Shakira on Reclaiming Her Resilience in New Album After Ex-Husband, Cardi B Collab and NYC Surprise

Welcome back to the show! They love you. We love you. Oh, my gosh. You're one of my favorite guests we've had on the show and one of my favorite performers ever. The thing I love about you, you've been here all day rehearsing, and you're just the nicest and the coolest and just talented and gorgeous, everything. And then you go, yeah, hold on, I'll go do this rehearsal. I'll be right back. And then you go, and you're like... And you're, like, 150 feet tall, and I'm like, oh, my God, I can't believe I was just talking to her, You're just such a great performer. You're amazing. So thank you for coming back. I love having you. You guys treat me so well. Thank you. I want it to feel like home, yeah. Congratulations. The album came out on Friday, by the way. Congratulations on this. I want to share how well it's doing. In the first 24 hours it was released, the album became the most streamed album of 2024. Already. Get ready to know. It was certified seven times platinum. Already. It's been streamed 10 billion times globally. Come on. I mean, this is what I'm talking about. I'm overwhelmed. I really am. I have the best fans in the world. The best ones. They're just insanely amazing. They've been with me in the good times, in the bad times. They support me all the time. I feel accompanied through each one of the processes that I have to go through in life. They're just... But you keep delivering, though. That's why we are fans of you. Because you put out quality stuff every single time you do anything. Las mujeres ya no lloran. Perfectísimo. Yeah? Close? Yeah? Trying... Perfecto. Las mujeres ya no lloran. Yeah. Women no longer cry. Ooh. I love that. Where did that come from? Because it's men's turn now. What? What are you talking about? It's men's turn to cry? I think so. I think so. We've done that for too long, you know? Yeah. For too long, we've been sent to cry with a script in our hands and without an end just because we're women. We have to conceal our pain in front of our kids and in front of society. We have to heal in a certain way. And I don't think anyone is supposed to tell us how to heal. No one is supposed to tell us how to lick her wounds. And, yeah, I think that now women decide when to cry, how to cry, and until when. Yeah. And, yeah, no one is supposed to tell us how to... Good for you. ...how to cope with the hardship of life. Yeah. I mean, this has been seven years since the last album. Yep. Right? And you put out songs here and there that were awesome. You came on our show and performed. Thank you for that. But what made you feel like, oh, now you have a full album ready to go? Well, yeah, I've been putting out music here and there, but it was really hard for me to put together a body of work. I didn't have time. It was the husband factor. Now I'm husbandless. But, yeah, the husband was dragging me down. I'm free. Yeah. Now I can actually work. Yeah, now you can work. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. You are so funny. You are... By the way, in addition to that, in addition to this cover, you also released three other covers to the album. I just want to show everyone these, just so you all know. Look at this. Ooh. Emerald? Yeah. This is emerald. Ooh. This is ruby. Wow. You can open it up. Even the vinyl, too. Emerald, ruby. Ooh. Sapphire. And this is diamond. Look. This one is pretty cool because it's clear. It's a clear vinyl. It's clear vinyl. It's cute, huh? And why... Why... Why are these... Look at that. Wow. That's what I'm talking about. I still got it. Dude, you still got it. You still got it. Absolutely. Why did you pick these gems? Any particular reason why you picked ruby and sapphire and diamond? Diamond. Yeah. Well, because, you know, when I was creating each one of the 16 tracks in this album, I was raw. I was dealing with a lot of stuff. And I was writing. I felt at times with a knife between my teeth. You know, I was picking out the pieces of myself from the floor. I was trying to rebuild myself. And music was the glue. But it felt like it was an alchemical process in which I was transforming pain and anger and frustration into creativity and productivity and strength and resilience. The resilience of a diamond, you know? So that's why I picked the metaphor of the precious stones, because of the resilience that us women have today when we have to face adversity. Yeah. And how I felt that. All the pressure. Yeah, exactly. All the pressure is on you. You're in the public space here, in a public place talking about your stuff in front of everybody. You're like, I don't know how you do it. I don't know how you do it. It's amazing. Well, now it's when I'm sitting in front of you, it's more like I'm synthesizing. But when I'm writing, that's when I really find a therapeutic space to really elaborate my feelings and those intense emotions. I really needed to feel better about myself. And the only way my own, you know, I was telling you that I was rebuilding myself. And the only way I felt that I was putting myself back together was through music, because music was a glue. So each one of these songs really was like a catharsis to me. And I felt better and better and better every time I wrote something. And how did the kids love it? How are my boys? Hi. They said hi. Yeah. They wanted to come so badly. They're like, oh, we love Jimmy. They love you. We had so much fun. Yeah, and they're like, please say hi to Jimmy. We were like karate fighting in the hallway. They're on the album too. They're on the album. Yeah. Oh, wow. Now big time. I wrote a song for them called Acrostico. And, you know, they hang out in the studio sometimes. So they went to visit me when I was in one of the sessions. And they listened to the song. They knew it was for them. And they started to sing in front of the mic. And they sounded so amazing. And they said, mom, we want to be on the album. We want to be on the album. Oh, my God. Yeah, so they recorded. Then they wanted to be on the video. And now they're asking for royalties. Smart kids. Oh, my God. Smart kids. They're saving. They have a piggy bank, each one of them. And they're saving because they want to buy a car when they're older. And I've told them, I'm not going to buy a car for you. Like, if you want to get a car or a phone or whatever, you're going to have to get it yourself. You've got to earn them. Yeah, they have to earn it. So they're like, mom, please. So when are the royalties coming? Because we need to save for a car. They really are asking it. They are the best guys out there. Hi, guys. They're awesome. I miss you. Next time, please come back. I'd love to hang out with you. But you have some other great guest stars on here. Ozuna. You have Carol G. Come on. We love Carol G. Yeah, Ozuna, Carol. Bissarab. We have him twice. Bissarab. I love him. He's so fun. Bissarab. Cardi B. Cardi B. Come on. Cardi B. How did you end up working with Cardi? Raul Alhambra as well. I mean, so many wonderful collaborations in this album. With Cardi, I met her in Paris during Fashion Week. And I just thought, you know, I had this song, Punteria, which is a focus track of the album, and I thought she would be perfect for this because I think this album needed a dose of someone like her. You know, she's like the symbol of female empowerment to me. She's just so unapologetic. She says what she thinks. She doesn't ask for permission. And this is an album that celebrates that kind of strength in women. And so I thought she was perfect for this album and for that song. And so I reached out to her, and she said yes, and she jumped on it. Of course she said yes. You're Shakira. Of course. But Cardi was excited to work with you. We actually found a video of Cardi B saying how she felt when you asked her to be on your song. Take a look at this. I was so happy. I was like, I don't care if she wants me to meow. I'm doing it. She wanted to meow. Love you, Cardi. Yeah, we love you, Cardi. She is really great. Yeah, she's really great. You don't meow on the album, but you do howl, by the way. I meow, I howl, yeah, especially. That's my specialty. Yeah. You're great. Fans were howling today when they said that you were here. Where did the howl originally come from? Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah, you know, wolves howl not only when they're in pain, when they're in danger, they howl as a way to communicate and to connect with their pack. And that's how I feel that I communicate with my audience through my music, you know. It's like howling for me, but we have this friendship with my audience that has endured time and all kinds of things, and it has remained alive for so many years, and it's a true friendship. That's why I think my relationship with my fans is so special, because they're my pack. They got me. They got my back. You got the new album. Does this mean that you'll be going on tour? That's what I'd like, yeah. I mean, you know how it goes. First you present an album, and then you go on tour. I can't say when or where we'll start the tour. But maybe follow you on the socials, right? Follow me on my socials, of course. And follow me on my socials for what's going to happen tomorrow here in New York. There's something happening. Something's happening here. Okay. Tomorrow in New York. In the city. Okay. Yes. Okay. I can't say much more. Okay. That's perfect. I'll give you the details and the specifications on my Instagram and on my socials. All right. Perfect. All right. I'll take that. I love that. Congratulations on the new album. We always love it when you come by. Shakira, everybody!