Entertainment Music Reggaeton Music Karol G 'Couldn't Eat, Couldn't Sleep' Two Weeks Before Her Album 'Mañana Será Bonito' Came Out The album chronicled her public split from her ex-fiancé, Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA By Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and more. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 14, 2023 07:10PM EDT Karol G. Photo: Giel Domen & Kenneth Van De Velde/rolling stone Karol G may be celebrating Bichota Season, but she's also opening up about the personal pain she faced when releasing her last album. In a new Rolling Stone cover story for its September issue, the Colombian singer opened up about how she was able to be deeply vulnerable — despite having previously strayed from making more intimate songs — while creating Mañana Será Bonito, which was released in February. The album, which detailed her public split from her ex-fiancé, Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA, in 2021, allowed Karol to process the failed engagement. But two weeks before it came out, she struggled to eat and sleep. "The two weeks before the album came out, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat,” she told the publication. “Being so exposed in my music was very psychologically heavy.… Imagine something like this happening, and you have to tell millions of people what happened to you." Karol G for Rolling Stone. Giel Domen & Kenneth Van De Velde/rolling stone 5 Things to Love About Karol G, Latin Music's New It Girl While Mañana Será Bonito was steeped in heartache, the deluxe version of the album Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) — released Aug. 11 — is rooted in rebirth. “I go over the strange moments, the crazy moments, the difficult ones in my head,” Karol said. “The moments where I felt, ‘I’m dying and I won’t be able to deal with this.’ It’s what I had to go through to get to today.” Karol G for Rolling Stone. Giel Domen & Kenneth Van De Velde/rolling stone Karol, 32, however, maintains she's always drawn to making music about heartbreak. "I swear to you, even in the moments when I’ve been super mega in love, I still make music about heartbreak,” she said. “You can put on the saddest songs in the world, and it’s as if you were killing yourself, but really, you’re healing.” Karol G for Rolling Stone. Giel Domen & Kenneth Van De Velde/rolling stone Karol G Says Her Latest Magazine Cover Was Photoshopped: 'My Face Does Not Look Like This' Before embarking on her Bichota Tour in 2021, Karol spoke to PEOPLE about reclaiming her space as a female reggaeton artist and representing her community. "As a Latina, I think all the Latinos, we just have something inside that makes us really hard workers," she said. "We look [for] the opportunity in places that there's no opportunity." Karol G for Rolling Stone. Giel Domen & Kenneth Van De Velde/rolling stone Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "We are working for our spaces right now. But we are here. And we now have that respect. People know us [and] know our story," she added. "I'm super happy just to represent that part, to inspire people if I can. That's the most important thing." Close