Maluma, a Colombian singer and a star, whose real name is Juan Luis Londoño Arias, became one of the most known Latin singers in the past few years. His collaborations with Shakira and Ricky Martin brought him recognition all over the world.
Maluma became the only singer in the world (not only Latin singer ) to have not one or two but SIX songs which are in YouTubes Most Watched Video Top 100.
He is also amongst Top 10 Hottest Men in Latin America, which is not surprising judging by his looks and a great body. He is also among the best dressed persons in the country.
Early life:
Maluma originally wanted to become a famous football player as a teen, and he sang only for his pleasure.
He was good in soccer and he played in the lower divisions in Atlético National. He was a very athletic kid: he also played volleyball, table tennis and chess. Sports were an interest of his and a way to let out his emotions, but he soon realized that he can do the same thing with music and fell in love with making lyrics.
Not many people know where does his stage name come from : he combined the first two letters of his mother’s name Marlli Arias and the first two of the fathers name Luis Londoño and again the first two of his older sister Manuela. He is very well connected with his family and they all have a really special bond.
He was a student at the Hontanares School in El Retiro and in the tenth grade he won in a singing contest. This was a trigger for Juan because he realized that he is actually very good in making music.
After joining some other singing competitions which he won, and after discovering how many people on the Internet likes his singing, he began pursuing a career in music. He was hoping to make a sucessful album, but didn’t even think about becoming this famous.
In 2010 he began his singing lessons, with a great support from his family and friends, and the rest is history.
Career development:
His career began to rise after his first single called ” Farandulera” became a huge hit and was all over Colombian radio stations.
His popularity grew so much that he got an offer to sign a contract with Sony Colombia Music and they will release his first studio album. This was the moment he realized he made it.
Before the release of the album, the label launched his another hit single named “Loco”.
His first studio album finally came in 2012 entitled “Magia”. The first single from the album was called “Obssesion” and it featured a beautiful Colombian model Lina Posada and gathered almost 200 million views on YouTube.
Next two songs “Miss Independent” and “Pasarla Bien” also gained much attention, especially the second one who rose to No.3 of Colombian charts.
That resulted with the fact that Maluma got his first nomination at 2012 “Shock Awards” as The Best New Artist.
“La Temperatura”, a single which came out in 2013, was his first single to reach US Billboard chart for Latin people. It was made in collaboration with a Puerto Rican singer Eli Palacios and became a big hit in Latino audience.
Maluma’s collaboration with Elvis Crespo for the theme song “Olè Brazil” of 2014 Fifa World Cup which was held in Brazil, also broke out as a hit song.
He was invited to perform at 2014 Premios Juventud with his hit “La Temperatura” and it was a great honor for him.
The same year he became a judge and a coach in The Voice Kids show. He mentions that experience as one of his biggest achievements: helping young stars on the rise, because he was in their shoes a few years ago. He is very likeable and people adore his personality so he oftenly appears on TV and gives interviews.
Due to his popularity, he was asked to host Kid’s Choice Awards in Colombia in 2014.
In 2015, the year began with the release of “PB.DB The Mixtape” which rounded up his hit singles into one collection.
A few months later he released his second studio album named “Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy” which was produced by Walter Kolm.
This album successfully entered the Top 10 Billboard of Hot Latin Songs.
2016 was marked as the year he collaborated with two famous artists: Shakira and Ricky Martin. His single “Chantaje” with Shakira was viewed more than one billion times. His song with Ricky called “Vente Pa’ Ca’ ” was also a success. The song he made with Shakira was the most popular one and it was streamed on MTV, Spotify, iTunes and much more social media.
He started up his “Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy World Tour” the same year.
In 2017 he released a new hit “Felices los 4” which came very high on the list. At “Premios Lo Nuestro” he received an “Artist of the Year” award.
He says that his role models were Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake. He admired men that made their way to the top with no scandals, only by his talent.
He was nominated for many awards, one of them is the MTV Millenial Award.
His Instagram account is followed by more than 22 million people.
He is currently working on his third album which will be billingual, both with Spanish and English lyrics.
He is hoping to make his fanbase bigger by making more songs in English.
Personal life:
He is very proud of his Latin origins. He especially likes having concerts in Mexico and Argentina because of the great atmosphere which is brought by the crowd.
He often comments how he likes when he hears non Spanish people singing his Spanish lyrics. He says it brings people closer together.
He would like to have the chance to work with Zayn Malik and Justin Bieber in future. But his biggest unfulfilled dream is to work alongside Justin Timberlake. He thinks very highly of him both personal and as a musician. He admires his work and passion in everything he does.
Camila Andriuolo was his best friend and a girlfriend when he was a teenager.
Maluma is very handsome and is quite as a true Latin lover.
In 2014 he began his relationship with a Mexican singer Belinda. It lasted about a year but eventually they broke up.
After a while he started dating a Brazilian star Anitta but they ended their relationship the same year.
At the end of 2016 he was seen with Yeinly Castro and as it seems, they are still together.
In one period of time he was called out to have a relationship with Selena Gomez, but they have both denied it, confirming that they are only friends.
He is very happy when he hears people sing at his concerts because he is very proud of his work in his primary language.
He stated that he would love to make movies too and even perhaps act in a show. He is looking forward to any gig related to TV screens.
Quick summary
Full name: Juan Luis Londoño Arias
Date of birth: January 28, 1994
Birthplace: Medellìn, Colombia
Age: 23
Profession: pop and reggaeton singer
Height: 1,78m
Weight: 70 kgs
Net Worth:$ 12 million
