Shakira did not need to be anywhere near Los Angeles for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. She was more than 5,800 miles away in Madrid, performing the sixth night of her massive European residency.
Anitta and Shakira were compiting in a crowded Latin field that included Bad Bunny, Karol G, Rosalía with Yahritza y Su Esencia, Ryan Castro, Kapo and GANGSTA, and Fuerza Regida, who were at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles for the ceremony. Shakira was actually competing against herself: her collaboration with Burna Boy, "Dai Dai," was also nominated for Best Latin.
However the award went to Bad Bunny's NuevaYol.
Instead of walking the VMAs red carpet, Shakira spent Sunday at Madrid's Estadio Shakira, the temporary venue created for her 12-show Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran European residency at Iberdrola Music. The Sept. 27 concert was the sixth date of the run, which is drawing roughly 50,000-plus fans per night.
And she had company. Manuel Turizo joined Shakira as Sunday's special guest to sing 'La Copa Vacía,' a surprise the singer herself revealed ahead of the show.
Manuel Turizo e @Shakira cantano Copa Vacía a Madrid. #Shakira pic.twitter.com/1HFqwQR5FW
— Paky ✨ (@PakyShak2) September 27, 2026
His appearance continued a parade of Colombian and Spanish music stars through the Madrid residency, which had already brought Alejandro Sanz onstage to reunite with Shakira for "La Tortura."
Her last appearance at the VMAs came in 2023, when she essentially took over the show. Shakira became the first South American artist to receive MTV's Video Vanguard Award and returned to the VMA stage for her first performance there in 17 years. Her career-spanning medley moved through songs including "She Wolf," "Te Felicito," "Whenever, Wherever" and "Hips Don't Lie," complete with guitar, knife choreography and a crowd-surfing finale.
She also left that ceremony with a competitive Moon Person, winning Best Collaboration alongside Karol G for "TQG."
Sunday's victory brings Shakira to seven VMA wins. She entered the 2023 ceremony with four career wins, added "TQG" that year, won Best Latin for "Soltera" in 2025 and has now added "Choka Choka" to the collection. Her 2023 Video Vanguard honor stands separately as one of MTV's career achievement awards.
The category was a representation of all the power of Latin music. Fuerza Regida's "TU SANCHO" represented música mexicana in Best Latin, alongside Bad Bunny's "NUEVAYoL," Karol G's "Papasito," Rosalía and Yahritza y Su Esencia's "La Perla" and "LA VILLA" by Ryan Castro, Kapo and GANGSTA.
For Shakira, however, the geography of the moment may have been as striking as the trophy itself. The last time she attended the VMAs, she was being carried through the crowd in New Jersey as MTV celebrated her career. Three years later, another Moon Person was waiting for her in Los Angeles while she was busy filling a stadium bearing her own name in Madrid. Not a bad way to miss an awards show.
