Features
Karol G Breaking Records In Europe, Releases New Music
With successful stadium shows in the U.S. and Latin America in the past year and an impressive run so far in Europe, every day is bonito for Karol G. The Colombia superstar embarked on the European leg of her ambitious “Mañana Será Bonito Tour” on June 8 and it is already the most successful trek by a Latin artist in the continent with sold-out shows in all the 10 cities she is visiting, according to tour promoter Live Nation.
Box office numbers weren’t made available in the release, but the big promoter said that Karol G, who is coming off sold-out concerts at 02 Arena in London, is the first Latin artist to perform twice, as part of the same tour, at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. The Grammy award winner also sold more tickets and had the fastest sell-out in London than any other Latin artist.
Other accolades achieved by Karol G include being the first Latin artist to perform twice at Accor Arena in Paris, France, and the top-selling Latin female artist at Meo Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Most impressively, the South American singer is the first to have four sold-out nights at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid and the first female artist to hold four consecutive stadium concerts in Spain.
“For Karol specifically, it’s unprecedented. We haven’t seen a Latin artist sell tickets of this magnitude in both speed and number of tickets,” Hans Schafer, Live Nation senior vice president of global touring, told Pollstar. “… We’ll see what that turns into in the next iteration, but the growth is pointing that this will continue and the success that you’ve seen her achieve both in the U.S. and throughout Latin America and stadiums is the direction that her growth is headed for in Europe, which is a promising healthy sign for all Latin [artists].
“The trend is that the landscape has shifted. There’s obviously been huge waves of immigration from different countries,” Schafer added. “… You’re seeing [Latin] culture sort of infuse itself in the cities at all different levels, and all those things are that canary we’re following and looking for that opportunity where we can try some things out.”
It’s been a busy year for Karol G with touring and starring in Netflix’s “Griselda,” but she squeezed in some time to record new music and is throwing her hat in the ring for song of the summer. She kicked off the season with the merengue single, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” which is now available on streaming platforms.
Since going on tour in August of 2023, Karol G has been a mainstay on Pollstar’s charts with record-setting grosses at iconic venues such as the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (where she hauled in $25.44 million over two nights, according to Pollstar’s Boxoffice) and Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca ($18.47 million across three shows). She still has to visit Paris, Milan, Antwerp, Berlin and Lisbon before closing out with four shows in Madrid July 20-23.
“Karol is an indisputable global superstar,” said Jbeau Lews, United Talent Agency partner and agent who reps Karol G in North America. “As much ink as there is, appropriately so, around Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, Karol deserves to be talked about in the same breath as those women or what they’ve accomplished on the road. Karol, while the demographic may be slightly different, is speaking to an audience everywhere. One of hers and our goals is to use this platform she has to take Latin music around the world.
“We were confident we would have success in Spain and in other places where romance languages were spoken, like France, Italy, etc. Yes, there are some Spanish speakers in Cologne, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium, but we also know that her reach is beyond that. People are coming to the party of Karol G who may not even speak a lick of Spanish. They’re inspired by who she is and what she’s about.”
Karol G is managed by Noah Assad of Rimas Entertainment, who also manages superstar Bad Bunny.