In a journey of transformation, where tears evolve into diamonds and vulnerability into strength, Shakira reaffirms that her hits don’t lie. With her highly anticipated 12th studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — with eight new songs of 17, including two remixes — the Colombian superstar plunges into the depths of her soul, alchemizing pain into pop gold while celebrating the strength of womanhood.
More radiant than ever, Shakira reveals a profound exploration of emotions and experiences that marks a pivotal chapter in her illustrious career and life, following a sentimental breakup that left her fragile and sensitive but brought her back to music.
“I feel like a cat with more than nine lives; whenever I think I can’t get any better, I suddenly get a second wind,” Shakira told Billboard in September. “I’ve gone through several stages: denial, anger, pain, frustration, anger again, pain again. Now I’m in a survival stage. Like, just get your head above water. And it’s a reflection stage. And a stage of working very hard and when I have time with my children, really spend it with them.”
On her first full-length release in seven years, Shak delivers a captivating blend of pop, Afrobeats (“Nassau”), bachata (“Monotonía”), Tex-Mex rhythms (“(Entre Paréntesis)”) and a return to her rock roots (“Cómo Dónde y Cuándo”). Infusing elements of electronic music, she maintains her signature versatility, showcasing not only her vocal prowess but also her songwriting prowess, and multi-instrumental abilities.
While Shakira shines brightly on solo tracks such as “Tiempo Sin Verte” and “Última,” she also collaborates with a stellar lineup across the set, including Cardi B, Grupo Frontera and returning artists like Rauw Alejandro and Bizarrap. With Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, Shakira continues to offer a diverse array of melodies that evoke both pain and passion, irresistibly, inviting listeners to dance and contemplate simultaneously.
Below, Billboard ranks all 15 songs from Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran excluding two remixes, in descending order.
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”Copa Vacía” (with Manuel Turizo)
“You’re always busy with so many businesses… Drop your phone, use your hands with me/ I know you’re hot but I’m hotter,” Shakira demands attention from her partner in “Copa Vacia” (empty glass). In the infectious pop-reggaetón song, Shak and Turizo have a back-and-forth discussion about not giving enough love and affection to the other person. “As if you don’t feel anything/ Now you see me differently/ I’m swimming against the current/ I’m looking in the streets who can fill this emptiness I feel,” Turizo chants back.
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“El Jefe” (with Fuerza Regida)
In “El Jefe,” Shakira steps into norteño music territory, embracing a spirited polka beat, or a kind of Mexican ska, as Shakira herself once described it. Collaborating with Fuerza Regida, the song pulsates with a punk energy and high intensity. Whether she’s dancing to the skanky ska rhythm or el zapateado, as shown in the music video, Shakira effortlessly navigates between styles, showcasing her versatility. At its core, the song delivers a powerful message about seizing control of your destiny, embodying the spirit of independence and self-determination.
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“La Fuerte” (with Bizarrap)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo After hitting a home run with their “Music Session” together, which became a certified global smash hit, Bizarrap and Shakira unite once again on her new album. The club-ready “La Fuerte” starts off with a magnetic head-bobbing dance beat that powers the track and serves as a canvas for Shak’s piercing lyrics. “If I don’t look for you it’s because of my pride,” she confesses. “Don’t think I don’t miss you, because I do.” Although it’s not as instantly undeniable as its predecessor, this new Shak and Biza team-up doesn’t disappoint.
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“Acróstico” (with Milan & Sasha)
This gorgeous piano-led ballad is a heartfelt, yet poignant open letter from Shakira to her two children. Singing in a delicate voice, Shakira showcases her raw vulnerability, expressing her deep and pure love for Milan and Sasha, who sing and play the piano alongside their mother. The track was up for song of the year at the Latin Grammys.
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“Te Felicito” (with Rauw Alejandro)
This song is a special one because it officially marked Shakira’s comeback and became the first single off Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. Released in April 2022, the Rauw collab “Te Felicito” is a catchy reggaetón-inflused electro-pop song that hit No. 1 on Latin Airplay, spending a total of 23 weeks on the chart. The hard-hitting lyrics (“Congratulations, you act really well”) also set the tone for Shakira’s no-holds-barred attitude during this latest era of hers.
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“Monotonía” (with Ozuna)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo In her first collaboration with Ozuna, Shakira is vulnerable and honest singing about a relationship coming to an end, to the rhythm of bachata. With a raw narrative, the music video shows the Colombian wounded in her chest and running, literally, with her heart on her sleeve — until the reggaetón star protects it in a sealed box. The single, which came after the confirmation of the breakup of Shakira’s relationship with soccer player Gerard Piqué, topped Billboard‘s Latin Airplay and Tropical Airplay charts on December 3, 2022, where it remained for six and nine weeks, respectively. The song’s title also sparked an internet trend about the meaning of the word, which means “lack of variety in anything,” according to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
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“TQG” (with Karol G)
Part of Karol G’s 2023 Mañana Será Bonito album, “TQG” marked the first time the two Colombianas laced together their star power. Short for “Te Quedó Grande,” and loosely meaning “I was too good for you,” the Ovy on the Drums-produced track is a somber, hard-hitting reggaetón smash packed with fierce and unapologetic lyrics about getting over an ex and successfully moving on. “It hurt me to see you with the new one, but I’m already doing my own thing,” declares Shakira. “TQG” spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart.
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“Última”
“Última” (“Last One”) lives up to its title, as the last song to be added to Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — against everyone’s will, as expressed by the Colombian superstar on her social media. “This is a song that was stuck here,” pointing to her throat, “that I had to get out no matter what, and the delivery deadlines for the album were already over,” she added. Furthermore, in an interview with the New York Times, Shakira expressed that it was the last song she was going to release about her ex Gerard Piqué. In the moving piano ballad, the star talks about coming to terms with the end of her relationship and leaving the past behind. “We lost our love halfway/ How did you get tired of something so genuine/ Don’t try to convince me, I ask you/ It’s already decided, we have what we learned left,” she sings in the chorus.
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“Nassau”
Image Credit: Nicolas Gerardin With a soothing tropical melody, Shakira ventures into Afrobeats with “Nassau.” The song seems to be the sequel to one of her hits: If in “Monotonía” she sang about putting her heart under lock and key, in “Nassau” she sings about taking it out to give herself a new chance at love. “I had promised that I would never love again/ You appeared to heal the wounds that that one left/ I had that locked/ With keys and a lock/ But what do I do, I like you too much” sings the superstar.
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“Cómo Dónde y Cuándo”
In this track, Shakira goes back to the basics, where a guitar, a set of drums and her powerful vocals take the lead. This song — an homage to the sound that made her a household name in the ’90s — is a gift to OG Shakira fans, as she returns to her rocker era (think black hair Shakira). In “Cómo Dónde y Cuándo,” she gets reflective and encourages listeners to forget about the past, live in the moment while also staying optimistic about the future. “Time goes by flying when you’re having fun/ It doesn’t mater how, where and when, what matters is with who,” she declares.
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“Puntería” (with Cardi B)
“You have a good aim/ You know where to hit me so I’ll surrender/ You have the style to get my attention,” sings Shakira over a pulsating electro-pop beat. In “Puntería,” listeners can savor Shakira’s effortless flow, as she acknowledges the allure of a potential flame with impeccable style. Meanwhile, Cardi B injects her unmistakable bad-girl swagger and bilingual prowess into the mix, elevating the track to new heights. With its infectious energy and the undeniable chemistry between the two artists, we’re betting “Puntería” is poised to soar high on the charts.
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“Tiempo Sin Verte”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo A return to the pop rock sound that characterized Shakira in the early ‘90s, “Tiempo Sin Verte” is a punchy alternative track fused with subtle dance melodies. On the lyrical side, the Colombian artist vents about someone she’s missing. “I haven’t seen you in a while and I’m still here/ Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you/ I haven’t seen you in a while and tell me if you still love me and remember me,” she chants in her potent rockera vocals.
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“(Entre Paréntesis)” (with Grupo Frontera)
In a first collaborative effort, Shakira and Grupo Frontera drop a melancholic cumbia-norteño track about someone who changed. “You can tell when you love someone/ But when you don’t you can notice more/ Before you used to come over without me calling/ Now you leave without warning,” Frontera’s frontman Payo chants. While Shak sings: “There’s no need to fake it if you put our ending in a parenthesis/ This can’t go on any more.” The Texas group first shared a snippet of the track during its set at the Bésame Mucho Festival earlier this month.
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“Cohete” (with Rauw Alejandro)
Rauw Alejandro and Shakira once again match hearts while they ignite the dance floor with their latest collaboration. “Cohete” — a pulsating pop anthem that celebrates a love capable of launching you to another planet — is loaded with infectious beats and a swoon-worthy melody. The song’s lyrics paint a vivid picture of soaring into the unknown, propelled by the intensity of passion, while iridescent keys and metallic hues add a futuristic allure to the song. It’s a cosmic journey fueled by love and dance-pop brilliance.
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“Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” (with Bizarrap)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” isn’t just a hit; it’s a seismic cultural moment. Teaming up with the Argentine producer during a vulnerable period, the Colombian superstar’s dis track (targeting her unfaithful ex Piqué) became the most-played Latin song on Spotify in 24 hours, while breaking several Guinness World Records. The electro-pop anthem is an unfiltered expression of Shakira’s highly publicized breakup, boldly naming names and defying industry norms. Its new remix enlists super producer Tiësto.
With lines like “Las mujeres ya no lloran, las mujeres facturan” (“Women no longer cry, women cash in”), it emerges as a powerful female post-breakup manifesto (also inspiring the name of this new album), challenging the prevalent double standards often imposed on Latin women in entertainment, and oftentimes, in heteronormative relationships. Soaring on multiple Billboard charts — including Latin Pop Airplay, where it spent 12 weeks at No. 1, and the Billboard Global 200, where it peaked at No. 2 — “Vol. 53” is a fearless exploration of love and loss that redefines contemporary pop with unapologetic honesty.
