Maluma Opens Up About Feeling Pressured to Sing in English

Maluma is featured in the Autumn/Winter 2019 issue of British GQ Style, out now.

Here’s what the 25-year-old reggaeton superstar had to say…

On appearing in Madonna’s music video: “She was like, can I lick your toe?. I was like, f–k it, lick my toe! You’re Madonna. Do whatever you want.”

On his fans: “I was at a concert and I got close to a fan and she pulled me so badly she ripped my shirt off. She hurt me. But you understand that that’s love. They want you to be close.”

On his stage persona: “When I leave Colombia, I feel like, OK, I’m going to play the role. You play the role so you can have a beautiful life, but you know that this s–t is not going to last. You can have all these material things but when you die, you’re not taking them with you. Nothing lasts forever.”

On feeling pressure to sing in English: “A year ago, I went to LA and worked with the biggest producers in the industry. Scott Storch, Timbaland, Max Martin. I felt pressure, because they told me I had to record in English. I did all these songs and loved them but wasn’t feeling my essence. I decided that I was going to keep singing in Spanish.”

For more from Maluma, head to gq-magazine.co.uk.