Maluma isn’t letting quarantine keep him from creating and doing to what he loves to do most.
The Colombian singer-songwriter spoke to E! News about what keeps him happy and positive during these anxious times, his charity and how he’s helping his community as well as updates on his new album.
Currently in quarantine in Medellín, Maluma shared that “it’s been very, very rough because we can’t go out from our house.” He added, “Only one person from each family can go out and go out to the grocery store. So literally, man, I’ve been here in my house for almost month.”
Even then, Maluma is counting his blessings. “I’m very lucky I have some grass that I can walk my dogs around [but] I miss going out, I miss my fans, I miss the shows, I miss touring.”
“I’ve been touring for almost 9 years nonstop,” Maluma shared on Friday during HappE! Hour with E!’s Scott Tweedie. “I wasn’t ready for this, but it also feels good to share some time with my mom, my sister, my dogs. It’s always cool to be home with them, but I miss going out and sharing some time with my fans.”
During the interview, the 26-year-old “11PM” singer also shared the weirdest thing he’s done while being quarantined, a special project he just released and what’s making him HappE! right now.
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When asked what the weirdest thing he’s done while staying at home, Maluma quipped that “well now, I have to wash dishes.”
Now that he’s cooking more at home with his family, Maluma shared that it’s not really his cup of tea.
“I’m sick of cooking and washing dishes and all of these kind of activities but it also feels good. I used to cook my own meals and I stopped doing this because I’m always on tour and always in a hotel,” he went on. “Going back to these activities… washing the dishes is something new for me.”
But aside from wanting to avoid doing the dishes, Maluma is also preoccupied with continuing to give back to his community in Colombia.
The “No Se Me Quita” singer is helping out families in Colombia through his charity El Arte de Los Sueños (or The Art of Dreams). He shared, “I’m super excited because we’ve been helping a lot of kids here in Colombia, we are sending a bunch of food for their families and we’ve also been supplying gloves, masks, ventilators to these little hospitals around my hometown here.”
He added, “It’s crazy, they don’t have any gloves. It’s the perfect time to help, just sending a message—a virtual or a digital hug. It helps a lot…”
On Friday, the singer also dropped an acoustic ballad “ADMV” (an abbreviation for “Amor De Mi Vida” which translates to “Love of My Life”) and a music video to accompany it.
On Instagram, the singer wrote of his latest song and music video, “We’re going through difficult times but I hope that with this song we can feel close to those that are far away from us right now.”
He tells E! News that he worked on “ADMV” in January during a trip to Jamaica.
“I went to Jamaica with amazing composers but we didn’t know that all of this coronavirus thing was going to happen,” he shared. “I decided to write this beautiful song because I also dream about having a family, getting old and having this partner in my life.”
He went on, “Of course, my career is very important, but I also dream about having a family, but I feel like I was spending so much energy in becoming this big artist and big star that I wanted to be. I also felt like I was forgetting my essence, you know. Just wanted to share my life with someone, giving more love to my mom, my dad, my sister, my family, my animals.”
For Maluma, this song was about reconnecting with the “little kid” inside of him and others that is “in love with family, that’s in love with these simple things.”
Ultimately, he felt it was a “beautiful” time to release this message into the world as many continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, what’s making Maluma happy?
“Making music, I always take my guitar with me. I come to the studio. I started writing, I started recording,” Maluma shared. “My producers, they are always sending me beats and rhythms—that is really important to me, to keep working on my new album.”
While he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to release a new body of music, Maluma won’t let that stop him from working on it. He added, “For me, my priority is to keep being super creative.”