If Shakira’s performance at Acrisure Arena was her audition tape for headlining a future Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, consider her at the top of our list.
The Colombian superstar took the Palm Desert stage by storm on Wednesday, June 17, giving fans all the hip shaking, howling and hypnotizing visuals they could ask for during her two-hour set. The Coachella Valley showed her plenty of love in return, singing along to her decades-spanning hits in a nearly full arena.
The stop was part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, which was initially supposed to include two dates at Acrisure Arena in November 2024. But when the concerts quickly sold out, Shakira pulled a “Whenever, Wherever” move to meet surging demand, shifting to stadiums and eventually canceling both shows a month before.
But it was certainly worth the wait to see this massive global icon in our own backyard. Several times throughout her concert, which involved plenty of sparkly outfit changes, top-notch video interludes and a powerful vibe, it was hard not to wonder why she hasn’t been tapped to headline the famous Indio music festival thus far. This tour was the complete package and had the quality of a headlining set, so consider her ready for the Coachella Stage, Goldenvoice.
Unlike most artists who will tend to group together songs from one album or an era of their career when putting together their setlist, Shakira gave audiences a total tour of her musical journey from song to song. One minute we were treated to her earlier ‘90s work and the next we got snippets from her recent collaborations with most-recent Coachella headliner Karol G or Rauw Alejandro. Even before the show officially started, a playlist of her music videos played, which not only got people singing along but also showed the retrospective to come (the true fans showed themselves immediately).
Her show kicked off with a video interlude of her traversing a sandy desert before disintegrating into sand herself. But her story doesn’t end there. In fact, she reappears under the dunes better and shinier than ever — a theme apparent throughout her entire set.
Surprising fans by walking through the crowd to the stage, the superstar appeared in a sparkly silver jacket and pants to “La Fuerte.” If you’re coming to a Shakira show, you can expect dancing, and she didn’t disappoint as she grooved on top of a rising platform. She quickly ditched her too-hot-for-the-desert attire to reveal a sparkly pink Barbie dress, fitting for her poppy Black Eyed Peas tune “Girl Like Me.”
There’s something special and infectious about Shakira’s energy when she hits the stage. She can channel sheer sex appeal with her sultry dance moves, as she did on “TQG” with her female dancers. Other times she’s super silly, whether it’s through a very kitschy glow stick dance during “Estoy Aqui” or by donning gazelle horns and dancing with a bunch of people dressed as lions on her “Zootopia 2” hit “Zoo.” Either way, you truly can’t look away from the magic she’s delivering when she’s in her element. Most impressive is that her vocals remain unmatched and unaffected by all the dancing and running around she does on stage.
This tour comes a few years after Shakira went through personal difficulties, mainly tied to her split with former soccer player Gerard Piqué. But as she told the audience, women are strong, and her world tour was a testament to all the ways she and other women pick themselves up when times are tough. Picking up her guitar on “Don’t Bother,” she showed a bit of angst and her rocker side, and she later picked up the heat even more on “Can’t Remember to Forget You.” She even took a seat at the drum set and let out some pent-up feelings by banging on all the cymbals and drums.
Above all, this world tour was not a pity party. She embraced her single life and all the fun that it brings by performing “Soltera” and getting all her fellow single ladies to sing with her.
Many in the United States were introduced to Shakira through her hit “Hips Don’t Lie,” and those assets are so good that they get their own section in this review. Watching her belly dance is so mesmerizing because of the unbelievable amount of core strength and control she has. Looking around at the crowd, it seemed like everyone was under her trance as they stared, almost like they were hypnotized, at each movement. She played up her moves with an extended musical intro into her megahit, and those hips truly don’t lie when it comes to having a good time.
She’d frequently go off stage for costume changes, but various interludes did a good job of keeping the party going. In one transition, a masked “Shakira” fixed a robot man with a tool shooting sparks, dancing with him momentarily until he broke down again. Videos later featured a mama wolf protecting her two cubs, which led to a sweet rendition of “Acróstico” featuring graphics of her young sons singing; a mermaid swimming around the sea somewhere; and a retrospective compilation reminding everyone of the superstar’s early years. She even got in on the trend of showing her backstage wardrobe change, and while it wasn’t totally clear if it was live or pre-recorded, it was fun to get a glimpse behind the curtain on how quickly she has to get ready between songs.
It’s fitting that Shakira’s tour is going on at the same time as the World Cup — she’s been performing and delivering bangers for FIFA since 2006. Fittingly, she celebrated Colombia’s 3-1 victory against Uzbekistan — which happened the same day as the concert — with a little shoutout while talking to the crowd, and she even danced to her latest World Cup song “Dai Dai” and fan favorite “Waka Waka.”
While her concert was filled with songs from various eras of her life, her fans seemed most excited when she focused on her earlier work. Women joined in on her social satire song “Pies descalzos, sueños blancos,” which criticizes societal rules and conformity, and many got emotional as she crooned about young love in “Antología.” Even though so much has changed in the 30 years since many of those songs came out, it’s clear that Shakira keeps that period near and dear to her heart, and it translated into a special moment with her most loyal fans.
As the she wolf was coming to the end of her set, she still had a few fun surprises in store. A massive blown-up balloon of a wolf appeared on stage and guests were treated to a video detailing the “10 Commandments of a She Wolf.” Some include protecting one’s pack, not asking permission to be yourself, dancing and singing when you need to heal, howling and never competing with other she wolves. It all lead to another joyful moment of her dancing around to her 2009 hit, before she closed the night with her Piqué diss track “BZRP Music Sessions #53.”
After a truly fun night at Acrisure Arena, we can only hope to see her again in the desert on Indio’s most famous stage next April.
Shakira World Cup performance
Need more Shakira? You can watch her perform in the first-ever FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show with BTS and Madonna, which will be televised live on July 19.
Shakira concert 2026 dates
-Missed the show? You could still catch Shakira in one of the following cities:
-June 19: San Jose, CA — SAP Center
-June 23: Dallas, TX — American Airlines Center
-June 26: Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena
-July 1: Miami, FL — Kaseya Center
-July 6: Baltimore, MD — CFG Bank Arena
-July 10: Boston, MA — TD Garden
-July 16: Newark, NJ — Prudential Center
-July 20: Brooklyn, NY — Barclays Center
-July 23: Belmont Park, NY — UBS Arena
-July 25: Atlantic City, NJ — Boardwalk Hall
(This story was updated to add information.)
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com, on X @ema_sasic or on Instagram @emasasic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Shakira proves she’s ready to headline Coachella at Palm Desert show
Reporting by Ema Sasic, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ema Sasic, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
