Juan Luis Londoño Arias, better known as Maluma, is a Colombian singer of pop, reggaeton, and Latin trap, born in Medellín, Colombia, on January 28, 1994. His stage name is a combination of the first two letters of his mother Marlli's name, his father Luis's name, and his sister Manuela's name. After dedicating over eight years to soccer—a sport he is passionate about and in which his father hoped he would become successful—he decided in 2010, at the age of 16, to begin vocal training to change the course of his life and fully commit to singing, which has undoubtedly catapulted him to stardom.
In 2011, he released the single "Farandulera," which shot him to fame in Colombia and caught the attention of Sony Music, with whom he signed a recording contract in the middle of that same year. Following that, he released other hits like "Loco," "Obsesión," and "Pasarla bien," which were well-received until the release of his first album, "Magia," in 2012, with which he sold over ten thousand copies in his home country.
With the song "La Temperatura," in 2013 it reached the top of the charts in the United States and Latin America and received a nomination for the Latin Grammy in 2013 for Best New Artist.
With a career that was beginning to solidify, and after releasing a second album, Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy (2015), which features the track "Solos" recorded with the Cuban artist El Micha, Maluma released the single "Felices los cuatro" in early 2017. This song catapulted him to fame, and its music video became the most viewed Latin video worldwide within the first 24 hours, earning the singer a Vevo certification.
The bold lyrics that explore the love triangle between Maluma and a married woman, played by Cuban-Croatian model Natalia Barulich, who later became his partner, do not go unnoticed. In the middle of that same year, Marc Anthony recorded a salsa version with the artist and appeared in the music video for this version, which was filmed a month later.
Both versions are part of their third single, F.A.M.E., which won the Latin Grammy for "Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album" and achieved gold and platinum certification in various countries around the world due to its high sales.
The friendship between Maluma and Marc Anthony has developed over the years, and it is common to see them sharing stages and projects. In 2019, the Colombian wrote the lyrics for the song "Parecen Viernes," which is part of the American artist's thirteenth studio album, "Opus."
In 2019, one of the most significant collaborations in the singer's life occurred when he was featured on Madonna's album Madame X. "Medellín," the album's first single, reached the eighteenth spot on the Hot Latin Songs chart and became Madonna's 47th number one on the Dance Club Songs chart, further extending her record as the artist with the highest number of entries at the top of that list. Two months later, also from the same album, the artists reunited for the track "Bitch I'm Loca."
That same year, in 2019, the Colombian artist released his fourth album, 11:11, under the Sony Music Latin label. The album features collaborations with Ricky Martin, Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Zion & Lennox, Sech, Ty Dolla $ign, Chencho Corleone from Plan B, Farina, and includes another track with Madonna, in which they perform "Soltera."
Among his most notable collaborations is "Clandestino" with Shakira, released in June 2018. Rolling Stone ranked the song number six on its list of the 20 Best Latin Singles of 2018, and it was positioned at number 14 in Billboard's critics' choice of the 20 Best Latin Songs of 2018.
In 2018, he was named the sexiest man in the world by People magazine.
In 2019, as a guest on the famous Jimmy Fallon show The Tonight Show, he confessed to the host that he would like to have a musical collaboration with Justin Timberlake, who has influenced his musical style.
In 2019, he began filming his first movie, Marry Me, alongside Jennifer Lopez and American actor Owen Wilson, marking the Colombian artist's debut in cinema. In September 2020, Lopez announced through her social media that she collaborated with Maluma on two songs, Pa 'ti and Lonely, which will likely be part of the soundtrack for the film they both star in, although it does not yet have a release date.
