Sale El Sol

Album: Sale El Sol (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • On the Spanish-language title track from Shakira's ninth studio album, the Colombian songstress encourages us to forge through tough times with an optimistic spirit.
  • She chose the album title "Sale El Sol" ("The Sun Comes Out") after a new year brought brightness to some dark times in her personal life. "I started finding new answers on the road and I understand a little bit better what my purpose is as an artist, as a woman. I feel a bit more free and liberated from so many things that hold us back sometimes," she explained. "There's some kind of evolution that's in me that has allowed me to see the world with a more optimistic vision. All these feelings had a way to express themselves through these songs… You go through difficult moments, everybody does, and I've gone through difficult moments myself. But there's always the sun that's inside of us that never extinguishes - I call it 'the sun within.'"
  • This peaked at #10 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. It was also a #1 hit in Mexico and #8 in Spain.
  • At the 2010 Rock in Rio concert in Madrid, Shakira sang this in honor of the Argentine singer-songwriter Gustavo Cerati, who was in a coma after suffering a stroke. Cerati, who co-produced Shakira's 2005 albums Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2, remained in a coma for four years until he died of respiratory arrest.
  • In the video, a black-clad Shakira performs the song with a four-piece band in a dark, snowy forest. Elsewhere, the singer, wearing a flowing golden gown, makes her way through a maze until she stumbles out into the sunlight. The clip was directed by Jaume de Laiguana, who helmed the videos for "Don't Bother" and "Loca."
  • Parts of the video were used in a Christmas commercial for Spanish Cava wine producer Freixenet.

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