Shakira thanks sons as she wins lifetime achievement award: ‘Mama can do it all’

On September 12, musical artist Shakira accepted the Video Vanguard Award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) and took the opportunity to thank her two young sons.

According to Today, Shakira, who is from Colombia, is the first South American artist to receive the honor. Seventeen years after her last performance at the VMAs, Shakira once again took to the stage, this time to perform seven of her hit songs. When it came time to receive the lifetime achievement award, she thanked her fans, her record label, her team, and her sons, Sasha and Milan.

“I want to thank my parents. I want to thank my kids, Milan and Sasha, who are here,” she said. “Thank you so much for cheering me up and making me feel that mama can do it all.”

Shakira Accepts the Video Vanguard Award | 2023 VMAs

Fans responded with joy, calling her a “great example of being a woman.”

On Entertainment Tonight’s Instagram post of Shakira thanking her sons, comments included, “Yes why not mama can do it all!!!”

Another agreed, “Mama CAN do it all!”

Yet another wrote, “Strong independent mom artist. God bless her. Always Loved her. Great artist.”

READ: My healthy, full-term baby was stillborn. Life is a miracle we shouldn’t take for granted.

Shakira shares her sons, ages nine and seven, with her former partner, retired soccer player Gerard Piqué. She has shared her family on Instagram and spoken about her desire to be the best mom possible.

“It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve done in my life,” she told PEOPLE in 2015 about parenting. “I’ve been on the most challenging stages performing in front of really demanding audiences and I’ve been meeting with world leaders who sometimes make you a little bit apprehensive, but nothing has made me so self-conscious as being a mom. … Every day I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. I just want to improve in the job, the hardest job on earth.”

Earlier this year, she proudly shared that Milan had been writing songs and Sasha had been focused on playing the piano. “Milan and Sasha, it’s so nice to see how you spread your wings and follow your dreams! There is nothing that makes me more fulfilled than being your mother,” she said.