Shakira Says She Was 'Very Nervous' to Drop 'Don't Wait Up,' Her 'First English Song in a Long Time'

"This song has taken me through so many roads and it has taken me on an adventure," Shakira said of her new single

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Published on July 16, 2021 05:05PM EDT

Shakira is dropping English bops again as she releases "Don't Wait Up."

On Friday, the singer released the music video for the track, which is not only her first solo release since 2017, but also her first English language track since 2016's "Try Everything."

"I have to say, I'm very nervous because it's my first English song in a long time because I've been focusing on Spanish songs only lately," the Colombian star, 44 said during a new interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1.

"But this song came about and I'm like, yeah, it's time," she added. "It's time to do this again and I'm happy, and I'm so inspired right now."

Describing the track as "heaven-sent," Shakira shared that she's wanted to record a house song for a while now.

"This song is a song that I've been waiting to write and have for a long time," she said. "I feel that this, it was meant to be."

"It has been living inside of me in some sort of metaphysical way, and it just sort of materialized. But it's been there for a while. I've been looking for the song. I wanted a house song and this song has taken me through so many roads and it has taken me on an adventure, unexpected places," she continued.

Fittingly, Shakira came up with a "completely new language for my body" when it came time to thinking about her music video. "It has been a super creative journey that has, I think, made me grow professionally and creatively and artistically," she said.

In the video, Shakira sings about needing "to do something for myself" while catching some waves on a light-up surfboard and showing off her moves on the dance floor.

"Don't wait up," she adds in the chorus. "Don't be afraid if it gets late, yeah / You'll survive, it's just one night.

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In order to make sure every detail was just right, Shakira said she "spent two months preparing" for the shoot.

"It was a lot of work," she told Lowe. "I spent two months preparing this video, finding the right director, talking to him every day on my WhatsApp, every minute of the day. And we were just brainstorming the whole time."

A compromise also had to be made when it came to the bathing suit she wore during her scenes in the water.

"I made sure that the water wasn't cold because I'm such a chicken for cold water unless I have a full wetsuit. But the director was like, you're not going with a full wet suit on this video. You're going to be in a bathing suit, in a bikini. I'm like, no, no, no, I'm not going to be in a bikini, surfing in a bikini," she said. "I'm not that fit. I need to wear something to hold everything in properly, but okay, I'll give you some legs. I said that."

"So we kind of compromised. He was very confused because he's seen me my entire life exposing my midriff, but this time, I was like, no, no, no. I'm going to be on a board. I want to be comfortable, I don't want to be sucking anything in," she added.

"Don't Wait Up" is out now.