The Meaning Behind Shakira & Karol G's "TQG" Lyrics: Translation & Inspiration

August 2024 · 5 minute read

One record-breaking song about her split from Gerard Piqué wasn’t enough for Shakira. The pop star has released another bop, this time with help from fellow Colombian star Karol G. Their new Spanish-language collaboration, “TQG,” is about bouncing back after a bad breakup, and the lyrics have got many fans side-eyeing their famous exes Piqué and Anuel AA.

Shakira and Piqué’s breakup was the more recent of the two. The couple announced their separation in June after 11 years and two children together. Later, El Periódico reported that Shakira had discovered he was cheating, and he soon began to publicly date a younger woman. Her Bizarrap collaboration, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” seemed to call the new couple out directly, and it showed the world the ugly side of the split.

Similarly, Karol G was in a high-profile relationship with rapper Anuel AA in 2018, and they got engaged in 2019. However, they broke up in March 2021 amid cheating rumors, per El Mundo. By June 2022, he was married to another woman. (They’ve since split, too, as Billboard reported earlier this month.)

In “TQG,” Shakira and Karol G sing about being left by someone who found a new girlfriend. It’s by no means a heartbreak anthem — their lives just get better afterward, while he’s still liking their social media posts and trying to reconcile. The title comes from the phrase te quedó grande, which essentially means “I’m out of your league” (more literally: “it was big on you” in terms of fit). Shakira previously used it in “Bzrp: Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” singing, “I was out of your league, that’s why you’re with someone just like you.”

“TQG” is another breakup bop, which is fitting considering it comes from Shakira, a self-identified loba (she-wolf), and the bichota (big shot/girlboss) Karol G. The two sing about how they’ve moved on; in fact, they’ve become “triple M”: “much better, much stronger, much lighter.”

Their lyrics further indicate that reconciliation is not on the table. Not only do they not “compete for men,” they want to make sure their exes’ new girlfriends know it. They also sing that they “don’t repeat mistakes.”

Already, the song is an example of how they’ve thrived post-breakup. The “TQG” music video has more than 57 million views at the time of publishing, just a day after its Feb. 24 debut. “When women come together, THE RESULT IS POWERFUL,” Karol G wrote in an Instagram post celebrating its release. Meanwhile, Shakira thanked everyone for its “incredible reception.”

Read the full English translation of the lyrics, below:

Whoever told you another person fills a void is lying to youIt’s like covering a wound with makeup, you don’t see it, but you feel itYou left saying that you got over me and you found yourself a new girlfriendWhat she doesn’t know is that you’re still watching all my storiesBabe, what happened? Weren’t you so in love?What are you doing looking for me, sweetheart? If you know I don’t repeat mistakesTell your new babe that I don’t compete for menAnd to stop trying, at least I had you looking goodSeeing you with the new girl hurt meBut I’m already focused on myselfWhat we lived, I forgotAnd that’s what has you offendedThat even my life got betterYou’re not welcome here anymoreI see what your girlfriend threw at meThat doesn’t anger me at all, it makes me laugh, it makes me laughI don’t have time for someone who doesn’t contribute, I already changed my directionMaking money like it’s a sportFilling my account, shows, parking lots, and passportI’m harder, the reports sayNow you want to come back, it shows, mmm, yes,Hold on, I’m not an idiotYou forgot that I’m in something elseAnd that the girlboss was out of your leagueBabe, what happened? Weren’t you so in love?What are you doing looking for me, sweetheart?If you know I don’t repeat mistakesTell your new babe that I don’t compete for menAnd to stop trying, at least I had you looking goodYou left and I became “triple M”Much better, much stronger, much lighterGetting back together with you never, you are bad luckBecause now the blessings rain down on meAnd you want to come back, I could already tellLiking my photosYou, looking outside for foodAnd me, thinking it was monotonyAnd now you want to come back, I could already tellLiking my photosYou look happy with your new lifeBut if she found out that you’re still looking for meBabe, what happened? Weren’t you so in love?What are you doing looking for me, sweetheart?If you know I don’t repeat mistakesTell your new babe that I don’t compete for menThat she doesn’t have a good hand, at least I had you looking goodO-O-Ovy on the drumsMy love, it’s that you distanced yourself a lotAnd from here, I don’t see you anymore, babeTQM (I love you a lot) but TQG (I’m out of your league)Barranquilla, Medallo

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