A few days before Shakira’s new album, Las mujeres no ya cry, goes on sale, the Colombian singer addresses during the promotional tour what her followers can expect from this musical project that she herself has classified as a transformation of pain. During an interview with The Times, the Barranquilla native stated that the album that will be released on March 22 is a mix of sounds, where you can enjoy not only the ballad but also pop, rap and reggaeton.
However, the title of the project, the first in seven years when she released El Dorado in 2027, refers to her incisive phrase in the Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, where the singer exposed her feelings without filters after the media breakup with the father of her children, the former soccer player Gerard Piqué.
In the conversation, Shakira explained that it was music that kept her standing when she saw her world collapsing. “(The album) represents the transformation of pain into creativity, frustration into productivity, anger into passion and vulnerability into resilience. There were so many pieces in my life that fell apart before my eyes that I had to rebuild myself somehow, picking up the bones from the ground and putting them all together. And the glue that held it all together was music,” she commented.
Messages to Piqué
Prior to the announcement of the album, Shakira published songs, most of them collaborations with other artists such as Te felicito with Rauw Alejandro, Monotoníawith Ozuna, TQR with Karol G, Acrósticowith her two children, Copavac with Manuel Turizo, El Jefe with Fuerza Regida and Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53.
In each piece her followers assured that there were details about her breakup with Piqué, and although her position was rejected by many, it was celebrated by many more and she does not regret that.
She told The Times that it felt good to drain her pain the way she did because in that way she channeled her fury and managed to exorcise many demons that tormented her and considered that receiving the Latin Grammy from Sergio Ramos was: “a cosmic joke.”
Likewise, the artist explained that her children are aware of how there are situations that affect life and that everyone goes through them in different ways. “They know that there is only one way to live life and that is to accept pain. And each of us has different ways of doing it. When his father and I were going through our separation, he wrote two incredible songs, the kind that make you cry.”
“I put my career on hold”
For love, Shakira remembers, many things are sacrificed. And she was no exception to the rule.
The Colombian reiterated to The Times that it was that feeling that led her to prioritize her ex-partner’s profession and put her own on pause. And in that sense, she considered that it may not be a good idea for artists and athletes to get together romantically.
“For a long time I put my career on hold for Gerard Piqué, so that he could play football. There is a lot of sacrifice we make for love. Empathy is key in the work of an artist. An athlete is in a constant state of war and has to avoid empathy at all costs. “That’s why it’s probably a very bad idea for an artist to associate with an athlete.”
The conversation also served to deny the rumor about how the Barranquilla woman learned of Piqué’s infidelity through a supposed jam that only she consumed and after a time away from home, she returned to find it almost empty. This gossip increased when in the I congratulate you video, Rauw Alejandro’s head appears in the refrigerator surrounded by some jars of jam.
“That’s not true,” he said forcefully.
The album has a song titled Última, and when asked if it was dedicated to Piqué, Shakira responded:
“About Voldemort? The one who cannot be named? I hope it’s the last song I write about this, and about him. I felt like there was still something there, stuck in my throat, and I needed to get it out. I played it to Sony’s head of marketing and he started crying. “I’ve never seen a man cry in my studio before.”
