Critics Call J.Lo 'Bigger' Than Shakira, Fans Respond

Gettyimages | Kevin Mazur

With a highly-anticipated joint halftime show planned for the Super Bowl on February 2nd, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez have had pop culture buzzing since the announcement, with fans eager to see how the two will come together to deliver a co-performance for the ages on one of the biggest stages on the planet.

However, a recent article from The New York Post claims that Lopez is 'too big' to even need to share the stage with Shakira, and fans are going wild debating this statement.

In the article, author Chuck Arnold says the decision, "doesn't make sense." He added that, "Shakira’s biggest claim to US fame in recent years has probably been her forgettable stint as a coach on “The Voice.” Her recording career in the English-language market hasn’t been the same since, well, the ’00s, when she crossed over with hits such as 'Whenever, Wherever,' 'Hips Don’t Lie' and 'She Wolf.'"

His claim is that the show simply does not need Shakira to be successful.

While acknowledging​ that the host city for this year's Super Bowl, Miami, is known for a high Latin-American population, he maintains that the two need not co-headline. His assertion comes from statements that Lopez is a much bigger and more relevant name today in that community than Shakira.

"Shakira isn’t the only one who’s done that; Lopez has, too." The author wrote, adding, "At the end of the day, this is just J.Lo’s time. Sorry, Shaki, but Jenny doesn’t need you on her block."

Gettyimages | BRYAN R. SMITH

Fans were quick to point out factual inaccuracies in the 'New York Post' writer's argument, citing worldwide album sales as a reason to why Shakira is still a bigger and more relevant name than Lopez on a world scale.

When you break it down to the numbers, Lopez doesn't even come close to the high amount of achievements that Shakira has enjoyed throughout her career. Although Lopez may have been in the news more so recently, especially for her high-profile nuptials​ to baseball legend Alex Rodriguez, that doesn't dimish the 'Hips Don't Lie' singer's shine entirely.

Lopez has moved roughly 40 million albums worldwide, Shakira has moved double that number. While Lopez was indeed nominated for two Grammys, back in 1999 and 2000, respectively, she ended up not winning either time, where Shakira, who has been nominated for the prestigious​ award six times, ended up actually taking it home three of those instances. Quantifiably, Shakira is the bigger artist on a world stage, but regardless of who sold what, the two megastars are sure to deliver a performance that will go down in history.