Maluma is stepping into the new year with a new persona. On Monday (January 2), the Colombian superstar said goodbye to Papi Juancho and hello to “Don Juan.”
Maluma’s real name is Juan Luis Londoño Arias. Over the years, he has embraced different personas with his albums. His breakthrough LP, 2015’s Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy, saw him take on that titular persona. With 2018’s F.A.M.E. album, he became “Maluma, Baby,” which is his popular tagline.
In 2020, Maluma embraced the Papi Juancho moniker with his album of the same name. He continued to use that persona with his EPs, 7 Días En Jamaica and The Love & Sex Tape. Maluma called himself Papi Juancho one last time in his song “Ojalá” with The Rudeboyz and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. That collaboration dropped in October.
In a video that Maluma posted on Instagram, he celebrates his triumphs as Papi Juancho and gives that persona a farewell. In a voiceover, Maluma thanks his fans and his family for their support. In Spanish, Maluma says, “Undoubtedly without you guys, I wouldn’t be who I am, but I have made up my mind. It’s time to say goodbye forever to Papi Juancho.”
Maluma is then shown with a new look and his hair braided. While smoking a cigar, he adds, “Don Juan is here.” It appears that a new Maluma album with that title could be on the horizon later this year.