The road to cancellation is paved with good intentions, and Karol G is the latest artist to learn that the hard way. G's new single "57+" was meant to be an "anthem for Colombia" — given the song's themes, it's an odd goal for this particular song, but I digress — and instead it's become a lightning rod for controversy.
UPDATE (11/13, 3:08 p.m. ET): As Billboard reports, the backlash to "57+" has now led to a lyric change on YouTube. What Feid and Maluma sing on their verse translates to "a mamacita since 18" on the video platform instead of the previous "14."
It's unclear who requested the update, but it appears today — only on YouTube (so far), with the song remaining unchanged on Spotify and Apple Music as of press time — after the controversy around the original wording reached the Colombian Congress; a group of politicians have requested that the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) summon the songwriters for training on the country's sexual violence problem.
The singer has now apologized for the song's lyrics, which many have accused of sexualizing minors. "57+" is a crowded posse cut featuring a bunch of fellow Colombian stars like J Balvin, Feid, Maluma, Ryan Castro, Blessd, Ovy on the Drums and DFZM — that's wild! But when it was released on Thursday (November 7), people were less shocked by the stacked roster than what they were saying.
One part of Feid and Maluma's verse translates to English as, "A mamacita since 14 / When she walks into the club, you can feel her energy / Baby, I'm taking these shots for you / She's got a lot going on below, the outfit barely holds it." As Billboard reports, Rolling Stone En Español published an article titled "The Disaster of +'57'," while the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar issued a statement declaring that the song "reinforces the sexualization of children in our country" and "does not contribute to our fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents."
G took to her Instagram stories to apologize in the wake of the backlash and she wrote the following, which has been translated into English:
As artists, we are exposed to public opinion, and to the individual interpretations of people who like us and people who differ with what we do. I feel a lot of frustration for the misinformation that has been given, about the false posts that I have supposedly made and deleted from Twitter, an account that I have not used for more than six months. In this case, unfortunately, the lyrics of a song, with which I sought to celebrate the union between artists and put to shine my people … were taken out of context. None of the things said in the song have the direction they have been given, nor was it said from that perspective but I listen, I take responsibility and I realize that I still have a lot to learn. I feel very affected and I apologize from the bottom of my heart.
Listen to the song below.