In the more than three decades since Shakira rose to fame, one thing has remained true: Shakira's hips don't lie. The Grammy winner accepted the Video Vanguard Award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, becoming the first South American artist to win the award, and commemorating the occasion with a career-spanning medley honor. It was her first VMA performance in 17 years, her last appearance being in 2006 when she sang "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean.
Of course, Shaki reprized the hit song during her Video Vanguard performance, which incorporated some of her hits from the '90s to today. The show kicked off with her 2009 hit "She Wolf," recreating some poses from her iconic music video, and then she went on to perform some of her biggest hits in English and Spanish, including the throwback song " Whenever, Wherever” and “Tango” on recent collaborations like “Te Felicito” and “TCG,” and of course she belly danced throughout, setting Twitter on fire.
Shakira concluded her monumental medley performance by weaving in and out of the audience and performing her latest hit "BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 1." 53", a tribute to her long-time ex-boyfriend Gerard Pique. What better way to get him fired up than by singing those lyrics loud and proud at the VMAs (on top of a tall building), Twitter was in awe.
Of course, Taylor Swift loved Shakira's performance as much as we all did, and Twitter took notice.
In her acceptance speech for Video Vanguard, Shakira thanked MTV for "playing such an important role in my career" and expressed gratitude to all the creatives who have helped shape her visuals over the years. Most emotionally, she thanked her parents and Pique's two sons, Milan, nine, and Sasha, seven, who were present to support their mother on her big night. "Thank you for cheering me up and making me feel like a mom can do it all," she said.
