Shakira, this year’s MTV Video Vanguard Award winner, has taken multiculturality in music to another level. From her Colombian roots to her global pop hits, Shakira has proven herself as one of the most diverse musicians of our time.
On Tuesday night during this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, Shakira was awarded the MTV Video Vanguard Award, and with that, she had the honor to perform that evening. During a 10-minute medley of her biggest hits, Shakira put on a show for audiences of all ages and cultures. Starting with her hit song “She Wolf”, just by looking at the stage production and choreography of the first few seconds of the medley, it was clear she was going to give an unforgettable performance.
Followed by her two collaboration hits “Te Felicito” and “TQG”, she was highlighting new sounds. However, she quickly turned back to her early years with a rendition of “Objection” which she happened to perform at the 2002 VMAs. She also completed a guitar solo which made the crowd go wild, only to go straight to a belly-dancing moment, proving her hips don’t lie.
Right after singing “Whenever, Whenever” she went on to perform the Super Bowl halftime show version of “Hips Don’t Lie”, where the cameraman even shows Taylor Swift in the audience dancing to Shakira’s beats. To finish a breath-taking performance, Shakira closed with her and Bizarrap’s hit song “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” along with some amazing dance moves and wild crowd surfing. She even did an ode to her home country Colombia by wearing a sombrero vueltiao, a traditional hat from the Caribbean region in Colombia. Plus, she looked absolutely beautiful rocking her long locks during the performance.
Shakira is one of Colombia’s (and Latin America’s) biggest musical idols and the fact that she has gotten this far on her merit is admirable, to say the least. Older generations hold her music from the 90s close to their hearts, yet she’s creating music that resonates with today’s youth. The fact that she continues to release hits after all these years proves her talent and grit as a musician.
Shakira has collaborated with a wide variety of artists including Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Maná, Rauw Alejandro, Rihanna, and Karol G, among others. Just with that roster, it’s clear that she has had an exceptional career with many more hits to come. She has been and will continue to be a role model for young musicians everywhere, especially those in Latin America hoping to make it in the industry.