“She Wolf” by Shakira
The term “she wolf” alludes to the singer’s animal side, so to speak. Additionally it is somewhat of a feminist term in this usage, pointing to the notion of female liberation.
In other words, the vocalist is your stereotypical respectable woman during daylight hours. But in the nighttime when the moon is out, the she wolf, an entity not burdened with portraying a ladylike image, also comes out to play.
And what that frankly means within the context of the song is that when the singer gets aroused, she goes out at night to pick up a man of her choosing for some casual sensual affair.
Now it appears that the singer is not detailing this side of her character just for speaking’s sake. Rather, in the initial verse and first pre-chorus, it seems she may be addressing some dude who she’s been throwing romantic vibes at, but he has not responded accordingly.
So basically she is telling him that if he’s not willing to step up to the plate, then during her she wolf hours she will go out and just get a guy herself.
And again, from Shakira’s perspective the goal is not to present herself as being promiscuous per se. Rather, the whole narrative is intended to serve as a symbol of, and one can say encouragement toward female liberation. Or viewed alternatively, her transformation into the “she wolf” represents her wherewithal to do what she pleases.
Music Video
Jack Nava directed the official music video to “She Wolf”. Interesting to note is that the video (which can be viewed above) actually featured live wolves. Shakira received a ton of praise and admiration for her dancing skills in the video.
Release of “She Wolf”
This tune is the title track of and lead single from Shakira’s third-studio album in English (and eighth-studio album overall). And the song came out on 10 July 2009 via Epic Records.
“She Wolf” Writing Credits
This track was written and produced by Shakira alongside John Hill. And the third co-writer of “She Wolf” is Sam Endicott.
According to Shakira, she was able to initially put this song together in just 10 minutes during one particularly-moody day at the studio. And she also elaborated that the tune came to her “very mysteriously”.
A Massive Hit
This song was one of the biggest hits of Shakira’s career. Its success was buttressed by its Spanish version, which is entitled “Loba” (featuring Jorge Drexler), also blowing up.
And “She Wolf” (or “Loba”) topped three Billboard charts (Dance Club Songs, Hot Latin Songs and Latin Tropical Airplay). In addition to this, it flew to number one in Mexico.
Indeed the song was a true international success, charting in a great many nations. And this includes making it to number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
In fact accolade-wise, “Loba” was actually more successful than “She Wolf”, itself winning an ASCAP Award, BMI Latin Award and LOS40 Music Award.
It also accounted for two of the aforementioned Billboard number ones as well as the number one in Mexico.
Iconic Live Performance
Shakira performed this song during the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show, with the Super Bowl LIV being the biggest television event of the year.
Accordingly all of the tracks she performed that day (2 February 2020) saw a major increase in online sales. But it was “She Wolf” especially which benefited from the performance, experiencing a sales increase of 3,000% on Super Bowl Sunday.
Other notable songs Shakira performed at the show include “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever“.
What genre of music is “She Wolf”?
In addition to calling it a pop song, one can also place it in the following genres: EDM and electropop.
