jessica and Verónica, and a younger half-sister, Katherin, on her father's side.
Growing up, Karol G became interested in music at an early age. As a child, she listened to wide range of music that included the Bee Gees, Thalía, Spice Girls and Red Hot Chili Peppers. A musician himself, her father would bring home instruments for her and eventually had her perform with him onstage. She soon began performing as a solo act.
As a teenager, Karol G appeared on El Factor X, Colombia’s take on The X-Factor. “When I started making music in 2006, there was already a very strong reggaeton movement in Latin America,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2021. “The music I wanted to make was the music I loved listening to.”
Music Career
In 2007, Karol G signed with Flamingo Records and Diamond Music at 14 years old. Her first single “En La Playa” came out that same year. However, she found it difficult to break through as a female reggaeton artist as the genre focused on male stars.
After her father bought out her first contract, Karol G 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,” she told Paper magazine in November 2019.
Pursuing a music career, however, also led to Karol G receiving unwanted sexual propositions. With her career not advancing as she’d hoped, she 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 while attending the University of Antioquia.
Success with “Ahora Me Llama”
Karol G signed with Universal Music Latino in 2016. The following year, she teamed up with Bad Bunny on the hit “Ahora Me Llama” (“Now He Calls Me”), which raised her international profile.
Karol G’s debut album, Unstoppable, arrived in 2017 and reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart. In 2018, she was awarded Best New Artist at the Latin Grammys. 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 the singer embraced her sexuality in hit songs like “Mi Cama” (2018) and “Punto G” (2019).
Karol G 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, she worked on her third album, for which she scrapped an almost-done project to create new music that better reflected her. That year, she earned another success with “Bichota, ” the title of which refers to an “empowered, strong woman.” The song won Best Reggaeton Performance at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2021.
KG0516 arrived in 2021 and was the first record Karol G 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. Never forgetting the obstacles she encountered on her way to the top, she included up-and-coming artists, like Mariah Angeliq and Nathy Peluso, on the record.
“Ever since ‘Bichota,’ I am even more connected to my music,” Karol G told Billboard in September 2021. “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.” KG0516 was later for the Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album.
The artist's first English-language song, “Don’t Be Shy,” arrived in August 2021. She then worked with Becky G on “MAMIII,” released in 2022, which reached No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. That same year, she scored another No. 1 hit on that chart with “Provenza.”
Grammy Win for Mañana Será Bonita
In 2023, Karol G released her fourth album, Mañana Será Bonito, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The record, which featured the hit “TQG” with Shakira, later won the singer her first mainstream Grammy for Best Música Urbana in 2024.
In May 2025, a documentary about her musical journey called Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful came out in May. Her most recent work, Tropicoqueta, arrived in June. The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.
In September 2025, it was announced that Karol G will headline Coachella in 2026, making her first the Latina artist to do so.
Awards and Honors
Karol G has been designated one of Spotify’s Top 50 Artists Worldwide. In addition to her 2024 Grammy win, she has won a total of six Latin Grammys.
Actor and Businesswoman
Karol G has her own company, Girl Power Inc., and aims to follow the successful careers of Rihanna and Selena Quintanilla. She has their faces tattooed on herself, along with a tattoo of her visage.
Karol G also partnered with Crocs to bring out two designs. The shoes she worked on quickly sold out. “I’m super focused on becoming an entrepreneur, launching a makeup brand, clothing lines and making my debut on the big screen,” she said in 2021.
Branching out to acting in 2024, Karol G appeared in the Netflix mini-series Griselda, which tells the story of real-life Colombian drug dealer Griselda Blanco. She played a mule who transported drugs for Griselda, portrayed by Sofía Vergara.
Personal Life
Karol G connected with Anuel AA, a fellow singer, when the two collaborated on the song “Culpables.” The two met in person for the song’s music video in 2018. They collaborated on other songs, such as “Secreto” and “Tu No Amas” while embarking on a relationship.
After three years of dating, Karol G and Anuel AA called it quits in 2021. Even after splitting up, the pair have since appeared onstage together. She is currently in a relationship with Colombian singer and producer Feid, who she started dating in 2023.
Net Worth
As of August 2025, Karol G has an estimated net worth of $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Quotes
- I wanna be remembered as someone who broke all the norms.
- Ever since ‘Bichota,’ I am even more connected to my music.
- I’m super focused on becoming an entrepreneur, launching a makeup brand, clothing lines and making my debut on the big screen.
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Catherine Caruso joined the Biography.com staff in August 2024, having previously worked as a freelance journalist for several years. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she studied English literature. When she’s not working on a new story, you can find her reading, hitting the gym, or watching too much TV.
