A boundary-pushing Colombian performer, Shakira has been incredibly consistent since her career began in the early '90s. She toured extensively, released albums, won awards, weaved her global, genre-defying sound into pioneering singles, and performed at venues such as the Super Bowl halftime show. Things slowed down after that. Or rather, it appeared.
The truth is, the last few years haven't been kind to Shakira. In 2022, after living together for 11 years and raising two children, she separated from soccer player Gerard Pique, which led to what she calls “the dissolution of her family.” She was charged with tax evasion in Spain. In November 2023, she was given a three-year suspended sentence and paid a fine of 7.3 million euros ($8 million) in addition to her unpaid taxes and interest.
On her first new album in seven years, Las Mujeres Ya No Loran, Shakira channels her pain in everything from the bachata “Monotonia” to the electro-pop “Te Felicito” to the smash hit “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions.” is turning into art. Vol. 53 inches and later.
“I've been through so much the last few years that I literally had to pick up the pieces of myself and put them back together,” Shakira told The Associated Press via Zoom from Miami. Ta. “I think music was the glue in that process.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
But now it's different, now people decide for themselves. I think music has been democratized in a sense. That's why Latin artists have really found a platform for their music that's different than it was 10, 20 years ago…and there are so many more opportunities for Latin artists now. And it's also true that Mexican regional artists are among a group of artists now being played on a great many stations in Colombia, other parts of the world, and even here in the United States.
Mexico has been a very important part of my career. It is a country to which I am deeply indebted. And it was a really great experience to be able to collaborate with Mexican artists on this album. This is my little homage to Mexican music, its genre, and its people.
I had to rely on the she-wolf inside me to survive.
I've been in fight-or-flight mode for a while, and I think it's the “sea wolf” within us women that is leading society in this direction right now. Women have a natural ability to multitask. we can do anything. We can really survive the war and rebuild the destroyed city. So, you know, my life fell apart because I had to go through a family breakup and a lot of other things.
That's why this album is called “Women No Longer Cry.” Because I think women have been crying with scripts in their hands for a long time. And we women hide our emotions in front of our children and just accept everything politely, but now it's different. I think now, as women, we decide when to cry, when not to cry, and what to do if we decide to cry. In other words, no one teaches us how to heal.
It's not just about pain. It's also about winning. That's why these tears are not tears born of resentment or anger, or just tears of sadness, but tears of victory, tears of self-acceptance and self-confidence found within oneself.
It's not linear. There are mountains and valleys, valleys, and mountains. And this album is made from all those dynamics.