Colombian singer-songwriter Yeison Jiménez, a prominent star of “música popular,” tragically died on Saturday, January 10, 2026, in a plane crash near Paipa, in the state of Boyacá, Colombia. He was 34 years old. Colombia’s Office of Air Traffic Accidents confirmed the incident, stating that an aircraft with registration N325FA crashed. The fatal crash claimed the lives of six people, including Jiménez and his manager, Jefferson Osorio, a detail also confirmed by Jiménez’s press office to Billboard Español.

Despite his young age, Jiménez had already established himself as one of the most significant figures in Colombian popular music, a genre that uniquely blends traditional Mexican ranchera music with deep Colombian roots. His career was marked by several historic achievements. In 2024, he accomplished a major milestone by selling out Bogotá’s Movistar Arena not once, but an unprecedented three times, attracting more than 40,000 fans in total. This feat was not only a personal triumph for Jiménez but also a historic achievement for the "música popular" genre itself, as no other artist in this category had previously reached such a milestone.

Jiménez’s ambition for his music was evident, and in 2024, he was recognized by being part of a panel of "música popular" artists at Billboard Latin Music Week. The following year, 2025, he fulfilled another long-held dream: selling out Bogotá’s El Campín Stadium, making him the first Colombian regional artist to achieve this. At the time of his passing, he had been actively preparing for a second show at El Campín, which was scheduled for March 28.

The "música popular" genre, which Jiménez championed, boasts a rich history rooted in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, encompassing states such as Caldas (Jiménez’s birthplace), Quindío, Risaralda, and Tolima. Dating back more than 50 years, the genre was initially known as “música de carrilera” or “cantina music.” It drew heavily from Mexican regional music and gained widespread popularity in small towns and local bars, thanks to pioneering artists like Darío Gómez, Luis Alberto Posada, and El Charrito Negro. Jiménez himself acknowledged Darío Gómez as particularly instrumental in shaping the genre, recalling that many initially doubted Gómez’s vision when he first introduced the fusion in the 1970s.

Yeison Jiménez is survived by his wife and three children. Further details on this developing story are expected to be released.