Maluma

Maluma is the stage name of award-winning Colombian pop singer, songwriter, and rapper Juan Luis Londoño Arias. Possessed of a sweet, grainy tenor voice and streetwise yet romantic delivery, the pop urbano was able to cross over from a reggaeton audience to the mainstream thanks to infectious early singles such as "Obsesión" and "Miss Independent" (whose videos also went viral). His 2012 debut Magia endeared him to radio listeners across Latin America, while 2015's Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy broke through in the U.S., landing on the upper rungs of the Latin Pop, Urban, and Tropical charts. Since that time, Maluma has been charging toward world domination with a steady stream of videos, charting singles, and hit albums like 2019's 11:11 and 2020's Papi Juancho. He was also the subject of the documentary Maluma: Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré. His success continued in the next decade with the chart-topping 2021 single "Sobrio," his starring role in the 2022 <a href="spotify:artist:2DlGxzQSjYe5N6G9nkYghR">Jennifer Lopez</a> rom-com Marry Me, and the release of The Love & Sex Tape. 2023 brought additional hits like "La Fórmula" (with <a href="spotify:artist:4wLXwxDeWQ8mtUIRPxGiD6">Marc Anthony</a>) and "Coco Loco," before the August release of his sixth long-player, Don Juan. That album returned him to the Top 20 of the Latin charts and was followed by the 2024 Pirlo team-up "MIONCA."

Maluma's name is a tribute to his family. Before he began singing professionally, his now-famous stage name was a tattoo on his left leg. He made the word up from the initial syllable of his family's names -- his mother Marlli, his father Luis, and his sister Manuela. He adopted the name a few years later when he started singing and gained fame as a teenager. He originally pursued football as a vocation for eight years and was gifted enough to attract the attention of the media in his native Medellín. He initially sang for pleasure at hundreds of birthday parties, weddings, and celebrations. Given the rise of social media, and YouTube in particular, his already intense focus on music turned exclusive.

In 2011, at the age of 16, Maluma cut his first independent single, "Farandulera." Due to its internet popularity and emergent radio airplay in Colombia, the song gained the attention of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony+Music%22">Sony Music</a>, which signed him. The following year, Maluma released Magia, his debut album. Several of its singles -- "Obsesión," "Loco," and "Miss Independent" -- received consistent airplay and hit the charts in Colombia and Latin America. His next single, "La Temperatura," entered the North American charts and earned him a Latin Grammy nomination in 2013. The following year, he was the featured vocalist on <a href="spotify:artist:1c22GXH30ijlOfXhfLz9Df">Elvis Crespo</a>'s hit "Ole Brazil," recorded for the World Cup.

Maluma returned in early 2015 with PB DB. The Mixtape, a compilation of hits with two new singles, "Me Gustas Tanto" and "Climax." The new tracks charted and set the stage for a brand-new album, Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy, which appeared in the fall. The recording was produced by Walter Kolm. In 2016, Maluma released a collaborative track with fellow Colombian star <a href="spotify:artist:0EmeFodog0BfCgMzAIvKQp">Shakira</a>, "Chantaje," and the video became massively popular, racking up over one billion views online within five months. The track "Cuatro Babys," which reflected him as a swaggering Lothario with a rotating cast of women in and out of his bedroom, sparked a backlash when offended listeners called out the song's objectification of women. Some circulated a petition to have it removed from digital platforms. (It wasn't, but Maluma apologized.)

In 2017, Maluma was named "Artist of the Year" at the Premios Lo Nuestro, a Latin music awards show presented by Spanish-language television network Univision. That same year, he began work on his next album, writing songs in English as well as Spanish. In November 2017, he delivered an initial pre-release single, "Corazón," featuring Brazilian singer <a href="spotify:artist:1B0Rp4SWGnFgGCPU5Pju6E">Nego do Borel</a>, that peaked at number five at Hot Latin Songs. In May, he released the full-length F.A.M.E., produced mainly by the artist's Medellín camp, including Édgar "Edge" Barrera and "Rude Boyz" Kevin ADG & Chan el Genio, with further duet contributions by <a href="spotify:artist:5Y5TRrQiqgUO4S36tzjIRZ">Timbaland</a> ("Mi Declaración"), <a href="spotify:artist:3MHaV05u0io8fQbZ2XPtlC">Prince Royce</a> ("Hangover"), and <a href="spotify:artist:07YZf4WDAMNwqr4jfgOZ8y">Jason Derulo</a> on the bilingual "La Ex." The album reached the top spot on the Latin Albums chart and number 37 on the Hot 200.

Early 2019 saw Maluma issue a remix of the single "Mala Mía," which featured contributions from <a href="spotify:artist:7FNnA9vBm6EKceENgCGRMb">Anitta</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4obzFoKoKRHIphyHzJ35G3">Becky G</a>. A few months later, he collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a> on the song "Medellín" from her album Madame X. The pair's hi-tech performance of the song at the Billboard Music Awards brought the house down with its use of holograms. That May, Maluma released his fourth studio album, 11:11, supported by the singles "HP" and "11 P.M." His collaborators on the record included <a href="spotify:artist:1i8SpTcr7yvPOmcqrbnVXY">Ozuna</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4VMYDCV2IEDYJArk749S6m">Daddy Yankee</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7slfeZO9LsJbWgpkIoXBUJ">Ricky Martin</a>. It entered the Top Latin Albums chart at number one in June while F.A.M.E. was still in the Top 20. Also in 2019, YouTube Originals premiered its documentary on the singer, Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré, directed by Dominican filmmaker Jessy Terrero.

In early 2020, Maluma scored another hit with the single "ADMV," which paved the way for his fifth album, Papi Juancho. Released in August of that year, it featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:0eHQ9o50hj6ZDNBt6Ys1sD">Yandel</a>, Yomo, <a href="spotify:artist:1pQWsZQehhS4wavwh7Fnxd">Lenny Tavárez</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:14zUHaJZo1mnYtn6IBRaRP">Justin Quiles</a>, and others, peaking at number two on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart and reaching number 34 on the Billboard 200. 2021 began with the release of the #7DJ (7 Días en Jamaica) EP, followed by the chart-topping stand-along single "Sobrio." Among Maluma's other singles that year were "Imposible Amor" with <a href="spotify:artist:1GDbiv3spRmZ1XdM1jQbT7">Natti Natasha</a> and "Mama Tetema" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:7G9dCn1mqomAa0ucJoBm6J">Rayvanny</a>. In 2022, Maluma starred alongside <a href="spotify:artist:2DlGxzQSjYe5N6G9nkYghR">Jennifer Lopez</a> in the romantic comedy Marry Me, and also sang on the soundtrack. A few months later, he revisited the steamier side of his sound with The Love & Sex Tape which yielded several hits including "Cositas de la USA" and "Nos Comemos Vivos" featuring <a href="spotify:artist:37230BxxYs9ksS7OkZw3IU">Chencho Corleone</a>. Subsequent single "Junio" hit number one in Colombia, and Maluma recorded "Tukoh Taka" with <a href="spotify:artist:0hCNtLu0JehylgoiP8L4Gh">Nicki Minaj</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1YnW3KicGQq3zD9LcdGJSh">Myriam Fares</a> for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"La Fórmula," a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:4wLXwxDeWQ8mtUIRPxGiD6">Marc Anthony</a>, became another Colombian chart-topper in 2023. Maluma followed with solo single "La Reina" and "Diablo, Qué Chimba" with Anuel AA. "Coco Loco" followed in June. In August, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sony%22">Sony</a> released the long-player Don Juan. The whopping 25-track album, is, according to the artist, titled after an alter ego. The set includes collaborations with a range of singers and rappers like <a href="spotify:artist:66ihevNkSYNzRAl44dx6jJ">Carin Leon</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4IMAo2UQchVFyPH24PAjUs">Jowell & Randy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7j6DKwmjbxvpQO8h914uEz">Ryan Castro</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:33ScadVnbm2X8kkUqOkC6Z">Don Omar</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1vyhD5VmyZ7KMfW5gqLgo5">J Balvin</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0eHQ9o50hj6ZDNBt6Ys1sD">Yandel</a>, and boasts ten pre-release singles. It hit number 11 on the Top Latin Albums chart and cracked the Billboard 200. "MIONCA," a collaboration with Pirlo arrived in May 2024. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi