Singer Shakira welcomes a baby boy

Shakira, the 37-year-old singer welcomed her second son with boyfriend Gerard Piqué into the world at a hospital in Barcelona on Thursday night, where she underwent a scheduled Caesarean section.

The news was confirmed in a statement from the couple shortly before midnight, with another expected later on Friday to reveal the baby's name.

The Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) hit maker and her 27-year-old beau reserved an entire floor of the Hospital Quirón Teknon in the Spanish city for the birth, with the baby being delivered by the same doctor and at the same location as their first son, two-year-old Milan.

The musician began dating the sportsman in 2010 and previously spoke about the joy which she gets from being a mother, saying, "motherhood is everything to me", as well as praising her partner's hands-on parenting style.

She said: "He is very involved with his son. He is always there for him, and that's a big advantage for me as I cannot imagine it any other way."