Shakira is nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, and if she gets in, she will be the first Latina woman ever to do so. Shakira says that sort of recognition seemed impossible to her in the past, and she gives all the credit to her fans.
“I thought someone was joking with me. I had to double-check, and then I just felt really grateful,” Shakira tells Billboard of finding out about her nomination. “It’s not something you expect. I’m so over the moon with my fans who’ve been supporting me for 30 years already, and they continue to … make things like these that sound almost impossible happen.”
Shakira says she “started out as a rock kid” who was a big fan of Nirvana, Metallica and Led Zeppelin. She adds, “It’s pretty crazy, honestly. I grew up in Barranquilla [in Colombia] and I dreamt about things like these, but I never thought that they could come true.”
The “Whenever, Wherever” singer says that if she makes the final cut in April, she’d “be so humbled and thrilled to be representing Latin music, Latina women, and the fans of rock and roll in my Hispanic community.”
But even if she doesn’t, Shakira — who points out that she’s put rock songs on all her albums — says, “[T]o me, just being nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a huge motivation. It’s a huge honor, but also I think it’s gonna inspire me even more for the next years.”
Meanwhile, Shakira’s current tour has set a record as the highest-grossing tour of all time by a Hispanic artist, earning nearly $422 million.
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