The countdown arrived nine months early in Times Square on Tuesday night (March 26), with thousands of people flocking to the iconic tourist destination not to famously watch the New Year’s ball drop, but Colombian superstar Shakira.
The artist surprised her followers with a “pop-up” concert announced just hours before on her social networks, and some 40,000 fans, according to figures provided by the organizers, responded to her call to celebrate her first LP in seven years, Las Mujeres They No Longer Cry, released last Friday.
A huge electronic billboard that wrapped around part of a skyscraper advertised the free show with a clock counting down to its start. Around 7:30 p.m., the crowd chanted at the top of their lungs from 10 to zero, and large hidden doors in the Jumbotron opened to reveal the TSX Stage, and Shakira performing her No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Hips Don’t.” “Lie.”
“Hello New York! “Oh my God, this is incredible, absolutely crazy,” the artist said immediately afterwards in a mix of English and Spanish. “It’s so amazing to see them again. Sing for you, see you again. Nothing compares to this. Thank you so much for all the love you have given me this week with the release of my new album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. And thank you, thank you, thank you for coming!”
Dressed in black pants and a top with silver decorations, Shakira delighted the crowd by singing live, along with a band and a group of dancers, songs like “Te felicito”, “TQM”, “Como donde y donde” and “Puntería” , before closing with the megahit “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53.”
“I am happy to be here surrounded by my Latin people,” said the winner of 14 Latin Grammys and three Grammys. “Thank you New York! Until next time. I love you so much”.
Tuesday’s concert was co-produced with TSX Entertainment and partner presenters ViX, Vinfast and Sony Music Latin. It took place the day after her appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she performed “Puntería” and spoke honestly about her former relationship with soccer star Gerard Piqué and why it took her so long to release an LP from El Dorado 2017. “Now I am without a husband,” said Shakira, who spent 11 years with Piqué before announcing their separation in 2022 (the couple never married, but have two children together). “My husband discouraged me. I’m free now. Now I can work!”
