Here are some photos of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira at their press conference for the Super Bowl LIV Pepsi Halftime Show. Jennifer has been pretty quiet since she was snubbed for an Oscar nomination (and no, I’m not getting in this fight again, she was SNUBBED). Part of me thinks that she was terribly hurt to not get a nomination, and part of me thinks that ultimately, she doesn’t care *that* much, especially because she’s probably been knee-deep in preparations for the Half-time show. Meanwhile, I haven’t seen photos of Shakira since last November, when she was attending some tennis matches in Madrid after her husband bought Davis Cup and utterly ruined it. Yes, I’m still bitter.
Anyway, I think J.Lo is supposed to be the main act and then Shakira is the special guest star, but you know the Super Bowl, they’ll probably have a dozen other “guest stars.” Since it’s in Miami, I’m guessing Pitbull? Gloria Estefan? Jennifer and Shakira wouldn’t spill, but they said they’ve packed a lot into their 12-minutes. They were also asked about Kobe Bryant and whether they would honor him in any way, and Jennifer said there will be a “heartfelt moment” for him. My guess is some kind of representation with his jersey numbers (8 and 24).
People are also obsessed with Shakira and J.Lo’s mismatched style vibes at the presser. J.Lo was doing her J.Lo thing, looking like the accountant of a high-end brothel, while Shakira was in ripped jeans and a Guns & Roses t-shirt. I’ll blow your mind… did you know Shakira is 42 years old? Jennifer is 50! Crazy.
Also: stop disrespecting Shakira’s career, damn it. Shakira is a GLOBAL icon.
Outside of America, Shakira is literally the world’s Beyonce… Americans don’t seem to understand the IMPACT of Ms Shakira. There’s a reason her songs constantly break streaming records and her tours break attendance records worldwide- JLo literally could never https://t.co/EcebHbBBO5
— Fayik (@Fayik0) January 30, 2020
Loving @jlo’s purse with my birth date on it!! 😜 pic.twitter.com/LXj9b8mhpD
— Shakira (@shakira) January 30, 2020
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Lol yeah, that NYP article is hilarious. Shakira was (and is) massive in Latin America even before she crossed over. Her big moment came and went here, but what does she care? More Spanish speakers in the world than English. Woman is not hurting for money or fame. It’s more shocking to me that radio stations aren’t jumping on international stars like her or BTS.
I don’t even live in a Spanish-speaking country (France) but Shakira is biiiiiig here.
I can’t remember if her crossover into mainstream European and American music happened at the same time, or if she went big there and had her stint here. Either way? American music tends to be bizarrely self-contained. Movies we get a little more hint of from crossover film, but it’s still very limited. Some of that is the geographic size/population demographics (you see it with China, too), but a lot of it is just ethnocentrism and privilege. We don’t have to think outside our borders because of our global positioning as an economic powerhouse.
@VeronicaS
Around the same time. In 2001 when she dyed her hair blonde and started singing in english. Although, her spanish songs were still popular during and after this era. One of her biggest songs in her career was two years ago (Chantaje)
Yeah, she became really huge when Whenever, wherever was released, in 2001 or 2002, and she’s never stopped being a star.
When “Whenever, Wherever” came out she was already a huge international star, just not yet in the US. I bought her Grandes Exitos in Spain in 2003 and that had Suerte and Te Aviso on it, but both were really recent hits. Estoy Aqui was her first major hit I think. (I’m not sure if you meant she became huge in 2001 in the US or in general.)
Ojos Asi is my favorite song of hers.
Becks, her first big hit was Pies Descalzos from the album of the same name, which was also her first album once she crossed over to Mexico from Colombia.
I have at least 3 Shakira CDs. I’d never be caught dead with a J.Lo CD haha.
She’s still huge in the US with spanish speaking audience… which are gradually reaching the same number as the english speaking audience.
I would assume, yeah. I mean, I’m not fully bilingual (I can speak and read a decent amount of Spanish but am hardly fluent), and I listen to her music all the time. I was referring more to her big radio pop star moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gradually makes her way back into mainstream radio for the exact reason you mentioned – Spanish speakers are, what? Forty percent of the population now? Some crazy high number. It’s to your detriment not to have some Spanish fluency at this point.
She is very popular, I think because she has evolved. I am not a huge fan, but I love her pop songs, and the songs she composed when she went blonde, too. Later, she went the reggaeton way.
Many Latin artists have collaborated with Pitbull, for example, but she went head first into that (Miami?) based music style.
Many younger people wh like regueton (as is written in Spanish), dance to her songs and collars. Me?I dislike the lyrics of most regueton, as I think they are generally misoynistic and cheap. I would not let a child listen to them if I could, at least until I could explain why. I have a younger kid and I always change the radio station when regueton comes up next.
To be honest, part of the public, the ones who know her earlier works, long for more of that music. Well, we always can listen to an old album of hers. (sniff)
@veronica I had to check to see if 40% of Americans really speak Spanish, that number is way off, it’s actually just 13.4% but the Spanish speaking population is definitely growing.
Huh, wonder what statistic I confused it with then. Maybe it was overall ESL speakers in the United States? No idea. This article I’m looking at suggests it’s closer to 15% now, which is still…a lot. Not surprising considering most of South America speaks it lol. It’s more ridiculous that we aren’t teaching it in grade school given how common it is across the globe.
@veronica So true, we should be teaching it in grade school! I spent part of my childhood in Southern CA and we were learning basic Spanish in Kindergarten, but then nothing in the next few grades and I realized it must have been something my progressive teacher spearheaded herself! To this day I can count in Spanish because of that teacher!
I went to a Shakira concert when she was beggining and also sang in Portuguese (Brazil is the biggest country in South America and a huge market). She is great!
She speaks like….4-5 different languages or something? Immensely talented woman. Very jealous you go to see her early on. Her stage energy is incredible, and I really wish I’d been old enough to go to concerts when she was having her huge moment here. She was in NYC (driving distance for me) back in 2018, but I couldn’t swing it with my job because I was out of town. Would love to see her at some point, though.
I’m from a Southeast European country and Shakira is way way bigger than JLo here.
There are significantly more English speakers in the world than Spanish speakers. Perhaps you meant as a first language.
Yep, I misstated that. It’s the second most common first language. It’s the fourth most common language overall, though.
Jennifer looks every bit like a wealthy, well-preserved 52 year old. Shakira looks very young to me.
I know! Is she aging backwards? I mean, I know fillers are a thing, but it doesn’t usually work this well.
I agree. JLo looks 50 something where as Shakira looks like a 30 something mom. I will add, though, as a 55 year old, your face ages a lot from early 40’s to early 50’s. Sigh.
I feel you on that FHMom – we’re the same age and I am trying to be cool with the changes in my face. Sigh.
J.Lo thinks she is beneath smiling. Either that, or afraid her fave will crack. Shakira is not bothered by such things. That’s why she looks so beautiful and J.Lo permanently looks like a fibreglass store dummy.
There’s many many pics of JLO smiling at this presser. Why make it a competition??
Shakira looks very young but you can tell she over did the cheek fillers a bit. Maybe they’ll settle for the big show.
I think what contributes to Shakira’s young look is that she is so tiny. That tends to make you look younger.
Here in the pics she looks not as thin as she usually looks. She was not so thin when she started, and her face was so much softer it might also help with that.
Sadly, she’ll probably lose the weight for the live presentation
I love Shakira! I discovered her new stuff in college and then a friend of mine gave me all of her albums to listen to. My Spanish was good back then as a lot of friends in college were native speakers and I got a lot of practice, so I loved listening to her Spanish songs. Then I learned just how big she was worldwide. She’s been in the business since she was a teenager and her crossover to the US was pretty amazing. Can you tell I’m a fan?! I usually put one of her full concerts on when I’m cleaning my house and it puts me in the best mood!
Shakira looks…. different?
Shak has had one hell of a career, she and JLo are absolutely at the same level. Also, I kind of like that they dress so differently. Both of them were totally true to their own styles. In fact, I’m pretty sure Shakira always dresses like that at events that don’t require her to perform or wear a gown.
I agree. They are both goddesses. Let them wear what they want!
This is going to be a kickazz halftime show!!!
And, yes, JLo was robbed. She at LEAST deserved a nom.
My all time halftime favorites (fight me – or just look them up on yt and see for yourself):
1) Prince
2) Madonna
3) Springsteen
4) Beyonce’
5) ZZ Top
Both are gorgeous and so sexy. Shakira could dress in a paper bag and still be sexy. Love them! As a woman in their age bracket, I look to them as fitness goals!
Shakira is one of my favorites. Her music just makes me happy. Joy and life and fun. I’m actually really looking forward to the show. And, JLo probably has something in the contract that Shakira can’t look hotter than her. It’s JLo. Come on.
Shakira is bigger than jlo or even Beyonce worldwide.
ITA! Shakira tours worldwide. Beyonce and JLo do not (no disrespect to either)
who told you Beyonce doesn’t tour worldwide?
Lololol. Where in the world did you get the idea that Beyoncé doesn’t tour worldwide?! Her last FOUR concert tours were worldwide hun.
Shakira is huuuge in every country I lived in. JLo is an American phenomenon that occasionally but not consistently crosses over. No shade. It’s just the way it is.
I agree. shakira has always been a big star in europe. for years. I don’t think beyonce and jlo are as big in europe as they are in the states.
Shakira is a LEGEND. One of the few latin stars to break into US mainstream. I love J.Lo but between the two, globally, Shakira is THE STAR.
I’m from Barcelona so I never knew that people in the US really think that J.Lo is bigger than Shakira lol she just did a world tour and played in stadiums and has five videos with more than a billion views THE DISRESPECT…
Exactly! The ignorance lol. Shakira has several music videos that have reached a billion. Some even are at 2 billion and counting. She went on a worldwide stadium tour last year. She’s a global icon. Who cares about the U.S
@MCV we aren’t all that uninformed here in the US trust me. J.Lo is nowhere NEAR the level of Shakira worldwide. Put some RESPECT on her name.
No need to pit them against each other, JLO is a pop culture icon, movie star, singer, LEGEND. Shakira is a huuuge singer all over the world. To defend one, you don’t have to put the other one down!
I like JLo’s music (her duet with Marc Anthony, No Me Ames, is one of the most beautiful songs ever IMO) but Shakira is SHAKIRA. I am way more excited to see her during the half time show than JLo. I hope its split pretty equally between the two and that its not J Lo featuring Shakira or whatever.
I don’t really care for either of their music personally (not really into pop), but WOW does Shakira look youthful! She looks eighteen in these pics. JLo looks absolutely fantastic and flawless as always (love her in white!). I’m sure it’ll be a very good show, these women both know how to put on a great performance.
She does look really young!
I personally don’t like Shakira’s voice, and I think JLO is a mediocre singer at best, but even though I’m not a fan of either, both are hugely successful, and it’s nice to see 2 women, especially 2 “older” women doing this.
I think Shakira is gorgeous but I know exactly one Shakira song – the one where the guy says “Shakira Shakira”. Mind blowing to find out she’s a global superstar!
That’s “hips don’t lie”!!!
Hips don’t lie!! Great song
Lady, get on youtube and be prepared to get blown away!
Great Zumba song!
In Europe Shakira’s huge, a household name, I’d say. Bigger than JLo, definitely.
The Post should be embarrassed by that article, but they aren’t. Shakira is a global talent. Everyone who she is. Not to diminish JLo, but Shakira is nobody’s opening act. She’s the headliner. Always.
Love Shakira, forever and always.
PLEASE have Ozuna, Bad Bunny and/or Nicky Jam!!! YUM I cannot wait
hahaha, I was just complaining about them. 😀
Hips Dont Lie is still one of my favorite songs to dance to!
Man I love Shakira forever. Love her music, love her. I have hair the same texture as her, and I always bring photos of her to my hairstylist. She made it cool to have wild hair in a sea of 2000s pin straightened hair.
I want to see JLo and Shakira in a dance off. I feel Shakira doing better in the singing department. JLo tend to get autotuned more. But the dancing…it could go both ways.
That is what I so hoping for also! A dance off!
Both incredibly talented ladies who both put on a heck of a show.
I got to know Shakira’s music during my Zumba days!
omg. I have an Isadora. <3 She'll be two in April.
Men do something together and it’s a bromance. Women do something together and it’s always painted as a competition. Sigh…
Ha! well, Shaki is one artist that JLo cannot “shade” in the same way she did all those other female artists when she was the shade princess, back in 1998. (the Queen is Mariah).
Exactly what I was thinking Nikki. Yet another excuse to pit women against each other. Amazed there haven’t been more “leaks” about cat-fighting or diva demands during rehearsals.
Sigh indeed, Nikki. Especially considering Shak is probably one of the few popstars whom I’ve never seen involved in no feuds of any kind. Everyone in the music industry seems to love her.
Genuine question: is the Superbowl watched/cared about outside of the US? If not, it would make sense that the NFL is catering to the US market by having JLo be the main act, even though Shakira is bigger internationally. JLo is more ubiquitous here.
It’s pretty popular in Canada too which is also someplace Shakira isn’t very popular and probably less popular than in the States.
In the sports community in other countries it is important, too, but it is not the family/ cultural phenomenon it is in the US, as is baseball. In Mexico, my country, baseball is much more popular there are a few leagues and regionally, baseball stadiums fill up. Soccer is at a whole different level, tho. All year long there are soccer games. Football is not as widely followed, but there are university leagues, and even female “tochito” (flag football )leagues. it is not that popular maybe due to how expensive the equipment is. Sometimes I see teens (girls and boys) who are in these teams in the corners of busy streets asking for money to buy their equipment or to pay for some if their trips expenses. Public and private universities pay a part, but it is a lot of money for regular folks. My brother used to play football in highschool here in Mexico back in the eighties. Our home was filled with sports illustrated magazines!
I think that’s part of the reason they went with Shakira – to get more international focus, at least on the half time show. the NFL is trying to go international (see London games that have been increasing, Mexico City game) and I think someone knows if they want to really have international appeal, they need to go beyond US artists. They were doing it for a while (I know they’re US artists, but obviously Prince, Springsteen, Beyoncé have international appeal) and then last year we had….Maroon 5.
So I think this is partly because Shakira is so famous outside the US.
Televised games were played a few times on open tv, like the finals, the rose bowl parade, the most important games.but after the boom of cable and satellite tv, some channels can afford broadcasting the games. I think that televising them trying to make them popular was not a good investment since the football and baseball games are too long and the audience was not big, just in the finals.
There is still a faithful audience sector that have been fans and followers for many decades. Blame mainly the 70s Dallas cowboys and their cheerleaders.
Very embarrassingly, a “sports reporter” from my country, infamously stole Brady’s jersey, and he was, of course, caught on tape.
I’m here for all of it and I really love that there are two huge names… JLo alone isn’t a big enough performance draw for me.
Haven’t read the comments – but Shakira is AMAZZING and I am so excited. She is a global icon and such a huge get for the Super Bowl.
Hold on…but …Shakira is a GLOBAL SUPERSTAR way more and above than J.Lo or Beyonce. It is funy sometimes to see how selfcentred US is.
I prefer her voice in Spanish. Especially my favourite old “Inevitable” or duet with Alejandro Sanz “La Tortura”
When the song in which she collabored with Beyoncé came out (Beautiful Liar), most people I knew had never heard of Bey before that. Shakira is way, way bigger than most people even imagine. Inevitable is by far one of her best songs. I also like La Tortura, but I can’t stand Alejandro Sanz lol.
SuperBowl is a US event though…
@Lucy- Yessss, Inevitable! I still love “Donde Estan Los Ladrones?” It’s prob my favorite album of hers, though I certainly can’t complain about the other ones. They’re all good. I don’t speak very much Spanish, but I just love her melodies and voice. She was phenomenal in concert! So much stage presence.
“…looking like the accountant of a high-end brothel.” LOL. I’m using this as an example of how pithy a simile can be with my poetry workshop this week.
I spat up my coffee!!!
Shakira may be a global icon, legend, etc. etc., but I cannot STAND her vocals. That nasally yodel is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Never heard her in Spanish though but I’ve been told her vocals are much better when she sings in her native tongue.
I am looking forward to seeing these two women crush it on Sunday. It blows my mind though how their teams didn’t put their star power together and release an absolute smash song ahead of the show. Such a missed opportunity.
OMG, no kidding! That would’ve been really cool for them to record a song together.
I just skimmed through that press conference just to see what was up on this issue and I thought they both look great!
JLo did the harder make up that she loves, which under the lightning of the event was not as good, while Shakira had a very softer face (big cheeks!) look which seemed like a contrast. Combined with the outfits, it made an artificial age gap which they could have swapped either way.
The article is putting women against each other – retro-sexism. I wasn’t comfortable with the 4/5 questions pushed on both of them about Kobe Bryant’s tragic death or Vanessa’s loss?! I think if it was two male musicians doing the same conference (that they were the only two Latino, singular icons that were special for their longevity over the same odds) then there prob wouldn’t be such a push that they should speak about – their own unique SBowl press conference – about a loss of another sports icon.
I went to college and became close friends with Shakira’s first cousin, right at the height of her US breakthrough. By all accounts, she’s a wonderful person who gives back to her community. I’m a big fan.
I’m a huge Shakira fan and seen her twice in concert. The woman is incredibly talented, she can sing, and is an incredible dancer. I love her Spanish stuff the most. She speaks 5 languages, gives millions to her chrildren’s charity and plays several instruments. She’s always had a laid back style while JLo tries too hard.
JLo can’t sing. It’s well known that she uses other artists voices and doesn’t sing live. She’s a great performer but terrible singer. I prefer her as an actress.
JLo isn’t in Shakira’s stratosphere when it comes to music. Not even close.
And she can compose and play instruments ( at least the guitar)!
Shakira can sing? I think I need to listen to her Spanish music because I think her vocals (in English) are awful. J.Lo can’t really sing either, I agree with you on that.
different tastes, I love her voice (and I imagine so do millions of other people).
I like JLo but Shak is the real musical star here. She’s headlined real football’s world cup twice!
She’s the bigger star globally.
Nothing against Jenny from the block but she’s always trying too hard while Shakira doesn’t feel the need to do that kind of sh-t. I respect her authenticity. I know people have mixed opinions regarding Shakira’s vocals but I personally like it. She’s got a unique sound. Jlo on other hand is notorious for stealing lesser known singer’s vocals. Shameful.
You’re talking about the Ashanti thing, that was common in the early 2000s to use backup vocals. Ashanti attendee JLO’s last bday party, if she had “stolen” her vocals, would she do that? Also, you call it trying too hard, but she’s a fashion icon, She is known for it so I love her outfits and her dedication to giving us original looks.
She literally lip syncs on other women’s vocals without crediting them so yes I would call it stealing. She did it with Ashanti, Christina Milian and Natasha Ramos.
Mmmm
Well, Shakira is well known (and sometimes sued), for stealing/borrowing music and lyrics. Google ir.
Oh wow. I had no idea. But still doesn’t put her on same level as someone stealing vocals and passing them off as her own.
It always astonishes me how little Americans know or care about the world outside of states, (I mean in general, I know there are amazing American people, who know a lot, my friends included, you guys here as well). I know it’s a huge country, but still. Shakira is HUGE in Europe, in Russia, in Australia, Latin America, etc. Just like Nicole Scherzinger who is super popular in the UK, Europe, etc. The TV show Suits was so popular in Europe as well. We also like/watch Canadian shows. How about Arab countries, Asia?? People act like there is no world outside of the US and they could not be more wrong.
Just the other day some airheaded fashion blogger asked on the Instagram poll if her followers live in Texas or outside of Texas. People, of course, called her out on that, saying that the majority of them are not from the US, and she was defending herself in a sense that she “doesn’t really pay attention to other countries”. I mean, come on…
This reminds me of people who say Priyanka Chopra is only famous because of Nick Jonas. Gimme a break! She was a huge star in India and Southeast Asia. She came to the US because actresses age out of the business at a much earlier age in Bollywood and she’s working hard to extend her career.
Exactly! I even remember the Miss World contest that she won. I was 16 I belive, and I rememver thinking that she was such a beauty.
Anne, people definitely live in bubbles. I hope it’s not just the US (because it’s embarrassing) but I can only speak to my own experiences. Our daycare provider is Muslim and she’s only the second person I’ve met who wears a hijab. Thankfully she’s very open with sharing her culture and religion with me. And she’s interested in learning about my faith traditions and family culture.
I’m getting my M.Ed in Library Media Studies, and there’s (finally) a big push in providing diverse books in libraries. I consider myself to be very open and “worldly,” but I realized last year that I did not have ONE book on my daughter’s bookshelf that featured non-white characters. So I’ve added a few since then as I come across them. If anyone is looking for some great authors or illustrators of color, Jacqueline Woodson, Jerry Pinkney, Kadir Nelson, Grace Lin, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Justina Ireland are a few that I’ve found this year and love.
Also, I live in the Boston area and I went to school in DC. It’s not as though I live in some small town with 300 people (where diversity could definitely be harder to come across). So…what I wrote above is even more depressing. I hope to give my daughters a different experience…
Both are overrated and overly hyped.
I so agree with you lily.
Hi kids. American here. J. Lo hasn’t been a music superstar since the mid 2000s. The NFL picks veteran musical artists who tend to be middle aged because they deem it “safe.” This is all due to Janet Jackson showing her covered nipple during the half time show in 2004 and conservative America lost its mind. There is no J. Lo is so big in America and nobody knows how big Shakira is rivalry. That’s it. That’s the comment.
Both are great . I like shakira but I last listened to her beyonce ft track!!Unlike for shakira I bought 3 Jlo albums but I have both women’s music on my spotify.
I love both of them!!!! I cant wait! I am a die hard JLO fan for everything she does…. and as an English speaking Canadian I still love shakira since her cross over and i listen to all her stuff in Spanish too…. her live concerts are amazing… she even does a remake of Metallica’s nothing else matters that’s pretty sick!
I’ll make an effort to see it just for Shakira.
Bullshit she’s not pissed she was snubbed
JLo’s boobs look so weird in that outfit!
I am from Belgium and Shakira is extremely famous here. I know à lot of people who are fans. Maybe more than JLO