Shakira on 30 Years in Music, New Beginnings and Making World Cup History: ‘It Feels Like I’m Just Starting’ (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• In a new PEOPLE cover story, Shakira opens up about finding strength in heartbreak, motherhood and making history at the 2026 World Cup

• The icon will co-headline the first-ever World Cup Final halftime show on July 19

• “I had to really fight for my dreams,” says the singer-songwriter, who is still on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour

Shakira is standing in front of a full-length mirror, fixing a flower crown of pink and white roses and peonies on her head. Once she’s satisfied with its placement, the queen of Latin music is ready for her close-up and steps in front of the camera as an Afrobeats playlist streams from the speakers overhead. After decades in the spotlight, the superstar knows how to command a room — whether it’s a sold-out stadium or her PEOPLE cover shoot at a Manhattan photo studio.

Soft-spoken but formidably self-assured, Shakira was also in boss mode just hours prior when, as she sat down for this interview, she retouched her own makeup while she and a member of her entourage went over details of the music video for her and Nigerian singer Burna Boy’s new single “Dai Dai.” The track is the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (its title is Italian slang for “come on, come on”). But its lyrics — “What broke you once made you strong” — also speak to her own journey.

“I always thought that I was more fragile or weaker than what life proved me to be,” says Shakira, 49.

The icon has faced several personal challenges in the public eye in recent years, including her high-profile split from the father of her two children, retired Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, 39, over his alleged infidelity. There was also the multimillion-dollar tax-fraud case in Spain, which she recently won.

Now back on top of the world, the single mom is breaking records on her biggest tour yet and making history by co-headlining the first-ever World Cup Final halftime show.

“Behind every experience in life, there’s always a lesson, and we have to be grateful for all those lessons, even for the people that leave you with scars,” she says, “because they just make us better.”

In the years since her debut, Shakira has sold more than 95 million records worldwide to become the bestselling female Latin artist of all time, while paving a path for a new generation of stars like Bad Bunny and Karol G. Says Shakira: “I had to really fight for my dreams.”

Looking back, the Colombia native adds, “I would say to that girl back in her 20s to enjoy more, to believe in herself more. I think women, as time goes by, we just acquire this new confidence. Even though we don’t look as perfect as in our 20s, it’s beautiful to just be yourself and accept who you are.”

Since her rise to fame, Shakira has made it her mission to help kids growing up with less than she did. Now 100 percent of her royalties from her new single “Dai Dai” will go to FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which provides kids around the world with access to education and soccer.

“It’s a message for every child who’s been told that their dream is too big,” she says. “And to remind us that every champion started out as a kid who perhaps went through hardship and struggles, but there was someone that believed in them, and that’s why they didn’t give up.”

Shakira first performed at the World Cup 20 years ago, and the tournament changed her life. “I have this connection with [soccer] that seems unbreakable,” she says. She sang her first official World Cup song, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” at the tournament’s closing ceremony in 2010, when she met Piqué. They went on to welcome sons Milan, 13, and Sasha, 11.

On July 19 she, along with Madonna and BTS, will hit the field at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to headline the inaugural World Cup halftime show. While she’s still planning her performance, Shakira says, “Every World Cup is really magical, and I think this one is going to be all about bringing people together in this very sensitive moment in time, socially and politically.”

Shakira pressed the restart button on Jan. 11, 2023, when she released “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with the music producer Bizarrap. The scathing Spanish-language dance banger was inspired by her 2022 breakup from Piqué and details the aftermath of his alleged affair that ended their 12-year partnership. The track debuted at No. 1 on Spotify’s Daily Global 200 chart and became her first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in more than a decade.

“It was just pure catharsis. I really needed to write about what I was going through and not have any censor,” says Shakira, who quips songwriting is “like going to a shrink, only cheaper.”

Her heartbreak revealed her strength. “Through those challenging moments, I discovered how resilient we all are,” says Shakira. She leaned on loved ones—“Life is a bitch, but it’s so worth living because friends are there for you,” she says—and focused on family as she regrouped. 

The four-time Grammy winner found solace in meeting fans who have dealt with similar heartache while on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, which is the highest-grossing Hispanic tour of all time at $421.6 million and counting. The road trip is named after her most recent album (translation: “women no longer cry”).

“Sometimes we just need someone to be the voice of others because the human experience thrives on identification,” she says. “We all go through pain and hardship, and we also have enjoyed the beauty of this life with its ups and downs.”

Shakira scored another major win days after her PEOPLE shoot when, on May 18, the Spanish National Court cleared her of tax fraud related to her 2011 income (she previously lived in Spain part-time), overturning the significant fine imposed in 2021 by the Spanish tax agency. A rep for Shakira said the Spanish government must return the more than €60 million (about $70 million) to the “She Wolf” singer.

“After more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being, the National High Court has finally set the record straight,” Shakira said in a statement. 

In addition to her World Cup appearance, Shakira will take a victory lap (sons in tow!) with the final jaunt of her tour, which kicks off in the U.S. on June 13. And for now she has no plans to slow down.

“You know what’s strange? I’ve done this professionally 30 years already,” she says, “and it feels to me like I’m just starting.”

For more on Shakira, pick up the news issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

Read the original article on People