State Champ Radio shakira
Shakira dazzled at her Met Gala debut in a simple-yet-stunning red column dress with a slit that turned heads. For the wow factor: A dramatic long cape made with almost 100 meters of fabric that resembled a rose. The sleek outfit with geometric cutouts was created by Carolina Herrera’s creative director Wes Gordon, who spent […]
The countdown reached Times Square nine months early on Tuesday night (March 26), where thousands of people gathered at the iconic tourist destination, not to watch the famous New Year’s Eve ball drop but the Colombian superstar Shakira.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The artist surprised her followers with a “pop-up” concert announced just hours earlier on her social media, and about 40,000 fans, according to figures provided by the organizers, responded to her call to celebrate her first LP in seven years, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, released last Friday.
A huge electronic billboard that covered part of a skyscraper announced the free show with a clock counting down to its start. At around 7:30 p.m. ET, the crowd enthusiastically chanted from ten to zero and two large doors hidden in the jumbotron opened to reveal the TSX Stage, and Shakira opening with her No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Hips Don’t Lie.”
Trending on Billboard
“Hola New York! Oh my God, this is amazing, absolutely insane,” she said immediately after in Spanglish. It’s so awesome to see you again, to sing for you… Nothing compares to this. Thank you so much for all the love that you’ve been giving me this week during the release of my new album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. And thank you, thank you, thank you for showing up.”
Dressed in black pants and top with silver embellishments, the self-proclaimed She-Wolf delighted the crowd by singing live — along with a band and a group of dancers — songs such as “Te Felicito”, “TQM”, “Cómo Dónde y Cuándo” and “Puntería”, before closing with the mega hit “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53.”
“I’m happy to be here surrounded by my Latin people,” said the 14-times Latin Grammy and three-times Grammy winner. “Thank you New York. Until next time. I love you very much.”
Tuesday’s show was co-produced by TSX Entertainment, with presenting partners ViX, Vinfast and Sony Music Latin. It took place the day after Shakira’s appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she performed “Puntería” and spoke candidly about her former relationship with soccer star Gerard Piqué, and why it took her so long to release a new LP since 2017’s El Dorado. “Now I’m husband-less,” the She-Wolf declared. (Shakira and Piqué — who announced their split in 2022 — never married during their 11-year relationship, but share two sons.) “The husband was dragging me down. Now I’m free. Now I can actually work.”
Watch part of Shakira’s performance in Times Square below:
In our Latin Remix of the Week series, we spotlight remixes that the Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors deem to be exceptional and distinct from the rest. We might not publish a review every week. This is our selection today. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Shakira and Bizarrap‘s groundbreaking diss track “Vol. […]
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.
”Copa Vacía” (with Manuel Turizo)
Billboard counts down the top revenge songs about an ex who did you wrong! Tetris KellyEVERYBODY’S BEEN THROUGH A BREAKUP AND NOTHING CAN QUITE GET YOU OVER AN EX LIKE THE PERFECT PLAYLIST. Tetris KellyTHAT’S WHY WE’RE RUNNING DOWN BILLBOARD’S TOP REVENGE SONGS. Tetris KellyEVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT SHAKIRA’S SPLIT FROM SOCCER STAR GERARD PIQUE. […]
Shakira, Shakira!
The Colombian superstar’s exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles — which opens to the public Saturday and runs through February 2024 — is a tribute to the singer-songwriter’s decades-spanning career. Featuring multiple displays that tell the story of Shakira’s humble beginnings to her global stardom, the exhibit came together in six months, according to co-curator Ernesto Lechner.
“It’s a tribute to [Shakira’s] geniality,” he tells Billboard. “I wanted to create an atlas, not a map, that represents Shakira as a citizen of the world, a globe-trotter.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The immersive exhibit puts you in Shakira’s world via her songs, music videos, stage outfits and lyrics that have defined pivotal moments in her career. Each display includes memorable clothing worn by Shakira, including her red and gold Super Bowl outfits, a gold-dipped guitar for her El Dorado World Tour, and a mixing table where fans can break down four of Shakira’s songs.
“From her team’s perspective, they were interested in doing a career retrospective, and from our perspective we wanted people to understand Shakira in a way that maybe they weren’t aware of and having it be multi-layered and multi-faceted,” adds Jasen Emmons, chief curator & vice president of curatorial affairs at the Grammy Museum.
Below, the five best displays at the Shakira, Shakira: The Grammy Museum Experience exhibit:
From Barranquilla to the world
Although Shakira needs no introduction, the exhibit starts off with a “how it all started” story. The chart-topping singer began to write her first songs as a little girl in her native Barranquilla, Colombia. Inspired by Arabic music, she also began belly dancing at age 4, a style that, to this day, she still incorporates into her performances. Additionally, she learned to play a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, drums, keyboard and percussion.
Shakira the lyricist
Placed in a clear, glass box is one of Shakira’s treasured songwriting notebooks where you can read handwritten notes, poems and even lyrics written by Shakira that inspired “Nada” from her 2017 album El Dorado. Shakira began writing poems at age 7 and original songs by age 10.
Shakira, Shakira: The GRAMMY Museum Experience
Rebecca Sapp
Mix it up!
Being able to break down four of Shakira’s songs, including “Chantaje” and “Empire,” is quite fun if you want to learn more about the mixing and producing process. Three small Korg Kontrol consoles are placed on a table, and once you put on headphones, you can choose which song you want to break down with the guidance of recording and mixing engineer Dave Clauss, who’s worked on four Shakira albums and her Rauw Alejandro-assisted “Te Felicito.”
All the outfits
Many of the iconic Shakira looks are on full display at the exhibit. It includes the red and gold outfits she wore for her Super Bowl performance in 2020 and the custom Gibson Firebird electric guitar, encrusted with 70,000 crystals, that she played during a medley that included her single “Empire.” The multiple outfit displays throughout the exhibit also feature outfits she’s worn for her world tours.
Shakira, Shakira: The GRAMMY Museum Experience
Rebecca Sapp
¡Muévete como Shakira! (Move like Shakira!)
If you want to prove that your hips don’t lie either, the museum invites you to record yourself doing the latest Shakira trend on TikTok. Following three simple prompts, you’re on your way to joining millions of fans who are dancing along to whichever Shakira song is the latest one going viral.
Of the many dances and videos that “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” has spawned, the one that caught the Colombian star’s attention the most was created by Bella Dose.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Loving your creations! Found this one from @belladose and had to try it!”, Shakira wrote on a post that shows her doing the choreography — which ends with a hand gesture strategically coordinated with the Spanish language pun “sal-pique” — along with three dancers. In the week following her post, which has over 160 million views, curiosity about this Latin girl band has skyrocketed.
In case you haven’t heard of them, the female quartet has been working hard since 2017. The young composers, dancers and singers amass millions of views of their songs, and more than two million followers on TikTok. Their first EP Suelta, produced by Mike Sunshine and Xavier Herrera, has racked up almost six million streams since its release in 2021, and that seems to be just the beginning.
Brianna Leah, Jenni Hernandez, Melany Rivera and Thais Rodriguez are the four members who comprise Bella Dose. Originally from Miami, they bring an interesting cultural mix — with roots from Cuba, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Chile — something that is undoubtedly reflected in their sound, which combines reggaetón, bachata, dembow, merengue and hip-hop, among other genres and rhythms.
“We want to bring the music of our countries into ours, and that’s why we represent the culture of all of us in everything we do,” Jenni Hernandez tells Billboard Español.
The choreography that has generated so much interest in the group is not originally theirs. After the recent release of Shakira’s new hit with Bizarrap, Vicky Curiel, music entrepreneur and Bella Dose’s manager, saw Voonniie, a talented dancer from Madrid who studied musical interpretation, in a TikTok video doing her own choreography for “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”. Right away, she suggested the girls replicate it by adding their signature rotation, where they take steps in a circular format so they all have their moment in front of the camera.
As Brianna Leah says: “We’ve been doing the rotation since we started on TikTok and with trending songs. We like this style because every girl has her moment”. Their ability to learn and execute choreography in such a short time is a testament to their dedication and talent.
Bella Dose got down to business and posted the video on January 14. It took them 15 minutes to learn Voonniie’s choreography and do the transitions. The clip was pretty well received, but a few days after posting it, they realized that something big had happened: Shakira had mentioned them in a post. They were in the middle of an interview, on a radio station, and according to Melany, “someone had mentioned us in a video. I see it and I think, ‘Oh, look! Shakira is doing the rotation that we did of her song.’ And then, when I read the caption, I realized she tagged us.” They were in total awe.
The video shared by Shakira, of her doing the dance with the rotations along with three other girls, has racked up more than 150 million views on TikTok, and more than 46 million on Instagram. Thanks to this, Bella Dose has seen its followers increase by more than 36,000 in a matter of days, and the group has gained more notoriety, something they’re grateful for as independent artists.
“We are very grateful to Shakira, who gave us the opportunity of being mentioned in a post,” Thais says. “She didn’t have to do it, but she did it with her heart. We thank her so much because she is a global artist with such a positive message for young people. We’re happy with the support we have received and the opportunities that are coming our way as a result of this.”
Now the group wants to use this momentum to continue releasing new music and make themselves known in more countries. This Friday (January 27) they are releasing “Mírame,” a new techno and dembow single produced by Nítido Nintendo and Hansel de la H, both of Dominican origin. Melany says “the song is about how you’re not in a relationship anymore, and your ex thought you needed to be with him to be somebody. But we’re telling him, ‘I don’t need you, I’m alone and in even better shape than before’.”
The girls of Bella Dose are convinced that this is a song that many can relate to — even Shakira.
Bizarrap forges ahead with a new music session in 2023. The latest release is a collaboration with Shakira, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” which debuts at No. 8 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Airplay chart (dated Jan. 21). It’s the Argentinian producer’s first entry there. Shakira, meanwhile, extends her top 10 record among women, with 39 top 10s.
“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” released Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. ET via Dale Play Records, debuts across multiple Billboard charts with one full day, and 5 hours from the day before, of activity in all metrics. The track also arrives at No. 16 on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart (which blends streams, sales, and airplay) from less than two days of activity. It’s Bizarrap’s highest debut on the list.
On the radio front, “Vol. 53” debuts in the top 10 on Latin Pop Airplay with 1.8 million audience impressions earned in the U.S. in the Jan. 6-12 tracking week, according to Luminate. As mentioned, Bizarrap unlocks his first top 10 with first entry, while Shakira collects a 39th top 10, the third-most overall, trailing only Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin, with 45 and 42 top 10s, respectively. Among women, she extends her top 10 domination with 39. Here’s the scoreboard among female acts:
39, Shakira19, Ednita Nazario18, Laura Pausini16, Jennifer Lopez16, Paulina Rubio15, Thalia13, Gloria Estefan
In the digital realm, “Vol. 53” logged 4.2 million on-demand U.S. streams in the same tracking week, according to Luminate, which yields a No. 17 debut on Latin Streaming Songs — the highest for Bizarrap among his two entries (his previous session with Spaniard Quevedo, “Vol. 52,” debuted at No. 25 in July 2022).
In addition to its streaming total, the song registered 2,000 digital downloads in its first two tracking days, sparking a No. 1 start on Latin Digital Song Sales. The 24-year-old producer clocks his first champ there among six entries, five of those part of his flooding music sessions (he reached a No. 5 with the explosive “Bzrp Music Session, “Vol. 49” with Residente in March 2022 with almost 2,000 downloads in its first week).
Plus, Shakira crosses off a new milestone, securing 13 No. 1s on Latin Digital Song Sales, the most overall. Thanks to its No. 1 start on the latter, she breaks out of a tie with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, both with 12 champs on their account.
Further, the sum yields a No. 16 start on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart, which measures airplay, streaming data and digital sales. Bizarrap notches his highest debut there among five “Music Session” entries.
Elsewhere on the Billboard charts, “Vol. 53” bows at No. 7 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. The new achievement secures Shakira her third top 10. She claimed her first with the No. 5-peaking “Dare (La La La)” in June 2014. Bizarrap posts his second top 10, following “Vol. 52,” with Quevedo, No. 4 high in Aug. 2022.
“Vol. 53” also makes its global debut, arriving at No. 12 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 8 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.
“Vol. 53” will likely surge on next week’s, Jan. 28-dated charts – including a debut on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, following its first full week of activity.
All charts (dated Jan. 21) will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 18).
“Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” by Colombian star Shakira with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, was released Jan. 11 with little notice, save for two collaborative social media posts: One announcing the track was coming out, and the other saying “Available now.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Within 24 hours, the session had accumulated over 15 million streams on Spotify –topping the service’s Top 50 global playlist– and the video got over 55 million views on YouTube, a record for a Spanish-language song. That single day count also allowed it to debut at No.12 on the Billboard Global 200 and at No. 8 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. this week.
The knee-jerk explanation for the success could be: This is Shakira, global superstar, doing a post break-up diss track based on very public events.
But that alone doesn’t begin to account for the extraordinary numbers “Vol. 53” pulled.
Salty post-break up tracks, after all, are the stuff big hits are made of, and historically, there’s been plenty. Witness last year’s “Mamii” by Karol G and Becky G, where Karol G ostensibly talks about ex Anuel AA (“I see you on social media, can’t believe it, feel so sorry for you; I was such a good girl, and you piece of gonorrhea, this is how you pay me back”), but never names him.
Shakira, on the other hand, is anything but ambiguous in “Vol. 53,”, taking no prisoners and naming names.
While this may be par for the course in the rap world, in pop it’s practically unheard of, and in Spanish pop, it had never happened before. With her session, Shakira took the notion of the pop diss track into a whole new territory, where kiss and tell comes with names, details and punishment all bundled into one delicious package that can be –and has been—dissected, reproduced and parodied in thousands of ways on social media.
If you had never heard of Shakira’s very public break-up with longtime partner and soccer star Gerard Piqué, who left the 45-year-old star for a 22-year-old, you can hear all about it in “Vol. 53,” which not only drops Piqué’s name, but also that of his paramour, Clara Chía, and on top of that, goes into minute details.
“I’m worth two 22-year olds,” sings the 45-year-old Shakira, alluding to her age and that of 22-year-old Chía’s. She also bluntly acknowledges her problems today –”You left me your mother as my neighbor, Media outlets at my door and in debt with the government” –effectively owning the personal drama that’s played out to endless speculation in the press and social media.
The salaciousness has literally and figuratively drawn gasps from fans, artists and media pundits worldwide, who are used to Shakira’s songs being extremely personal (after all, her 2017 “Me Enamoré” is all about falling in love with Piqué), but also polite and more reliant on figures of speech than actual narrative.
“Vol. 53” turns the notion of “above it all” on its head, and that alone has fueled endless debate on airing dirty laundry and on whether women in general, and Latin women in particular, are held to a double standard in terms of taking a public stance against those who’ve done them wrong.
They’re not, by the way; let’s stop feeling like victims. Women, and men, have long used their songs as cathartic vehicles to expunge their feelings following public breakups.
“You’re so vain; you probably think this song is about you,” sang Carly Simon back in 1972, and although the song was ostensibly about ex Warren Beatty, Simon didn’t admit as much until 40 years later.
Then there’s Paquita La Del Barrio with her legendary, “Two-footed rat” and her rallying cry: “Are you listening useless one?” And what about Ivy Queen’s epic “La Vida Es Así,” where she not only confronts the woman her man is cheating on her with, but also lets her know he’s not a good lay.
But nothing matches Shakira’s very direct finger, which, tied to her very famous name and and her very famous soccer star ex, has proven combustible.
Ironically, the last time a song in Spanish got this explicit in terms of naming names was last year, in another Bizarrap session. “Vol. 49,” featuring Puerto Rican rapper Residente, is a diss track against the current state of Latin urban music, with pointed and personal references to Colombian star J Balvin that also caused a social media uproar.
For 24-year-old Bizarrap, whose sessions have now racked up billions of views in less than three years, the whole point is granting musical and lyrical liberty for what he initially conceived as freestyle sessions.
“Music is a space of liberty, and my sessions are no exception,” Bizarrap told Billboard during a Q&A at Latin Music Week in September. “Artists can say what they really feel and take charge of their feelings. They can express themselves in the way they need in the moment they need. I will never tell an artist he or she can’t say something.”
That, ultimately, may be the key to Shakira’s biggest single in over a decade: She is finally free.
Shakira and Bizarrap‘s new song has been trending on social media since its release Wednesday night, with fans, artists and celebrities (mostly) applauding the Colombian star for speaking out against her ex in “BZRP Music Sessions Vol. 53.” But two names mentioned in the tune also had something to say.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
No, we’re not talking about Shakira’s ex, soccer star Gerard Piqué, and his girlfriend, Clara Chía Martí. The brands Casio and Renault, manufacturer of the Twingo car, jokingly responded to their respective mentions in the song, when Shakira implies that the soccer player left her for someone of lesser status.
“You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo/ You traded a Rolex for a Casio,” she sings.
“Today we got quite a few notifications for a mention of CASIO in a song. CASIO watches and keyboards and calculators are for life,” the company’s Education Division tweeted from its verified account, with the hashtags #Harder, #Better, #Faster, #Stronger.
Meanwhile, Renault Spain responded using part of the song’s chorus, “A she-wolf like me is not for guys like you,” as well as a reference to the name of Piqué’s lover in which Shakira says: “She has a name of a good person/ Clearly… it is not what it sounds like”. (Clara, in Spanish, means clear.)
“For guys and girls like you. Turn up the volume!” the company tweeted, using hashtags including #clearly #young #agile and #mischievous. The company accompanied the post with an image of a red Twingo with a circle with the number 22 on the driver’s door.
The number refers to the verse “I am worth two 22-year-olds,” the age that Clara Chía would have been when she and Piqué began their relationship. (Check the full translated lyrics of the song here.)
