Love has turned out to be an endless source of inspiration for Karol G. The Colombian star’s newest single, “Ay DiOs Mío,” which she co-wrote with Venezuelan Danny Ocean, morphed into a tale of how she met her fiancé, rapper Anuel.
“I sat down with Danny and he came up with the idea of ‘She wrote me,’” Karol told Billboard during an exclusive Zoom interview ahead of the single’s release July 9, during which she sang the first line of the song.
“I said, ‘What? No. Not ‘she wrote me.’ In this song I’ll tell the story of how I met Ema [short for Emmanuel, Anuel’s real name]. The song starts from the moment Ema first wrote me a DM on Instagram and how he sent me DMs in Instagram and WhatsApp, until the day we met and went out. And when we went out, in the middle of dancing, and whether I’d go home with him or not.”
“Ay DiOs Mío [Oh My God],” produced by longtime collaborator Ovy On The Drums, is reminiscent of “Tusa,” Karol G’s smash hit with Nicki Minaj, in the use of a slow intro that then breaks into a slow, sensual reggaetón.
Working with Danny Ocean, however, was a departure for an artist used to writing alone. “But that’s the way you grow and evolve,” adds Karol G. Evolving, she says, has been front of mind since the COVID-19 epidemic and lockdown.
“There is so much pressure that you start losing your way,” she says. “Trying so hard to fit in was making me lose myself, doing a million things at the same time but with no direction. … Understanding myself has been the most important thing during these times, and I can tell you with absolute conviction that I’m Carolina again, the one who did music at home 14 years ago, and it’s connected to the entire concept of my [upcoming] album.”
One thing that hasn’t changed during lockdown is her feelings for Anuel, whom she’s been dating for nearly two years.
“Two well-invested years. We have a great time. Even more in these times,” she says with a smile. “Instead of saying ‘We’re sick of each other,’ we’ve come closer together. We finished his album, and seeing that process was great. And now we’re working on mine. We really don’t give much opinions on what the other does because we have very different identities and we don’t want to interfere. But we’re part of the process.”
Karol G’s new album is slated for the fall. In the meantime, you can watch her full interview with Billboard above.
