"Girl Like Me" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American groupBlack Eyed Peas and Colombian singerShakira. Originally conceived in 2008 and later considered forwill.i.am's fourth studio album#willpower (2013), the song was released on the Black Eyed Peas' eighth studio album,Translation (2020). It was released on December 4, 2020, alongside aRich Lee-directed music video. The track was written by the Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Brendan Buckley,Johnny Goldstein, Albert Menendez, andTim Mitchell and was produced by the group's memberwill.i.am, Shakira, and Johnny Goldstein. The song was praised for its "anthemic" nature and Shakira's vocals were compared to those she used in her eighth studio albumShe Wolf (2009). Commercially, the single reached the top ten in twelve countries. It iscertified Diamond in France and Mexico and Platinum or higher in seven additional countries.
"Girl Like Me" was written bywill.i.am,apl.de.ap,Taboo,Shakira, Brendan Buckley,Johnny Goldstein, Albert Menendez, andTim Mitchell, while being produced by will.i.am and co-pruduced by Shakira and Johnny Goldstein.[1] will.i.am started working on the song with Shakira in October 2008.[2][3] Will.i.am tried to re-work the song for his fourth studio album#willpower in 2010, but the track again failed to be included.[4]
In January 2020, on a video studio session with Johny Goldstein, the song began to get a new shape with the "right combination of sonics and rhythm".[4] Will.i.am in an interview withNME said that he "refreshed it, and called Shakira, and we wrote new lyrics and she helped me with my Spanish."[4] InETOnline he complimented Shakira by saying "she comes with notes, and it's awesome. But she does it in a very gentle, humble, sweet way, to where you just wanna please all of her concerns."[5] Shakira commented that "she really loved working with Black Eyed Peas", saying that "Will[.i.am] knows how detail-oriented I am and was so patient and meticulous with me and making sure we had the absolute best sound possible."[2] "Girl like Me" was finally included in Black Eyed Peas' eight studio albumTranslation (2020).[5]
On June 19, 2020, Black Eyed Peas revealed an alternative cover art for the single, featuring a drawn black silhouette of Shakira in araspberry roseellipse andteal background, and on December 3 they showed the same cover but with a white background.[6][7] The same day both acts announced through their social media that the song's music video would be released on December 4.[8] The song was sent tocontemporary hit radio stations in Italy on December 11.[9] On February 26, 2021, the twocolors remix of the song was released.[10]
"Girl Like Me" is a song sung and rapped in English and Spanish.[11] The track was composed inE minor key and tempo of 124 BPM.[12] It starts with the chorus sang in English by Shakira, where she used vocals compared to those from her 2009 studio albumShe Wolf.[5][13] The first verse is rapped by will.i.am, where he switches from English to Spanish multiple times throughout the verse.[14] After the second and last chorus, there is abridge sung by Shakira in Spanish.[15] In his verse, Taboo makes a reference to Shakira's smash hit "Hips Don't Lie" in the line "Your hips don’t lie, they rock me", when apl.de.ap references late Latin singerSelena and Brazilian singerAnitta.[14] The song has been described as "anthemic" or "empowering" by many publications.[5][14][16]
"Girl Like Me" is Shakira's firstHot 100 entry since her 2017 single "Perro Fiel", making her the first Latin artist to have singles charted in 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
A.D. Amorosi ofVariety said in a review for the Black Eyed Peas albumTranslation, that "Shakira turns an anthemic dance-floor spiel into something weirdly intimate."[16] Mike Wass ofIdolator called the song an "addictive bop" and added that "All in all, 'Girl Like Me' sounds like a smash. It’s a summery, feel-good call to the dance floor with a little Latin spice and a radio-friendly chorus."[15]Entertainment Weekly's Et Más called a song "Latina-empowering track".[5]
"Girl Like Me" became an instant viral hit onYouTube, racking up 23 million views in 3 days[2] and 200 million in less than two months.[17] The song also sparked a viral challenge onTikTok where users challenged themselves to recreate the video's choreography.[18] In the United States, the song debuted onBillboard'sDigital Songs in December 2020 at number 37.[19] It later debuted on theHot 100 chart at number 87 on the week ending January 16, 2021.[20] The song ultimately peaked at number 67 in its sixth charting week on February 27, 2021.[21] The song became Shakira's 22nd and Black Eyed Peas' 19th Hot 100 entry. The song topped Billboard'sLatin Airplay chart on the week of March 13, 2021. Girl Like Me eventually was certified gold byRIAA for selling over 500,000 units in the country.
The song reached the top 10 in several Latin charts, including Mexico where it peaked at number four and was certified platinum and gold for selling over 210 thousand copies.[22] In Europe, the song reached the top 5 in Belgian region of Wallonia, France, and Romania. In Africa, the song topped the North African Airplay charts.
The music video for "Girl Like Me" was filmed in September 2020 and was released on December 4, 2020, at 10 AM inEastern Time Zone.[8] Themusic video was directed byRich Lee, who earlier directed music video for "Imma BeRocking That Body" (2010).[23] While speaking toBillboard about the video, Shakira said: "The song already has that vintage quality to it, so I wanted a video that had the retro futuristic vibe. From the beginning I thought: Jane Fonda. Those '80s workout videos had a really cool aesthetic I wanted to import into this video."[24]
The video features Shakira on a skateboard and with backup dancers doingaerobics.[3] It also features Black Eyed Peas in a set singing the song.[14] Shakira's appearance has been compared toWonder Woman.[25] The choreography in the video went viral onTikTok where fans attempted to recreate Shakira's dance moves.[25] In just 5 days, TikTok videos using "Girl Like Me" choreography accumulated 40 million views.[18] The music video received 23 million views in its first three days.[26] In January 2021, the music video passed 200 million views onYouTube.[2]
Recorded at Future Labs (Los Angeles, California, United States and United Kingdom)
Will2Manifest Music/Kobalt/Apl De Ap Publishing LLC/TABMagnetic, Inc./MyMPM Music/Sony/ATV MelodySesame Love Music/Negro Sterling Music/Rev Sheet Music Publishing
^Arvunescu, Victor (March 24, 2021)."Top Airplay 100 - The Business e piesa momentului!" [Top Airplay 100 – The Business is the song of the moment!] (in Romanian). Un site de muzică.Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. RetrievedMarch 24, 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 52.+53. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 5. týden 2021 in the date selector. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
