Black Eyed Peas, Shakira - GIRL LIKE ME Video

In what has to be an unlikely surprise to all but those involved Black Eyed Peas and Shakira premiered their video for 'GIRL LIKE ME' some 12 years after the song's conception.

will.i.am and his hip-hop posse are joined by Columbian legend Shakira on a song that is as infectious as any either of them has produced in a long time. Will explains, "For those that didn’t know Shakira came to my studio in 2008 and we worked on “Girl Like Me”...I’m so happy this song is out now...I’ve made so many different versions of this song...and we found the perfect vibe for it... and now the video is here!!! Thank you SHAKIRA!!! I loved working with you,"

The video, as will.i.am points out, is finally here having taken more than a decade to reach us. (Maybe he's been too busy working on The Voice?) It's a lavish affair with Will and Shakira taking centre stage as they go through various costume changes and, in Shakira's case, navigate the stylised set on a skateboard! As Mercs spin around, and Shakira dances like she's in a 1980's Jane Fonda keep fit video, Will keeps the track moving along interspersing raps into the vocal mix.

The Latin American influenced soundtrack plays, rather like Shakira's 2005 global hit 'Hips Don't Lie', on the use of her name as Will repeats it in the lyrics picking his rhymes off the end of her name. 'GIRL LIKE ME' even references the song along the way, "Your hips don't lie, they rock me". 

As Shakira is involved you can't really call it stealing and anyway, even it were borrowing it wouldn't matter as it's resulted in a cracking tune that highlights the quality brought to the table by both parties.