By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 10/3/25 – Coachella has always been about moments, those shimmering, larger-than-life experiences that somehow feel both personal and historic at the same time. This year, 2025, one of the festival’s defining moments comes courtesy of Colombian superstar, Karol G, who takes her rightful place as a headliner at the world’s most influential music festival.
For me, it’s a moment that comes full circle. I first interviewed Karol G back in 2022, when she made her Coachella debut. It was also my very first year covering the festival with an official press pass, a milestone of my own. At the time, Karol was still ascending, already adored by millions but not yet the global juggernaut she has since become.
That interview remains one of my fondest memories. At the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, where media gathered for a carefully orchestrated press day, Karol welcomed me like an old friend. Sweet, candid, and full of energy, she even playfully suggested I should join her on tour. Looking back now, as she headlines the very festival that once made her nervous, I can’t help but marvel at how prescient that moment was.
In our 2022 conversation, Karol admitted just how overwhelming it felt to step onto the Coachella stage for the first time. She laughed and said, “Oh my God, I don’t have any memories because I was so nervous! It was amazing to be there, but I was very anxious.”
Still, nerves didn’t stop her from delivering an unforgettable debut. With her iconic hip-length blue hair flowing, clad in a sleek white bodysuit and knee-high platform boots, she ignited the crowd with El Makinon, De Mi Ya Te Olvidaste, and even a surprise cover of Don’t Be Shy. Guest appearances by Becky G and J Balvin only heightened the energy.
By weekend two, she was more relaxed, debuting her single Provenza and proudly donning a jumpsuit inspired by the Colombian flag. “We’ve worked so hard for six months,” she told me. “The second performance is the one that you enjoy the most because you already know how everything is. You already feel more secure. So yes, it’s a complete experience. It’s beautiful for me.”
What struck me then, and still resonates now, was her insistence that Coachella was about more than just spectacle. She explained, “That’s my favorite part in the world, to be onstage and to get the opportunity to connect with new people. At festivals, you have the challenge to conquer these new people and to show your music and make them feel the connection. For me, that’s amazing.”
That sense of connection has only deepened with time. In 2025, Karol G stands not just as a performer but as a cultural ambassador. She carries her Colombian heritage, her Latina pride, and her unrelenting passion onto a stage that has historically crowned legends.
Now, as she headlines Coachella, Karol’s journey feels like destiny fulfilled. The artist who once confessed her nerves has transformed into a headliner commanding one of the largest stages in the world. And yet, the sweetness I witnessed in that first interview, the humility, the gratitude, the love of her fans, still radiates through her music and her presence.
Back in 2022, she told me that her debut gave her “so much life and so much appreciation for the things that I want to do.” Today, she is living those very dreams, not just performing at Coachella but defining it.
For The Hollywood Times, it’s a thrill to have been there at the beginning of her Coachella story, and to witness firsthand the rise of an artist who continues to make history.
Karol G isn’t just headlining Coachella this year. She’s headlining an era.
From Nerves to Nirvana. A Headliner’s Triumph!
