Shakira, Rihanna collaboration confirmed by Pitbull? 'Timber' rapper lets top-secret new single slip [VIDEOS]

It seems as though Shakira is aiming to make her return to music, and when the Colombian beauty inevitably does so, it's going to be huge. Internet rumors have persisted for a week that the "She Wolf" singer is going to release a duet with Rihanna as her new single, and now the news has been semi-confirmed by a slip of the tongue from none other than Pitbull.

Earlier this week, the Miami rapper was explaining how sometimes, collaborations don't work out as planned in a video interview (via OhNoTheyDidnt). His new hit with Ke$ha, "Timber," was apparently supposed to be a duet with Rihanna, but the Barbados beauty was too busy working on another single... with Shakira!

"The person that we were first looking to worth with on that record was Rihanna. And Rihanna had something to do with Shakira and was unable to work on our record," Pitbull explained.

The rumors have further been propelled by some vague Twitter posts. On Dec. 8, Shakira tweeted that she had just finished the recording a music video. "I Just finished the video for my first single with director Joseph Kahn!" she tweeted.

The collaboration with Rihanna is sure to be a sizzling smash hit. In 2007, Shakira teamed up with Beyoncé for "Beautiful Liar," eventually climbing up to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Thus, a collaboration with Rihanna would see similar success in this decade.

The single would be the lead release from Shakira's first English album in five years. She last released She Wolf in 2009.