Shakira Says She ‘Lost Money’ on Her First World Tour Because of a $1 Million Cobra

Shakira has always been quite meticulous about the production elements of her different tours and performances — so much so, that it’s made her even lose some money.

While chatting with Sean Evans on Hot Ones Thursday, the Colombian pop star revealed that she ended up losing money on her 2002 Tour of the Mongoose because of a giant cobra background element at the start of her shows.

“I remember on my first world tour. I had the brilliant idea of coming up with a cobra,” she said. “It was a huge cobra in the middle of the stage. It would lift up at the beginning of the show.”

“That cobra cost $1 million to produce so taking it on the road was so expensive,” she added. “At the end of the tour, I lost money. It was one of my most successful tours. It was sold out everywhere but I had to take a big loss because of a stupid cobra.”

The Tour of the Mongoose was her third-ever tour and celebrated the release of her first English album, Laundry Service. During the run of shows, she performed songs such as “Whenever, Wherever,” “The One,” and “Ciega, Sordomuda.”

During the Hot Ones episode Thursday, Shakira also revealed that she was a “huge Family Guy fan” and reached out to Seth MacFarlane to help translate her 2009 song “Loba” for its English version “She Wolf.”

“I was a huge Family Guy fan and I always thought that he was so creative and so musical as well,” she said. “I really admire the musical production of the show. So I looked for him, but then I ended up writing it myself. I found the right words, I found what I wanted to say.”

The new interview comes after she released her album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, featuring tracks such as “Puntería” with Cardi B, “Entre Paréntesis” with Grupo Frontera, and “Cohete” with Rauw Alejandro.

From Rolling Stone US.