Karol G and Shakira Collaborate in "TQG"

By Chloe Chang

Photo by KAROL G

Columbian artist Karol G released "TQG," her collaboration with Shakira! Their joint project was teased on February 21st when Karol G and Shakira posted on Instagram with the caption: "We know what you’ve all been waiting for and here we are!" Fellow musicians Anitta, Alejandro Sanz, and Becky G commented on the post, showing their excitement for the song.

"TQG" was released along with Karol G's album MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO, which dropped on February 24th. MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO is Karol G's 4th studio album, following Unstoppable, Ocean, and KG0516, all of which gained multi-platinum ceritfications from the RIAA. MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO is a 17-track album and Shakira is not the only artist featured! Romero Santos, Quevedo, Justin Quiles, Angel Dior, Maldy, Bad Gyal, Sean Paul, Sech, Ovy On The Drums, and Carla Morrison are all credited on songs from Karol G's newest album.

Karol G spoke to Billboard about MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO. Speaking about the album name, she said, "Mañana Será Bonito came about when I started to write songs that were no longer dark. I started to write songs more about freedom. More explicit songs about women who are up for anything to feel better. I hadn’t written a love song in a long time, and I arrived at a love song with 'Tus Gafitas.' Everything simply began to come more beautiful to me. So, what name do I give this process? Every time I was going through issues, I’d tell my friends: 'This is happening, that’s happening — but tomorrow will be pretty.' It became a mantra, and that became the album title."

Photo by Pablo Escudero

Karol G also explained the process behind one of her songs "TUS GAFITAS," which was produced with Ovy on the Drums and Finneas. She said, "I met Finneas last year in Austin and we spoke about working together. I told him, when I do that, I want it to be with a song that has special meaning, something big, something beautiful. I wrote “Tus Gafitas” on a plane, on my way to Cairo to film the video of 'Cairo!' And when I landed I said, ;I have the song.' I called him, I sang it to him — I told him I wanted a rock vibe, because I wanted a special sound for that track. And the fact that that song is so mine, so special and I have such a maestro working on it, is incredible."

Karol G gave Billboard some insight about what it was like working with Shakira, and how shooting the music video for "TQG" made her realize "all the amazing and legendary moments in [Shakira's] career." Karol G revealed that "TQG" was supposed to be released earlier at the end of 2022, however when she talked to Shakira, Shakira was planning to release her session with Bizarrap and asked if they could wait on "TQG" due to the similar topics.

The reason why Karol G wanted Shakira on "TQG" was that she saw what Shakira was going through, and she thought that Shakira would help give the song meaning. She stated, "I really want songs to have a meaning and connect with real stories," which led to her calling Shakira and showing her the song.

A music video for "TQG" accompanied the digital release, which shows Karol G and Shakira in gorgeous visual sets. The video ends with both women on a Truman Show-esque staircase being watched through a screen.

Photo by Karol G

MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO is out now on all platforms along with Karol G and Shakira's song "TQG!"