Shakira has released her highly anticipated upcoming album’s second single, “Monotonía,” a melodious bachata duet featuring none other than Puerto Rican singer-rapper Ozuna. The song was released alongside an official music video filmed in Manresa, Spain.
“Monotonía” follows the massive success of her last single, “Te Felicito,” with Rauw Alejandro, which earned a Latin Grammy nod for record of the year. Judging by the subject material so far, it seems Shakira’s next project — which is still untitled — will pull directly from her current and very public breakup with footballer Gerard Piqué, with whom she shares two children.
Where “Te Felicito” was a sarcastic send-off dedicated to lying exes everywhere, “Monotonía” is a song about processing the hurt and aimlessly attempting to explain the reasoning behind it. As the singer’s real life battles range from tax evasion charges to relationship dramas, the three-minute music video encapsulates that heart-wrenching pain — literally.
The visual treatment starts with Shakira lethargically browsing through a supermarket aisle until she eventually ends up face-to-face with Ozuna as the introductory notes of “Monotonía” start to play. The screen zooms in on a teary-eyed Shakira, who begins, “It wasn’t your fault, nor was it mine / It was the monotony’s fault / I never said anything, but it hurt me.”
Ozuna, playing Shakira’s ex in this scenario, then proceeds to shoot her in the chest, which sends her heart flying across the room as she attempts to retrieve it. With her thumping heart in hand, and a massive hole in her chest, Shakira and Ozuna roam around the city until eventually deciding to lock the beating heart in a safe.
Shakira co-directed the music video alongside Jaume de la Iguana, her go-to creative director, best known for his work on the singer’s “No” music video in 2005. Shakira’s new album will be her first full studio effort since 2017’s “El Dorado.”
