Demi Lovato, Karol G, Måneskin, and Stray Kids were already confirmed performers for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira joined that list on Monday morning, August 28.
MTV confirmed that Shakira will be this year’s Video Vanguard Award honoree, and Billboard relayed that the Colombian icon will also deliver her first VMAs performance in 17 years.
“Shakira is very likely to perform her 2023 smash ‘TQG,’ a collab with Karol G that debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March,” the publication additionally speculated.
Karol G previously spoke with Uproxx about making “TQG” with Shakira, saying, “She’s a legend. She is someone who has made the name of our country [Colombia] global. I was very nervous to shoot this video because I really wanted to do my best to push myself to the limit and be someone that she could feel proud to collaborate with. To study the choreography with her, to learn it with her, and have that closeness with her because of this song.”
Shakira will become the sixth-straight woman to receive the Video Vanguard Award, following Rihanna (2016), Pink (2017), Jennifer Lopez (2018), Missy Elliott (2019), and Nicki Minaj (2022). As noted by Billboard, nobody received the honor in 2020 or ’21.
The 2023 MTV VMAs nominees were unveiled earlier this month, and Shakira is nominated for Artist Of The Year, Best Collaboration (“TQG”), and Best Latin (“TQG,” “Acróstico“).
The 2023 MTV VMAs will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on September 12. It will be broadcasted live, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.