Why Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' Was Almost Never Released: 'It Changed My Story'

Shakira Faces Backlash Over Alleged Copying of Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour — Shakira performs onstage during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/Getty Images

Shakira has revealed that her iconic hit "Hips Don't Lie" almost never released.

The music superstar sat down with Jimmy Fallon for the May 8 episode of 'The Tonight Show,' where she discussed "Hips Don't Lie," revealing that she had to fight to have the collaboration with Wyclef Jean on her album 'Oral Fixation, Vol. 2.'

"I remember my album was already distributed and then this idea came up and Wyclef and I met. We started working on this track," Shakira began.

"The funniest thing is that I had a dream - the most random dream about Wyclef. Then I woke up, and my manager called me and said, 'You know what? Wyclef wants to work with you.' And I'm like, 'No, no. It can't be. I had a dream about Wyclef last night. Why would I dream about Wyclef?'" Shakira added.

The singer believed so much in the collaboration that she reached out to her record company and urged them to pull the record from the shelf so that "Hips Don't Lie" could be included on the project.

"You've got to believe me. You've got to trust me You do that, we have a hit," Shakira recalled.

"He did it, we repackaged the albums and it changed my story," the singer added.

"Hips Don't Lie" was released two decades ago now and became an instant hit on the Billboard charts, where it topped the Hot 100 as well as charts in over 50 different countries. The song is often credited as helping to breakthrough more Latin influences in mainstream pop music. To date, it has amassed more than 2 billion streams has gone on to be a staple in 2000s pop culture.