"She Wolf" is a song recorded by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira 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. Shakira and Hill also served as the producers of the track. A Spanish version titled "Loba", which features additional lyrical contributions by Jorge Drexler, was also recorded. Musically, "She Wolf" is a hi-NRG, Italo disco, synth-pop and electropop 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 from She Wolf on 6 July 2009, by Epic Records.
Upon release, "She Wolf" was met with favorable reception from music critics, 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 and Tropical Songs in the US, as well as the Mexican and Spanish charts. Furthermore, "She Wolf" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for digital sales of one million units in the US.
An accompanying music video for "She Wolf" was directed by Jake Nava, 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 (2010–2011), El Dorado World Tour (2018) and Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour (2025).
Background and composition
In an interview with Rolling Stone, 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 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 Sam Endicott. Shakira and Hill also served as the producers of the song. Endicott, musician and lead singer of American post-punk band The Bravery, 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" by Chic. The single was described by Slant Magazine as a "sleek, hi-NRG/Italo throwback that's drenched in disco strings" and "sleek electropop". Mikael Wood from Spin identified the song's genre as synth-pop. Shakira also howls and pants at various times during the song. It is written in B minor key and is a fast dance groove with a tempo of 122 beats per minute. 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 Epic Records as the lead single from the album of the same name. "She Wolf" was made available for digital download on iTunes 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 Jorge Drexler, was released on 6 July 2009.
Critical reception The song was well received by most music critics. David Balls from Digital Spy 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 Slant Magazine 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 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 praised its lyrics and commended Shakira's use of the word "lycanthropy". He summed up the review by calling "She Wolf" a "modern classic". Spin critic Mikael Wood complemented it as "lovably bonkers." Fraser McAlpine from BBC Chart Blog gave it an overall positive review, but criticized Shakira's howling, calling it "half-hearted". Ben Ratliff from The New York Times, 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 ceremony, "She Wolf" was nominated for "Best Latin Track", but lost to Pitbull's song "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)". At the 2009 Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica awards ceremony, the song was nominated in the category "Canción Del Año" ("Song of the Year"). At the 2009 Premios 40 Principales 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 awards ceremony, the song was nominated for "Mi Ringtone" ("My Ringtone"), but lost to Tito El Bambino'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 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.
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Commercial performance In Austria, the song entered and peaked at number three on the Austrian Singles Chart, spending a total of 19 weeks on the chart. In the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium, the song entered the Ultratop 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" (2007). In Finland, the song entered the Finnish Singles Chart 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. In Ireland, the song peaked at number two on the Irish Singles Chart, spending a total of 12 weeks on the chart. In Italy, "Loba" entered the Italian Singles Chart 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 in the country after the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) certified the song platinum for selling 30,000 units. In Norway, "She Wolf" narrowly missed charting inside the top ten of the Norwegian Singles Chart by peaking at number 11. In Spain, "Loba" entered the Spanish Singles Chart at number 25 and peaked at number two. In this region, it was certified double-platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE) for selling 80,000 units. In Switzerland, the song entered and peaked at number three on the Swiss Singles Chart, spending a total of 23 weeks on the chart. In this territory, it was certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (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) certified "She Wolf" platinum for sales and streams of 600,000 units.
In Canada, it peaked at number five on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, spending a total of 20 weeks on the chart. "Loba" became a success in Mexico, peaking at number one on the Monitor Latino airplay chart and receiving a platinum certification from the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON). In the United States, "She Wolf" debuted at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 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 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 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" broke its record in 2014 by debuting at number 28. The Spanish-language translation "Loba" peaked at number one on Hot Latin Songs 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 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 Tropical Songs 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 Recording Industry Association of America (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".
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 "Beautiful Liar" (2007). Its cinematography was handled by Pascal Lebègue, who also previously worked as director of photography for the music video of "Whenever, Wherever" (2001). The dance sequences in the video were choreographed by Nadine "Hi-Hat" Ruffin, and are said to incorporate ballet, popping and locking, tribal dance and moves similar to the ones in the 1983 film Flashdance. 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 and was made available for download on iTunes a day later on 31 July. The video for the Spanish-language translation "Loba" was released on the same day.