Shakira lit up the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards with a medley of her biggest hits ahead of being honored with the Video Vanguard Award. Shakira was introduced by her longtime friend and collaborator Wyclef Jean, who was her co-writer and featured guest on her smash hit, “Hips Don’t Lie.” “Latin music would not be the global force that it is without Shakira,” Jean professed when he introduced her onstage.
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Shakira brought the house down with several of her career-defining hits, beginning with “She Wolf.” Coming in hot, the Latin superstar opened the set by striking a series of intricate poses before busting into complex choreography. After a drum solo and dance break, Shakira then broke into the fiery “Objection” where she momentarily shredded on electric guitar, followed by a lively performance of her signature hit “Whenever, Wherever.”
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She got the crowd particularly hyped with “Hips Don’t Lie” as she belly danced in the rain as the crowd of celebrities and fans alike danced and chanted along, with Taylor Swift among the celebs getting in on the action. She closed out the set with her electro-pop bop “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” which found her dancing above the crowd.
After the electrifying display, Jean returned to the stage to bestow Shakira with the Video Vanguard Award. “Tonight is gonna go down in history,” Jean said. “It’s such an honor for me to present y’all someone I got a chance to work with that I consider to be a musical genius.”
After giving a warm embrace to her longtime friend and collaborator, Shakira rattled through an extensive list of “thank you’s” to the people who have been formative to her career. “This is amazing, this is truly a surprise,” she said with a smile as she got interrupted by fans chanting her name. She first thanked MTV for being “such a big part of my career” since she was 18 and acknowledged the people who have, “played a key role in my visual history,” including Maite Marcos, who was one of the creative directors for her Super Bowl Halftime Show with Jennifer Lopez.
She also thanked the other “amazing women” who work with her who are “not only smart, but always help me push through all my challenges.” Her parents and two children, Milan and Sasha who were in the crowd cheering her on, also got a shout-out. Last but not least, she celebrated the people who helped her achieve her success. “I want to share this award with my fans who always support me through thick and thin,” she praised. “Thank you so much for being my army and helping me to fight all my battles.”
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV)
