The track is off Karol’s new record, Maana Será Bonito, which comes out on February 24.
Fans have been anticipating this day for years: Colombian music superstars Shakira and Karol G have finally teamed up for the highly anticipated duet “TQG,” uniting their star power. The song is a stinging hymn for getting over bad, unfaithful relationships and features Karol and Shakira at their most unrepentant.
The track is off Karol’s next album, Maana Será Bonito, which will be released on February 24. Over a slow pace, the two vocalists swap songs about a person who has wronged them. Each of them makes reference to famous prior partnerships: Karol, who announced her breakup from rapper Anuel AA in 2021, speaks about a partner she assisted in becoming more successful. While speaking about someone who left her, Shakira seemed to be alluding to her 11-year romance with soccer star Gerard Piqué and their subsequent public breakup.
According to Karol, who spoke with Rolling Stone, she created the song last year while going through a difficult time. Although it doesn’t reflect anything today, it did at one point in my life, she adds. “When I started it, it had a personal meaning to me that changed through time.” Shakira was someone she had always wanted to work with, but she had never considered asking her to join “TQG.” When she heard Shakira and Ozuna’s song “Monotona,” she understood that what she was doing with her own music perfectly complemented Shakira’s theme. The song “TQG” made a lot of sense after hearing that narrative and understanding where she was, according to Karol. She adored the item I sent her, she said.
They hired up an entire building with space for six sets for the video, which was filmed in Barcelona. Although both sides tried their best to keep everything a secret, considering the characteristics of each artist, this proved challenging. As much as we tried, Karol claims, it was impossible to keep it a secret.
Among the other people with whom Karol worked on Maana Será Bonito were Romeo Santos, Sech, and Carla Morrison. The album is an important one that represents a turbulent time for her, much like “TQG.” In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year, she said, “This absolutely marks a particular time of my life.” “When nothing felt good, I continued telling myself the album’s name in my head. Even though I was at the prime of my work, I felt quite distant from my friends and from myself personally. I wasn’t miserable, but I also wasn’t joyful. Therefore, each day I would tell myself, “It’s okay, tomorrow will be wonderful.
“TQG” is the follow-up single to Shakira’s massively popular Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, which set a new Spotify record for the most plays of any Latin song in a single day. The song presently has 350 million views on YouTube and makes numerous subtle allusions to Pique. Shakira and Rauw Alejandro had previously released “Monotona” and “Te Felecito.”
