Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Super Bowl LIV performance at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was a complete showstopper on Sunday night. By now, you’ve likely seen that Lopez’s 11-year-old daughter Emme Maribel Muñiz joined the Latinx entertainers on-stage to help them sing her mother’s arena sports anthem, “Let’s Get Loud.” But did you notice that Shakira gave a knowing nod to her family too?
The Colombian sensation — who also celebrated her 43rd birthday at the Super Bowl — performed her song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” as part of her Pepsi Halftime Show medley.
Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show
Her energetic rendition included a hearty dance break with dancers clad in gold, and was sung in tandem with Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud.”
“Waka Waka” was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and it was actually that particular music video shoot where Shakira would first meet the man who would become her future longtime partner, and father of their two children, Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué.
Prior to the Super Bowl, Shakira told “60 Minutes” that Piqué’s brief music video cameo caught her attention, even though she “didn’t know who he was.”
“But when I saw the video, I was like, ’Hmm, that one’s kind of cute!” said Shakira to the broadcaster in January, with a laugh. “And then someone decided to introduce us.”
Interestingly, that song may have also sparked good mojo for the couple. Following the video recording, Piqué’s on-field prowess helped usher in a World Cup victory at that tournament for Spain.
Either way, the song is inextricably linked to Shakira’s personal life and professional highs. In 2014, Shakira told Fox Sports that, “If it wasn’t for the World Cup, my son Milan would not be here.”
“Waka Waka”’s inclusion made for a nice salute to fans of the “other” football, also known as soccer, as well as the NFL’s global reach.
The song has almost 2.4 billion views on YouTube, and CBS reports it hit number one in more than 15 countries.
And something tells us that its views will only continue to rise as more people catch Shakira’s historic Super Bowl performance, and connect the dots about this song selection’s personal significance. According to Twitter Data, the “Waka Waka” performance was the most-tweeted moment of the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show.
“Whenever, Wherever,” right?