Thanks to Shakira, Manuel Turizo's cup is filled to the brim.
Because when the 23-year-old singer got a text from his fellow Colombian about collaborating on their hit song "Copa Vacía," his reaction could more or less be summed up as, "Don't you see baby, this is perfection?"
When the "Hips Don't Lie" singer sent him the track, which translates to Empty Cup in English, "I felt connected with it," he told E! News in an exclusive interview. "It has very deep feelings in the song. And I like that type of music. It's something that I feel related with. It's like my whole albums and my whole music and what I've been working on."
As they began recording, he quickly learned that whenever, wherever Shakira is, she puts her all into her work.
"Something that inspired me a lot was she has an eye in everything," he continued. "In every detail, in every moment, in everything. And maybe with other artists you don't see that. Maybe they just go and do their work, just 'I'm gonna record whatever and that's it.'"
And Shakira's vision doesn't lie, as Manuel puts its, "She knew how she wanted everything to look like, so I feel it's something very cool because our videos, our music, the production of the song, everything, shows you're working hard to make something cool."
As in literally cool, Shakira, 46, dreaming up the plan to play a mermaid that Manuel carries ashore.
"She already had the idea for the video shoot," Manuel explained. "I don't know where she took the inspiration but that example where maybe when you feel empty with someone that you are in love with, you're not receiving the same, to relate it as a mermaid—taking the mermaid out of the water—was very cool."
Along with their collab, Manuel is turning up the heat every day of the week, working on his own music, including his new single "De Lunes a Lunes" with Mexican cumbia band Grupo Frontera.
Despite feeling connected to Mexico and noting how much the culture has influenced the music landscape as of late, "I haven't tried to do a Mexican song before," he said. "And this is the first one I'm going to release with that Mexican influences that I feel is very hard right now."
And, yes, fans should expect to hear that track as he closes out his 2023 world tour with stops across North America, starting Sept. 28 in Chicago.
Though he's stoked for his third U.S. tour, one date is definitely circled on the calendar.
"I moved to Miami four years ago," he revealed. "I love Miami, it's my home. The summer never ends and I'm a beach guy. So I love to go to the beach. I love to go on boats. So it's very cool for me."