Posted by TQG is a song released by Karol G in February 2023, featuring Shakira. It’s the first official collaboration between the two Latin music stars, shared on the day Karol G’s album Mañana Será Bonito was released. The song shows their points of view on the complicated relationships Karol G and Shakira experienced recently: let’s explore the song lyrics and interpret their meaning in this article. You’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end.
You can watch the official video for TQG below.
TQG: the song lyrics & the meaning
TQG is a song about courageously moving on after a breakup. In the lyrics, Karol G and Shakira reflect on how every breakup leaves a void inside you. Still, you must work it out yourself, even if it hurts. Seeing what your ex does can still hurt, but you need to follow what’s right for you and rely on yourself: it’s the only way to become a better person after the end of a relationship.
“TQG” stands for “Te Quedó Grande,” an expression mentioned in one line in the song’s lyrics. In English, we can translate it as “too big for you,” referring to when clothes are oversized and don’t fit. When Karol G says “te quedó grande La Bichota,” she means that she’s a tough girl and he couldn’t afford to be with her (“la bichota” is slang referring to a bad girl). When the singer says at the end, “TQM but TQG,” she means “I love you” (“Te Quiero Mucho”), but you weren’t enough for me (“I fit too big on you”).
The song’s beginning reflects on how to move on after a complicated breakup. Someone may suggest you fill the void immediately with another relationship, but that’s not the right way to process it. You better work on it alone and build a new version of yourself, before you enter a new relationship. That’s confirmed at the end of the TQG lyrics when Karol G says that after he left, she wore her Triple M, a word pun referring to three ways to be “More”: better, harder, lighter.
Who told you that a void is filled with another person is lying to you
It’s like covering a wound with makeup, you don’t see it, but you can feel it
[…]
You left and I’ve put on my “triple M”
Better, harder, lighter (More, More, More)
Never back with you, you are bad luck
Because now the ‘blessings’ pour on me
It’s meaningful that Karol G feels she’s moving on in the best way. In her other songs, like Cairo or X Si Volvemos, she often mentioned how hard it is to leave her toxic relationships behind, especially when there is physical chemistry. TQG, on the other hand, represents her strength and ability to do the right thing despite the pain. That’s probably the reason why she chose this specific song for the collaboration with Shakira: as she explained in some interviews, after hearing Shakira’s Monotonía and her perspective on the breakup with Piqué, she realized they had in common this self-esteem: two strong women dealing with the end of their relationships (in Karol G’s case, she may refer to her split with the Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA, in 2021). And “monotonía” is even mentioned in TQG lyrics when Shakira sings, “You looking out there for food / Me saying it was just monotony.”
Conversely, the man behaves completely differently: he pretends he has moved on, already with another girl, and is showing off his new relationship. This applies to both Karol G and Shakira’s exes: Anuel AA is now dating Yailin La Más Viral, whereas Piqué is with the infamous Clara Chia Marti mentioned in her song with Bzrp, who was around at their home already years ago. Nevertheless, the man seems still interested in her, watching her stories on social media and “adding likes to her photo.”
And now you want to go back, I already supposed it
Adding likes to my photo
You look happy with your new life
But if she knew that you still look for me
This is, therefore, the authentic meaning behind the lyrics of TQG: we broke up, and you are already dating a new girl while still looking at me on social networks; on my side, I’m working on myself, being a better person and processing the breakup in the best way. I don’t want anything to do with you after what you did; I’m better off alone now, becoming a better, harder woman, proud of herself. Many people out there would relate to the lines in TQG, making it viral for a long time.
Baby, what was it? Couldn’t you swallow me?
What are you doing looking for my side? You know I don’t repeat mistakes (Hey, daddy)
Tell your new baby I don’t compete for men
Tell her to stop pulling, that at least I made you look pretty
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete English lyrics
Who told you that a void is filled with another person is lying to you
It’s like covering a wound with makeup, you don’t see it, but you can feel it
You left saying you got over me (Hey) and you got a new girlfriend (Girlfriend)
What she doesn’t know is that you’re still watching me throughout the stories (No, daddy)
Baby, what was it? Couldn’t you swallow me?
What are you doing looking for my side? You know I don’t repeat mistakes (Hey, daddy)
Tell your new baby I don’t compete for men
Tell her to stop pulling, that at least I made you look pretty
Seeing you with the new one hurt me (It hurt)
But I’m already set by myself
What we lived I forgot
And that’s what offended you
That even life improved me
You are no longer welcome here
I saw what your girlfriend threw at me
It didn’t make me angry, I laugh, I laugh
I don’t have time for what I don’t contribute on, I already changed my north
Making money as a sport (Ah)
Filling the account, the shows, the parking and the passport (Hey)
“I’m tougher”, the reports say
Now you want to come back, it’ shows’s obvious, mmm, yes
‘Hold me there, because I’m an idiot (Ah)
You forgot that I’m in another story
And that this bad girl was too big for you
Baby, what was it? Couldn’t you swallow me?
What are you doing looking for my side? You know I don’t repeat mistakes (Hey, daddy)
Tell your new baby I don’t compete for men
Tell her to stop pulling, that at least I made you look pretty
You left and I’ve put on my “triple M”
Better, harder, lighter (More, More, More)
Never back with you, you are bad luck
Because now the ‘blessings’ pour on me
And you want to come back, I already supposed it
Adding likes to my photo
You looking out there for food
Me saying it was just monotony
And now you want to go back, I already supposed it
Adding likes to my photo
You look happy with your new life
But if she knew that you still look for me
Baby, what was it? Couldn’t you swallow me?
What are you doing looking for my side? You know I don’t repeat mistakes (Hey, daddy)
Tell your new baby I don’t compete for men
Tell her to stop pulling, that at least I made you look pretty
O-O-Ovy On The Drums
My love, it is that you moved away a lot
And I no longer see you from such a long distance, baby
TQM but TQG (I love you but I’m too big for you), lol
Barranquilla, Medallo
