The songstress discussed the upcoming performance and the significance it holds to Latin culture.
Shakira is dishing on how she landed one of the biggest gigs of her career, which will see her spending her 43rd birthday performing alongside Jennifer Lopez at Super Bowl LIV.
The songstress discussed the upcoming performance and the significance it holds to Latin culture during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1 on Tuesday.
"I've always wanted to perform at the Super Bowl. I think it's like the Holy Grail of the entertainment industry,” the mom of two said. “It's a sports event, but it has a huge relevance for us artists, and I think it's going to be fantastic. And, I'm going to be celebrating my birthday with 100 million people. A small party. It's surreal.”
The singer also shared how JAY-Z phoned her about taking part in the halftime show, which he is producing.
“He called me, and he asked me if I wanted to be a part of that. And, of course, I didn't hesitate,” she said. “I said, ‘Of course, count on me.’ And, he mentioned that Jennifer was also involved, and I feel that it's going to be great because she also represents a really important part of the Latino community who lives in the U.S., and who has been born and raised in the U.S.”
“And, I think, in a way, I feel that I'm representing another part of the Latin world, which is all those people around the globe who almost barely speak English,” she continued. “And, a huge portion of the demographic that also arrived in the U.S. and live the American dream. I think this is going to be an event to celebrate Latin culture and the importance of women also in the industry.”
As for what fans can expect from the performance, Shakira thinks it will be “very short, therefore very nerve-wracking,” and added that her mind is already in overdrive with ideas.
“I can't stop thinking of ideas,” she enthused. “Every day I have a new idea. And so now, it's a matter of making them all work together and having the time to consolidate all of that and present the best show of my career.”
The Super Bowl performance isn’t the only significant project keeping Shakira busy. She recently worked on a remix of “TuTu” with Pedro Cap and Camilo, and has new songs in the works, which she’s thrilled about and indulges her love of fusion music, taking elements from “different worlds and making them coexist together in harmony.”
She also has an upcoming documentary, out on Nov. 13, which chronicles the difficult time during her El Dorado Tour, as she dealt with a vocal cord injury.
“For a second I thought that I was never going to be able to sing again,” she recalled of the scary time. “Actually, for a few months, it was one of the most difficult things I've ever experienced in my life. I visited so many doctors and they all said that I had to have surgery. That there was no other way to recover my voice other than surgery. Surgery was obviously very risky. So you can only imagine the nightmare that it was.”
“I couldn't speak to my children,” she added. “I had to remain doing vocal rest for long periods of time. A miracle happened. I didn't require any surgery. It's a happy ending to my story and the story of this tour. So, to be able to have all of this in a document that is going to tell people the story of how it all happened and how it all came together as well and the process, the creative process and the bittersweet battle of bringing this to the audiences, I think it's going to be fantastic.”
See more on Shakira below.
RELATED CONTENT:
