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Girl like Me (Black Eyed Peas and Shakira song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Girl Like Me
| cover = Girl like Me.png
| border = yes
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Black Eyed Peas and Shakira
| album = Translation
| language =
| released = December 4, 2020
| recorded = October 2008January 2020
| studio = Future Labs (Los Angeles)
| genre =
| length = 3:43
| label = Epic
| writer =
* William Adams
* Allan Pineda
* Jimmy Luis Gomez
* Shakira Mebarak
* Brendan Buckley
* Johnny Goldstein
* Albert Menendez
* Tim Mitchell
| producer =
* will.i.am
* Shakira
* Johnny Goldstein
| chronology = Black Eyed Peas
| prev_title = Shake Ya Boom Boom
| prev_year = 2020
| next_title = Hit It
| next_year = 2021
| misc =
}}
"'Girl Like Me'" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American group Black Eyed Peas and Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira. Originally conceived in 2008 and later considered for will.i.am's fourth studio album '#willpower' (2013), the song was released on the Black Eyed Peas' eighth studio album, 'Translation' (2020). It was released on December 4, 2020 alongside a Rich Lee-directed music video. The track was written by the Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Brendan Buckley, Johnny Goldstein, Albert Menendez, and Tim Mitchell and was produced by the group's member will.i.am, Shakira, and Johnny Goldstein. The song was praised for its "anthemic" nature and Shakira's vocals were compared to those she used in her eighth studio album 'She Wolf' (2009). Commercially, the single reached the top ten in twelve countries.
Background and release
"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. will.i.am started working on the song with Shakira in October 2008. Will.i.am tried to re-work the song for his fourth studio album '#willpower' in 2010, but the track again failed to be included.
In January 2020, on a video studio session with Johny Goldstein, the song began to get a new shape with the "right combination of sonics and rhythm". Will.i.am in an interview with 'NME' said that he "refreshed it, and called Shakira, and we wrote new lyrics and she helped me with my Spanish." 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." Shakira commented that "she really loved working with Black Eyed Peas", 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." "Girl like Me" was finally included in Black Eyed Peas' eight studio album 'Translation' (2020).
On June 19, 2020 Black Eyed Peas revealed an alternative cover art for the single, featuring a drawn black silhouette of Shakira in a raspberry rose ellipse and teal background, and on December 3 they showed the same cover but with a white background. The same day both acts announced through their social media that the song's music video would be released on December 4. The song was sent to contemporary hit radio stations in Italy on December 11. On February 26, 2021 twocolors remix of song was released.
Composition and lyrics
"Girl like Me" is a song sung and rapped in English and Spanish. The track was composed in E minor key and tempo of 124 BPM. It starts with the chorus sang in English by Shakira, where she used vocals compared to those from her 2009 studio album 'She Wolf'. The first verse is rapped by will.i.am, where he switches from English to Spanish multiple times throughout the verse. After the second and last chorus, there is a bridge sung by Shakira in Spanish. In his verse, Taboo makes a reference to Shakira's smash hit "Hips Don't Lie" in the line "Your hips dont lie, they rock me", when apl.de.ap references late Latin singer Selena and Brazilian singer Anitta. The song has been described as "anthemic" or "empowering" by many publications.
Reception
entry since her 2017 single "Perro Fiel", making her the first Latin artist to have singles charted in 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
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." Mike Wass of 'Idolator' called the song an "addictive bop" and added that "All in all, 'Girl Like Me' sounds like a smash. Its a summery, feel-good call to the dance floor with a little Latin spice and a radio-friendly chorus." 'Entertainment Weekly's Et Ms called a song "Latina-empowering track".
"Girl like Me" became an instant viral hit on YouTube, racking up 23 million views in 3 days and 200 million in less than two months. The song also sparked a viral challenge on TikTok where users challenged themselves to recreate the video's choreography. In the United States, the song debuted on 'Billboard's Digital Songs in December 2020 at number 37. It later debuted in Hot 100 chart at number 87 on week ending January 16, 2021. The song ultimately peaked at number 67 on its sixth charting week on February 27, 2021. The song became Shakira's 22nd and Black Eyed Peas' 19th Hot 100 entry. The song topped Billboard's Latin Airplay chart on the week of March 13, 2021. Girl Like Me eventually was certified gold by RIAA for selling over 500,000 units in the country.
The song reached the top 10 in several Latin charts, including Mexico where it peaked at number four and was certified platinum and goldfor selling over 210 thousand copies. In Europe, the song reached the top 5 in Belgian region of Wallonia, France, and Romania. In Africa, the song topped the North African Airplay charts.
Music video
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. The music video was directed by Rich Lee, who earlier directed music video for "Imma Be Rocking That Body" (2010). 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."
The video features Shakira on a skateboard and with backup dancers doing aerobics. It also features Black Eyed Peas in a set singing the song. Shakira's appearance has been compared to 'Wonder Woman'. The choreography in the video went viral on TikTok where fans attempted to recreate Shakira's dance moves. In just 5 days, TikTok videos using "Girl like Me" choreography accumulated 40 million views. The music video received 23 million views in its first three days. In January 2021, the music video passed 200 million views on YouTube.
Track listing
*'Streaming'
#"Girl like Me" 3:43
*'Digital download and streaming twocolors remix'
#"Girl like Me" (twocolors remix) 3:01
#"Girl like Me" (twocolors extended) 4:11
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal and 'Translation' album notes.
;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
* Black Eyed Peas:
** will.i.am vocals, songwriting, production
** apl.de.ap vocals, songwriting
** Taboo vocals, songwriting
* Shakira vocals, backing vocals, songwriting, co-production
* Olgui Chirino backing vocals
* Brendan Buckley songwriting
* Albert Menendez songwriting
* Tim Mitchell songwriting
* Johnny Goldstein co-production
* Roger Rods engineering
* Dave Clauss engineering,
* Dylan "3-D" Dresdow engineering, mixing, mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release dates and formats for "Girl like Me"
|-
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date
! scope="col"| Format
! scope="col"| Version
! scope="col"| Label
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row"| Various
| June 19, 2020
| Streaming
| rowspan="2" | Original
| Epic
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| Italy
| December 11, 2020
| Contemporary hit radio
| Sony
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| Various
| February 26, 2021
|
| rowspan="2"| twocolors remix
| Epic
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| Russia
| March 4, 2021
| Contemporary hit radio
| Sony
| style="text-align:center;"|
|}
See also
*List of 'Billboard' Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay number ones of 2021
References
Category:2020 singles
Category:Black Eyed Peas songs
Category:Shakira songs
Category:2020 songs
Category:Spanglish songs
Category:Songs written by will.i.am
Category:Songs written by Shakira
Category:Songs written by apl.de.ap
Category:Songs written by Taboo (rapper)
Category:Song recordings produced by will.i.am
Category:Music videos directed by Rich Lee
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