"[2] In 2012, it was reported that Shakira was shooting the video for the tentative-first single "Truth or Dare" in Lisboa, Portugal.
"[4] In December 2013, Sony Music Entertainment reported that Shakira's new single would be released in January 2014, and that it was supposed to be a duet with Barbadian recording artist Rihanna.
[7] The initial idea for the song came about when Shakira told Shelton that she wanted to work with Nashville musicians due to growing tired of L.A. perspective, Shakira's aim was to get "another point of view" from "real people with roots with whom I feel comfortable working in the same room.
[8] Speaking on the writing of the song Shakira revealed that she has folk roots in her previous albums and wanted to incorporate those elements into her self-titled album, when writing the song Shakira tried many different genres saying "When I wrote ['Medicine'], I didn't know what direction to go in and I did, like, eight versions … dance, pop.
She and Blake Shelton performed "Medicine" together at the 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 6, 2014.