Karol G Is Billboard’s Woman of the Year
By Emma Celenza
Karol G was named Billboard’s 2024 Woman of the Year, joining icons such as Beyoncé, Madonna, and Taylor Swift. This award is made to recognize rising female artists who have made significant strides in the music industry. Over the past few years, Karol G has been an important figure in the Latin music scene and continues to make history for women in music today.
Karol G is best known for being a musicá urbana icon. This means she is best known for her music which is a mix of reggaeton, Latin trap, and other Spanish-language hip-hop subgenres. She first began her rise to fame by collaborating with Bad Bunny on “Ahora Me Llama” and releasing her debut album, Unstoppable, in 2017. From there, Karol G’s career took off as she topped the charts, collaborated with many well-known artists, and collected nominations for various Latin Music awards, even winning some of them.
On February 24, 2023, Karol G released her fourth album, Mañana Será Bonito, which peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 200 chart. This marked the first time a Spanish-language album released by a Latina artist reached the top of the Billboard Hot 200 chart. Seeing the popularity of Mañana Será Bonito, Karol G signed a record deal with Interscope Records in June 2023, and released a promotional song for Barbie the Album titled, “Watati.” On August 3, 2023, Karol G headlined Lollapalooza then embarked on her Mañana Será Bonito tour a week later on August 10, 2023. Because of Karol G’s success in 2023 with Mañana Será Bonito, she was nominated for and won the “Best Musicá Urbana” award at the 66th Grammy Awards, making this her biggest achievement yet.
2023 skyrocketed Karol G from being a well-respected artist in Spanish-speaking communities to becoming a global icon. She will be honored on March 6th at the Billboard Women in Music Awards.
