Review El Dorado World Tour: Shakira shines once again
Pop’s queen Shakira reaffirms she’s a golden superstar
It is almost 8.30 pm and the O2 Arena (London) is filling up quickly. The screens on stage are lit up and display the picture of gilded Shakira, just like the one used to promote El Dorado World Tour, has already grabbed people’s attention, reminding them she is about to come out on stage. Latecomers are rushing to their seats, while others have already started singing her songs and clapping their hands, waiting nervously for the Colombian superstar to arrive.
The time has come, the lights go out. A roar fills the O2 Arena while background voices start singing Estoy Aquí, an iconic song from the 1995 album Pies Descalzos. Photos on the side screens take the audience through a journey into Shakira’s life. A beam of light brightens the stage for a few seconds and Shakira appears, smiling and waving, welcomed by the sold out crowd.
She kicks off the show with a jump into the past with a remix of Estoy aquí and a medley with ¿Dónde estás corazón? that makes everyone in the arena stand and sing along. It is like no time has passed and all the tension that has preceded the live performance is gone. It is only apt that, after the stage has gone dark again and she has reappeared in shackles that are trying to restrain her to a block of concrete, she breaks free from the chains and starts singing She Wolf. Neither herself nor her music can be tamed and the whole show is proof of that.
There is no denying that the music industry has constraints that not always leave much space to artistic freedom, but, like she enacted before making the whole arena howl with her, Shakira has conquered her freedom in this enchanting live performance. They say actions speak louder than words and in this case her show was a captivating display of freedom, proving she is navigating the music industry with her talent intact.
Mixing old and new music, Shakira embraces the challenge of bringing on stage the many hit songs of a long and successful career.
Still faithful to her rock roots, she gifts the fans with Si te vas and Inevitable, two masterpieces she has always performed on tour and for good reasons: she passionately sings the lyrics with all her might, letting her voice and guitar be the vehicle of emotions no one could otherwise let out.
She even adds a rock twist to her 2014 pop single Can’t Remember to Forget You skillfully playing the drums, just before jumping into a different genre with a medley of Loca and Rabiosa.
Shakira also makes time for her most recent Latin pop work: Perro Fiel, Me Enamoré and Chantaje bring everyone at the O2 Arena on their feet to dance with her and leave the audience with a sense of excitement and a craving for more fun.
Bellydancing receives its well deserved space as well. After a video recounting the legend of El Dorado, Shakira comes back on stage for her trademark dance, this time wearing a golden death mask, probably inspired by the ancient Colombian mask worn during funeral processions. The fans are bewitched and a roar fills the arena when Shakira transitions from dancing to singing the unforgettable Whenever Wherever.
Her performance is so hypnotizing that everyone is looking at the stage like it was paved with gold, like the legendary city of El Dorado, which was said to be located in the Andes in what is now Colombia. The story might be just an ancient myth, but everyone attending the concern at the O2 Arena can confidently say they’ve found a real Colombian treasure tonight.
Shakira also appeals to the softer side of people’s hearts with Tú and Antologia. Both songs bring on stage the struggle between unconditional love and pain, the effort of letting someone go and the wretched aftermath of a heartbreak. Shakira’s powerful voice suits the intense feelings she is describing. Her music is bringing the audience through an emotional journey that culminates in the kind silence only such outstanding performance could bring in a filled arena, especially after the breathtaking interpretation of Tú.
Fans know there are still some hit songs Shakira hasn’t performed yet, but what they don’t know is that what is about to happen on stage will exceed their expectations.
After a captivating violin interlude recalling the melody of La Bicicleta, Shakira is back on stage jumping straight into La La La (Brazil 2014) and Waka Waka (This Time for Africa). With dazzling movements and a colourful, ostrich-style outfit inspired by the Colombian flag, she delivers an electrifying performance, dancing barefoot while her fans cheer and echo the lyrics with passion.
It is now time for another ballad. Climbing on a makeshift platform erected in the back of the audience, opposite to the main stage, Shakira is joined by the crowd in her performance of Toneladas. Closer to the fans than ever, she then gets rid of the golden dress she is wearing exclusively for this song and she makes her way back to the main stage through a corridor of fans, stopping for hugs and pictures.
With a beautiful and serene smile on her face, she is about to close the two-hour concert amid the crowd’s roar of approval. After making everyone jump and dance to the rhythm of Hips Don’t Lie, she delivers a phenomenal performance of La Bicicleta, her duet with Colombian singer Carlos Vives. Depicting a side of the country that not many know exists, she lets her voice and body go back to her Latin identity. The studio version of the song was already a magical dive into Colombia’s beauty, but the live performance is even more memorable. It brings together music, colours and a sense of genuine joy that seem to bring the international superstar into a blissful state that goes well beyond the flawless execution of the piece.
La Bicicleta is the right wrapup of a remarkable concert, a seal on a golden night Shakira has gifted her fans with.
It’s been seven years since Shakira last set foot on a stage for a world tour. After 107 shows, The Sun Comes Out World Tour ended in Paris wrapping up three glorious years that marked Shakira’s career forever. The release of her eight and ninth studio albums, She Wolf and Sale El Sol, and the smashing success of the World Cup theme song Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) brought Shakira’s music to an even larger audience that couldn’t get enough of her. Yet fans had to wait until early 2014 for the self-titled studio album Shakira. which left some fans with a sour taste in the mouth. The lack of Latin flavor plus the minimal promotion that accompanied the album — apart from the brief appearance as a coach for The Voice — seemed to put some distance between Shakira’s music and her fans. Unlike any other time in her then 22-year-long career, no concert tour followed and her musical endeavor did not seem to compare with the beloved Sale El Sol era.
In May 2017 Shakira released El Dorado, her long awaited eleventh studio album. Welcomed back by old fans, she also gained the attention a younger taste, cashing in on the growing popularity of Latin music. Although much of her career had already been based on the Latin influences that shaped even her anglophone productions, this time Shakira went for a different strategy: more mainstream Latin pop and reggaeton and a surplus of collaborations, including Maluma, with whom she has just teamed up for a third song called Clandestino, the story of clandestine love sprinkled by a reggae beat.
Although the chart history of the award-winning record speaks for itself, part of Shakira’s fanbase was disenchanted by what they deemed an idle effort to comply with her 60 million dollars deal with her record label.
Shakira’s vocal cord injury, which forced her to postpone the European leg of the El Dorado World Tour, was a further setback that began to fret fans. Would she ever come back on stage? Shakira recently admitted she herself doubted she would ever be able to sing again, but the dwindling trust of some fans towards her musical commitment has definitely been restored.
Shakira is not even halfway through the first leg of the world tour and she has already proved her talent is still intact. Her stage presence is enchanting as ever and the brisk tempo of the whole show keeps the audience on its toes. The splashes of bright colours on the back screens, the excellent balance of ballads and hit songs and the intense sounds that characterise the arrangements of both old and new songs put to rest any doubts her fans might have had. She won their heart back tuning old fans’ taste to new sounds and she has once again proven her versatility as one of the best superstars of the current musical landscape. El Dorado World Tour is a rollercoaster of musical adventure and well handled genres contrasts.
One is only left to wonder why the album El Dorado doesn’t live up to the expectations, while her live performance confirms her creative abilities.
Seven years have gone by, but Shakira’s stage boldness hasn’t changed a bit. If anything at all, she has put to good use an arguably average album to create a standout show.
