The crooner also discusses having his toe licked by Madonna!
Maluma is staying true to himself.
The Colombian crooner -- whose real name is Juan Luis Londoño Arias --
is featured in the Autumn/Winter 2019 issue of British GQ Style, in which he openly discusses his hesitance to create English-language songs, despite the urging of industry insiders.
"A year ago, I went to L.A. and worked with the biggest producers in the industry. Scott Storch, Timbaland, Max Martin. I felt pressure, because they told me I had to record in English," he tells the magazine. "I did all these songs and loved them but wasn't feeling my essence. I decided that I was going to keep singing in Spanish."
The rare exception to his policy is BURNS' song, "Hands on Me," featuring himself and Rae Sremmurd. During the interview, the 25-year-old singer also discusses real life versus the persona he adopts when he performs.
"When I leave Colombia, I feel like, OK, I'm going to play the role," he admits. "You play the role so you can have a beautiful life, but you know that this sh*t is not going to last. You can have all these material things but when you die, you're not taking them with you. Nothing lasts forever."
Sometimes his wild shows can lead to encounters with fans that he isn't prepared for, including getting injured in one instance.
"I was at a concert and I got close to a fan and she pulled me so badly, she ripped my shirt off. She hurt me," he states. "But you understand that that's love. They want you to be close."
Maluma also discusses another encounter he will not soon forget while filming the sexy music video for his single with Madonna, "Medellín."
"She was like, 'Can I lick your toe?' I was like, 'F**k it, lick my toe!'" he relays. "'You're Madonna. Do whatever you want.'"
In May, ET spoke with Maluma about how his roots and rise to fame are explored in his YouTube Originals documentary, titled MALUMA: Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré.
"It was important to show how I came up [began my career] because I think that is one of the most special moments of an artist, the humble beginning and being on stage," Maluma explained. "I wanted to do it this way to show what I have gone through to get to where I am now. For a long time now, I had wanted to make a documentary that was raw and showed the true behind the scenes of my career."
The "Felices Los Cuatro" singer also opened up about his father leaving the family and moving to Bogota when he was just 10, forcing him to help put food on the table.
"In reality, when my parents got divorced it affected my life and career in a positive way because I had to go get el pan del día and find a way to help them," he recalled. "That was when I did a lot of things to bring food to the table for my family. I decided to leave soccer behind and focus on my music career, which was something that I had also wanted to do all my life. Everything happens for a reason. Everything has a 'why.'"
Maluma also candidly shared with ET that he's interested in one day becoming a leading man, but only when the time is right.
"Yes, definitely, I would love to [act]. It's just that everything comes at its moment," he said, explaining that at this moment his music comes first. "Then, with God's help, I will look for opportunities to act. But if I do it, I would want to do something big. To do something in Hollywood, something that represents a big movement. At the moment, I'm focused on my musical career."
Just two months later, ET confirmed that he's going to be playing Jennifer Lopez's fiance in her next film, a rom-com called Marry Me.
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