Peak
6
Weeks
24
Score
4,383
Chart Year
2001
The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence in front of a blue screen, and features Shakira surrounded by Earth's natural wonders. It begins with her submerged in the ocean, the only part of the video that is not shot on a blue screen; the underwater part is real as her hair is flowing freely and she is blowing soft bubbles from her nose and mouth. She leaps out of the water onto the surrounding rocks and observing a landscape of mountains; a falcon flies down towards her. Shakira then proceeds to walk barefoot into the desert while belly-dancing, where she is soon seen dancing amid a stampede of horses. The stampede suddenly stops, and she kneels into a shallow pool of mud, and begins crawling through it. As the video nears its conclusion, she is on top of a snowy mountain before jumping off, descending into water and submerging herself once more, as the video comes full circle. The video was shot twice, the other version being for "Suerte"/"Luck", with Lawrence directing both versions. The video became an instant hit on several music programs. It became Shakira's first video to retire on MTV's TRL, and in Canada, reached number one for a single week on the MuchMusic program Countdown. It won the 2002 Latin Grammy Award for "Best Short Form Music Video". There are 2 remix videos using the Tracy Young Spin Cycle Mix and the Tracy Young Tribal Mix. In 2018, Billboard included "Whenever, Wherever" among the 100 greatest music videos of the 21st century, stating that it "introduced Shakira's swiveling hips to the world", and that its "minimalist production, which memorably featured Shakira dancing alone without props, musicians or other dancers, was enough to catapult her to international stardom
Shakira is from Colombia, and Spanish is her native language. The Spanish version of this song is called "Suerte," which means "Luck." This was Shakira's first album recorded in English. The singer didn't know the language yet when she started working on the album and was assigned an English tutor. "To me it was very important to understand the nature of the language and how it works in literature," she explained in a VH1 interview. "I wanted to know how the English grammar works... I had to read Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass in English just to understand the language a little more. It was too important to me to write my own material like I always did." Gloria Estefan, whose husband, Emilio, was Shakira's manager, translated the songs for the singer and encouraged her efforts to grasp the language. Shakira was a star in Latin America, but this was her first hit in English-speaking countries. The video, directed by Francis Lawrence, features the singer showing off her belly-dancing skills in a number of natural locales. It became a huge hit on MTV and introduced her to a new set of fans. The clip also earned her the 2002 Latin Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. Gloria Estefan wrote this with Shakira. Estefan has had tremendous success recording in both English and Spanish, but like Shakira, her core fanbase is Spanish-speaking. Without Estefan in her corner, Shakira may not have become a worldwide phenomenon - at least not for a little while longer. In a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Estefan explained how she fought the execs at Epic to give Shakira a fair shot. "They wanted her just to throw a couple of songs in English on a Latin record, and I fought hard. I said, 'Listen. This is her shot. You can't do it halfway, you know?'" she recalled. "An American audience is not gonna get a record that's mostly Spanish because there's a couple of English cuts on it. They're gonna want to hear the whole thing. This is gonna work. I fought hard for her. Fought hard. And she sold like 13 million of that album." The song is about being willing to travel the world in order to be with a distant lover. Most of the songs Shakira writes are about love. Report this ad This was written in Spanish, and the Spanish lyrics are more meaningful. The English translation is a little goofy, with lines like "Lucky my breasts are small and humble so you don't confuse them with mountains." The lack of lyrical depth did not hurt, as the beat, the chorus, and the video made this a hit. One of the key instruments are Andean pan flutes. They are common in Arabic music, which is a big influence on Shakira. After this was released, Shakira's boyfriend was the subject of a great deal of controversy. She was dating Antonio De La Rua, the son of Argentinean president Fernando De La Rua, who resigned in December 2001 with Argentina's economy in turmoil. On his last day in office, five protesters were shot by police guarding the presidential palace, which enraged Argentines as well as many other Latin Americans. Considering Shakira guilty by association, Tower Records refused to sell her CD at the request of the president of Tower Records Argentina. The younger De La Rua wrote speeches for his father. He was in the video for another song on the album called "Underneath Your Clothes." Hard to believe, but Shakira had body image issues. She was quite happy with her humble breasts when she released this song, but when she started writing for her 2005 album Fijacion Oral Vol. 1, the first line she wrote (according to an interview with Gavin Martin) was, "Told you I've been lucky with my humble breasts. We'll, I'm not." She considered plastic surgery, but decided against it. Shakira sang this during her first appearance on Saturday Night Live on December 1, 2001. Shakira performed this at halftime of the 2020 Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. This was the first Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Latin artists, with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez taking the stage.
Lucky you were born that far away so We could both make fun of distance Lucky that I love a foreign land for The lucky fact of your existence Baby I would climb the Andes solely To count the freckles on your body Never could imagine there were only Ten million ways to love somebody Can't you see I'm at your feet Whenever, wherever We're meant to be together I'll be there and you'll be near And that's the deal my dear There over, hereunder You'll never have to wonder We can always play by ear But that's the deal my dear Lucky that my lips not only mumble They spill kisses like a fountain Lucky that my breasts are small and humble So you don't confuse them with mountains Lucky I have strong legs like my mother To run for cover when I need it And these two eyes that for no other The day you leave will cry a river At your feet I'm at your feet Whenever, wherever We're meant to be together I'll be there and you'll be near And that's the deal my dear There over, hereunder You'll never have to wonder We can always play by ear But that's the deal my dear Think out loud Say it again Tell me one more time That you'll live Lost in my eyes You're unbelievable You're so unbelievable You're unbelievable Alright guys, let's break it down Jump, everybody go go go jump up Whenever, wherever We're meant to be together I'll be there and you'll be near And that's the deal my dear There over, hereunder You'll never have to wonder We can always play by ear But that's the deal my dear Whenever, wherever We're meant to be together And that's the deal my dear There over, hereunder You've got me head over heels There's nothing left to fear If you really feel the way I feel The way I feel The way I feel The way I feel
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 27, 2001 | 74 | 52 |
| 2 | Nov 3, 2001 | 71 | 55 |
| 3 | Nov 10, 2001 | 68 | 58 |
| 4 | Nov 17, 2001 | 50 | 76 |
| 5 | Nov 24, 2001 | 37 | 89 |
| 6 | Dec 1, 2001 | 21 | 105 |
| 7 | Dec 8, 2001 | 14 | 112 |
| 8 | Dec 15, 2001 | 9 | 117 |
| 9 | Dec 22, 2001 | 7 | 119 |
| 10 | Dec 29, 2001 | 6 | 120 |
| 11 | Jan 5, 2002 | 7 | 119 |
| 12 | Jan 12, 2002 | 8 | 118 |
| 13 | Jan 19, 2002 | 7 | 119 |
| 14 | Jan 26, 2002 | 7 | 119 |
| 15 | Feb 2, 2002 | 6 | 120 |
| 16 | Feb 9, 2002 | 11 | 115 |
| 17 | Feb 16, 2002 | 11 | 115 |
| 18 | Feb 23, 2002 | 13 | 113 |
| 19 | Mar 2, 2002 | 15 | 111 |
| 20 | Mar 9, 2002 | 17 | 109 |