# El Dorado (Shakira album)
**El Dorado** is the eleventh studio album by the Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, released on May 26, 2017 by Sony Music Latin and [RCA Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/rca-records). It is one of her most Latin-leaning albums, with nine of its thirteen tracks sung in Spanish, three in English, and one French-English mix, and it won the [Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-award-for-best-latin-pop-album) in 2018.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) • [2](https://time.com/5122250/grammys-2018-winners-list/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | May 26, 2017; eleventh studio album; 13 tracks, 43:59[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) |
| Languages | Nine tracks in Spanish, three in English, one French-English mix[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) |
| Featured artists | Maluma (two tracks), Nicky Jam, Carlos Vives, Prince Royce, and Black M[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) |
| Styles | Latin pop, reggaeton, vallenato, bachata, adult contemporary, dance-pop[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) |
| Commercial peak | No. 1 on iTunes in 37 countries; No. 1 on Billboard Top Latin Albums, her sixth chart-topper there; 5x platinum (Latin)[3](https://cdn.grammymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/27054504/Shakira-exhibit-announce_FINAL3.pdf) • [4](https://s1.q4cdn.com/788591527/files/doc_news/2017/06/LN-News-Center-FINAL-Shakira-El-Dorado-Tour-Release-%5B1%5D.pdf) |
| Awards | Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards; Best Latin Pop Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards[3](https://cdn.grammymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/27054504/Shakira-exhibit-announce_FINAL3.pdf) • [2](https://time.com/5122250/grammys-2018-winners-list/) |
| Tour | El Dorado World Tour, delayed seven months by a vocal cord hemorrhage, opened June 2018 in Hamburg and closed in Bogotá in November[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) |
## Background and recording
Shakira had not released an album since her 2014 self-titled record, and in interviews she described the three-year gap as a period when motherhood took priority and she nearly told [Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music) she would stop recording.[5](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-de-el-tiempo-a-shakira-tras-el-estreno-de-su-nuevo-album-el-dorado-92944) She said the album came together by accident rather than plan: "I started making songs and in the end I made so many that it's like an album."[6](https://www.europapress.tv/reportajes/354503/1/entrevista-shakira-hablando-nuevo-album-dorado) In a 2018 [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) account she credited a project with [Carlos Vives](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlos-vives) with showing her she could avoid album overload by working one song at a time.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940)
The album was recorded in Barcelona, where she then lived, and in Miami, and its songs deal largely with her relationship with the Spanish footballer [Gerard Piqué](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerard-pique).[7](https://repositorio.xoc.uam.mx/jspui/bitstream/123456789/39134/1/51146.pdf) The title refers to the pre-Columbian legend of [El Dorado](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-dorado); Shakira called the album "my reunion with inspiration" and said the mythological treasure of her country felt like the perfect name given the coincidences of the project.[6](https://www.europapress.tv/reportajes/354503/1/entrevista-shakira-hablando-nuevo-album-dorado)
**Collaborations.** Sony Music Latin chief Afo Verde suggested the writing session with Maluma and also proposed the collaborations with [Prince Royce](https://www.edgepedia.org/prince-royce), Carlos Vives, and [Nicky Jam](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicky-jam).[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2018/Billboard-2018-04-21.pdf) Shakira said the guests arrived unplanned, "like when you throw a party and more and more people keep showing up," beginning with Vives, then Maluma (who stayed for two songs), Nicky Jam, Prince Royce, and the French rapper [Black M](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-m-musician), with whom she recorded a song in French.[5](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-de-el-tiempo-a-shakira-tras-el-estreno-de-su-nuevo-album-el-dorado-92944)
## Music and songs
Several songs predate the album by more than a year. "La Bicicleta," her 2016 duet with Carlos Vives that combines reggaeton and vallenato, and "Chantaje," with Maluma, which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, were both released in 2016, months before [Luis Fonsi](https://www.edgepedia.org/luis-fonsi)'s "Despacito" set off the wider Latin-pop crossover wave that El Dorado rode.[9](https://www.grammy.com/news/shakira-road-to-la-mujeres-ya-no-lloran-new-album-videos/) "Me Enamoré," dedicated to Piqué, and "Déjà Vu," a bachata with Prince Royce, rounded out the run of pre-release hits.[5](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-de-el-tiempo-a-shakira-tras-el-estreno-de-su-nuevo-album-el-dorado-92944) • [4](https://s1.q4cdn.com/788591527/files/doc_news/2017/06/LN-News-Center-FINAL-Shakira-El-Dorado-Tour-Release-%5B1%5D.pdf)
The AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the record as anchored in Spanish-language dance cuts while shifting between electronic rhythms, traditional balladeering, and adult contemporary pop, with only the arena-rock element of her earlier work absent.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) One song, "What We Said," appears in both English and Spanish.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) At the Miami release showcase Shakira highlighted "Toneladas," a piano-and-voice track performed with Laura, the music teacher at her son Milan's school in Barcelona, whom the family had heard playing each morning; she said she had reworked the song through reggae, pop, and rock arrangements before settling on piano and voice.[5](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-de-el-tiempo-a-shakira-tras-el-estreno-de-su-nuevo-album-el-dorado-92944)
## Commercial performance and reception
Within half an hour of release, the album was reported at No. 1 in digital sales in several countries, and by the end of its first day it had reached No. 1 on iTunes in 37 countries; in the United States it led the Latin listing and stood at No. 2 overall.[5](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-de-el-tiempo-a-shakira-tras-el-estreno-de-su-nuevo-album-el-dorado-92944) It reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart, her sixth album to do so, and was certified 5x platinum (Latin); the single "Chantaje" was certified 16x diamond, and its video passed 1.4 billion views.[4](https://s1.q4cdn.com/788591527/files/doc_news/2017/06/LN-News-Center-FINAL-Shakira-El-Dorado-Tour-Release-%5B1%5D.pdf)
The album won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2017 [Latin Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/latin-grammy-awards) and Best Latin Pop Album at the January 2018 [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards).[3](https://cdn.grammymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/27054504/Shakira-exhibit-announce_FINAL3.pdf) • [2](https://time.com/5122250/grammys-2018-winners-list/) Critical opinion was divided: AllMusic praised its coherent, understated control of mood,[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) while the German review site Plattentests.de scored it 5 out of 10, and user ratings on Rate Your Music later averaged 2.3 out of 5.[10](https://www.plattentests.de/rezi.php?show=14213) • [11](https://elpais.com/cultura/2026-09-18/la-hora-de-la-verdad-de-shakira-la-ultima-jugada-maestra-de-una-artista-sin-limites.html)
## El Dorado World Tour
The tour scheduled to begin in November 2017 was delayed seven months after a vocal cord hemorrhage left Shakira uncertain whether she would perform again; it finally opened in June 2018 in Hamburg and closed in November in Bogotá.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) A concert film and live album, *Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour*, was distributed in more than 60 countries.[12](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Shakira_In_Concert%3A_El_Dorado_World_Tour)
## Place in Shakira's career
El Dorado marked a turn back to Spanish-language music after the English-language *Shakira* (2014), replacing that album's American celebrity guests with [Latin pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/latin-pop) and reggaeton artists.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940) It remained her last studio album for seven years, until *Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran* in March 2024, her second Spanish-language album in a row.[9](https://www.grammy.com/news/shakira-road-to-la-mujeres-ya-no-lloran-new-album-videos/)
## References
1. [El Dorado – Shakira, review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/el-dorado-mw0003047940)
2. [Grammys 2018: See the Full List of Winners, Time](https://time.com/5122250/grammys-2018-winners-list/)
3. [Shakira exhibit announcement, GRAMMY Museum](https://cdn.grammymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/27054504/Shakira-exhibit-announce_FINAL3.pdf)
4. [Shakira El Dorado World Tour press release, Sony/Rakuten](https://s1.q4cdn.com/788591527/files/doc_news/2017/06/LN-News-Center-FINAL-Shakira-El-Dorado-Tour-Release-%5B1%5D.pdf)
5. [Entrevista de EL TIEMPO a Shakira tras el estreno de su nuevo álbum El Dorado](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/entrevista-de-el-tiempo-a-shakira-tras-el-estreno-de-su-nuevo-album-el-dorado-92944)
6. [Entrevista a Shakira hablando de su nuevo álbum 'El Dorado', Europa Press TV](https://www.europapress.tv/reportajes/354503/1/entrevista-shakira-hablando-nuevo-album-dorado)
7. [Thesis on Shakira's discography, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana](https://repositorio.xoc.uam.mx/jspui/bitstream/123456789/39134/1/51146.pdf)
8. [Billboard, April 21, 2018 issue](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2018/Billboard-2018-04-21.pdf)
9. [Shakira's Road To 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran', GRAMMY.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/shakira-road-to-la-mujeres-ya-no-lloran-new-album-videos/)
10. [Shakira – El Dorado, Plattentests.de review](https://www.plattentests.de/rezi.php?show=14213)
11. [La hora de la verdad de Shakira, El País](https://elpais.com/cultura/2026-09-18/la-hora-de-la-verdad-de-shakira-la-ultima-jugada-maestra-de-una-artista-sin-limites.html)
12. [Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour, Mexpedia](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Shakira_In_Concert%3A_El_Dorado_World_Tour)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Latin albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license