I have heard a lot of strange things when it comes to the wishes of artists. The eccentric nature of singers, poets, painters, sculptors and others is breeding ground for ideas of another world. The scientists of the world are guided by fact, but there is an amount of dreaming that brings ideas to reality. How do you think people are able to travel out of earth’s atmosphere into space? The idea came first, then the creative process to make it happen.
The artistic and science communities collided a couple of weeks ago. Colombian reggaeton singer/songwriter Karol G found herself in communication with NASA via twitter. It all started when the singer quoted a lyric from one of her songs. Si algún día te vas de casa, yo te llego a la NASA/ Pido un cohete y voy directo por ti” or “If one day you leave home, I will go to NASA and ask for a rocket to go straight for you” in English. That got the conversation started between the singer and the space organization.
At this point I might need to go backwards a bit. Only because many of you may not be familiar with Karol G. Especially those who do not follow Spanish language music. As always, an introduction is appropriate.
Carolina Giraldo Navarro known professionally as Karol G was born February 14, 1991 in Medellin, Colombia. Karol G was interested in music from a young age, influenced by her father, a working musician. After high school, she studied music at University of Antioquia. Her first break came in 2010 when she competed on Colombia’s version of The X Factor, El Factor X. Two years later, her profile was raised even higher after her duet with Colombian reggaeton singer Reykon on the single “301.” In 2013, she collaborated with Puerto Rican singer Nicky Jam and released the song “Amor De Dos”, which became very popular in Colombia and has reached over 100 million views on YouTube. The next year, she collaborated with Colombian reggaeton and Latin trap singer Andy Rivera and released the song “Mañana”, which now has over 90 million views on YouTube.
Last year I featured fellow Colombian reggaeton artist J Balvin. Interestingly, reggaeton grew in popularity rapidly and Karol G is one of the newer artists to break out. She also takes full advantage of social media. It has certainly raised her profile as an entertainer. In 2017, her collaborative single with Bad Bunny titled “Ahora Me Llama” was released; it became popular and quickly gained over 680 million views on YouTube.
Karol spoke about her use of social media in an interview with El Colombiano, “At first I tried to handle everything in a very formal and structured way, but I felt that people were disconnecting, so I decided to be myself, tell the moment to moment , the daily life of the artist, which is what people enjoy and is the big difference compared to what they can see in a media outlet. My networks are very authentic, thanks to them my music has been able to reach places where I had never been.”
Karol G is now a staple in the male dominated world of reggaeton music. Many times in the past I commented on the rise of women in the music industry. It is necessary. There is a need for music from the female outlook in order for music to continue to thrive. Speaking about the gender gap in urban music, Giraldo said in Spanish: “Women should be given more space in urban music. The genre has evolved a lot both on the musical level and in the lyrics that are now not so hardcore. It’s a good opportunity now for us”.
I must admit that even I was not drawn to Karol G music until some of her more recent releases. Of course, like many of us who do not speak Spanish, we do not readily listen to Spanish language music. As a music blogger, I listen to all genres and try to stay up to date on musical trends worldwide. Karol G comes into my radar because her primary genre is reggaeton. I listen to a lot of reggaeton music.
Karol G released Ocean, her second studio album on May 3, 2019. I have listened and found it very entertaining. I also agree with many of the positive reviews pf the album. Elias Leight of Rolling Stone said, “The power of Ocean is somewhat diminished by the fact that a third of these songs are already out” but that “the remaining tracks are impressively varied: Piano balladry (‘Ocean’), throwback hip-hop, which no one in the Latin mainstream is making (‘Yo Aprendí’), guitar balladry (‘Dices Que Te Vas’, which tests her fiancée Anuel AA’s vocal limits) and a collaboration with the Brazilian duo Simone & Simaria… All the different styles mean that Ocean feels center-less, but that’s kind of the point: If you hope to conquer the globe, you have to be all things to all people.”
Now it appears that Karol G want’s to conquer more than the globe. That brings us back to her twitter conversation with NASA. After mentioning the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the agency tweeted back, offering Karol G some information on their Artemis program, which plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024, preparing the way for human missions to Mars.
“You say you want a rocket? Our Spanish language account @NASA_es can tell you more about the rocket we’re building that will send the first woman and the next man to the Moon in 2024!” NASA’s official Twitter replied. “Soon we will have our Space Launch System ready, the most powerful rocket ever built. It is part of our Artemis Program to return to the moon,” adding, “so, what do you say, Karol G? Are you part of the Artemis generation that will help humanity explore farther than ever before? Are you onboard?”
Karol replied back, tweeting: “Eyyy!! Thank you for making me part of the Artemis generation. Now, to infinity and beyond!”
I hardly think Karol G has travel plans to the moon or mars in her future. However, some fans of her music may very well be a part of the Artemis Program. That’s what I was talking about in the beginning of this post. Musical artists and scientists share a way of thinking. One day it is a dream, that becomes an idea. Then reality.
Karol G is definitely gaining more fans of her music. Will she become an international superstar? Most likely! She is on that path. More than that, because her fans might be those headed for the moon or mars, Karol G’s music may reach far into the universe. Further than she will ever travel.