Getty Images
Karol G performed four sold-out shows at Madrid's Bernabéu stadium this summer
We've all heard of Taylor Swift, but what about Colombian singer Karol G?
Although Swift has dominated headlines and concert ticket sales in recent years, she's actually the 33-year-old Latin American pop star whose videos have been the most viewed online in recent years.
This is according to Vevo, the leading provider of official music videos on YouTube. Karol G's shows have been the most listened to worldwide for three years in a row – 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Last year, Karol G's Vevo videos were viewed 4.7 billion times, with fellow Colombian Shakira in second place with 3.2 billion and Swift with three million. The situation should be similar when Vevo releases its 2024 figures this month.
So who is Karol G, and what fueled her success which also saw her sell out Madrid's Bernabéu Stadium for four nights in July, as well as stadiums across the US l last year?
Born in the Colombian city of Medellín in 1991, her full name is Carolina Giraldo Navarro. She wanted to become a singer from a young age, and at the age of 14 she appeared on the Colombian version of the talent show X Factor in 2005.
Success was not immediate, and in 2014 she moved to the United States to live with her aunt in New York to learn English and do menial jobs. She almost gave up on a music career around this time, but her father convinced her that she could achieve it.
While in the US, Karol G also attended a music business conference in Boston, which she says helped her a lot in understanding how the industry works.
She got her hit single in 2017, the song Ahora Me Llama, which was a collaboration with Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny. His debut album Unstoppable then followed.
Since then, the hits have continued to come, and her 2023 album, Mañana Será Bonito, was the first entirely Spanish-language release by a female artist to top the US album chart.
Smirnoff
Karol G has a number of sponsorship deals
Karol G's style of music is most often described as “reggaeton”. This combines hip-hop with Latin American and Jamaican music, with the singing and rapping usually done in Spanish.
Although she is widely considered both hardworking and ambitious, Rocío Guerrero, head of Latin music at Amazon Music, says the singer – and Latin music in general – has been greatly helped by the rise of streaming, both the music and the music that accompanies it. videos.
“Streaming has democratized the landscape,” says Guerrero, explaining that it has allowed Latin music, which was not played on mainstream radio stations, to travel the world.
“Radio stations were local, but with streaming we brought all these audiences together (worldwide). It gave more opportunities for more Latin songs and artists to be exposed. Karol G is a perfect example of this evolution.”
Today, on Amazon Music, more than a third of Latin music is consumed outside of Latin America, and in the last three years alone, Karol G's audience has grown by more than 250%.
Meanwhile, in the US, Latin music is now the fastest growing genre, hitting a record $1.4bn (£1.1bn) in theaters last year , according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Streaming accounted for 98% of that.
And this year, Karol's G's album Mañana Será Bonito was the fourth most streamed album in the world on Spotify.
This has helped increase interest in his sold-out Mañana Será Bonito world tour in 2023-24. This brought in $307 million in ticket sales. And while that figure is dwarfed by the $2 billion generated by Taylor Swift's Eras tour, Karol G's earnings were the highest for a Latin artist.
Carlos Balado, professor at OBS Business School in Barcelona, analyzes the economic impact of music concerts. He says Karol G and Taylor Swift benefited from the growing popularity of participating in such a large live event.
“There is a growing trend where audiences consider that part of their normal spending should be spent on concerts,” he adds.
Leila Cobo, head of Latin/Spanish content for the American music magazine Billboard, also known for its music charts, says Karol G helped raise awareness of Colombian music.
“I think music is Colombia's greatest ambassador. It really is,” she says. “And Karol G tapped into this Latin female fan base that really didn't have anyone like her. They wanted someone relatable, fun, sexy, had cool songs, but who wasn't completely exaggerated.
“And reggaeton is super danceable, super consumable, super youth-oriented,” adds Ms. Cobo, author of a book on Latin music.
Although she has won numerous awards and received critical acclaim, Karol G has not been immune to criticism. Her lyrics were criticized for being too raunchy, and critics also criticized her for calling one of her songs “Bichota”. It is a slang term meaning bigwig or boss, and often associated with drugs and crime.
She claims she reused the word to mean empowerment. As for her lyrics, her defenders claim that instead of singing and objectifying women, she sings on their behalf.
Karol G's estimated net worth has soared to $25 million by 2023 according to Celebrity Net Worth – a figure that has likely increased significantly since her recent tour.
Outside of music, she earns money through collaborations with shoemaker Crocs, sportswear brand Kappa, vodka Smirnoff and Spanish fashion brand Loewe. His name has also appeared on the front of FC Barcelona jerseys as part of the football club's partnership with music streamer Spotify.
Ms. Cobo says: “She's branching out. She's a very bright, curious person who's always looking to grow. And she's very aware that it's not just about music.”
Getty Images
FC Barcelona had Karol G's name on the front of their jersey earlier this year
Karol G's business ventures are controlled by her company Girl Power Inc, which also oversees her charitable foundation Con Cora.
The aim is to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and children in Latin America, including providing scholarships to teenage mothers, supporting girls who wish to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics, providing financial assistance to children's football teams, and social reintegration projects for female prisoners.
At the same time, Karol G launched her own label in 2023, Bichota, to have more control over her music, which is then distributed and promoted by the American company Interscope, part of the giant Universal Music Group.
Yet despite its global success, there are still markets it has yet to conquer: the United Kingdom, for example, where it is not yet widely known. Britain has a small but rapidly growing Hispanic diaspora.
However, Amazon's Ms Guerrero believes it is only a matter of time before Karol G breaks into the UK market. “It's going to happen. It's just a matter of time,” she said.
Read more global business stories
Source link
