--- description: The same day Pope Francis spoke before the U.N. title: Watch Shakira Perform John Lennon's 'Imagine' at the United Nations image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt204a0d5893bd9eb8/698865a7524fc03822df4bb8/shakira1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch: Shakira Performs John Lennon's 'Imagine' at the United Nations by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 26, 2015 1:36 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Singer Shakira performs at The United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/FilmMagic) NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Singer Shakira performs at The United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/FilmMagic)Mike Coppola—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 26, 2015 1:36 PM CUT Pop superstar Shakira Mebarak performed a soulful rendition of “Imagine” at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, the same day Pope Francis made a historic appearance at the meeting. Shakira lent her signature vibrato the John Lennon song, which she dedicated to Aylan and Ghalib Kurdi, two young Syrian boys who drowned fleeing violence in their home country. “Our children have the right to equal opportunities, to thrive, to be happy and healthy and safe,” she said. “Now is the time to not just imagine, but do.” Shakira is a Good Will Ambassador for UNICEF, the world’s leading humanitarian organization focused on children. Watch the full video of her performance below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4051061/shakira-performs-imagine-at-united-nations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4051061/shakira-performs-imagine-at-united-nations/"},"headline":"Watch: Shakira Performs John Lennon's 'Imagine' at the United Nations","datePublished":"2015-09-26T13:36:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:17:31.563Z","description":"The same day Pope Francis spoke before the U.N.","url":"https://time.com/4051061/shakira-performs-imagine-at-united-nations/","keywords":["Pope Francis topic","United Nations","pope"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt204a0d5893bd9eb8/698865a7524fc03822df4bb8/shakira1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt204a0d5893bd9eb8/698865a7524fc03822df4bb8/shakira1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pope Francis Addresses The United Nations General Assembly","caption":"Pope Francis Addresses The United Nations General Assembly","creditText":"Mike Coppola—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4051061/shakira-performs-imagine-at-united-nations/","name":"Watch: Shakira Performs John Lennon's 'Imagine' at the United Nations"}}]}] ```