Shakira's Tongue

About

Shakira's Tongue refers to a viral moment from the Super Bowl LIV halftime show during which singer Shakira ululated, sticking her tongue out and rapidly moving it. Following the show, the moment gained popularity on social media, being used both as a reaction and as source material for humorous edits.

Origin

On February 2nd, 2020, during Shakira's Super Bowl LIV halftime performance, the singer ululated, sticking her tongue outside of her mouth and rapidly moving it. Within minutes, Twitter^[1] user @cjzero posted the clip of Shakira ululating to the platform, with the video acquiring over 15.7 million views and the tweet garnering over 5,700 retweets and 28,000 likes in one day. Another video posted by Twitter^[2] user @Sarcastic_Asset received over 397,000 views.

Spread

Starting on the same day, users on Twitter, Instagram and other platforms used the video as a reaction, with humorous edits also being posted. For example, a February 2nd tweet^[3] by user @CHIN0SUKE received over 16,200 retweets and 49,900 likes in one day (shown below, top). A same-day tweet^[4] by user @RMunroe_17 gained over 12,100 retweets and 33,600 likes in the same period (shown below, bottom).

On February 3rd, a number of online outlets posted a collections of Shakira's Tongue memes, including Fast Company,^[5] CNN^[6] and LADBible.^[7]

Cultural Meaning

On February 2nd, Washington Post^[8] posted an article speculating about the cultural significance behind Shakira's ululation at the performance.

To those familiar with Middle Eastern culture, the sound was akin to a traditional Arabic expression of joy and celebration called a zaghrouta. It was also interpreted as a reference to the world-famous Carnaval de Barranquilla, which is held in Shakira’s hometown in Colombia.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References