Shakira is to the World Cup what Mariah Carey is to Christmas. They’re almost synonymous—or at least you can’t fully enjoy one without the other. So seeing the Colombian megastar during this momentous time at the opening show of the new leg of her record-breaking Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA, on June 13, simply hit different. Having seen the show last year at a stadium, the arena felt more intimate, but the excitement around the World Cup—which was palpable throughout the entire city—made for a unique and communal experience that’s hard to replicate.
Because it wasn’t just the concert; it was Los Angeles in general. If there’s one city in the U.S. that can mirror Mexican fans’ World Cup celebrations among the host countries, it’s LA. From community watch parties in Koreatown (which included a KFC!) to branded experiences at BMO Stadium with Adidas, el fútbol has taken over the city. Located in a prime spot near concert venues like the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum, as well as World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, another business that got it right was The Anthem Hotel.
Over the weekend, the hotel hosted its ongoing #GRWM (Get Ready With Me) series, a celebration of music, beauty, and fan culture linked to big events. In the past, The Anthem Hotel has hosted similar activations for Lady Gaga and Lorde, and future ones include Ariana Grande and Hillary Duff. But this time, it was all Shakira-related with a tinge of fútbol. The celebrations included a glam bar poolside, a live DJ, and a Shak look-alike contest. The prize? A pair of tickets to a World Cup game. Capitalizing on only a handful of people participating, this writer considered the odds weren’t that bad and entered the competition. Before an audience of World Cup match viewers wearing their team’s jerseys in the pool bar, we did our best Shakira impersonations to songs including “Ojos Así.” Sadly, my hips also don’t lie, revealing that I’m not the best dancer, and I did not win. And while going to a game would’ve been epic, watching La Loba perform songs like “Waka Waka” and “Dai Dai” during World Cup times is even better.
Walking literally next door to the hotel, there was fútbol spirit everywhere. Jerseys from different countries adorned the streets, both concertgoers and regular pedestrians, and vendors sold every flag imaginable so fans could display them proudly inside the venues. Aficionados packed the sports bars and restaurants in the area, and cars flying flags and displaying messages cruised the streets. Going into the patron diva of fútbol’s concert high off Mexico’s win earlier in the week felt correct. Maybe she could bless us to continue to the next bracket…
Shakira might be La Loba, but she’s not La Puntual, starting the show two hours after what was advertised. But she wasn’t the only one. Concertgoers also went by Hispanic Standard Time, filling out the venue minutes before the start of the show, $35 drink in hand, of course. And while fake news circulated after the World Cup inauguration, claiming Shak sent a double in her stead, tried to dim the moment, here, there was no question: Shakira delivered full Shakira.
Though the show and set list were almost identical to last year’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour run, there were some welcomed surprises. First, Shakira put on horns, declaring that while she was La Loba, in this moment, she was a gazelle before jumping to an unexpected performance of “Zoo,” the soundtrack from “Zootopia 2.” Then, appropriately so, Shak performed the official song for the FIFA World Cup “Dai Dai” for the first time on tour. And even though she’s been performing this song for 16 years already, as previously mentioned, experiencing “Waka Waka” live during World Cup season especifically has a different energy. Even if your national team didn’t make it, there’s a sense of unifying patriotism, loyal to the cause of amazingly catchy music.
And I’m not the only one who thinks so. In the U.S., nearly one in every three songs added to fútbol-themed playlist additions on Spotify is Shakira’s. After the Cup’s inaugural ceremony in Mexico City, she was the most-streamed artist on the platform, generating nearly 8 million global streams during the ceremony window. “Dai Dai” saw a increase in streams by 46 percent, while “Waka Waka” streams jumped 49 percent compared to the previous day. Shakira is the dominant artist associated with fútbol culture on Spotify, with the aforementioned plus “Hips Don’t Lie” and “La La La (Brasil 2014)” being the most popular songs.
For me, the week of Shakira’s show was dopamine hit after dopamine hit. I started out strong with Mexico’s win, but singing along to Shakira’s songs from the 90s, like “Antología” and “Pies descalzos, sueños blancos,” with my mom made it extra especial. It took me back to roadtrips with her and my sister, blasting Shakira’s cassette, windows rolled down to let in the Southern California breeze. However, drives aren’t always on budget thanks to rising gas costs, so The Anthem Hotel hosting us in LA, saving us a midnight cruise down to San Diego, was the icing on the cake.
It’s a weird time to feel patriotic. So when events bring people together thanks to similar backgrounds and experiences, they’re truly magical. It didn’t matter whether you were wearing a Colombian jersey or a Mexican one. Heck, it was even celebrated to wear an El Salvador one, a country that didn’t qualify. That day, you were just a friend. That’s what the World Cup and a Shakira concert can do. Mix them together and you have memories to last a lifetime.
Accommodations and concert tickets were provided to the author by The Anthem Hotel for the purpose of writing this story.