Latin Woman of the Year Shakira: A ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘The Definition of Music’ 

This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.

In the last 12 months, Shakira has placed four songs at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts and has broken 14 Guinness World Records. She has also been celebrated with a retrospective exhibit at the Grammy Museum. 

Oh, and she has sparked something of a female revolution along the way. 

The Colombian superstar turned one of the most difficult years of her life into an unprecedented return to Spanish-language music by opening her heart to teach us that it’s OK to be vulnerable, and even “cash in” when suffering from heartbreak. 

The latest winning streak by the artist — who was already the woman with the most top 10 hits on Hot Latin Songs (34), the most No. 1s on Latin Airplay (18) and the most entries on Latin Pop Airplay (50), among other milestones — began in April 2022 with “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro. The song reached No. 1 on the Latin Airplay and the Latin Pop Airplay charts, the latter of which Shakira had not led since “Clandestino” with Maluma four years earlier. 

Then came the heartfelt bachata “Monotonía” with Ozuna, which peaked at No. 1 on Latin Airplay and spent six weeks atop the chart. 

Shakira finished off the trilogy in January with the forceful “Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, in which she declared her new motto: “Women don’t cry anymore, they cash in.” The song earned her her first No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs since “Chantaje” with Maluma in 2016. 

The track also “cashed in” by breaking 14 Guinness World Records, including most played Latin song on Spotify in 24 hours (14.4 million) and most viewed video on YouTube in 24 hours (63 million). 

“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish,” Shakira posted on social media, in Spanish. “I want to embrace the millions of women who stand up to those who make us feel insignificant… They are my inspiration,” she added. 

And just when it seemed like she had said it all, she made history again with “TQG” with Karol G. The collaboration — an explosive goodbye kiss for their respective exes — not only debuted at the top of Hot Latin Songs, but also earned both Colombian powerhouses their first No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. 

Having back-to-back hits is nothing new for Shakira, who debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001 with “Whenever, Wherever” and hit No. 1 in 2006 with “Hips Don’t Lie.” But being at the top of the global charts two decades later, singing in Spanish, reaffirms her place as a true superstar — one capable of transcending languages, generations and borders as very few can. 

“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish”

Shakira

And her influence and contributions go far beyond music. Shakira has been an advocate of education through her Fundación Pies Descalzos, which since 1997 has built and adapted nine public schools in Colombia that have benefited more than 152,000 children and their families. “It’s part of my mission,” she told Billboard nearly a decade ago, and she has kept it that way. 

In this inaugural edition of Latin Women in Music, the Woman of the Year — for her unprecedented past and current success — is, unquestionably, Shakira. 

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Maluma, Bizarrap, Carlos Vives, Camilo and More on Shakira’s Staying Power

“Working with Shakira, I immediately realized exactly why she is such a powerhouse in our industry. She is phenomenally talented, hardworking, relentlessly detailed-oriented and always delivers musical excellence.” —Maluma, artist

“The importance of having a Shakira in our music industry as a Colombian, a woman, or an artist, is that she teaches us with her example that we can have our own voice; that difference coupled with excellence and delivery make a good combo.” —Goyo, artist 

“Shakira isn’t a powerhouse. Shakira invented powerhouse. She has the nerve and the talent. Everything else is ‘only’ a great capacity to work and give it all.” —Alejandro Sanz, artist 

“Shakira is a tireless warrior, megatalented and capable of getting up and reinventing herself every day. Nothing is impossible for her. Not in her profession, nor in her personal life.” —Afo Verde, chairman/CEO, Sony Music Latin Iberia 

“Shakira represents so many women so well that she deserves to be Woman of the Year. She’s like a force who has the power to protect [others] in times of difficulty. … I remember when we were doing the video for ‘La Bicicleta’ when I managed to break the protocol and we ended up roaming through the neighborhood and arriving at her school. At that moment I think she was like Shakira the pelaíta, the girl from Barranquilla. She ordered the director to ‘follow us already,’ and we started. And that moment is felt in the video.” —Carlos Vives, artist 

“I’ve worked with everyone. Whitney, Michael Jackson, and I’ve never experienced that [level of] detail. She conducts a session like she’s teaching! … This girl, she’s the definition of music.” —Will.i.am, artist-producer 

“I was proud to be a part of her growth from the beginning of her career, and she deserves everything she has achieved. Her great talent, her perseverance; she has always put her passion first to bring something new to music and her fans. [When I met her,] she didn’t speak any English, and I said, ‘We’re going to do the crossover with you.’ … Six months later, she went for an interview and she spoke English better than me.” —Emilio Estefan, producer-composer 

“What’s most impressive about Shakira, beyond what a multifaceted and talented force she is as an artist, is just how far-reaching her impact is … I remember my first trip to Colombia with her many years ago to inaugurate one of the new schools she built through her Pies Descalzos Foundation, I was so blown away to see and hear firsthand how knowledgeable, passionate and committed she was to providing universal access to quality education for all in her country, and how intolerant she was of achieving anything less. I saw then how her dogged perseverance is to thank for her level of success.” —Jaime Levine, manager 

“Working with her was a master class in my career. She’s an artist in every sense, a tireless worker, talented and kind. No. 1 without a doubt.” —Jorge Ferradas, founder of FPM Entertainment and former member of Shakira’s management team 

“Only wonderful things happen to people who are absolutely dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Shakira is one of those people. … For me as an artist, and especially as a Colombian artist, having such a reference since I was very little pushed me to be the best version of myself. When I was able to meet her and sing with her, I was able to confirm that everything I thought and felt was true.” —Camilo, artist 

“Collaborating with Shakira this year was an incredible experience for me, from which I learned a lot. We worked a lot on this song [‘BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53’], right up to the last minute! I thought I was detailed until I met Shakira.” —Bizarrap, DJ-producer 

“I know Shakira the artist, and it is no secret to anyone that she is incredible. But I also know Shakira the mom, and this version of her is at another level. The way she loves and gives her life for her two children is admirable. Seeing how she enjoys her children, how she talks about them with such pride, how she takes them into account for everything, makes me admire her more.” —Keityn, artist-composer 

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