"TQG" (acronym for Te Quedó Grande; ) is a song by Colombian singer-songwriters Karol G and Shakira. Written alongside Keityn and Ovy on the Drums, and produced by the latter, the song was released on February 24, 2023, through Universal Music Latino, as the fifth single from Karol G’s fourth studio album, Mañana Será Bonito. The song is also featured on Shakira’s twelfth studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (2024).
Background
On February 10, 2023, Giraldo revealed the cover art for Mañana Será Bonito and revealed the track list, where "TQG" was featured as a solo song. Later on February 14, 2023, Shakira wished Karol G a "happy birthday" message through social media, adding more speculation to a collaboration, as it was something the singer did to Argentine producer Bizarrap, whom she would collaborate on the song "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53. That same day, Karol G would reveal in an interview with The New York Times that Colombian singer Shakira was featured on the song. The song was released as the fifth single alongside the album's release on February 24, 2023.
Composition
"TQG" is an acronym for the phrase "Te Quedó Grande"; is a reggaeton track, but it's also considered as a diss. The song's lyrics features "shots" directed at their ex-boyfriends, Puerto Rican artist Anuel AA and Spanish footballer Gerard Pique. The song also presents lyrics sung by Shakira about Pique's current girlfriend, Clara Chia.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Karol G would reveal that she wrote the song in 2022 during an emotionally complex time. She explained that although she had intended to ask Shakira to collaborate, it wasn't intended to happen with "TQG". After listening to Shakira's "Monotonía", collaboration with Ozuna, she decided to send her the song. She added: "listening to that story and where she was at, [TQG] made a lot of sense. I sent it to her and she loved it."
In a later interview with Billboard, Giraldo revealed that the song was written with Ovy on the Drums and Keityn Cruz in a recording session for "Mamiii", collaboration with American singer Becky G. She explained how the song came to be and what it means to her:
Critical reception Alexis Petridis of The Guardian commended the ethereal atmosphere that "TQG" has "though frankly it's a bit phoned-in." Ernesto Lechner from Rolling Stone criticized the song calling it "underwhelming", stating "her much-anticipated track with Colombian icon Shakira, "TQG," feels underwhelming, especially since it arrives only weeks after the media circus that surrounded Shakira's massive new track with Bizarrap."
+Select year end TQGPublicationListRankRolling StoneThe 100 Best Songs of 2023RemezclaBest Pop Songs of 2023
Commercial performance "TQG" debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated March 11, 2023, becoming Karol G's first and Shakira's sixth top-ten entry on the chart. The song charted twenty weeks on the chart, with the first seven staying within the top 40.
On the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, the song debuted at number one, becoming Karol's sixth and Shakira's thirteenth number one on the chart.
On the Billboard Global 200, the song also debuted at the top spot with 158.4 million streams and 10,000 sales for the week dated March 11, 2023, becoming both Karol G's and Shakira's first number one on that chart.
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), it was the fifteenth best-selling global single of 2023, earning 1.18 billion subscription streams equivalents globally, becoming Shakira's first IFPI year-end single entry and Karol's second following 2022's "Provenza".
Awards and nominations +Award and nominations for "TQG"YearCeremonyAwardResultRef. 2023Billboard Music AwardsTop Latin Song Billboard Latin Music Awards Hot Latin Song of the Year Hot Latin Song of the Year, Vocal Event Sales Song of the Year Airplay Song of the Year Latin Pop Song of the Year BreakTudo Awards Latin Hit Guinness World Records Highest-charting Spanish-language track on the Billboard Hot 100 (female) Heat Latin Music Awards Best Collaboration Latin Grammy AwardsSong Of The Year Best Urban Fusion/PerformanceBest Urban Song Latino Music Awards Song of the Year Best Urban Song Viral Song Best Urban Music Video Los 40 Music Awards Best Video Best Urban Collaboration MTV Millennial Awards Global Hit of the Year MTV Europe Music AwardsBest Collaboration MTV Video Music Awards Best Collaboration Best Latin NRJ Music AwardsInternational Collaboration of the Year Premios Juventud Girl Power Track Best Urban Track Best Pop/Urban Collaboration Social Dance Challenge Premios MusaInternational Latin Song of the YearInternational Collaboration of the Year Premios Tu Música Urbano Collaboration of the Year WME Awards Latin American Song 2024 BMI Latin Awards Award Winning Song Latin American Music Awards Song of the Year Favorite Urban Song Latino Music Awards Song of the Year Best Urban Song Best Urban Music Video Best Viral Song of TikTok Video of the Year Lo Nuestro Awards Urban/Pop Song of the Year Premios Nuestra Tierra Best Urban Song Best Urban Collaboration Best Music Video Spotify Plaques One Billion Streams Award
Music video The music video for "TQG" was directed by Pedro Artola and was released on Karol G's YouTube channel on February 24, 2023. The concept of the visual is heavily inspired by the plot of the film The Truman Show (1998).
Live performances On March 10, 2023, Karol G performed "TQG" for the first time in Puerto Rico for a three-day stadium show promoting the release of Mañana Será Bonito. On July 10, 2023, Karol G performed "TQG" for the Today morning show. The song was performed once again by Giraldo on August 4, 2024, for the Lollapalooza music festival. From August 10, 2023, to July 23, 2024, Karol G embarked on the arena-stadium Mañana Será Bonito Tour, where the song was present throughout the set list as the show's opener. On September 12, 2023, during the MTV Video Music Awards, Shakira performed the song as part of her medley, as she received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. On February 11, 2025, Shakira embarked on the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, set to last through November 28, 2026, where a shortened version of "TQG" is present on the set list.
Charts
Weekly charts + Chart performance for "TQG" Chart (2023) Peakposition Argentina (Monitor Latino) 1 Bolivia (Billboard) 1 Bolivia (Monitor Latino) 2 Brazil Latin Airplay (Crowley Charts) 2 Central America (Monitor Latino) 1 Chile (Billboard) 1 Chile (Monitor Latino) 1 Colombia (Billboard) 1 Colombia (Monitor Latino) 1 Costa Rica (Monitor Latino) 1 Croatia (Billboard) 25 Dominican Republic (Monitor Latino) 1 Ecuador (Billboard) 1 Ecuador (Monitor Latino) 1 El Salvador (Monitor Latino) 1 France (SNEP) 30 Germany (TopHit) 42 Greece International (IFPI) 46 Guatemala (Monitor Latino) 2 Honduras (Monitor Latino) 1 Italy (FIMI) 44 Latin America (Monitor Latino) 1 Lithuania (TopHit) 145 Luxembourg (Billboard) 11 Mexico (Billboard) 1 Moldova Airplay (TopHit) 128 Netherlands (Single Tip) 1 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 24 Nicaragua (Monitor Latino) 1 Panama (Monitor Latino) 2 Panama (PRODUCE) 1 Paraguay (Monitor Latino) 1 Peru (Billboard) 1 Peru (Monitor Latino) 1 Puerto Rico (Monitor Latino) 1 San Marino (SMRRTV Top 50) 22 Spain (PROMUSICAE) 1 Suriname (Nationale Top 40) 30 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) 19 Turkey (Radiomonitor Türkiye) 8 Uruguay (Monitor Latino) 1 Venezuela (Monitor Latino) 8
Year-end charts + 2023 year-end chart performance for "TQG" Chart (2023) Position Argentina Airplay (Monitor Latino) 27 Bolivia Airplay (Monitor Latino) 4 Chile Airplay (Monitor Latino) 4 Colombia Airplay (Monitor Latino) 8 Costa Rica Airplay (Monitor Latino) 14 Dominican Republic Airplay (Monitor Latino) 7 Ecuador Airplay (Monitor Latino) 6 El Salvador Airplay (ASAP EGC) 5 France (SNEP) 92 Global 200 (Billboard) 18 Global Singles (IFPI) 15 Guatemala Airplay (Monitor Latino) 5 Honduras Airplay (Monitor Latino) 4 Mexico Airplay (Monitor Latino) 26 Nicaragua Airplay (Monitor Latino) 5 Panama Airplay (Monitor Latino) 6 Paraguay Airplay (Monitor Latino) 7 Peru Airplay (Monitor Latino) 5 Puerto Rico Airplay (Monitor Latino) 11 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 16 Spain (PROMUSICAE) 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 73 Uruguay Streaming (CUD) 18 US Billboard Hot 100 65 US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard) 4 US Latin Airplay (Billboard) 1 US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard) 2 US Latin Rhythm Airplay (Billboard) 1 US (TopHit) 42 Venezuela Airplay (Monitor Latino) 32 +2024 year-end chart performance for "TQG" Chart (2024) Position Romania Airplay (TopHit) 153
+2025 year-end chart performance for "TQG" Chart (2025) Position Romania Airplay (TopHit) 128
Certifications
Release history + Release history and formats for "TQG" Region Date Format(s) Label Various February 24, 2023 Universal Latino Italy March 3, 2023 Radio airplay United States March 28, 2023 Rhythmic radio
See also List of Billboard Argentina Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2023 List of Billboard Global 200 number ones of 2023 List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2023 List of Billboard Global 200 top 10 singles of 2023 List of Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay number ones of 2023 List of number-one singles of 2023 (Spain) List of best-selling Latin singles List of best-selling singles in Spain Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2023
References