Quote Of The Day By Shakira: 'It Felt Like Someone Had Stabbed A Hole In My Chest. And ...'

Few artists can claim international superstardom to the same degree as the iconic belly-dancing, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Shakira. Born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira Mebarak showed promising talent from a young age – aside from a childhood love of dancing, she was writing songs from 8 years old and signed her first record deal with Sony at 13.

Although Shakira's Lebanese and Colombian heritage left a lasting impression on her sound, she's also cited Metallica, the Cure, the Police, and Nirvana as some of her favorite bands. Her love of rock shone through in her 1995 album "Pies Descalzos," with her hit "Estoy Aquí" reaching No. 2 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and dominating the Latin Pop Airplay chart. She then won her first two Latin Grammys in 2000 with "Ojos Así" and "Octavo Día," and created an audience of fans eager to hear her songs in English. She released the mostly English album "Laundry Service" in 2001, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard album charts and features her iconic hit "Whenever, Wherever." After her 2006 single "Hips Don't Lie" maintained its No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts for two weeks, it's safe to say the rest is pop history.

From performing at four World Cups to sharing a million-dollar 2020 Super Bowl stage with Jennifer Lopez, there doesn't appear to be a stage too big for Shakira's impeccable lyricism and catchy beats. However, with the highs come the lows, and she is today's quote of the day precisely because she transforms her pain into resilient and defiant pop.

"It felt like someone had stabbed a hole in my chest. And the sensation was so real, almost physical."

In a 2024 cover feature for Rolling Stone, Shakira was just about to head out for her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, had just attended her first MET Gala, and was easily settling into her move to Miami from Barcelona. Much of the interview revolved around Shakira getting her spark back –– especially after battling through an emotionally scarring 2022. In addition to the musician being charged with tax evasion by the Spanish government, she was in the middle of divorcing the father of her two children, former FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué. To make matters worse, her father's emotional support trip from Colombia ended with a nearly fatal fall. 

It was clear that Shakira hadn't felt like herself for a long time, prioritizing her ex's career by moving to Spain, and was ultimately devastated by the fact that this hadn't been enough to keep her family together. Heartbreak may sound dramatic to those who have never fully experienced it, but there are emotional hurts that make you wish you had broken a bone instead.

Shakira is tapping into the very real and visceral reactions our bodies have when it comes to grief. Betrayal can feel like a stab in the chest, and the recovery process almost feels just as serious. 

When the news broke that Shakira and Gerard Piqué were getting a divorce, cheating rumors soon followed, especially after the revelation of his new relationship with 23-year-old PR student, Clara Martí. Turning to what she knew best, Shakira would take to the studio to process her heartbreak. She bared her heart on the somber "Monotonía," but really let rip with the fired-up, Grammy-winning diss track, "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53," which was so popular and scathing that Piqué's mother and Martí accused Shakira of witchcraft. Despite the immense pain she was in, music gradually gave her the relief she needed. Her father recovered after several surgeries, she was acquitted in one of her tax fraud cases, and the "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" tour (taken from the lyrics of her Bzrp music session) was her biggest yet.

Ultimately, we cannot control what or when terrible things happen to us. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how endless it feels, resistance and denial will never give you relief. Feel the sadness, feel the anger, feel the embarrassment, and surrender what you cannot control. Change is what we make of it, and even the hardest goodbyes can open the biggest doors.

• "I want to show [my sons] that life isn't linear. It's not how people picture it in the movies. Things don't turn out the way we want them to and you have to deal with disappointment. That's part of the human condition. It's why we're here."

• "I didn't think beauty was my forte. I thought it was just one more thing that I could exploit."

• "In the past, when women went through a difficult situation, they were expected to mind their manners, to hide the pain, to cry in silence. That's over. Now, no one will control us. No one will tell us how to heal, how to clean our wounds."

• "And then I got into poetry and started reading a little bit of a Leonard Cohen and Walt Whitman and Bob Dylan, trying to understand how the English language works within songwriting. I think that's how I got good at it."

• "I'm the type of person who really needs to genuinely believe in what I do or I'd rather pass. I'm proud of having succeeded on my own terms."