As the Black Eyed Peas occasionally materialize to prove that they’re still around and “thriving” (even without Fergie), it usually requires a “feature” from another artist to make the song a hit. Last year, it was “RITMO” featuring J Balvin, and this year it’s “Girl Like Me” with Shakira providing the vocals that pertain to such a title. Plus, without her, there would be no dance craze to emulate on TikTok as she showcases her 80s-inspired moves (complete with an aerobics ensemble that both Jane Fonda and the women of GLOW would approve of).
Before that portion of the video arrives, however, we open on a giant nuclear explosion that then cuts to will.i.am on a rock amid the manufactured ruins (complete with the necessary sound equipment to pump the bassline). Shakira’s “talking head” is interspersed as hands make choreographed gestures around her that Madonna–in all of her vogueing wisdom–would surely approve of. We then cut to the video’s already most iconic imagery: Shakira dressed in a red crop top with black spandex shorts and suspenders, rounded out by a metallic blue headband, red armbands and black leg warmers. Because yes, while the decade of the 00s has proven it continues to permeate pop culture, that doesn’t mean it can’t be commingled with the 80s in the process. However, the 00s clout from a sonic perspective is particularly palpable being that Black Eyed Peas initially crafted the demo with Shakira back in 2008 for the last major BEP album, The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies–a fitting title when applied to 00s energy in particular).
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira both co-produced with Johnny Goldstein, infusing the rhythm with a distinctly reggaeton meets Latino flavor (enhanced by will.i.am chanting, “Latinas, latinas/La-La-Latinas, la-la-latinas”). And as Shakira jumps and kicks her way through the aerobic choreography, we can immediately get on board with her arrogantly delivered lines in response to what will.i.am is claiming to look for in a girl. That is to say, “I want a girl that shine like glitter/A girl that don’t need no filter/The real for real/A girl that’s a natural killa.” So it is that Shakira comes to the rescue to assert, “So you’re looking for a girl like me”–elsewhere adding in her native tongue, “Me llevas en tu mente/Soy adictiva como el azúcar/Me buscas permanentemente/¿No ves que solo quiero jugar?” (You carry me on your mind/I’m addictive like sugar/You look for me permanently/Can’t you see I just want to play?”).
It’s clear Shakira is not going to be one-upped by her co-star (in the closing ceremony for Earth that was 2020’s Super Bowl) from earlier in the year, J. Lo, who also recently proved the enduring spirit of the 00s “A-team” with a new single called “In the Morning” (which seemed, more than anything, yet another chance to make twenty-year-olds jealous of her 51-year-old body). So it is that Shakira delivers her most Jamiroquai in “Virtual Insanity” moves as she seems to make the floor move beneath her.
Further proving her agility, Shakira also shows off her recently acquired skateboarding skills as though it’s the most natural thing in the world (and that more women should try their hand at it than is usually the case). As she glides through the decidedly 00s-centric backdrop (meaning a wannabe futuristic one), Taboo weighs in on what type of girl he wants with the obvious wordplay, “A girl that be using her head.” After all “playful” misogyny was still widely acceptable in the period that Black Eyed Peas and Shakira rose to prominence on the radio airwaves. The set design further displays an 00s sensibility with the random use of cars and visual effects as though to prove how far graphics in music videos have come.
Shakira then declares she’s the type of girl that needs no filter. And maybe that’s because such a thing wasn’t available yet in the 00s, therefore–in a twisted sense of irony–rendering the girl of the 00s the new version of the “classic woman.” And, speaking of classic, it would seem as though “Girl Like Me” is on par to rival Shakira’s 2006 hit with Wyclef Jean, “Hips Don’t Lie.” It bears the same anthemic quality and brazen confidence.
But what makes the track truly stand out is its patent proof of how the first decade of the twenty-first century has continued to endure. While, sure, new musicians come along all the time, it seems that the singers who found their fame in the 00s just can’t be beaten back to make way for “the new.” And this is a relatively recent phenomenon, for it was often an unspoken rule of the music industry that once a decade was finished, so was the artist who had risen up the charts during it (e.g. Cyndi Lauper in the 80s or Ace of Base in the 90s). This is largely because it has become less and less socially acceptable to simply “throw people away” because of their age.
Though, make no mistake, ageism still abounds, it’s just got more people policing it in the present. Or maybe it’s just that musicians like Shakira and J. Lo have miraculously (e.g. with the help of money) found a way to outrun “Father Time” (who, as the chauvinistic prick he is, appears to focus all of his energies on trying to make women look aged). Thus, they’re “permitted” to remain in the limelight.
