Karol G knows that with mega success comes a lack of privacy. The 30-year-old singer is one of the biggest names in Latin music, but these days she enjoys a quiet night at home with those closest to her.
“One of the most important things that mean a lot is a little bit of privacy,” Karol told ET’s Denny Directo ahead of the release of her new album, KG0516 (out now). “It’s kind of weird because when you start in this career, you really want people to know you. I used to dream [about] how it’s going to be, with a lot of people in the world [just knowing you] and see[ing you] in the streets and saying, ‘That’s Karol G!’ That was amazing for me.”
Recently having turned 30 in February, Karol shared that she still feels like she’s a teenager. But, as the years go by, she appreciates low-key moments.
“The time is passing and I enjoy my family and being [by the] fireplace and by myself,” she noted, adding that she also likes to share less about her personal life on social media. “I really want to keep things for me. Social media gets a little bit toxic sometimes, and I get scared sometimes because you become what people talk about you. And you don’t have the time or the moment to explain you are not that and you’re not what people are saying. Sometimes there is a lot of fake news and you don’t know where they come from, and it’s weird and it’s hard and it’s frustrating. So yeah, if you can keep it private I think it’s better.”
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The coronavirus pandemic and recovering from COVID-19 last year helped her hone in on what’s important and what matters most to her. One of her dreams and goals for the future include being a mom someday. Bewildered by the thought of having just turned 30, Karol expressed that she really wants “to have a family.”
“I want to have a family, I want to have kids and, as a business girl, I want to experiment new things in different ways not just in music,” she shared. “This last year, we have been in different meetings to evolve in different ways. So let’s see what’s going to happen… I’m 30, I know I’m old! But I have like 20 years to explore these things.”
Witnessing friends and collaborators Nicki Minaj and Natti Natasha start their families made her reflect on how she would be as a mom. She admitted that she was “sad and happy” when finding out that Natti is expecting her child, “because one of my dreams when I was a child was to have a baby like in my 20’s.”
“I couldn’t do it because [in] my career it’s kind of hard to have that time, that special time,” she noted, adding that when she becomes pregnant, “I really want to have my time with my babies, not put people to take care of them, just do it by myself. And just go away, do everything and just enjoy my family.”
“But let’s see what the future brings me. I know I’m gonna be a good mom,” she continued. “A cool mom…But I’m happy because, you asked me about Nicki and you asked me about Natti. With Natti, I was super surprised because of her story. Her pregnancy was hard and she was working for it for a lot of years. I’m very emotional about it, yes, because it’s one of my dreams and I can see it right now, like, very close to me. So I’m very happy for them and I’m very happy for Nicki and I love babies. I’m gonna be very happy for mine.”
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that Karol and boyfriend Anuel AA split after two years of dating. While the interview took place before the news of their breakup, she did share how KG0516 is her most “personal” album yet. The LP includes 16 tracks with collaborations with Anuel, J Balvin, Ludacris, Camilo and more.
“This time was so empowering [for me],” she explained. “I used this time to [fall] in love again with myself, to just study myself because my time was so rushed before quarantine.”
“There are songs that I just did because of different experiences, but now I listen to them and I identify with the lyrics of the song,” she continued. “So I did the album, and then I can enjoy the album as a fan and I love that because I can feel it. It’s really important to me. I’m super, super excited. I’m super happy. I tried a lot to experiment with new vibes, with new sounds. It’s my first time collaborating on my own album as a producer, so it’s new opportunities for me with the new album and I’m super excited to see what my people are going to think about it.”
As for the album title, it comes from her initials, with 05 and 16 representing May 16, the date that she signed her first recording contract in 2006. It’s meant to also represent a flight, a new journey for her and her fans to go on.
“My parents signed that contract for me because I was like 14 or 16 years so I couldn’t sign a contract,” she said. “But they did it and it was the first time my name was Karol G, and the travel started at the time. That’s why I just choose that date for the name of my album and it’s just a number for a flight and everybody’s going to enjoy this flight. I hope they enjoy this flight a lot.”
