It was with a shiny jumpsuit printed with the Brazilian flag that Shakira took the stage on Copacabana beach this Saturday (2). The costume would be one of the many tributes to the country that she would make throughout the year. concert which promises to be one of the most important of his career — and also one of the greatest.
THE estimate, made from photos of the place, is that it brought together 2 million peopleaccording to Rio de Janeiro City Hall, although the number may be inaccurate, according to experts.
The singer, who often says in interviews that she learned Portuguese before English, brought to the stage a varied list of MPB stars that ranged from Caetano Veloso the Anita. He incorporated passinho into his choreography and green and yellow into his costumes. And, next to Maria Bethâniaand after Ivete Sangalomade the third edition of the event Everyone in Rio an out-of-season Carnival.
Shakira took the stage around 11pm, more than an hour after the scheduled start time. It was a delay longer than Lady Gaga’s last year and Madonna, the year before last —the singer’s advisor informed the Multishow channel and Globo that the delay was due to personal problems. According to the newspaper Correio Braziliense, the artist was informed, shortly before the start, that her father had felt unwelland asked for time to recover.
The audience became impatient with the delay, and many threatened to leave. But an emotional speech from the singer seemed to make them quickly forgive her. “I can’t believe I’m here with you. And to think that I arrived here when I was 18 years old”, said the Colombian in reference to the age at which she performed her first shows in Brazil, still at the beginning of her internationalization efforts.
Less than half an hour into the show, she had already added a series of hits, including the most recent “Te Felicito” and “Girl Like Me” to the classics “Las de La Intuición”, “Inevitable” and “Estoy Aquí”.
Afterwards, he exalted the maternal version of his wolf, first with a version of “Acrostic”, with the recorded participation of his two children on the screens, and then with a performance of “Soltera”. Shakira dedicated the last one to single mothers, citing the statistics of their prevalence in Brazil — 20 million. “I’m one of them”, he added, referring to the controversial separation of former football player Gerard Piqué in 2021.
Compare the audience for Shakira and Lady Gaga’s shows on Copacabana beach
The public filled the sands, the boardwalk and the tracks in the region, along seven blocks – Pilar Oliver/Reuters and Mauro Pimentel/AFP
The end of the 12-year relationship, amid rumors of cheating, marked the beginning of a new phase in the singer’s career. Instead of retreating from the experience considered humiliating by many, the artist decided to convert it into a music. “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran”the 2024 album on which the Copacabana show was based, thus showed a Shakira more empowered than ever, with lyrics that extol female independence and mock the immaturity of men.
It was Shakira’s Latin moment that seemed to engage the audience most, however. Wearing a tight dress that resembled a web of golden threads, the Colombian exuded sensuality and showed her characteristic hip movements in a sequence that included “Copa Vacía, “La Bicicleta” and “Hay Amores” —ended, to the ecstasy of the audience, with “Hips Don’t Lie”.
He then called upon the salsa music of his native Colombia for renditions of “Chantaje” — started in the dressing room and broadcast live — and “Loca.” And she gave an impressive belly dancing performance singing “Ojos Así”.
Sensuality gave way to a nostalgic tone when a montage reminiscent of the beginning of the artist’s career took over the screens. She sang two hits of the time, “Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos”, and “Antología”, and called Caetano Veloso to the stage for a performance of “Leãozinho”, a song she said she played for her children.
It was in this last part of the show that the special appearances were concentrated – before Caetano, Anitta had already gone on stage to sing “Choka Choka”a partnership between the two included on the Brazilian’s most recent album.
And what participation. The stage turned into an out-of-time Carnival, a version of “O que É o que É”, by Gonzaguinha, sung along with Maria Bethânia and the drums of Unidos da Tijuca, occupying the entire stage.
Then, it was Ivete Sangalo’s turn to make the audience jump with “País Tropical” — the energy was such that the impression that Shakira hadn’t memorized the lyrics well didn’t matter.
The excitement remained high until the end of the show, with the audience singing and dancing to the hits “Whenever, Wherever” and the anthem of 2010 World Cup in South Africa, “Waka Waka”.
The closing followed the script of the other stops on the “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” tour, with the appearance of a huge inflatable wolf in the center of the stage, her eyes two laser beams, and the performance of the songs “She Wolf”, from the album of the same name, and “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53/66”, the latter full of not-so-subtle hints from the singer towards her ex-husband.
The difference was due to the costume, a leotard also printed with green and yellow patterns.
The audience, long won over, obeyed Shakira’s call and howled at her command. And it continued to vibrate when Shakira came down from the stage to circulate among the guests in the VIP area.
“I’ll never forget that night. Thank you, Brazil”, said the singer as the samba rhythm gradually took over the song.
