Shakira Says Kiss-Off Song to Her Ex Made Sony’s Head of Marketing Cry
The artist begged to finish “Última” in time to make her new album, and she says the rush was worth it
Zane Lowe and Shakira. ZANE LOWE ON APPLE MUSIC 1
Shakira was almost past deadline for her upcoming album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, when she knew she had to finish one last song for the record: “Última.” In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, she said she had to plead with her label to finish it. “I gotta spit it out or … I’ll choke,” she said. “I need to get this one out.” But her Sony reps told her she was running out of time. If they didn’t ship it to the pressing plant soon, there would be no vinyl edition of the record, out Friday.
“They were like, ‘It’s time to let it go. Shakira, let it go,’” she said. “Now I’m like, ‘No. But there’s one more.’ And so I did it in one afternoon. We recorded it. And I mixed it right away and I just felt so much better. It was such a relief.”
Rushing it out and making the deadline was worth it for the singer, because she was able to see firsthand just how emotional the track was. “When I played this song to the head of marketing at Sony, he started to cry,” she said. “I have never seen a man cry in my studio before. I’ve seen many women cry in my studio, but no man — but he’s a big softy. He started to cry with this song and I’m like, ‘OK, I get it. It’s not only about me. This song is not about me only, or him or …’ But I’m glad I was able to include it in the album, even if it’s the last song that I write to him.”
The “him” in question on “Última” would be her ex-husband, Gerard Piqué. She announced her separation from the soccer player in 2022, and since then the breakdown of the relationship has become tabloid fodder, as she battled for custody and Piqué took swipes at her fans. One of the lowest revelations to come out of the situation was Shakira claiming Piqué had “betrayed” her during a time she was tending to her father, who was in ICU.
“Making this body of work has been an alchemical process,” Shakira said of the album in a statement. “While writing each song I was rebuilding myself. While singing them, my tears transformed into diamonds, and my vulnerability into strength.”
From Rolling Stone US.
