"She Wolf" is a song recorded 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 ...

for her eighth studio album of the same title (2009). Its lyrics were written by Shakira, whereas its music was composed by Shakira, John Hill, and

Sam Endicott Samuel Bingham Endicott (born August 13, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and director. He is best known as the lead vocalist of The Bravery with whom he recorded three studio albums. Career At age 11 Endicot ...

. Shakira and Hill also served as the producers of the track. A Spanish version titled "Loba", which features additional lyrical contributions by

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 ...

, was also recorded. Musically, "She Wolf" is a

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by its fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the four-on-the-flo ...

Italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

and

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

track detailing Shakira's boredom due to her uncaring partner, and how she looks for others to please her. The song was released as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from ''She Wolf'' on 6 July 2009, by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. Upon release, "She Wolf" was met with favourable reception 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 ...

, receiving praise for its inventiveness. Commercially, it peaked within the top 10 in 12 countries worldwide, and at number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Meanwhile, "Loba" peaked atop both the

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 ...

and

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 ...

in the US, as well as the Mexican and Spanish charts. Furthermore, "She Wolf" 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 ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), for digital sales of one million units in the US. An accompanying music video for "She Wolf" was directed by

Jake Nava Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co. Early life and ed ...

, and features Shakira dancing in various locations, such as a red cave and a golden cage. Critical reception towards the video was also positive, many of whom praised Shakira's dancing ability. For additional promotion, Shakira performed the song on a number of shows and music festivals. It was also a part of the setlist for

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' ...

(2010–2011),

El Dorado World Tour The El Dorado World Tour was the sixth world tour by Colombian singer Shakira, in support of her eleventh studio album, ''El Dorado (Shakira album), El Dorado''. Comprising a total of 54 shows, It was her first tour in seven years, the last bein ...

(2018) and

Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour The Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour is the seventh ongoing concert tour by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, in support of her twelfth studio album, ''Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran'' (2024). The stadium tour commenced on 11 February 2025 at t ...

(2025).

Background and composition

In an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Shakira said that the idea for "She Wolf" came to her "very mysteriously", revealing "I was in the studio in a bad mood that day, then I got inspired and went to a corner and I wrote the lyrics and the melody in 10 minutes. The image of the she wolf just came to my head, and when I least expected it I was howling and panting". Initially, she felt unsure of being able to write the lyrics in English, reaching out to Sia and

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...

for help but nothing came to fruition. Shakira ended up writing the entire lyrics by herself. The music was composed by Shakira with John Hill and

. Shakira and Hill also served as the producers of the song. Endicott, musician and lead singer of American

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

The Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best know ...

, explained how he and Hill began working with Shakira, saying she "contacted him (Hill), asking if he had any stuff. We never had her in mind. We just made the thing independently of her, and then she liked it a lot, and she sang over it. She used some of the melodies we put in there and then wrote these crazy lyrics about being a werewolf. And that's how it happened". "She Wolf" contains a sample of the strings breakdown from "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

" by

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

. The single was described by

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

as a "sleek, hi-NRG/Italo throwback that's drenched in

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

strings" and "sleek

". Mikael Wood from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' identified the song's genre as

. Shakira also howls and pants at various times during the song. It is written in

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

key and is a fast

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

groove with a

tempo 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 musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 122

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. Shakira's vocal range on the song spans from B₃ to D₅. One of the lines of the song, in which Shakira sings "I'm starting to feel just a little abused, like a coffee machine in an office", is often cited as an example of the unusual lyrics present in Shakira's songs. The song was released by

as the

from the album of the same name. "She Wolf" was made available for

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on 10 July 2009. It was released as a CD single later on 21 September. A Spanish-language translation of the song titled "Loba", which features additional lyrical contributions from

, was released on 6 July 2009.

Critical reception

The song was well received by most

. David Balls from

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

gave the song a positive review and said that the song "manages to be fresh and quirky while still sounding like a smash". Sal Cinquemani from

labelled "She Wolf" as a "sleek, hi-NRG/Italo throwback" and said that its lyrics "walk a fine line between campy and really campy". Michael Cragg from

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

called it "three minutes of delicious pop, as camp as it is clever", and concluded that the song is "the kind of wonderfully bizarre couplet we’ve come to expect from Columbia’s shrinking violet". Jonathan Goss from ''

Sabotage Times James Brown (born 26 September 1965 in Leeds) is a British former journalist, author, radio host and media entrepreneur. His first book, ''Above Head Height: A Five-a-Side Life'', was published in 2017 by Quercus and received positive reviews in ...

'' praised its lyrics and commended Shakira's use of the word "

lycanthropy In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

". He summed up the review by calling "She Wolf" a "modern classic". ''

'' critic Mikael Wood complemented it as "lovably bonkers." Fraser McAlpine from

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 gave it an overall positive review, but criticized Shakira's howling, calling it "half-hearted". Ben Ratliff from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', however, gave it a negative review, saying that the song is "undercooked and overwritten" and that it "reaches a special class of fascinating-awful". At the 2009

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs was an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards were held every year from 1985 to 2020, except for 2017, when the ...

ceremony, "She Wolf" was nominated for "Best Latin Track", but lost to

Pitbull Pit bull is an umbrella term for several types of dog believed to have descended from bull and terriers. In the United States, the term is usually considered to include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American B ...

's song "

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" is a song by American rapper and singer Pitbull released as the second single from his fourth album, '' Pitbull Starring in Rebelution''. The song samples "75, Brazil Street" by Nicola Fasano and Pat Rich, which ...

". At the 2009

Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service (transportation), Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a ...

awards ceremony, the song was nominated in the category "Canción Del Año" ("Song of the Year"). At the 2009

Premios 40 Principales Los40 Music Awards, formerly known as ''Premios 40 Principales'', is an award show by the musical radio station Los 40. It was created in 2006 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the worldwide station. History Los40 is the ...

awards ceremony, "Loba" won the award for "Best International Song in Spanish Language". At the 2009 Premios Shock award ceremony, the song was nominated "Best Radio Song". At the

2010 Premios Juventud The 7th Annual Premios Juventud (Youth Awards) were broadcast by Univision on July 15, 2010. Performers Presenters * Anahí * Víctor Manuelle * María Fernanda Yépez * Fedro * Dulce María * Amelia Vega * Marlon Moreno * Eugenio Siller * ...

awards ceremony, the song was nominated for "Mi Ringtone" ("My Ringtone"), but lost to

Tito El Bambino Efraín David Fines Nevares (born October 5, 1981), known professionally as Tito El Bambino, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who rose to fame as part of the duo Héctor & Tito. In 2010, his song " El Amor", written with Joan Ortiz Espa ...

's song " El Amor". At the 2010 Latin ''Billboard'' Music Awards, the song was nominated for "Latin Pop Airplay Song of the Year" and "Latin Digital Download of the Year", but lost both. At the 2010

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 ...

awards ceremony, Jorge Drexler won an award for his composition of "Loba". It was acknowledged as an award winning song at the 2011 BMI Latin Awards.

Lists

Commercial performance

In Austria, the song entered and peaked at number three on the

Austrian Singles Chart Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

, spending a total of 19 weeks on the chart. In the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, the song entered the

Ultratop 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 at number 48 and peaked at 16, spending a total of 15 weeks on the chart. It performed much better in the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium, where it entered the Ultratop chart at number eight and peaked at number five, spending a total of 21 weeks on the chart. "She Wolf" was Shakira's second consecutive single to peak at number five in the region, after "

Beautiful Liar "Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer Beyoncé and Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Bey ...

" (2007). In Finland, the song entered the

Finnish Singles Chart The Official Finnish Charts (; ) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiella lista'' (lit. "the Official Finnish Chart"), which is ...

at number 13 and peaked at number 6, spending a total of 13 weeks on the chart. In Germany, the song peaked at number two on the

German Singles Chart 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 ...

. In Ireland, the song peaked at number two on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

, spending a total of 12 weeks on the chart. In Italy, "Loba" entered the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...

at number 12 and peaked at number three, spending a total of 22 weeks on the chart. It became Shakira's first single to receive a

record certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the country after the

Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...

(FIMI) certified the song

for selling 30,000 units. In Norway, "She Wolf" narrowly missed charting inside the top ten of the

Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista is the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from Norwegian and international artists. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. The data is collected by Nielsen Soundscan International and based on the sale ...

by peaking at number 11. In Spain, "Loba" entered the

Spanish Singles Chart Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

at number 25 and peaked at number two. In this region, it was certified double-platinum 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 selling 80,000 units. In Switzerland, the song entered and peaked at number three on the

Swiss Singles Chart 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 ...

, spending a total of 23 weeks on the chart. In this territory, it was certified gold by the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(IFPI) for selling 10,000 units. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart. The

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) certified "She Wolf" platinum for sales and streams of 600,000 units. In Canada, it peaked at number five on the

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, spending a total of 20 weeks on the chart. "Loba" became a success in Mexico, peaking at number one on 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 ...

airplay chart and receiving a platinum certification from 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). In the United States, "She Wolf" debuted at number 34 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, becoming Shakira's highest debuting song on the chart. It later narrowly missed reaching inside the top 10 of the chart by peaking at number 11. "She Wolf" spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart. On the

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

chart, it peaked at number one and spent a total of 15 weeks on the chart. "She Wolf" became Shakira's second solo consecutive single to peak atop the chart after " Illegal" (2006). On the

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

chart, it peaked at number 11 and spent 12 weeks on the chart. "She Wolf" remained as Shakira's highest-debuting single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 until "

Can't Remember to Forget You "Can't Remember to Forget You" is a song recorded by Colombian singer Shakira from her tenth studio album, ''Shakira'', featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna. Shakira began planning to make new music in 2011: work continued into 2012, at which time ...

" broke its record in 2014 by debuting at number 28. The Spanish-language translation "Loba" peaked at number one on

chart, spending a total of 22 weeks on the chart. It became Shakira's fourteenth top-ten single on the chart and tied her with American singer-songwriter

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

for having the fifth-most top-ten singles for a female artist. Later in 2010, Shakira became the third-ranking female artist with the highest number of top-ten singles on the chart after the release of " Loca". On the

chart, "Loba" peaked at number one, spending a total of 20 weeks on the chart. "She Wolf" was certified platinum in the United States for digital downloads of 1,000,000 copies by the

(RIAA). As of March 2014, "She Wolf" stands as Shakira's second highest-selling digital song in the United States with sales of 1,812,000 units, behind her 2006 hit "

Hips Don't Lie "Hips Don't Lie" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, featuring Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released by Epic Records in November 27th, 2005. The single is a reworking of Jean's 2004 track "Dance Like This", therefore it features addi ...

Music video

Development and synopsis

The accompanying music video for the single was directed by Jake Nava who had previously collaborated with Shakira on the video for "

". Its cinematography was handled by Pascal Lebègue, who also previously worked as director of photography for the music video of

Whenever, Wherever "Whenever, Wherever" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, released on 30 August 2001 by Epic Records as the lead single from her debut English-language studio album, ''Laundry Service (album), Laundry Service'' (2001), her fifth over ...

. The dance sequences in the video were choreographed by Nadine "Hi-Hat" Ruffin, and are said to incorporate

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, popping and locking,

tribal dance "Tribal Dance" is a song by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited. It was released in April 1993, by labels Byte, Zyx and PWL, as the second single from the band's second album, '' No Limits!'' (1993). The UK release omits the main rap bu ...

and moves similar to the ones in the 1983 film ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her ...

''. Talking about her dancing in the video, Shakira said, "I start doing all kinds of outrageous stuff and hanging upside down and doing stuff that wasn't planned. But it was kind of an improvisation. I just got caught in the moment." The music video premiered on 30 July 2009, on

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 ...

and was made available for download on

a day later on 31 July. The video for the Spanish-language translation "Loba" was released on the same day. The video begins with Shakira getting out of bed in the middle of a full-moon night. Her nails begin to grow and she is shown lacing a pair of boots. Shakira then enters a closet, which leads to the inside of a glittering ruby-red cave, where she begins dancing wearing a black asymmetric bodysuit. The next scene depicts Shakira striking different poses inside a golden cage (with the sign "Do Not Feed the Animal" on top), clad in a skin-toned leotard. Shakira explained the usage of the golden cage in the video, saying that "I just wanted to express what it feels like for a she-wolf to be in captivity. To be in a golden cage. I think I've been in a golden cage most of my life. And now not anymore". The setting changes and Shakira is seen performing a dance routine in a club with many back-up dancers. A wolf is also shown walking in the club and transforming into a woman. Near to the end of the video, Shakira dances on a rooftop with a backdrop resembling

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. As the song ends, she falls backwards from the roof and lands in her closet. The video ends with Shakira lying back in her bed and smiling as thunder cracks while the full moon is still high in the sky.

Reception

Critical reception towards the video was mostly positive. Adam Fairholm from the Internet Music Video Database praised Shakira's dance moves and flexibility in the video and complimented Nava's direction. James Montgomery from

also commended Shakira's dancing, noting that she "even manages to out-

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

". He also complimented Shakira's body, commenting that her posterior is the "breakout star of the video". Anna Pickard from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' appreciated the originality of the video and noted that "the moves contained in this video are not the kind of thing you see every day". Andrew Bast from ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'', however, gave the video a negative review and criticized it for being overly sexual. At the 2009

awards ceremony, the video received a nomination in the category "Video del Año" ("Video of the Year"). At the

awards ceremony, the video won the award for "Mi Video Favorito" ("My Favourite Video"). At the 2010

Premios Lo Nuestro The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro ( Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in association with its related radio sta ...

, the video won the award for "Video del Año" (" Video of the Year"). On 28 April 2014, the video reached 100 million views on video-sharing website

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and was hence marked "Vevo Certified" by video hosting service

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

. It is Shakira's tenth "Vevo Certified" video.

Live performances

Shakira performed the song live for the first time on the finale of the season four of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

'', on 16 September 2009. On 17 September, she performed the song at the 2009 ALMA Awards ceremony. She performed "She Wolf" along with " Did It Again", the second single off the album, on the 18 September episode of ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' and the 17 October episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. On 24 September, Shakira performed "She Wolf" and "Hips Don't Lie" on the

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

''. On 28 September, she performed the song on '' T4'', a scheduling slot on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. On 25 September, she performed the song on ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...

'', along with her hits "

" and "Hips Don't Lie". On 14 February 2010, Shakira performed "She Wolf" 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 ...

", the third single off the album, during the halftime of the

2010 NBA All-Star Game The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 14, 2010, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 season. It was the 59th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Cowboys S ...

. At the 2010

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 ...

festival held in Madrid, Spain, Shakira performed "Loba", the Spanish-language translation of the song. On 10 June, at the

2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony The 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on 11 June at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, two hours before the opening match of the tournament. The ceremony started at 2pm local time and lasted 40 minutes. The ceremony involved ...

, Shakira performed "She Wolf", "Hips Don't Lie", and the official 2010 FIFA World Cup song, "

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 ...

". On 26 June, Shakira performed the song at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, which took place in Pilton, Somerset. The song was also included on the setlist of

in 2010 and 2011. The tour performance began with Shakira letting out a long howl and proceeding to dance with two female back-up dancers. The performance marked the first time back-up dancers were featured in the show. Dave Simpson from ''

'' commented that Shakira was "howling like a banshee" during the performance. "She Wolf" was the second song on the setlist of Shakira's 2018

, and is featured on her live album '' Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour'' (2019). She performed the song at the

2019 Davis Cup Finals The Finals, formerly known as World Group, was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2019. It was held on indoor hard courts at the Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain from 18 until 24 November. The ties were contested in a best-of-three rubbe ...

Closing Ceremony alongside the singles " Tutu (Remix)" and "

Dare (La La La) "Dare (La La La)" is a song recorded by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira from her self-titled tenth studio album ''Shakira'' (2014). The song was first released to contemporary hit radio in Italy on 24 April 2014, as the third single from the ...

". The song was performed by Shakira during the

Super Bowl LIV halftime show The Super Bowl LIV halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show, took place on February 2, 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, as part of Super Bowl LIV. It was televised in the U.S. by Fox. It wa ...

Track listings

* Digital EP – "She Wolf" # "She Wolf" – 3:07 # "She Wolf" (Moto Blanco Club Mix) – 7:07 # "She Wolf" (

Moto Blanco Moto Blanco are an English electronic music duo originally consisting of Danny Harrison (a.k.a. Bobby Blanco) and Arthur Smith (a.k.a. Miki Moto). Since 2013, the duo has consisted of Danny Harrison and sound engineer James Hurr. They are also ...

Radio Mix) – 3:39 # "She Wolf" (

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

Remix) – 4:46 # "She Wolf" (Deeplick Club Remix) – 7:05 # "She Wolf" (Deeplick Club Remix Radio Edit) – 3:25 # "She Wolf" (Remix featuring

T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...

) – 3:18 * Digital EP – "She Wolf / Loba" (2023 re-release) # "She Wolf" – 3:07 # "She Wolf" (sped-up) – 2:46 # "Loba" – 3:07 # "Loba" (sped-up) – 2:46 # "She Wolf" (instrumental) – 3:07 * Digital EP/Mexican CD Maxi – ("Loba") # "Loba" – 3:07 # "Loba" (Poncho Club Mix) – 3:50 # "Loba" (Poncho Radio Mix) – 3:42 # "Loba" (Deep Mariano Club Mix) – 5:05 # "Loba" (Deep Mariano Radio Mix) – 4:34 * CD single # "She Wolf" – 3:07 # "Loba" – 3:07 * Digital download ("She Wolf") # "She Wolf" – 3:07 * Digital download ("Loba") # "Loba" – 3:07 * Promo single ("Loba") # "Loba" (Salsa version) – 3:56

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:She Wolf (Shakira song) 2009 singles Hi-NRG songs Music videos directed by Jake Nava Monitor Latino Top General number-one singles Shakira songs Songs written by Shakira Songs written by Sam Endicott Songs written by John Hill (record producer) Songs written by Jorge Drexler Song recordings produced by John Hill (record producer) Songs about werewolves 2009 songs Synth-pop songs