text: the sun comes out world tour the sun comes out world tour ( also known as the sale el sol world tour ) was the fifth concert tour by colombian singer - songwriter shakira , launched in support of her eighth and ninth studio albums , she wolf ( 2009 ) and sale el sol ( 2010 ) . after a special tour preview show held in montreal , canada , on 15 september 2010 , the north american leg of the tour commenced at uncasville , connecticut , on 17 september , and closed at rosemont , illinois , on 29 october 2010 . the european leg of the tour was planned to commence at lyon , france , on 16 november , and end in london , england , on 20 december 2010 . the tickets for the initial dates of the european leg were soon sold out , and shakira extended the tour into 2011 , beginning by announcing a show at paris , france ; venues at countries such as croatia , russia , spain and switzerland were soon added . the latin american leg of the tour was a part of the pop festival and visited countries like argentina , brazil , colombia and mexico were added to the tour dates . the setlist of the tour was composed of songs taken primarily from shakira 's ninth studio album sale el sol ; the rest were from her previous studio albums . the stage was shaped like the letter " t " to enable maximum amount of viewers to see shakira easily . a large screen was set behind the stage , on which various visuals , designed by entertainment branding agency loyalkaspar , were projected . for the performances , shakira mainly wore a mesh gold crop top coupled with skin - tight leather pants . other attires shakira wore during the concert shows included a hooded pink gown , a flamenco - skirt , and a feathery blue dress . the concert shows were well received by critics , many of whom praised the charisma shakira displayed during the performances . commercially , the tour was a success . it ranked at number 40 on pollstar 's 2010 year - end " top 50 north american tours " list as it grossed a total of $ 16 . 9 million in the continent , with total ticket sales amounting up to 524 , 723 . in 2011 , the tour ranked at number 20 on pollstar 's 2011 " top 25 worldwide tours " with a total gross of $ 53 . 2 million and ticket sales amounting up to 692 , 064 . a live album of the show held at the palais omnisports de paris - bercy in paris , france , was released as shakira : live from paris , on 5 december 2011 . background on 3 may 2010 , shakira 's official website announced dates for the north american leg of the then - unnamed global tour . three dates and locations were confirmed in the announcement : the tour would appear in madison square garden in new york , on 21 september , toyota center in houston , on 8 october , and staples center in los angeles , on 23 october . following a pre - sale period , the tickets for the three locations were made available for public purchase on 7 may , on shakira 's official website . the prices of the tickets ranged from $ 9 . 50 to $ 149 . 50 . by 23 , 19 august new tour dates and locations were added to the initial ones , summing the total count of the 2010 north american shows to 22 . it was also announced that a special tour preview show would be held in montreal , canada , on 15 september , to offer fans " an exclusive look at shakira 's worldwide arena tour " , prior to the tour 's official commencement in uncasville , connecticut , on 17 september . the last location for the tour to touch upon was rosemont , illinois , on 29 october . on 28 june , shakira announced the dates for the european leg of the tour . 22 dates and locations were announced in total and the tour would begin at the halle tony garnier concert hall in lyon , on 16 november , and end at the o2 arena in london , on 20 december . notable locations the tour would appear in were the palais omnisports de paris - bercy in paris , the festhalle frankfurt in frankfurt , the manchester arena in manchester and the o2 in dublin . after the tickets of the european leg of the tour were sold - out , shakira extended the tour into 2011 and announced a show to be held at the palais omnisports de paris - bercy in paris , on 14 june . later , shakira decided to add another date to the paris show of the tour and set 13 june to perform at the palais omnisports de paris - bercy . by 15 march , new tour dates were added at locations such as croatia , russia , spain and switzerland . on 3 december , the latin america dates of the tour were announced . the first date of the tour was decided to be held on 1 march in salta , argentina . other locations the tour would touch upon included bogotá , in shakira 's native country colombia , san josé , in costa rica , mexico city , in mexico , and são paulo , in brazil . the final date for the latin american leg of the tour was scheduled to be held on 12 april , in panama . the name of the tour was initially speculated to be " tour of earthly delights " , until shakira 's official website revealed the poster of the tour on 8 september , which highlighted " the sun comes out world tour " as the name . the poster of the tour features shakira jumping in the air wearing a golden bikini top coupled with golden pants , similar to the cover art of her 2010 single " loca " . the tour was launched to promote shakira 's eighth studio album she wolf , which was released in october 2009 , and her ninth studio album sale el sol , which was set to release on 19 october 2010 . the words " sale el sol " are spanish for " the sun comes out " , hence the tour was also referred to as the sale el sol world tour . development in 2008 , shakira signed a 10 - year deal with international touring giant live nation , which prompted forbes to deem her as the fourth highest earning female musician in history . the sun comes out world tour was her first tour to be promoted by live nation . the latin american leg of the tour was part of pop festival , a " brand new festival that will bring international music stars to latin america , and which will also showcase the latest in contemporary art and technology " . according to valentina españa , senior managing editor of , the production budget of the tour was big enough to " put britney 's circus ( tour ) to shame " . shakira talked about the tour , saying : " it 's going to have themes and there 'll be a lot of audience interaction . my live show will have a lot of that — a lot of dancing , a joie de vivre . i feel such freedom on stage . it 's such a rush to be performing . i like to see everybody 's faces on stage , to see the reaction . normally , you can only see the front row because of the lights . so you 'll see a lot of ( my ) energy ... but there are also going to be other moments that i hope are artistically energetic . i want people to feel things up close " on 27 november 2009 , it was revealed that shakira was conducting auditions to choose a different opening act for each of the tour 's appearances in different cities . the acts willing to audition were required to upload videos of their performances to shakira 's official website . fans were allowed to vote for their favourite acts and the ones with the most would proceed to the finals ; shakira and her team would then pick the winner out of them . sean wolfington , shakira 's digital - business partner , talked about the decision and told the new york post that " the artists will open for shakira live in big cities and virtually through a video performance in smaller markets . there are a lot of talented artists , and shakira wants to help them by giving them part of her stage " . the visuals and conceptual video scenes for the tour were managed and designed by entertainment branding agency loyalkaspar , who had previously designed tour visuals for artists like u2 and jay - z. elliott , the creative director of the agency , talked about the project , saying that " shakira was a much bigger undertaking then anything we 've attempted previously . they were looking for original content that had to work over two led screens and on a huge projector mapping surreal models of an ever - changing animated face , all in just three weeks . this is for her global world tour , so modifications to the setlist and track durations continued through nine rounds of revisions " . the visuals were projected onto the large screen set behind the stage . the stage was shaped in the form of the letter " t " to enable maximum amounts of viewers to see shakira . concert synopsis the concert began with the lights dimming and a sole spotlight being focused on the crowd . the spotlight then followed shakira as she entered the hall wearing a hooded fuchsia gown . singing the " pensive " and " sentimental " ballad " pienso en " ( " i think of you " ) , she began walking towards the stage while shaking her fans ' hands and hugging them . as soon as shakira climbed the stage , she threw off the gown to reveal her main attire : a mesh gold crop top coupled with skin - tight leather pants . a more energetic routine followed as she " sprinted , jumped , and " across the stage while performing more guitar - oriented versions of " why wait " and " te dejo madrid " ( " i leave you madrid " ) . after stopping to play a harmonica solo , shakira performed " si te vas " ( " if you go " ) accompanied by " dense " musical instrumentation . this was followed by a more rock - tinged performance of " whenever , wherever " , during which shakira invited four female fans onto the stage and taught them how to belly dance . the band moved to a small platform in the middle of the hall and shakira came onto the stage after changing into a wine red - coloured flamenco skirt . a short set of acoustic songs followed , beginning with a cover of " nothing else matters " , a ballad by american heavy metal band metallica . according to jon parales from the new york times , the cover of the song " made it sound andean , with six - beat drumming and the strumming of a ukulele - sized charango " . the cover was blended straight into a performance of " despedida " ( " farewell " ) , a song recorded by shakira for the soundtrack of the 2007 film love in the time of cholera , during which she " tested " her band drummer 's musical skill by " incorporating him into her moves " . " gypsy " was performed with a " folk lilt " and shakira 's vocals were backed by " accordion , fiddles and the rhythm section " . the segment was closed with a performance of " la tortura " ( " torture " ) . the mariachi - influenced " ciega , sordomuda " ( " blind , deaf , and dumb " ) was performed using a stroh violin , which was used to replace the horn sections of the original recording . david hardwick from said the use of the instrument was " impressive " . she then sang the power ballad " underneath your clothes " . a large animated face resembling that of residente , the lead singer of puerto rican band calle 13 , was projected onto the screen behind the stage during the performance of " gordita " ( " chubby " ) , a hip hop and rap track in which the artist was featured . the face was used to cover residente 's portions of the song through prerecorded vocals . shakira then sang the " sale el sol , " a song which was originally said to be dedicated to argentine musician gustavo cerati , shakira 's close friend and frequent collaborator , who had been in a coma . shakira then changed into a pair of neon leopard - print pants and performed " loca " ( " crazy " ) with more " intricate and urban choreographies " . shakira then let out a long howl , signaling the start of the performance of " she wolf " . the performance marked the first time back - up dancers were featured in the show . dave simpson from the guardian commented that shakira was " howling like a banshee " during the performance . the performance of the middle eastern music - flavoured " ojos así " ( " eyes like yours " ) was the final one on the setlist of the concert . shakira incorporated belly dancing steps into her choreography during the performance . the encore segment of the concert began with a performance of " antes de las seis " ( " before six o 'clock " ) , during which artificial snow was launched into the air as the song neared its end . the keyboardist of the concert band impersonated haitian - american rapper wyclef jean , the featured artist on shakira 's hit single " hips don 't lie " during the performance of the song . the concert show ended with the performance of " waka waka ( this time for africa ) " , the worldwide hit shakira recorded as the official anthem song of the 2010 fifa world cup , during which she again invited fans onto the stage to dance with her as confetti " filled the entire arena " . critical response the tour received numerous positive reviews from critics . terry mathews from the sulphur springs news - telegram , in his review of the concert held at the american airlines center in dallas , opined that the show was " equally enormous and bombastic as it was intimate " and that there was a " joyful atmosphere after the show " , which proved that shakira " had done her job " . however , she also felt that the " fast paced , familiar tracks " of she wolf should have been included more on the setlist rather than the " still unknown singles " of sale el sol . mikael wood from the los angeles times , in his review of the concert held at the staples center in los angeles , also complimented shakira 's charisma and praised her for not going over the top , instead noting that she was " carrying out a plan , skillfully and with no shortage of superstar charisma " . dakin hardwick from , in his review of the concert held at the oracle arena in oakland , praised shakira 's interaction with the fans and called her " truly one of the great performers " , commenting that " the woman simply will not stop dancing " . jim farber from daily news , in his review of the concert held at madison square garden in new york , felt that shakira 's voice lacked sensuality and that it " displayed a , style " . however , he also said that her energetic live performance and ability to dance " smoothed out her rougher elements " , and that she " whipped up the kind of charisma that doesn 't need to come from any particular place to charm " . jon pareles from the new york times , in his review of the concert held at madison square garden in new york , praised shakira 's multi - cultural approach during the show and called it " globalization " with " pure positive thinking " and shakira a " star with a conscience " . mick from the hollywood reporter , in his review of the concert held at madison square garden in new york , said that the show " cemented shakira 's place as an arena - rock star " , and concluded that the concert was an " effervescent message of love from a world music diva with dance fever " . tim burrows from the telegraph , in his review of the concert held at the o2 arena in london , complimented shakira 's charisma during the show and her ability to make sure that the " crowd still left glowing " , saying that it was the product of a " masterclass in cold calculation " . dave simpson from the guardian , in his review of the concert held at the manchester arena in manchester , favoured shakira 's charisma and bold sexuality , noting that it is " upfront and yet nowhere near as overt as a christina aguilera or madonna " . he described shakira 's approach towards the performances during the show , saying that she " gives everything to the performance while revealing nothing " , and that she appears to be " simultaneously like a pop mastermind and an overawed little girl having tremendous fun " . commercial reception during its north american appearances spanning from 21 september to 23 october 2010 , the tour grossed $ 3 , 685 , 377 , and ranked at number four on billboard hot tours chart on 11 november 2010 . the shows at madison square garden in new york and staples center in los angeles were sold out . pop festival , the sponsor of the latin american leg of the tour , grossed $ 13 , 516 , 890 during the dates spanning from 12 to 27 march 2011 , and ranked at number two on the billboard hot tours chart on 8 april 2011 . according to spanish automobile manufacturer seat , the sponsor of the european leg , the 21 venues the tour appeared at were all sold - out , and attended by an approximate total of 360 , 000 fans . it was one of the highest grossing tours of the year 2010 . according to pollstar , the tour grossed a total of $ 16 . 9 million during its north american dates , thus ranking at number 40 on pollstar 's 2010 year - end " top 50 north american tours " list . in north america , the tour sold an average of 9 , 335 tickets , and a total of 205 , 271 tickets . its average gross was $ 768 , 182 . worldwide , the tour grossed a total of $ 39 . 9 million from 1 january 2011 , to 30 june 2011 , and ranked at number 11 on pollstar 's " top 50 worldwide tours " list , compiled on the basis of this period . it sold an average of 11 , 661 tickets , and a total of 524 , 723 tickets . its average gross was $ 886 , 667 during this period . from 1 january 2011 , to 31 december 2011 , the tour grossed a total of $ 53 . 2 million , and ranked at number 20 on pollstar 's " top 25 worldwide tours " , compiled on the basis of this period . it sold an average of 13 , 106 tickets , and a total of 692 , 064 tickets . its average gross was $ 1 , 108 , 333 . live recording the performances that took place at the palais omnisports de paris - bercy in paris , france , on 13 and 14 june 2011 , were recorded for inclusion in the live album of the tour . the live album was titled live from paris ( en vivo desde parís in hispanic countries ) , and was released on 5 december 2011 . it was made available in three formats : an exclusive edition which includes a dvd and live audio cd , a standard dvd edition , and a blu - ray disc edition . the debut of the live album was preceded by the release of " je l 'aime à " , shakira 's rendition of the original song written and performed by french singer - songwriter francis cabrel , on 29 november 2011 . in france , live from paris was certified platinum in france by the syndicat national de l 'édition phonographique for sales of 100 , 000 units . opening acts set list the following set list is representative of the show on 21 september 2010 . " pienso en ti " " why wait " " te dejo madrid " " si te vas " " whenever , wherever " " inevitable " " el nay a nay " ( interlude ) medley : " nothing else matters " / " despedida " " gypsy " " la tortura " " ciega , sordomuda " " underneath your clothes " " gordita " " sale el sol " " las de la intuición " " loca " " she wolf " " ojos así " " antes de las seis " " hips don 't lie " " waka waka ( this time for africa ) " rock in rio ( 2011 ) the following set list is representative of the show during rock in rio in brazil during her 2011 leg . " estoy aqui " " te dejo madrid " " si te vas " " whenever , wherever " " inevitable " " el nay a nay " ( interlude ) medley : " nothing else matters " / " despedida " " gypsy " " la tortura " " ciega , sordomuda " " sale el sol " " las de la intuición " " loca " " she wolf " " ojos así " " pais tropical " " hips don 't lie " " waka waka ( this time for africa ) " additional notes : certain songs were performed in their spanish versions on select dates " pienso en ti , " " underneath your clothes , " " si te vas , " and " gordita " were not performed on select dates . a cover of " je l 'aime à " by francis cabrel was performed on francophone dates . " estoy aquí " was performed as the opening number on select dates . a cover of " pais tropical " by jorge ben jor was performed with brazilian artist ivete sangalo at the concert held in rock in rio , brazil , instead of " antes de las seis . " tour dates personnel credits for the tour adapted from the liner notes of live from paris dvd , and allmusic .