The only ground left for Karol G to break? Her own

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In February of last year, Karol G boarded a private plane out of Burbank with 16 passengers on board.Just minutes after takeoff, the Colombian singer — one of the biggest global stars in Latin and pop music — saw smoke pouring out of the cabin.

The pilots signaled for emergency landing maneuvers; her life flashed before her eyes.“I was with my parents on the plane, my whole family, and all of us were like, ‘No, it can’t be like this,’” Karol G said, recalling the horrific day in an interview from the top floor of the L.A.Times’ offices in El Segundo, overlooking the Los Angeles International Airport flight path.“It was really terrifying, visually,” she continued.

“Seeing smoke inside the plane, every alarm going off, it was crazy.We were saying goodbye to people.

I was just thinking about my one sister that was still in Colombia, that if something happened, what’s that gonna do to her? We were just sitting, waiting.”The pilots quickly brought the plane down to a safe landing in Van Nuys, mercifully avoiding the fates of peers like Jenni Rivera, Aaliyah and Ritchie Valens.A year and a half later, the now-34-year-old Karol G released “Tropicoqueta,” her fifth LP.The 20-track album spills over with so much abundant life — searing emotion and refined songcraft, winking humor and quaking bass, Latin music history and “la hora loca” of her Colombian community’s block parties — that it stands in defiance of that near-miss with death.“Tropicoqueta” is up for Latin pop album at the 2026 Grammys, where Karol G previously won for música urbana album in 2024.

(She’s a multiple winner at the Latin Grammys as well.) She also has a Coachella headline slot coming in April, making her the first Latina to top the world’s most influential festival.And at an incredibly fraught moment for Latinos and Latin culture in the U.S., she’s bringing a he...