After 7 years, "Sister Wolf" Shakira Shakira finally released her twelfth studio album "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" (Women No Longer Cry). On the cover, Shakira's eyes are determined, and her tears condense into diamonds, echoing the title of the album - "Women Don't Cry Anymore".
On March 26, Shakira also held a free concert on the TSX stage in New York's Times Square, attracting more than 40,000 fans to watch, which is also the largest audience ever gathered in Times Square, even more than the number of people in the New Year's celebrations, and it is indeed a top influence.
The 47-year-old wolf sister performed very well on the scene, singing and dancing many new songs continuously, without showing any fatigue, and her strength is still the same.
"Making this music has shown me that my pain can be turned into creativity. The songs are full of some very strong emotions from the past and what I've experienced in the past two years. But creating this album was a transformation, and I was reborn as a woman. ”
As for the inspiration for the production of this album, I believe most people know that it came from the experience of Sister Wolf breaking up with her ex-husband Gerard Piqué, and the album describes her entire mental journey after experiencing heartbreaking events such as her husband's cheating and divorce.
She describes the creative process as "alchemy", turning her tears into diamonds through music, and symbolizing her transformation of her "vulnerability" into "strength".
The album contains a total of 16 tracks, 7 of which have been released as singles in the past two years, the first song "Te Felicito" (meaning "I congratulate you") was released in April 2022 and was a collaboration between Shakira and Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro. In June 2022, after announcing her separation, Shakira released a new song, "Monotonía" (meaning "monoton"), in which she completely recounts the heartbreak when she finds her relationship changing, and finally how to get out of the relationship.
This was followed by last year's collaboration with Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap for "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", a diss song explicitly aimed at Gerard Piqué with razor-sharp lyrics.
The song was viewed more than 82 million times within 24 hours of its release, breaking the YouTube platform record, also setting four Guinness World Records, and also won the Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song.
Returning to the album itself, while her entanglement with her ex-husband was the inspiration for the album, the album's focus is on celebrating the power of women, and Shakira's use of her failed marriage to break out of the cocoon and be reborn will undoubtedly bring strength to all women who are going through pain.
During the production of this album, she also collaborated with many female artists who were just as good as her. For example, the album's "TQG" (short for Te Quedó Grande, which means "I don't fit in with you") was created in collaboration with another Colombian singer, Karol G.
The song "TQG" was originally written by Karol G in 2022, when she ended a relationship due to the cheating of her fiancé Anuel AA.
Originally, she didn't plan to collaborate with Shakira on this song, but after listening to "Monotonía", she decided to send it to her. After learning about Shakira's story, she found it more appropriate for her to interpret the song, so the two eventually collaborated.
Shakira chose to collaborate with Cardi B on the single "Puntería", which was released at the same time as the album, "This song represents the newborn woman, and after going through the storm, you begin to connect with the woman within, with the needs and desires of women. The two met last summer, when Shakira went to Paris for the first time for a fashion show, and the two met in the front row of the Fendi runway, and the song "Puntería" was looking for a female rapper, so Shakira sent out the invitation.
In the music video for this song, a pink fantasy world is presented, Shakira and Cardi B play the daughters of Artemis, the "goddess of the hunt", who live on a planet ruled by women, and the "centaur" character is played by Lucien Laviscount, who plays Alfie in "Emily in Paris". It is reported that after this collaboration, Shakira and the actor started dating, whether it is true or not, hoping that Sister Wolf can enjoy life happily and freely.
During the promotion of the album, Shakira also shared with everyone that the kindness given to her by the outside world also played an important role in the whole process of breaking and rebuilding herself, including the support of fans and the company of her family. Her two sons, Milan and Sasha, also participated in the album, and the trio performed the song "Acróstico" together. On the stage of the 2023 Latin Grammys, Shakira also took the stage with her sons to perform the song.
"Acróstico" is a song she wrote for her two children, telling the story of how she turned pain into strength through the love of her children during her marriage. The MV of this song also has two children who also appear, and the picture of the mother and son sitting in front of the piano and singing is extremely warm and beautiful.
Shakira also shared the behind-the-scenes story of the song with everyone when it was released. Her two sons stayed with her during the preparation of the album, and when they heard the song in the studio and learned that it was written for them, they offered to get involved. "Milan and Sasha, it's so wonderful to see them spread their wings and start to realize their dreams! After releasing this song, Shakira also said so in his personal social account.
Shakira has been doing her best to protect her two children, and she decided to move to Barcelona during the rise of her career in order to provide them with a stable life, feeling very guilty every time she went to work and could not take care of them.
"When you don't have a husband who can stay at home and take care of the children, you have to be constantly busy, because I want to be a caring mom and I need to be there for my children every moment: sending them to school, having breakfast with them, taking them to play. And on top of that, I have to earn money. ”
Since the marital problems, she has also made every effort to "hide" the situation in order to protect her children from this situation. Last year, in order to be able to balance her career and being a single mother, she moved to Miami with her two children. "I had to pick up the pieces of myself and put them all back together, and music was the glue that held me there. Thankfully, things seem to be getting better after starting a new life, and she's in a completely different state as before, desperate to work, to write songs, to make music.
Bidding farewell to the other half of the "dragging legs", Sister Wolf's career has reached its peak again. Last September, she became the number one most streamed female Latin singer in Spotify history, and the platform designated September 29 as "Shakira Day", which also marks the 25th anniversary of Shakira's hit album "Dón de Están Los Ladrones".
Shakira's hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, recently erected a memorial statue in her honor, which mimics her dance moves on the hit single "Hips Don't Lie", which is undoubtedly a strong testament to Sister Wolf's influence.
Even if you fall to the bottom, you must be energetic and actively deal with it, and finally achieve better results with your own efforts. As she said in the interview, "I think women are resilient...... All of us are inherently resilient. ”
This album is not only written for herself, but also for all women of our generation, "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" – women no longer cry, she wants to use her music to build a bridge, empower women, and help them discover their strengths.
Previously, when asked what she thought of the movie "Barbie", she also gave her opinion: "My sons definitely don't like this movie, they think it's contemptuous of men. In a way, I agree. I am raising two sons. I want them to feel empowered while respecting women. I love pop culture, when it tries to empower women, without depriving men of the possibility of being men, or the possibility of protecting and providing for their families. ”
As soon as this point of view came out, it is conceivable that it immediately caused a lot of controversy. Shakira doesn't deny all the rights that women should have, but she also believes that this does not mean that women can be "feminine" or dependent on men.
Whether Shakira's opinion is correct or not, everyone can keep their own opinion. There is no doubt that she is a strong woman who has dealt with all the challenges of life on her own, and despite the betrayal she has experienced from her beloved, she has not lost the ability to trust and love people.
Despite being in the industry for more than 30 years, Shakira seems to be able to surprise people with a steady stream of new things, both in terms of music and intrinsic values, "I don't think beauty is my forte, I think it's just another thing I can take advantage of." Previously, when talking about the impact of appearance on her career, she said. The dazzling appearance may be short-lived, but if you want to extend the "flowering period", it is really not enough, Sister Wolf, who set off again, is showing everyone more of her "superpowers" after becoming a single mother, she is still beautiful, and she is not only beautiful.