Maluma - Songwriters, Family and Childhood

Maluma was born Juan Luis Londono Arias in Medellin, Colombia, on January 28, 1994. His parents, Luis and Marlli, earned enough to support the family. Maluma grew up with an older sister.

He was initially interested in football. He started playing football as a toddler and played it through elementary and middle school. An avid sportsman, he played other sports too, such as volleyball, ping pong, and chess, among others.

Sometime during his early teenage, he developed a passion for music, as a hobby. He sang to make himself feel good, and slowly, he started improving. By the time he entered high school, he was already a pretty good singer.

He went to ‘Hontanares School’ in El Retiro, and there, he wrote songs for his classmates, on their insistence. Encouraged by his friends, he entered a local singing competition, while he was studying in the tenth grade, and won it. This was the first time he thought about taking up music as a serious career option. Soon, he started gathering like-minded friends to aid him in his attempts to make it big on the national music scene.

His uncle came to his aid when Maluma was 15 years old and allowed him to work in a studio. Maluma’s first song, ‘No Quiero,’ was created in collaboration with a close friend.

Maluma was still not very hopeful of a musical career and hesitantly approached the music labels. The labels were impressed and offered Maluma a deal on the condition that he would have to his name to something catchy.

In the year 2010, during the senior year of high school, Maluma finally enrolled in a music institute and started taking music lessons. As soon as he graduated, he released his debut single.

In 2010, Maluma’s official debut single was released, and it enjoyed unexpected local success. The single, called ‘Farandulera,’ grabbed the attention of many and was played on the radio frequently, attracting more and more people every day. Maluma had a local celebrity.

Soon, ‘Sony Music’ got in touch with him and offered him a contract, which he gladly accepted. Being signed by one of the world’s leading music labels was a huge step toward success, and his single ‘Loco’ was a testimony to that. His talents were being appreciated by people from all corners of the musical world, and the song became a national anthem for those with broken hearts.

After working for two straight years, he finally released his debut album in the year 2012. Titled ‘Magia,’ the album featured love songs and a few peppy tracks, with some signature Colombian tones to add to its authenticity. One song in particular, titled ‘Obsesion,’ became a super hit song and its music video rocked YouTube, with more than 175 million views to its credit.

The song enjoyed unparalleled success and also became one of the most-watched videos on YouTube. Another single from the album, titled ‘Miss Independent,’ became a chart-topper and secured a place in National-Report chart, which was a major feat to be achieved by a new talent such as him.

The success of his debut album further paved his way to more collaborations, and one such single that he worked on was ‘La Temperatura,’ with Eli Palacios. The song was the first single from his debut mixtape, ‘PB.DB The Mixtape,’ and reached the seventh spot on the ‘National-Report’ chart.

This was also his first international success and earned him fame in the US. The song slowly grew on Americans and was featured among the top 20 songs of many Latin American music charts.

By the year 2014, he became busier and churned out music videos for many his songs, such as ‘Addicted’ and ‘Carnaval.’ He also earned himself a major project, when he composed the theme song for the 2014 ‘FIFA World Cup’ that was to be held in Brazil. The song, ‘Ole Brazil,’ had him collaborate with Elvis Crespo.

In mid 2014, he got an offer to judge the singers on the reality singing show ‘The Voice Kids,’ and in the same year, he made his debut as an award show host at the ‘Kid’s Choice Awards.’

In 2014, Maluma released his mixtape ‘PB.DB The Mixtape,’ which was a collection of a number of singles. The album was a chart-topper, both in the local markets and in the US. This album sold better than his previous efforts. His success on YouTube helped increase his popularity in the neighboring country.

In 2015, his second studio album, ‘Pretty Boy Dirty Boy,’ was released. This album and contained elements of reggae and urban tunes. Three singles from the album, namely, ‘Borro Cassette,’ ‘Sin Contrato,’ and ‘El Perdedor,’ became major hits and made it to the ‘Billboard Hot Latin Songs’ list.

His success led him to collaborate with many of his childhood idols, such as Shakira and Ricky Martin.

In 2016, he embarked on a world tour, after the release of his second album, and by the end of 2016, he collaborated with ‘Piso 21,’ one of the most well-known bands in the country. Their first single together, the remix of ‘Me Llamas,’ became another significant success for Maluma.

In the year 2017, his single ‘Felices los 4’ became an international success and made its way to the top 5 of the ‘Hot Latin Songs Chart.’ He spent most of 2017 working on his next studio album. The album, titled ‘F.A.M.E,’ and is slated to be released in 2018. He has claimed that this album will provide his fans a glimpse of his life after stardom.

Maluma loves his family and gives them all the credit for making him what he is today. His name is made up of the first two letters of the names of his mother, his father, and his sister, respectively.

Maluma has been an ardent fan of Michael Jackson (MJ) ever since he was a kid and says that it was only because of MJ that considered being a musician.

Maluma is known to have been in relationships with various women, in the past. Presently, he is rumored to be in a romantic relationship with Yeinly Castro, an Instagram model.