Superstar Shakira Opens Up About The Juxtaposition Of Feeling Both 'Confident' & 'Fragile': 'It’s A Weird Combination'

Shakira has been singing for the masses since the '90s, but the superstar revealed that when it comes to showcasing her iconic voice, she sometimes gets a slight case of stage fright.

The "Hips Don't Lie" crooner, 44, explained to Cosmopolitan that she was "shy" while growing up, and it's something she's never really grown out of.

"To this day, I find it hard to sing to a small group. It’s embarrassing," she confessed. "I feel a little silly, a little ridiculous, and a little naked."

"The stage and crowd and lights and applause of the people dress me. Once you take that away and you’re there with your voice — it’s such a private, intimate act, the one of singing and exposing your soul," the mom-of-two explained. "It’s not a coincidence that people sing in the shower most of the time, because that’s when they’re completely naked and uninhibited and alone."

At the same time, the Colombia native has a "strong will."

"The nuns at my school told me, '¡Es que eres voluntariosa!' ('You are willful!')," she recalled. "I’m like, 'That sounds like a good thing to be.' I think they were trying to say I was stubborn. 'You want to get your way.' I’m like, 'Hell yeah, I want to get my way in life.'"

"I consider myself a fighter, but at the same time, I feel that I’m not as strong as people think," the singer admitted. "I’m a little fragile. It’s a weird combination, feeling vulnerable at times and then feeling that I can do it all."

"I have enormous confidence in the future — faith in life — but a lot of insecurities that make me want to prove myself," she noted. "A couple of days ago, [my partner] Gerard [Piqué] was like, 'How can you think that way and then get so far?' He doesn’t understand the juxtaposition."

Shakira then explained that "aloneness ... is necessary" to succeed.

"You can’t create if you’re surrounded by people and stimuli all the time," the star stated. "You need to see yourself in the mirror at times without makeup. And in that vulnerability of your life, that’s when the most honest thoughts surface."