Shakira goes viral for tongue gesture during Super Bowl performance

Singer may have been paying homage to Lebanese background with gesture

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez entertained millions of viewers last night with their Super Bowl half-time performance, but it was one moment in particular that captured the attention of fans.

During Shakira’s performance, the She Wolf singer stared directly into the camera and wagged her tongue, making a high-pitched noise alongside the movement.

The gesture immediately sparked the creation of memes, with many expressing their amusement over the moment.

“If I ain’t seen anything ever that’s more meme-worthy, I give you Shakira’s tongue,” one person tweeted alongside a clip of the performance.

Another said: “Shakira’s tongue is about to become the meme of the year.”

However, as pointed out by viewers, the Colombian singer was possibly paying homage to her background with the move, which is culturally significant.

According to one person, the gesture is called a zaghrouta, and it is an “Arabic tradition used to express joy, excitement, celebration”.

“Debated whether to chime in, but so many disrespectful memes,” they wrote. “Shakira wasn’t just being funny with the ‘tongue thing’. What she did is called a zaghrouta, an Arabic tradition used to express joy, excitement, celebration. Typically heard at weddings. FYI, she’s part Lebanese.”

As another viewer noted, the zaghrouta was just one aspect of Shakira’s performance that paid tribute to Middle Eastern culture, as the singer also included belly dancing and the use of a derbeke, a percussion instrument.

“You really have to understand how huge Shakira’s performance was for the Middle Eastern community,” they said on Twitter. “She had belly dancing, a mijwiz, and a derbeke, performed 'Ojos Asi,' which was one of the few Shakira songs to have Arabic in it, did a zaghrouta, all love on the biggest stage.”

Prior to her performance, Shakira discussed how important the opportunity to sing at the Super Bowl was to her as an artist.

“I’ve always wanted to perform at the Super Bowl,” she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1 in October 2019. “It’s like the holy grail of the entertainment industry. It’s a sports event, but it has huge relevance for us artists, and I think it’s going to be fantastic.”

“This is going to be an event to celebrate Latin culture and the importance of women also in the industry,” she added.