Karol G is reimagining her new album but with a jazzier vibe. On Monday, NPR Music released the Colombian singer’s “Tiny Desk Concert” performance of her LP Mañana Será Bonito, where she was backed by an all-woman band.
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous. Maybe because the album is super new and this is the first time I’m singing some of the songs. They feel so good in this version, right?” Karol asked her band. “What a chimba experience, ‘Tiny Desk.’ This was super fun and gets us out of the routine.”
Karol opened the performance with an acoustic rendition of “Carolina” as she was seen smiling and looking around at her talented band.
“I really have to say that I’m super proud about them because this show is special. This is my first time in eight years that I have rehearsed without in-ears. I forgot how cool it feels,” she said. “I feel like I’m at home in my living room. Thank you for this amazing moment.”
Karol then brought the “Mexican vibes” as she performed “Gucci Los Paños” backed by a tuba and the accordion. “I don’t know why you’re fucking asking me to come back/If you were the one who brought this to shit,” she sang on the corrido’s chorus. “And you do that begging thing with whoever/But I’m not just anyone.”
“This would’ve been nice on a weekend with us cheering. It feels like a weekend, right?” Karol told the audience before taking a sip of a drink.
Then as the piano chords kicked in, Karol performed “Pero Tú,” her track with Quevedo as she sang the lyrics with her eyes closed while her band backed her with a jazz vibe. (She even performed Quevedo’s verse.)
Karol ended the performance with “Mercurio,” backed by a soft guitar as she questioned why she didn’t keep the song “in this version” on the album. “God made you for me/Just you what I’d do for you,” she sang. “Baby, don’t get that way/Love is not for suffering.”
After the end of her set, Karol joked about performing one more song as she celebrated “keeping this moment for life” before saying goodbye.
Karol’s performance follows her announcement of a six-stop stadium tour across the U.S. and her Saturday Night Live visit. “I know I said I wouldn’t but with the love I have for this album and the ganas I have to sing the songs with you all, I couldn’t stand not doing it,” she wrote on Instagram while announcing the tour.