Karol G
Carolina Giraldo Navarro, known as Karol G, is a Medellín-born singer-songwriter who climbed from Colombian talent-show contestant to one of global music's biggest reggaetoneras, breaking through in 2017 with "Ahora Me Llama" alongside Bad Bunny. A Grammy and multiple Latin Grammy winner, she built a persona — "La Bichota" — around unapologetic female swagger inside a genre reggaeton's men had long dominated, while folding in cumbia, merengue, vallenato and corridos alongside her core reggaeton and Latin trap sound.
Karol G has called Selena Quintanilla her "platonic love" and one of the three people she admires most in life, tattooing her likeness on her arm and opening her 2022 Coachella set — the first by a Latina headliner — with a cover of "Como La Flor"; the cumbia-pop crossover instincts on Karol's own dance tracks carry that same devotion.
listen forListen to Selena's 'Como La Flor' and then Karol G's 'Provenza' back to back — hear how both ride a bright, festive Latin-pop groove built to move a crowd that doesn't need to speak Spanish to feel it.
Karol G has cited Ivy Queen as an influence, and the two share a lineage of reggaeton feminism: where Ivy Queen forced the genre to make room for a woman's voice and terms, Karol G's "Bichota" persona builds an entire brand around the same refusal to shrink.
listen forCue Ivy Queen's 'Quiero Bailar' before Karol G's 'Bichota' — listen for the same unbothered, in-control delivery riding on top of a beat built for her, not for anyone dancing with her.
Karol G has named Daddy Yankee among the artists whose global reach she grew up chasing, and the raw, dembow-driven street-reggaeton she returns to on her rowdier singles traces straight back to the template he helped make the genre's default sound.
listen forPlay Daddy Yankee's 'Gasolina' next to Karol G's 'El Makinon' — listen for the same insistent dembow thump and shout-along hook built for a packed club floor.