I can only interpret this song, sung by Shakira and Juan Ozuna, as an expression of sadness after she separated this year from her partner of 12 years (they have two kids). I think she’s also been accused of tax fraud.
The song’s not bad, but Lord, the video! I mean, they blow a big hole in her torso with a bazooka because she illegally eats Cheetos in a grocery store. There’s lots of blood and a realistic beating heart, too.
I don’t know Spanish, so can’t translate the lyrics (the songs called “Monotonía”). Pitchfork reviews the song favorably:
When you’re a pop star, your private life—new love, a growing family, scrapes with the law—rarely stays private. Of all the public trials Shakira has faced lately, none seem to weigh more heavily on her than her recent divorce. On her latest single “Monotonía,” a twinkling bachata duet with Ozuna, she seemingly embraces the final stage of grief from it, admitting that the relationship was long over before the actual split. “Nunca dije nada, pero me dolía/Yo sabía que esto pasaría” (“I never said anything but it hurt me/I knew this would happen”), she sings. There’s a sour sweetness to bachata’s requinto guitar that perfectly captures the timbre of heartache, the kind of pain that only comes from having experienced the height of pleasure. Ozuna’s angelic croon complements Shakira’s dour resignation as she places the blame not on herself, or even the narcissist who’s “frío como en Navidad,” but monotony: the slow drain of passion from a relationship.
I put this up not because I love the song (it’s not nearly as good as, say, “Hips Don’t Lie”, but because of the video.
Shakira has talent as a singer, so I don’t know why the singing has to be digitally messed with so they sound just like every other auto-tuned singer out there.
Because most pop music is shit.
This isn’t:
https://youtu.be/DZdV_s8-xMw
https://youtu.be/dbxkbSfOVZc
I find this contradictory:
No fue culpa tuya, ni tampoco mía
Fue culpa de la monotonía
And
De repente ya no eras el mismo
Me dejaste por tu narcisismo
Was it his fault or not?
At least at some point the first part is song by Osuna (who would represent Piqué), so it would make sense that the first part is Piqué’s excuse, and the second Shakira’s answer.
The song is naff too!
Maybe he left her because she was such a Drama Queen. Realitionship and breakups can sure be messy and dramatic. Anyway, Shakira is a great singer and dancer
Or because he is an egotistical soccer superstar. Never made much sense that a catalonian person would match a hot blooded colombian as Shakira is.
She commited fraud for more than 13 million dollars. The part of that money that didn’d reach the national health system surely played a part in someone’s death. I hope she goes to jail.
On an artistic note, as a bachata, it’s not as good as the pitchfork review seems to sugest. There’s absolutely not “a sour sweetness to bachata’s requinto guitar that perfectly captures the timbre of heartache” in the song. The song is, ironically enough, monotonous. No bachata dancer would spring compulsively from her or his seat to reach for a partner to dance this. It’s a bachata just because there’s a fad about it now, it could hace been written perfectly as just another pop song. she is no bachate singer, but has better bachatas, like “tumbao” with the new yorker Prince Royce.
The visuals of the video, on the other hand, are interesting. They take Shakira back to her beginnings, when she was disruptive and shocking in her lyrics. that first Shakira ended, precisely, with “Hips Don’t Lie”, which launched her as the prototipical latin singer of his time. The change is so abrupt that many of you would have problems recognizing her or his songs.
Oh! and for the lyrics, the video has spanish subtitles embeded. If you use english version of Youtube (I can’t as I am in Spain), you should be able to activate the automatic translation (to english) option.