Single Review: Shakira – Chantaje (feat. Maluma)

Shakira releases comeback single ‘Chantaje’ in Spanish
It has been two and a half years since Shakira released her self тιтled album, containing the singles ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ featuring Rihanna and soccer world cup anthem ‘Dare (La La La)’. Although her tracks these days don’t become world wide hits like they did in the noughties, Shakira is still a pop force to be reckoned with, with one of the biggest social media followings in the world. Earlier this year she dropped Zootopia soundtrack ‘Try Everything’ and Carlos Vives collaboration ‘La Bicileta’, but now it is finally time for her official comeback single ‘Chantaje’, a collaboration with Colombian artist Maluma.

Well, it does not really feel like her big comeback single, as she is hardly the main artist on ‘Chantaje’. The track is opened by Maluma and in a similar manner to ‘La Tortura’, Shakira and her male duet partner exchange lines and verses one after another. In terms of sound and vibe, the two singles aren’t worlds apart either with swinging reggaeton inspired rhythms. Unfortunately, ‘Chantaje’ is not half the iconic pop moment that ‘La Tortura’ was. That tracks bursts with pᴀssion, personality and fire, while the new single falls flat in comparison. ‘Chantaje’ is not a bad song and the hook is nice, but the production sounds a bit undeveloped and it all gets a repeтιтive towards the end. It is frustrating, because Shakira has shown us all through the noughties that she can do so much better than this. It might become a hit in the Spanish languaged market, but this will not be the worldwide hit she could use at this stage in her career.

Update: Shakira and Maluma released a flirty video for their collaboration. Just like the track it is far from her best work, but it is servicable. It needed a lot more iconic Shakira dance moves to take the track to a higher plan.