ORLANDO, Fla. — Madame Tussauds is making preparations for its next wax-figure addition. Colombian artist Maluma will join the lineup at the International Drive attraction in 2022.
Studio artists have taken hundreds of measurements and photographs of the performer. His eyes, hair and skin were color-matched for reference. It will take a team of 20 people in London about six months to create the figure.
His likeness will be dressed in a white Versace double-breasted jacket and black Bottega Veneta shoes, Tussauds says.
“I’m a big dreamer. I remember when I was in high school saying that I wanted to be here at the museum and everything is happening; nothing is too big to make it happen,” said Maluma, whose given name is Juan Luis Londono.
Maluma has had three albums top Billboard’s U.S. Latin charts, and last year’s “Papi Juancho” reached No. 2. His single “Hawai” with the Weeknd was No. 1 on the U.S. Latin chart last year, and this year’s “Agua de Jamaica” and “Sobrio” landed in the top five of that list.
Maluma, who won a Latin Grammy in 2018 for contemporary pop vocal album, announced the Madame Tussauds news during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show, which featured a performance of “Sobrio.”
“I can’t wait to take a selfie with myself,” he said during an interview on “Today.”
Other musicians represented inside Madame Tussauds Orlando include Madonna, Ricky Martin, Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson and others.
Maluma, 27, is scheduled to perform in Saturday’s Central Park Comeback Concert in New York City. A fall tour is planned with an Oct. 8 stop at Orlando’s Amway Center, and he is set to appear in “Marry Me,” a film starring Jennifer Lopez in February. He visited Central Florida earlier this year during a trip that included a stop at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park.
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