Decades into her career, Shakira remains an unstoppable force — and her current streaming success proves it.
This summer, the Colombian superstar asserted her global dominance with the release of her 2026 FIFA World Cup song “Dai Dai” featuring Burna Boy. It marks Shakira’s second official FIFA World Cup official song after the 2010 tournament, when she released the inescapable “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” “Dai Dai” and her show-stopping performances of it at both the 2026 World Cup opening ceremony and halftime show during the final have the entire globe stating the obvious: Shakira is synonymous with the World Cup.
Since “Dai Dai” was released in May, the Afrobeats-inspired jam has scored major streaming wins. It went Number One on both Spotify’s Global Chart and Apple Music’s. That wasn’t a new release blip on Spotify, either. In July, “Dai Dai” broke the record for the longest-running Number One song of 2026 by a female artist on Spotify Global Chart by remaining atop it for 17 days. It also broke the record for the most daily Spotify chart entries by a song from a Latin artist (yes, even more than Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” following the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show). It’s also the biggest global hit of the year by a female artist on the platform. The dance-focused music video has also helped the song’s streaming power; it’s currently Number One on Spotify’s newly launched Global Music Videos Chart, becoming the first song to top the platform’s chart.
With the success of “Dai Dai,” Shakira has become the first artist to earn a Number One song on Spotify in both Spanish and English, and the fifth most-listened-to artist globally on Spotify, which is the highest position ever reached by a Latina artist.
It’s not just “Dai Dai” that bolstered Shakira’s streaming position, either. The superstar’s most memorable hit song “Hips Don’t Lie,” featuring Wyclef Jean, just entered the top 40, at Number 25, on Global Spotify for the first time. Of course, the track was released in 2006 before the world of streaming and has remained a Latin pop classic in that time with a whopping 2.5 billion streams. But Shakira’s recent high-visibility moments at the 2026 World Cup and wrapping up the latest U.S. leg of her record-breaking Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour helped the song earn its biggest-ever streaming day with 2.4 million streams on Friday, July 23.
To be clear, these latest wins are just one of Shakira’s biggest streaming moments after so many decades in the game. Her 2023 smash hit “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” also topped Spotify’s Global 200 chart, and has earned 1.3 billion streams to date. It’s not the only song the star has in the billions, either. “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” has reached the billion benchmark, as have her collaborations with some of Latin music’s biggest stars, “Chantaje” featuring Maluma and “TQG” with Karol G.
Back in 2024, Shakira’s longtime collaborator Will.i.am spoke with Rolling Stone for a cover story on the Colombian star and summed up the power of her continual success best. “It’s one thing to be like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been here for a minute,’ and you’re not being played on Top 40 or you’re just like a legacy act,” he said. “She’s competing. She’s not just flexing her legacy. It’s like, ‘I’m out here out-punching, out-swinging, out-basketmaking, outperforming my old self and new artists.’”
Macklemore performing in France in August
Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour After Onstage ‘Free Palestine’ Statements
Macklemore has been removed from the rest of Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour after several venues allegedly told the trek’s promoter that they would not allow the rapper to perform. The news came after Macklemore made several onstage statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and called for a “free Palestine.”
In an exclusive statement shared with Rolling Stone, Messina Touring Group, promoter of the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, said: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Macklemore was slated to appear at eight of the 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour, which is set to resume this Friday, Sept. 19, in Philadelphia. The venues that allegedly objected to the rapper include: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Reps for Sheeran, Macklemore, and most of the venues did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Macklemore — who’s been an outspoken supporter of Palestinians and those in Gaza for several years — joined the Loop Tour earlier this month, performing two shows at MetLife Stadium outside of New York City, on Sept. 4 and 5. At the first show, the Seattle rapper yelled “Free Palestine” onstage and expressed solidarity with people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He also showed images from the devastation in Gaza and performed his protest song, “Hind’s Hall,” about pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia, who occupied a building and named it after Hind Raja, a six-year-old killed by the Israeli military.
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,’” he said during the first MetLife show. “I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
This spurred much criticism and backlash from pro-Israel groups. StopAntisemitism accused the rapper of ambushing fans with “anti-Israel propaganda” in an Instagram post, which the pop singer Pink amplified.
Pink later explained that she did not object to Macklemore’s calls for a “Free Palestine,” but said, “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now. I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?”
Additionally, the Israeli American Council launched a petition demanding Sheeran remove Macklemore from the rest of the tour, claiming his actions raised questions over “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
At the second MetLife show, Macklemore reiterated his calls for a “Free Palestine” and addressed Jewish members of the audience, saying, “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.” (Humanitarian groups and a United Nations commission have said Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. Israel and its allies, including the United States, have denied this.)
The stadiums that allegedly would not allow a Macklemore show did not immediately return requests for comments either, including for explanations as to why they objected to the rapper performing at their venue. While two of those stadiums are privately owned — Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough — the rest are owned and, in many cases, operated by cities, states, or other government entities, potentially raising First Amendment issues if the venues barred Macklemore over his statements.
The last stop on Sheeran’s Loop Tour, for instance, is Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, which found itself in a similar spot earlier this summer after booking two Kanye West concerts. The shows, unsurprisingly, drew backlash and calls for cancellation due to West’s many past antisemitic statements, but they went ahead as planned.
Pointedly, Ye’s promoter included a clause in his contract prohibiting Raymond James Stadium from canceling the gigs based on the rapper’s past public statements or viewpoints. But legal experts also told local news that canceling the shows would’ve likely violated the First Amendment. Because Raymond James is owned by Hillsborough County, Florida, and operated by a public board, the Tampa Sports Authority, any cancellation based on Ye’s past statements could have been seen as the government restricting speech.
When reached for comment on the Macklemore decision, a rep for the Tampa Sports Authority told Rolling Stone, “We can confirm Macklemore will not be performing at the upcoming show. Apart from this lineup change, the concert will go forward as planned.”
The North American leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour is set to run through the fall, wrapping Nov. 7 at Raymond James Stadium. During the trek, Sheeran will continue to receive support from Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe. A South American leg of the Loop Tour will follow in November and December.