Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2023 and has been updated to reflect the artist's recent releases.
After taking home a golden gramophone in the inaugural Best Latin Electronic Music Performance at the 2024 Latin GRAMMYs, Shakira kicked off 2025 in style at Music's Biggest Night. There, on the 2025 GRAMMYs stage, the icon performed a medley of her winning "Bzrp Sessions" and "Ojos Asi," and took home the award for Best Latin Pop Album.
Recently, Shakira appeared together with Wyclef Jean at "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to perform "Hips Don’t Lie," celebrating the 20th anniversary of the global hit. There was a tenderness to her rendition — a sweet exuberance in the dancing and the seductive smiles. Clearly, this brief celebration of her superstar status found the Colombian legend in a joyful mood.
At 48, Shakira is, more than ever, on top of the world. Seemingly, she has left behind the emotional travails that inspired the GRAMMY-winning epic Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — one of the most defiant and ambitious albums of her extraordinary career. On Feb. 11, she kicked off her latest tour in Rio de Janeiro to rave reviews. She also broke a number of attendance records as she zigzagged from her native Barranquilla to Buenos Aires and Mexico City.
As she prepares to launch the much anticipated U.S. leg of the tour on May 13, enjoy 11 anthemic mega-hits and lesser-known gems from Shakira’s expansive catalog.
"Antología" (1995)
Culled from her breakthrough third album Pies Descalzos, the lilting "Antología" remains one of her biggest hits.
Even though she would go on to experiment with every genre under the sun — from merengue and bhangra to reggaetón — Shakira always emphasized solid songwriting as the main ingredient of her craft. A bouncy ballad with an unassuming chord progression, it leaves plenty of space for her passionate vocalizing to shine through.
"Ojos Así" (1998)
The apocalyptic closing track of Dónde Están Los Ladrones? —basically, a rock album — "Ojos Así'' revealed a reality that wasn’t obvious back in the late ‘90s: Shakira was no ordinary pop star.
A tribute to her Lebanese roots with subtle echoes of Led Zeppelin’s "Kashmir," the song fused Arabic folk and rock. She beamed and belly danced on stage while performing the song, captivating a generation of concertgoers.
"La Tortura" (2005)
The Oral Fixation/Fijación Oral album diptych signaled Shakira’s creative growth and global star status. No other song summed up this moment of artistic exuberance like "La Tortura" — a pop smash that transcends the limitations of the genre.
A duet with the gruff voice of Spanish balladeer Alejandro Sanz, "La Tortura" combines quotable lyrics with a reggaetón backbeat, EDM textures and accordion riffs — the perfect marriage of digital slickness and analog warmth.
"Gypsy" (2009)
Look beyond the hits and you will find a treasure trove of deep cuts in Shakira’s discography. Culled from She Wolf — her eighth LP — "Gypsy" finds its inspiration in Indian bhangra music, with spidery lines of sitar and hypnotic tabla rhythms. Of note: whenever she explores regional genres outside her own culture, Shakira’s respectful approach results in tracks that preserve the style’s roots.
"Loca" (2010)
What did Shakira do when she decided to tackle a merengue? Well, naturally, she flew to the Dominican Republic and spent some time working with authentic merenguero El Cata at his unassuming recording studio.
Included in the life-affirming Sale El Sol LP — one of her best — "Loca" brims with staccato piano lines, fun electro accents and the diva’s sassy delivery.
"Islands" (2010)
Shakira’s ethereal cover of British band the xx’s "Islands" was a pivotal moment for her reputation as a tastemaker. In interviews, she often expressed a deep affinity for mainstream rock'n'roll, naming Led Zeppelin and Queen as some of her favorite artists. But until this moment, no one could have suspected that she also kept up with the best of British indie rock.
Her decision to cover a song by critical darlings the xx demonstrates what a sophisticated listener she is. This dazzling version also showcases her impeccable taste in terms of the track’s arrangement and the specificity of its mood.
"Empire" (2014)
The singer had always shown a proclivity for lush sonics. This epic tour de force — from her self-titled 2014 album — took her sumptuous tendencies to a different level.
A cinematic ballad tailor-made for the exquisite vulnerability and command of her voice, "Empire" implies that Shakira’s reputation as a "pop star" is only a fragment of her artistic identity. She can also sound downright operatic when the mood strikes.
"Me Enamoré" (2017)
The beauty of autobiographical love songs is that the purity of those initial feelings remains frozen in time — regardless of the relationship’s outcome.
A chronicle about meeting her then-partner and the father of her children, soccer star Gerard Piqué, "Me Enamoré" struck a chord for the way it captured the butterflies-in-the-stomach giddiness of falling head over heels in love. A window into her emotional world, it also shows how witty and funny she can be in the lyrics department.
"Chantaje" (2017)
If "La Tortura" introduced Shakira as one of the first mainstream artists to flirt with reggaetón, this duet with Colombia’s Maluma operates in full progressive urbano mode.
Quick to absorb the influences that evolve around her, she sounds right at home in the jagged bounce of the rhythm track, trading seduction barbs like a seasoned reggaetonera. Shakira seems to love infectious dance music, and the urbano cosmovision is a perfect match for her pop sensibility.
"Bzarp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" (2023)
This infamous viral session by the Argentine producer signified a step forward for both artists. It provided Bizarrap with a larger-than-life arena where he could show off the addictive beats that he had been cooking up for years in his home studio. It also confirmed Shakira as the kind of timeless artist who fits seamlessly in the aesthetic universe of a 24 year-old wunderkind.
The lyrics, quoted gleefully by the entire planet throughout 2023, illustrated the genius of Shakira — and how she managed to turn heartbreak into both material riches and emotional payback.
"TQG"
This collaboration between the two greatest divas ever to emerge from Colombia was so momentous, that it was included in both Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran and Karol G’s groundbreaking fourth album Mañana Será Bonito. Shakira has felt comfortable stomping on reggaetón ground since the very birth of the genre, and this sinuous diss ode to disappointing exes is packed with slick urbano flavor, courtesy of producer Ovy on the Drums, Karol’s recurring partner in crime. Bonus points for La Bichota ending one of her verses with the iconic shoutout Shakira, Shakira.