Did You Know Hips Don’t Lie Almost Didn’t Make It to Shakira’s Iconic Album? Here’s What Singer Revealed

During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Shakira shared an unexpected story behind one of her biggest hits. Fallon asked if Hips Don’t Lie, her chart-topping collaboration with Wyclef Jean, was always meant to be on her 2005 album Oral Fixation, Vol. 2.

“No, it wasn’t,” Shakira said. “I remember my album was already distributed, and then this idea came up, and Wyclef and I met and we started working on this track.” The song, now considered one of the most iconic in Shakira’s career, was actually created after the album had already been released to stores.

Shakira went on to share that the collaboration felt like fate. She recalled dreaming about Wyclef Jean the night before her manager called to tell her that the rapper wanted to work with her. “I started working with Wyclef, and I knew I had a hit,” she said. That instinct pushed her to contact her label directly and request a significant change.

Shakira shared that she called Donny Lenner, who was leading Epic Records then, and urged him to pull the album from stores to include the new track.

She told him they had a potential hit, but he initially resisted, saying the albums were already out. Shakira insisted he trust her, promising the song would be worth the effort. Eventually, Lenner agreed to listen to her and decided to move forward with her request. The label then repackaged the album to include Hips Don’t Lie.

The decision paid off. Hips Don’t Lie went on to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the most successful singles of Shakira’s career. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the song, making Shakira’s story even more timely.

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