"Gypsy" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

, from her eighth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' She Wolf'' (2009). The song was chosen as the fourth and final single from the album by

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. It was released internationally on 26 March 2010; in the United States, "Gypsy" was released as a CD single on 12 April 2010. The Spanish-language version "Gitana" was released as a

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

on 1 March 2010. Written by

Amanda Ghost Amanda Louisa Gosein-Cameron (born 10 July 1974), known professionally as Amanda Ghost, is a British entertainment executive, songwriter and singer. She was the president of Epic Records from 2009 until 2010. Ghost is a three-time Ivor Novello A ...

with adittional composition by Shakira,

Carl Sturken Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers are New York–based songwriters and record producers. They have produced hits for Ruben Studdard, Wild Orchid, Christina Aguilera and Evelyn Champagne King and helped build the career of Rihanna. In addition to ...

and Evan Rogers, the lyrics of the song describe one's life travelling as a "

gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

". The song draws heavy influences from Indian bhangra music. Upon its release, "Gypsy" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, many of whom complimented its production. The single was commercially successful and peaked at number one within the

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

of Mexico and Romania as well as the top 10 in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Spain. In the United States, "Gypsy" peaked at number 65 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart, while "Gitana" reached number six on the ''Billboard''

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin music, Latin songs, published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart ranki ...

chart. "Gypsy" was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

and

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in Spain and Mexico, respectively. An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jaume de Laiguana, and stars Spanish professional tennis player

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...

as Shakira's love interest. The music video also generated a favourable response from critics, and was praised for the chemistry between Shakira and Nadal. Shakira appeared on a number of television shows, such as German-language entertainment show '' Wetten, dass..?'' and ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'', and award ceremonies to promote the song. It was also a part of the setlist of her Sun Comes Out World Tour.

Background and composition

"Gypsy" was released as the fourth and final single from Shakira's eighth

, ''She Wolf'' (2009). "Gypsy" was written by

with additional composition by Shakira,

Ian Dench Ian Alec Harvey Dench (born 7 August 1964) is an English songwriter and musician. He is the guitarist and principal songwriter for EMF, who scored a major international hit reaching number 1 in the United States with " Unbelievable" in 1991. I ...

and Evan Rogers, and produced by Shakira, Ghost, Lukas Burton and Future Cut. Written in a ballad-like form, the lyrics of the song describe life travelling on the road as a "

". Shakira explained the song, saying "(The song represents my) way of living and seeing life. I've been on the road since I was very young so that's where the gypsy metaphor comes from." Musically, "Gypsy" is heavily influenced by Indian bhangra music, and features instrumentation from the mandolin, banjo, sitar and tabla. According to the music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

, "Gypsy" is a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...

song written in the key of D flat major, with a

metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

of 100 beats per minute. Shakira's vocal range on the song spans from A3 to C5. The original English version of the song was released worldwide on 26 March 2010. In the United States, it was released as a CD single on 12 April 2010. A Spanish-language version of the song titled "Gitana" features additional lyrical contributions from

Jorge Drexler Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician and actor. In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award, which he won for composing the song " Al Otro Lado del Río" f ...

and was released on 1 March 2010, as a

Critical response

"Gypsy" received generally positive reviews from

. While reviewing the album, Ayala Ben-Yehuda from ''

'' singled out the song as an album highlight and called it "the closest thing to an acoustic song on the album". Fraser McAlpine from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Chart Blog also reviewed the song positively and praised its versatility, claiming it manages to be both "conservative acoustic music" and "radical exotic world music" at the same time. Robert Copsey from

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appreciated the acoustic-instrumentation of "Gypsy", noting it to be "by far the most organic-sounding offering from her ''She Wolf'' LP", but he also felt that the song is not "as instantly infectious as some of her classic singles".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

felt the song was representative of the entire album, picking it as an album highlight. Evan Sawdey from

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

, however, disliked the concept of the "Gypsy", saying the "metaphors don't work very well" on the song. The song was nominated for "Top Latin Song" at the 2011 ''Billboard'' Music Awards. Two other songs by Shakira, " Loca" and "

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" is a song by Colombian singer Shakira, featuring the South African band Freshlyground. Co-written by Shakira and John Hill (record producer), John Hill, it was released on 7 May 2010 by Epic Records as the Li ...

", were also nominated, and the award was won by the latter song. At the 2011 Annual Latin Music Awards hosted by

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

, Jorge Drexler won an award in the "Pop/Ballad" category for his composition of "Gitana".

Commercial performance

"Gypsy" attained international chart success. In Austria, it entered and peaked at number 11 on the

Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired on Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...

chart, spending a total of 10 weeks on the chart. In the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, the song peaked at number four on the

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiza ...

chart, spending a total of six weeks on the chart. In the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium, the song entered and peaked at number 40 on the

Ultratop 50 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

chart, spending a total of one week on the chart. In Germany, the song peaked at number seven on the

Media Control Charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

, remaining on the position for one week. In Spain, the song entered the Spanish Singles chart at number 47 and peaked at number three, spending a total of 38 weeks on the chart. "Gypsy" was certified

by the

Productores de Música de España Productores de Música de España (; shortened as Promusicae) is the national organisation responsible for the music charts of Spain. it is a trade association that represents more than 90% of the Spanish recorded music industry. It is the Inter ...

(PROMUSICAE) for sales of 40,000 units. In Switzerland, the song entered and peaked at number 12 on the

Schweizer Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

chart, spending a total of 18 weeks on the chart. In Mexico, "Gitana" topped the

Monitor Latino Monitor Latino (stylised monitorLATINO) is a singles chart founded in 2003 which ranks songs on chart based on airplay across radio stations in Latin American countries and Hispanic radio stations in the United States using the Radio Tracking Data ...

chart. It was certified gold by the

Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) (English: Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C.) is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in M ...

(AMPROFON) after it shipped 30,000 units in the country. In the United States, "Gypsy" peaked at number 65 on the ''

chart, spending a total of three weeks on the chart. On the

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...

chart, the song peaked at number 48, and remained on the chart for a total of one week. "Gitana" peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard''

chart, and stayed on the chart for a total of 20 weeks. On the

Latin Pop Airplay Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of ...

chart, the song peaked at number one, and remained on the chart for a total of 25 weeks. On the

Tropical Songs The ''Billboard'' tropical charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Tropical Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Tropical Airplay, which initially rank the most-played song ...

chart, the song peaked at number 18, and remained on the chart for a total of 20 weeks. In Canada, the song peaked at number 80 on the ''Billboard''

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

chart, and remained on it for a total of one week.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Gypsy" was directed by Jaume de Laiguana, who had previously worked with Shakira on the videos for songs such as " No". The video stars Spanish professional tennis player

, who portrays Shakira's love interest in the video. When asked about the reason for starring Nadal in the video, Shakira said she "thought that maybe I needed someone I could in some way identify with. And Rafael Nadal is a person who has been totally committed to his career since he was very young, since he was 17, I believe." The music videos for "Gypsy" and the Spanish-language version "Gitana" were released on 27 February 2010. The video begins with Shakira playing the harmonica, dressed in a black halter top and a long black skirt. The next scenes mainly consist of Shakira interacting with Nadal in different ways, such as dancing for him and laying together on the ground. The video ends with the duo sharing a kiss. The video received positive reviews from critics. Melanie Bertoldi from ''

'' praised Shakira's appearance in the video, saying "the Colombian firebird looks hotter than ever". The ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' review of the video labelled it as a "steamy affair". Alek & Steph from OhlalaMag praised the chemistry between Shakira and Nadal, calling it "flirtatious and playful". Jocelyn Vena from

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

praised the video for its "organic vibe" and commented that "while she (Shakira) claims that she's willing to wear her lover's clothes if they fit, she looks much hotter in the sheer black halter top and long black skirt that she sports at one point in the clip". Another review of the video complimented the duo's chemistry and called them both "equally-stunning".

Live performances

On 29 September 2009, Shakira appeared on the '' Later... with Jools Holland'' show to promote her album '' She Wolf'' and performed "Gypsy", along with " She Wolf" and "Why Wait". On 16 November, Shakira performed "Gypsy" live on the show '' The View'', accompanied by a tabla and sitar. On 24 November 2009, she performed "Gypsy" on '' The Rachael Ray Show''. On 23 December 2009, she appeared on ''A Home for the Holidays With

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

'' to perform the song. On 27 March 2010, Shakira performed "Gypsy" on the German-language entertainment show '' Wetten, dass..?'' in Salzburg, Austria. On 28 April 2010, Shakira performed "Gypsy" on ''

''. The same day, she performed the song as a duet with

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

lead-vocalist Gary LeVox on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. Shakira opened and closed the performance while playing the harmonica. Shakira also performed "Gypsy" in

Rock in Rio Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival held at City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Ten incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeir ...

Lisboa and Madrid on 21 May 2010 and 5 June 2010. On 15 July 2010, Shakira performed the song at the opening of the 2010 Premios Juventud awards ceremony, along with her smash hit "

". "Gypsy" and "She Wolf" were the only two singles from the album to be included in the setlist of

The Sun Comes Out World Tour The Sun Comes Out World Tour (also known as the Sale el Sol World Tour) was the fifth concert tour by Colombian singer Shakira, launched in support of her eighth and ninth studio albums, ''She Wolf (album), She Wolf'' (2009) and ''Sale El Sol' ...

. The song was performed with a "folk lilt" and Shakira's vocals were backed by "accordion, fiddles and the rhythm section".

Usage in media

Shakira guest-starred as herself in the eighth episode of the season four of ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

'' titled " The Bahamas Triangle", which aired on 4 December 2009. The episode featured the songs "Gypsy" and "

Give It Up to Me "Give It Up to Me" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira featuring American rapper Lil Wayne, taken from the US deluxe version of the former's eighth studio album '' She Wolf''. It was released on 19 October 2009, by Epic Records as t ...

" running in the background. She sang "Gypsy" in a duet with

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

in the twelfth episode of the season three of ''

Wizards of Waverly Place ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wi ...

'', titled " Dude Looks Like Shakira". In the episode, the main characters of the show, Alex (Gomez), Justin (

David Henrie David Clayton Henrie ( ; born July 11, 1989) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is noted for playing Ted Mosby's future son Luke on ''How I Met Your Mother''; Justin Russo in ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' and its sequel '' Wizards B ...

), and Max (

Jake T. Austin Jake Toranzo Austin Szymanski (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Jake T. Austin, is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor at the age of seven, Austin is best known for his role as Max Russo on the Disney Channel ...

), are shocked to find out that Shakira is no one but their Uncle Kelbo (

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing List of Curb Your Enthusiasm characters#Jeff Greene, Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and Murray ...

), who is abusing one of the magic laws concerning fame and fortune. The episode aired on 16 April 2010.

Formats and track listings

* CD Single ("Gypsy") # "Gypsy" – 3:16 # "Gypsy" (Freemasons Remix) – 3:26 * Digital download ("Gitana") # "Gitana" – 3:26 * Digital download EP # "Gypsy" – 3:18 # "Gypsy" (Freemasons Remix) – 3:26 # "Gypsy" (DMC Radio Mix) – 3:17 # "Gitana" – 3:26

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2010 singles Shakira songs Songs written by Shakira Songs written by Amanda Ghost Songs written by Ian Dench Songs written by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers Monitor Latino Top General number-one singles Songs written by Jorge Drexler 2009 songs Epic Records singles