And so it has been a bananas few years for Carolina Giraldo Navarro, the constantly grinding 34-year-old who came up from middle-class Medellín. “The world and universe and God showed me that I can get to places that I never thought I would,” says Karol, her awe palpable. “So now I have my mind going crazy, thinking how far I can get.”
But the months and years after a person reaches a pop cultural zenith seem draining; there’s a funk to contend with, the emotional comedown after the serotonin blast that must accompany, say, witnessing 100,000 people sing your songs back to you at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a thing that happened to Karol. She had fulfilled unimaginable dreams, made her parents proud, proved herself as a songwriter and performer, and had even found real love with Salomón Villada Hoyos, better known as the Medellín musician Feid, who opened for her on tour.
So after all that, what was left to accomplish? She was itching for growth—personal growth. “I’m not talking about numbers or fame,” she says. “I’m talking about evolving with every single project. I try to not take this for granted; I’m here just trying to be focused, responsible, and taking this super deep.”
