Karol G knew what she was doing when she named her fourth (and most acclaimed) album “Mañana Será Bonito,” which translates to “Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful.”

It might not be “tomorrow” exactly, but the Colombian singer will soon make history — specifically, on Sunday, April 12, 2026 — as the first Latina to ever headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Although many festivalgoers, especially those in the U.S., might not be as familiar with Karol G’s work as they are with co-headliners Justin Bieber and Sabrina Carpenter, she’s been making waves in the Latin music scene ever since she was 14 and appeared on Colombia’s version of “The X-Factor.” So, here’s a crash course in everything to know about the artist.

Who Is Karol G?

Karol G, born Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is a música urbana star. She received the award for Best New Artist at the 2018 Latin Grammys, and in 2024, became the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album, which she won for 2023’s hit “Mañana Será Bonito.”

How Old Is Karol G?

Karol G is 34 years old, and will be 35 by the time she performs her headlining set.

Where Is Karol G From?

Karol G was born Feb. 14, 1991, in Medellín, Colombia, where she also grew up.

What Is Karol G Best Known For?

The Recording Academy has called her “perhaps the most successful female artist to rise from reggaeton’s resurgence,” Billboard has heralded her as “the Next Latina Queen” and a Univision documentary named her “the warrior of the (reggaeton) genre.”

The singer’s debut album, “Unstoppable,” came out in 2017 and featured the hit Bad Bunny collaboration “Ahora me llama.” She leaned further into trap and reggaeton — while also proving she can crush a ballad — with her 2019 sophomore album “Ocean,” featuring collaborations with Damian Marley, Anuel AA, Simone & Simaria, Yandel, Maluma, J Balvin, Nicky Jam and Danay Suárez. In 2021, she released her most star-studded album, “KG0516,” featuring collabs with several Latin artists as well as Ludacris and Nicki Minaj.

Critics have praised her two most recent albums, “Mañana Será Bonito” (2023) and “Tropicoqueta” (2025), and the former became the Billboard 200 chart’s first-ever No. 1 album by a woman artist that’s sung entirely in Spanish.

Coachella 2026 Will Be Karol G’s Second Coachella

In 2022 — a landmark year of unprecedented Latin American representation at Coachella with 20 Latin music artists on the lineup — Karol G made her Coachella debut.

That year, she and Brazilian singer Anitta also became the first Latinas to ever perform on Coachella’s main stage, and they made the most of it. Karol G’s performance was perhaps most remembered for turning the Empire Polo Club into a dance club with the help of special guests Becky G and J Balvin, and for the first public performance of her single “Provenza.” Fans also roared with approval for her medley of songs by iconic Latino artists including Carlos Santana’s “La Bamba” and Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.”

“Many artists start off on other Coachella stages and scale up through the years. My first participation at Coachella, though it wasn’t as a headliner, was on the main stage, and two artists ahead of the headlining act,” Karol G told The Desert Sun in a sit-down interview in 2022. “That was a big commitment for me. … It was a moment for me to show who we Latinos are, to introduce a culture that many people may still not know very well.”

Karol G also told The Desert Sun she first saw the full Coachella 2022 lineup the same day as the general public, and was pleasantly surprised to see she wouldn’t be the only Latina there.

“I realized that Nathy Peluso, Nicki Nicole, Anitta (and) Pabllo Vittal would be at the festival,” she said, counting them, one by one on her hand. “I felt really proud to form part of this generation of women that are doing big things and things that are representative of where we come from.”

Who Else Is on the Coachella 2026 Lineup?

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This story includes previous reporting by Eliana Pérez.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who is Karol G? Get to know the singer set to become the first Latina Coachella headliner
Reporting by Niki Kottmann, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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