Shakira vs Gerard Piqué: Colombian singer sets new Latin YouTube view record with revenge song

Shakira (left), Gerard Pique (right)
Shakira (left), Gerard Pique (right) Copyright AP Photo
By Jonny Walfisz
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The Colombian singer has set a new Latin YouTube record for most viewed video with her latest track which doesn't pull her punches laying into ex-partner Gerard Piqué.

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Has Shakira released the ultimate diss track of 2023, less than a fortnight into the year? Looks like it.

The Colombian singer-songwriter and Argentinian DJ Bizarrap dropped ‘BZRP Music Sessions #53’ on his YouTube channel on Wednesday and was viewed more than 63 million times in under 24 hours, making it the most watched Latin song in the platform's history.

The untitled track has gained a massive following immediately across Spanish language social media as people tear apart Shakira’s lyrics. Spoilers: she’s taking shots at her ex-partner Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué.

Piqué retired from the game last year after playing Barcelona and is considered one of the best defenders of his generation.

But after over a decade spent in a relationship with Shakira, he couldn’t defend himself against her lyrics following their breakup in 2022.

A woman scorned

“A she-wolf like me ain't for dudes like you,” Shakira sings in the chorus, echoing ‘She Wolf’, her 2009 hit. “I've outgrown you and that's why you're with a girl just like you.”

The “girl like” Piqué is clearly a reference by the 45-year-old singer to the 23-year-old Clara Chia Marti, a public relations student who’s been pictured with the footballer turned sports-business mogul and is believed to be dating him.

In the new track Shakira sings: “I’m worth two 22-year-olds. You swapped a Ferrari for a Twingo. You swapped a Rolex for a Casio.”

Shakira continues in the song to detail the complexities of her split with the ex-Barca star whose Kosmos Holdings organises tennis' Davis Cup and has interests ranging from sports energy drinks, real estate, food and eSports. 

“You left me as a neighbour to the mother-in-law; With the press at the door and the debt at the IRS,” she sings, referring to their family home in Spain which put Shakira in the middle of a tax fraud case after the 2018 Paradise Papers led to an investigation into her living arrangements.

Spanish prosecutors accused Shakira of failing to pay €14.5 million in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. During this period she claims her primary residence was in the Bahamas, but prosecutors argue she was living in Spain with Piqué.

Emilio Morenatti/AP
Colombian pop star Shakira plays with Gerard Pique in happier timesEmilio Morenatti/AP

Outside of Shakira’s comments on the complicated financial situation of their separation, she also took aim at Piqué’s general character.

“You're going fast, slow down; Ah, a lot of gym; But work-out your brain a little too,” she sings.

Then she moves on to her emotional turmoil inside the relationship. “Pictures wherever I am; I feel like a hostage here, it's all right with me.”

"In Shakira's musical career, she has always hinted at episodes of his personal life in his lyrics, but she has never been so explicit," Euronews journalist Marta Rodriguez says. 

Shakira has been trending all day on social media. Spanish journalist Jordi Évole summed up the furore the song has caused: "Please, could the government declare today a public holiday so that we can continue talking about Shakira quietly, without work interrupting us?”

One of the most commented reactions has been that of Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos, a friend and associate of the ex-footballer: "Rest in peace Gerard Piqué".

Even the European Union Intellectual Property Office weighed in on the controversy, tweeting a reference to Shakira's lyric "You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo; You traded a Rolex for a Casio". 

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"For the rest, there is much debate about whether the song empowers or denigrates women, because on the one hand Shakira takes the reins of her own narrative and on the other mentions her ex's new partner," Rodriguez adds. 

As Taylor Swift says, men “are all writing songs about their exes, their current girlfriends, their love life, and no one raises the red flag there.”

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