Karol G revealed how she met Bruno Mars and the surprise she took: "We had chemistry"

Colombian singer Karol G recalled the origin of her collaboration with Bruno Mars and recounted that she did not expect the American artist to agree to participate in Still. In a conversation with Mexican actress Salma Hayek for Interview Magazine, Karol G explained that the song was born in January, during a composition session with the artist Isabel LaRosa and her brother. The Colombian had put forward her interest in starting to publish music in English, although she acknowledged that she still had difficulties writing in that language. ADVERTISEMENT The singer recounted that she received the news after John Janick, president of Interscope Records, assured her that Mars knew her work and that he had become interested after seeing her perform at Coachella. The singer spoke to them about aspects of her personal life and the emotional state she was going through at that time. Still emerged from that exchange, a song with which she immediately connected. However, she considered that the track needed a male voice that would bring romance and drama. The proposal arose during a conversation with the president of Interscope Karol G recounted that she shared the song with John Janick and that he proposed inviting Bruno Mars. The artist's initial reaction was disbelief, as she understood that the performer had a schedule full of collaborations and concerts. ADVERTISEMENT “I thought it wouldn't happen,” the singer said when recalling her response. According to her explanation, Janick told her that Bruno Mars had previously mentioned her music and that he had also seen her perform at Coachella. The possibility materialized shortly after. Karol G pointed out that the singer's team received the song and gave a positive response. One week later, she traveled to London to meet him and record the track, an experience she described as unexpected due to the admiration she felt for him. “So when I spoke with John Janick at Interscope, the idea of Bruno Mars occurred to him. I said: ‘Bruno is not going to do this song with me. He is the number one artist on Spotify. He has been doing many collaborations with women and is on tour. That won't happen.’ He said: ‘In fact, I remember him telling me the other day that he loves your music and that he saw you at Coachella’,” Karol G recalled. ADVERTISEMENT Before entering the studio, the artist traveled from the airport to Wembley Stadium to attend a Bruno Mars show. The meeting between both occurred after the performance, in the early morning, when they arrived to work on the recording. Karol G recounted that he directly asked her why she had agreed to collaborate with him. The musician replied that a performance by the Colombian on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon had inspired him for a long time and that he had even spoken about her on several occasions. “I met him after the show. It was 1 in the morning in the studio and I said: ‘Hi, Bruno Mars’. It was like a fantasy. I asked him: ‘Why did you say yes?’. He replied: ‘Your performance on [The Tonight Show Starring] Jimmy Fallon was something that inspired me for a long time. I mentioned it many times.’ We had chemistry,” the Colombian revealed. ADVERTISEMENT The artist spoke about her decision to sing in English The collaboration with Bruno Mars represents one of Karol G's steps toward the English-speaking market. During the interview, the singer explained that for years she wanted the public to identify her, above all, as a Colombian artist. That decision influenced the time it took her to publish songs in English. The singer indicated that she felt her voice changed when she performed in that language and that she needed to gain confidence to take on that challenge. “I want to do it well, but I am not afraid to fail,” she maintained. She also highlighted that a large part of her audience in the United States is Latino and that, for many of those followers, English is their mother tongue. For this reason, she considered that singing in that language could be a way to connect with them from another register. ADVERTISEMENT Karol G pointed out that she will not abandon her musical identity or her bond with Colombia. The singer explained that her time in New York, before consolidating her international career, allowed her to understand the industry from a business perspective. ADVERTISEMENT