Illegal (song)

2006 single by Shakira

"Illegal" is a song recorded by Colombian singer songwriter Shakira for her seventh studio album, Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005). It was written and produced by Shakira and Lester Mendez and it features Mexican guitarist Carlos Santana. Epic Records released the song as the album's third and final single on 28 August 2006, following the release of "Hips Don't Lie". "Illegal" is a pop and country ballad with lyrics concerning mourning of a past lover complete with an understated vocal performance by Shakira and an electric guitar riff by Santana throughout. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who compared it with Alanis Morissette's material and were mixed towards Santana's contribution. The song achieved moderate success, topping the chart in Romania and the US Dance Club Songs chart and peaking within the top ten in Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Hungary and Switzerland among other countries. The music video for the song, co directed by Jaume de Laiguana and Shakira, had its premiere on 16 November 2006 on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL). It features the singer portraying a girlfriend of a boxer and follows a similar storyline to the song's lyrics. "Illegal" has been performed by the singer live on few occasions, such as during the MTV 5 Star event (2005) and Good Morning America (2006).

"Illegal" is a ballad with lyrics revolving around mourning for the loss of a lover, as seen in the lines, "It should be illegal to deceive a woman's heart". "Illegal" was written and produced by Shakira and Lester Mendez, with all additional production handled by Jose "Gacho" Torres. Mexican guitarist Carlos Santana appears as a featured artist on the song, playing an electrical guitar throughout.

"Illegal" was released as a CD single on 6 November 2006. An EP of the song featuring two versions of the song and "La Tortura" was available for digital download on 9 December 2006. A second, enhanced CD single featuring two versions of the song along with "La Tortura" and its music video was released on 18 December 2006.

The song has received polarized reviews from music critics. A writer of Billboard was very positive towards the song, calling it "gorgeous" and Shakira's "most understated performance to date". In a review of Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, Thomas Erlewine said that Shakira takes her music into unexpected directions with "Illegal". A Dotmusic journalist praised the singer's vocal performance in the song as a proof that she "certainly has a sweet croon". Spence D. of IGN also praised her vocals in the quiet song and complimented Santana's performance for bringing "nice ambiance". Entertainment Weeklys David Browne gave a more mixed review, opining that "'Don't Bother' and 'Illegal' are sister of Alanis catfights we've heard before". Barry Walters from Rolling Stone said that Santana's contribution in the song was "instantly recognizable and somewhat disruptive". Similarly, Lauren Murphy from entertainment. ie felt that his "conscription" and riff contribution to the song was "somewhat lackluster". A writer of E! Online dubbed "Illegal" a "total buzzkill". Robert Copsey of the website Digital Spy placed the song seventh on his list of Shakira's ten best songs, published in 2014 writing that "it hasn't aged a day". The same year, Emily Exton of VH1 placed the track on her list of Shakira's best duets, summarizing "The pained musings of a woman scorned, punctuated by the legend’s iconic guitar groove". A writer of the website Telemundo included "Illegal" on his list of Shakira's best musical collaborations in 2015. Billboard included "Illegal" among Santana's 10 'timeless' collaborations.

In the United States, "Illegal" managed to top the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for the week of 10 February 2007. On the UK Singles Chart, the single debuted at the position of 94 on 16 December 2006 and it moved to its peak position of 34 the following week. It spent a total of four weeks on the chart. At the end of 2007, it emerged as the 66th top single in that country's year end chart. The filming took a full day, and some American and Mexican fans were invited over as extras. It officially premiered on 16 November 2006 on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL). The video features Shakira as the girlfriend of a boxer. Throughout most of the video, she is shown in the empty boxing venue where her former boyfriend boxes. Through flashbacks, she remembers the good times in their relationship – including being alone in the ring, affectionately treating each other. At the end of the video, the reason behind their break up is shown.

An MTV 5 Star performance of the song from 2005, was uploaded to Shakira's official Vevo account on 24 March 2011. In December 2006, "Illegal" was performed during the singer's appearance at Good Morning America.

+ Release dates and formats for "Illegal" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. (Reference(s)) Russia 28 August 2006 Contemporary hit radio Sony BMG Germany 17 November 2006 CD single, CD, Maxi single, maxi CD Sony BMG France 18 December 2006 Sony BMG United Kingdom Enhanced CD RCA