Girl like Me (Black Eyed Peas and Shakira song)

"Girl like Me" was written by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, Shakira, Brendan Buckley, Johnny Goldstein, Albert Menendez, and Tim Mitchell, while being produced by will.i.am and co-pruduced by Shakira and Johnny Goldstein.[2] Black Eyed Peas started working on song with Shakira in October 2008, which suppose to be released in group's fifth studio album The E.N.D. (2009), however failed to be included in track listing.[3][4] Will.i.am tried to re-work song for his fourth studio album #willpower in 2010, but track again failed to be included.[5]

In January 2020 on a video studio session with Johny Goldstein song started getting new shape with "right combination of sonics and rhythm".[5] Will.i.am in interview with NME said that he "refreshed it, and called Shakira, and we wrote new lyrics and she helped me with my Spanish."[5] In ETOnline 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."[6] Shakira commented that "she really loved working with Black Eyed Peas", with 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."[3] "Girl like Me" was finally included in Black Eyed Peas eight studio album Translation (2020).[6]

On June 19, 2020 Black Eyed Peas shown a cover art for "Girl like Me", featuring drawn black Shakira's shiloute in raspberry rose ellipse and teal background, and on December 3 they showed alternative version with white background.[1][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 to contemporary hit radio stations in Netherlands and Italy on December 5 and 11 respectively.[9][10]

"Girl like Me" is a song sung and rapped in English and Spanish.[11] Track was composed in E minor key.[12] Song starts with chorus sang in English by Shakira, where she used vocals compared to her vocals from her 2009 studio album She Wolf.[6][13] First verse is rapped by will.i.am, where he switched languages from English to Spanish multiple times through the verse.[14] After second and last chorus there is a bridge sung by Shakira in Spanish.[15] In his verse, Taboo makes a reference to Shakira's smash hit "Hips Don't Lie" in line "Your hips don’t lie, they rock me", when apl.de.ap references late Latin singer Selena and Brazilian singer Anitta.[14] Song has been described as "anthemic" or "empowering" by many publications.[6][14][16]

A.D. Amorosi of Variety said in a review for the Black Eyed Peas album Translation, that "Shakira turns an anthemic dance-floor spiel into something weirdly intimate."[16] Mike Wass of Idolator 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".[6]

"Girl like Me" is Shakira's first Hot 100 entry since her 2017 single "Perro Fiel"

"Girl like Me" became an instant viral hit on YouTube, racking up 23 million views in 3 days[3] and 230 million in less than two months.[17] The song also sparked a viral challenge on Tiktok where users challenged themselves to recreate the video's choreography.[18]

The song reached the top 10 in several Latin charts. In Europe the song reached the top 10 in Belgium and France, peaking at number 7 in France and 9 in Belgium. In the United States, the song debuted on Billboard's Digital Songs in December 2020, and debuted at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2021, peaking at number 82 on its 4th charting week. The song became Shakira's 22nd and Black Eyed Peas’ 19th Hot 100 entry.

The music video for "Girl like Me" was filmed in September 2020 and was released on December 4, 2020 at 10 AM in Eastern Time Zone.[8] The music video was directed by Rich Lee.[19] While speaking to Billboard 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."[20]

The video features Shakira on a skateboard and with backup dancers doing aerobics.[4] It also features Black Eyed Peas in a set singing the song.[14] Shakira's appearance has been compared to Wonder Woman.[21] The choreography in the video went viral on TikTok where fans attempted to recreate Shakira's dance moves.[21] 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.[22] In January 2021, the music video passed 200 million views on YouTube.[3]

Credits adapted from Tidal and Translation album notes.[2][23]

Recording and management

• 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

Personnel