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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (Arabic: شاكِرة ايسابل مبرك ريبول ) (born: February 2 1977), known simply as Shakira, (Template:PronEng in English, ‭), is Colombian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist. Regarding as "one of the greatest Latin acts of all time", she has been named the "Queen of Spanish music" and the “Latin American Madonna” by the media for huge sales of her breakthrough albums in Latin America. She is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Portuguese, Italian, and some Arabic. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over twenty million copies worldwide. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, according to United World Chart. She has also won numerous awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, sixteen Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, a People's Choice Award and receiving a Golden Globe nomination. She is also the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, the United World Chart and the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, she is one of the only artists to have 10 Spanish singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

According to the United World Chart, Shakira is as of 2008 the 4th most successful artist so far for the last decade, in terms of single sales. She is also the only artist to have two songs in the top ten of the most successful singles since 1999.

Shakira along with Robert Downey, Jr., Hugh Jackman, Ben Kingsley and Cameron Diaz will be awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, making her the first South American to receive this honor.

Early life

Shakira was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is the only child of Nidya del Carmen Ripoll Torrado, a Colombian of Spanish and Italian ancestry, and William Mebarak Chadid who is of Lebanese decent. She has 8 older half siblings from her father's previous marriage, but she often omits the half in interviews because they are so close to her.

Shakira means "thankful" (شاكِرة) in Arabic. It is the feminine form of the name Shakir. Her second name, Isabel, is also that of her paternal grandmother, meaning beautiful. Her family name Ripoll is Catalan. She spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located in northern Colombia. Shakira is widely noted for her keen intellect and is reported to have an IQ of 140.

Shakira wrote her first poem, entitled "La Rosa De Cristal" ("The Crystal Rose") when she was only four years old. As she was growing up, she was fascinated watching her father writing stories on a typewriter, and asked for one as a Christmas gift. She got her wish at age seven and continued writing poetry. These poems eventually evolved into songs. At the age of eight, after an older half-brother was killed in a motorcycle accident (she was only two when this happened), Shakira wrote her first song entitled "Tus gafas oscuras" ("Your dark glasses"). The inspiration came from her father, who for years after the accident wore dark glasses, to hide his grief.

When Shakira was four, her father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where Shakira first heard the doumbek, a traditional drum used in Arabic music and which typically accompanied belly dancing. Before she knew it, Shakira was dancing barefoot on the table, as restaurant patrons responded by clapping enthusiastically. It was then that Shakira said she knew she wanted to be a performer. She enjoyed singing for schoolmates and teachers (and even the nuns) at her Catholic school, but in the second grade was rejected for the school choir because her vibrato was too strong. The music teacher told her that she sounded "like a goat". At school, she says she had been known as "the belly dancer girl", as she would demonstrate a number she learned every Friday at school. "That's how I discovered my passion for live performance," she says.

Between the ages of ten and thirteen Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area. It was at about this time that she met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and as a result tried to help her career. During a flight from Barranquilla to Bogotá, Ariza convinced Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby. Vargas held Shakira in high regard and, returning to the Sony office, gave the cassette to a song and artist director. However, the director was not overly excited and thought Shakira was something of "a lost cause". Vargas, not daunted, was still convinced that Shakira had talent, and set up an audition in Bogotá. He arranged for Sony Colombia executives to arrive at the audition, with the idea of surprising them with Shakira's performance. She performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to be signed to record three albums.

Music career

1990-1994: Magia & Peligro

Shakira's debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music in 1990, when she was only thirteen years old. Though it fared well on Colombian radio and gave the young Shakira much exposure, the album did not fare well commercially, selling fewer than a thousand copies. After the poor acclaim of Magia, Shakira's label urged her back into the studio to release a follow up with more hit songs, to give the album potential. The album Peligro was released in 1993, but Shakira was not pleased with the final result, mainly taking issue with the production. The album was better received than Magia, though it was also considered a commercial failure, due to Shakira's refusal to advertise it. Although little known outside of her native Colombia, Shakira was invited to perform at Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival in February 1993. The festival gave aspiring Latin American singers a chance to perform their songs, and the winner was then chosen by a panel of judges. Shakira performed the ballad "Eres" ("You Are") and won the trophy for third place. One of the judges who voted for her to win was then 20-year-old Ricky Martin. Shakira then decided to take a hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high school. In the same year, Shakira starred in the Colombian TV Series "The Oasis", loosely based in the Armero tragedy in 1985.

1995–2000: Pies descalzos and ¿Dónde están los ladrones?

Shakira originally recorded the song ¿Dónde Estás Corazón? (later released on her album Pies Descalzos) for the compilation album "Nuestro Rock" in 1994, released exclusively in Colombia. ¿Dónde Estás Corazón? was the only hit off the album. This allowed Sony to give Shakira a third attempt at making an album. Shakira returned to recording in 1995 with Luis F. Ochoa, using musical influences from a number of countries and an Alanis Morissette-oriented persona which affected some of her next albums, and made her third studio album, Pies Descalzos, which brought her great fame in Latin America. Pies Descalzos released internationally in February 13, 1996. The album is debuted at #1 in 8 different countries. However, in the U.S. Billboard 200 the album reached #180 peak position and #5 in the U.S. Top Latin Albums. "Estoy Aquí" is the first single of the album and it became her first successful worldwide single. Released in 1996, it reached a peak position of #2 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. In late 1996 Shakira went on to her first international tour named simply “Pies Descalzos Tour” that covered almost every Latin American country with over 50 shows in Brazil. Pies Descalzos sold over five million copies, prompting the release of a remix album, titled simply The Remixes. The Remixes also included Portuguese versions of some of her best-known songs, which were recorded as a result of her success in the Brazilian market, where Pies Descalzos sold nearly one million copies.

Her fourth album, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? became an even bigger worldwide hit than its predecessor. The album was released in 1998, spending 11 weeks at number one on Billboard's Latin albums chart and it has sold close to ten million copies worldwide. “Dónde Están Los Ladrones?” was also the most effective presentation yet of Shakira's strong-willed persona; her self-analysis made her even more popular among female fans, while her anger over love gone wrong drew comparisons to Alanis Morissette. She began to gain more fans in non-Spanish-speaking countries like Turkey, France, Switzerland, Canada, and especially the United States. Eight of the album's eleven tracks became singles, including "Ciega, Sordomuda" (U.S. Latin #1), "Moscas En La Casa", "No Creo", "Inevitable" (U.S. Latin #3), "Tú" (U.S. Latin #1), "Si Te Vas", "Octavo Día", and the world-famous Arabian influenced "Ojos Así". The latter two songs won Shakira one Latin Grammy each. Shakira's first live album, MTV Unplugged, was composed of "Estoy Aquí" and all the songs from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? except Que Vuelvas.

In March 2000, Shakira embarked on her Tour Anfibio, a two-month tour of Latin America and the United States. In August 2000, she won an MTV Video Music Award in the now-defunct category of People's Choice - Favorite International Artist. At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards Shakira performed “Ojos Asi” in the red spotlight and won in two from five nominations for “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” and “Best Female Rock Vocal Performance”.

2001–2004: Laundry Service

In 2001, upon the success of ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? and MTV Unplugged, Shakira began working on a crossover album to English. Collaborating with Gloria Estefan, she wrote and recorded English versions of the tracks from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?. However, she later decided against using translations of older songs for the album and worked for over a year on new material for the album. Around this time, Shakira also released four songs for Pepsi and for her promotion in the English markets. In November 24, 2001, Laundry Service was released, although Shakira chose to exclude the four Pepsi songs. Although it was created with the intent of selling to an English language market, the rock and Spanish dance-influenced album also featured four Spanish songs, including Te Dejo Madrid and "Que Me Quedes Tú". Some critics claimed that Shakira's English skills were too weak for her to write in it. Laundry Service debuted at number-three on the Billboard 200, selling 202,000 copies and exceeding expectations by a wide margin. The album hovered in the top twenty for six months, fuelled by the success of its two lead singles. It was eventually certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA in June 2002 making it one of the biggest selling albums of the year . The album became number one in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, peaking at #2 in Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and “United World Chart”, at #3 in Denmark and United States, at #4 in New Zealand. It also peaked at #1 in Eurochart and in Latin America. It established the record for the best selling album in Turkey. The album and its singles “Whenever, Wherever”, “Underneath Your Clothes”, “Objection (Tango)”, “The One”, helped to establish Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North American market. The album has sold extremely well with approximately 20 million copies worldwide and to date it is the most successful Shakira’s album.

In September 2002, Shakira won the now-defunct International Viewer's Choice Award at the MTV Video Music Awards with "Suerte". In October of that year, she won 5 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America for Best Female Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Artist—North (Region), Video of the Year (for Suerte), and Artist of the Year. At Aerosmith's MTV Icon in 2002, Shakira performed "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". Also in 2002, Shakira joined the likes of Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Anastacia, Cher, and the Dixie Chicks for VH1 Divas Live Las Vegas.

In November 2002, Shakira went on to her third international concert tour called "Tour of the Mongoose". Shakira announced the Tour of the Mongoose on September 22, 2002 at a press conference in The Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, where she says: "Life has been very benevolent to me. Sometimes I feel like I am a rock artist trapped in the body of a pop artist. Sometimes I feel there's a baby inside of me that hasn't grown up. I feel like a horse that hasn't been castrated". The tour started November 8, 2002 in San-Diego, U.S. and ended May 11, 2003 in Caracas, Venezuela. She played in thirty countries and fifty cities, with the worldwide audience of 1.2 million people. Shakira, supporting her first English album, Laundry Service, with her first world tour, sang and interacted with the crowd in English and Spanish and mesmerized them with her trademark dancing, which she considers to be the universal language .

In 2002, Shakira also released her Spanish greatest hits volume Grandes éxitos. A DVD and ten-track compilation album, called Live & Off the Record, was also released in 2004, reaching sales of 3 million CDs worldwide, and commemorating Shakira's world tour, the Tour of the Mongoose.

2005-2007: Fixations Era

Shakira stayed out of the spotlight for over two years. She announced the Oral Fixation project in early 2005 with Rick Rubin as the executive producer. Fijación Oral Vol. 1, the first album of the project, was released on June 3, 2005 in Ireland, on June 6, 2005 in Europe, and on June 7, 2005 in North America, Latin America and Australia. The lead single from the album, "La Tortura", which features Alejandro Sanz, was released as a single in April and achieved large-scale success in different radio and chart formats. It spent a record of twenty-five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. "La Tortura" is the most successful song in Spanish worldwide having peaked at number 2 at the United World chart.

Fijación Oral Vol. 1 was very well received by the public. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart on the week of June 15. According to that publication, the album sold 157,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S., becoming the highest debut ever for a Spanish language albums. In Latin America, on the very day of its official release in Venezuela, it went Platinum, in Colombia, triple Platinum and in Mexico, it was sold-out. The album sold over one million copies in three days. The second single from the album, "No", was released in July 2005, and peaked at number one in Argentina, Spain and Colombia, there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. This single was number one in several countries in Latin America, but it did not have the same success of the previous two singles in the United States.

On February 8, 2006, Shakira won her second Grammy Award. She was awarded in the category of Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album.

On November 2, 2006, Shakira won another five Latin Grammy Awards for “Record of the Year” (La Tortura), “Album of the Year (Fijación Oral Vol. 1)”, “Song of the Year (La Tortura)”, “Best Pop Vocal Album” (Fijación Oral Vol. 1) and “Best Engineered Album” (Fijación Oral Vol. 1).

In late 2006, Shakira released "La Pared" as the fourth single from Fijación Oral Vol. 1. The song reached number one in her native Colombia, Argentina and Spain. Later in 2007, "Las de la Intuición" was released as a single in Spain and Latin America. It became an instantaneous success, topping the radio chart Los 40 Principales for eight non-consecutive weeks and peaking at number one, charting just four weeks in Argentina. In mid-April, Shakira filmed a video for the song in Miami, which was then premiered via the internet on May 7. The video, inspired by the work of photographer Helmut Newton, features Shakira with a bright purple wig, alternating between wearing a tight black corset and either a black shirt with a white tie or a white shirt with a black tie. According to Mexican media, "Las de la Intuición" is to be the fifth and final single from Fijación Oral Vol. 1. The album is close to seven million copies worldwide.

Before the release of Oral Fixation Vol. 2, the second CD of the Oral Fixation project, Shakira appeared at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, Portugal were she performed "Don't Bother", the lead single from the album, just minutes before winning an award in the category of Best Female Artist.

Oral Fixation Vol. 2 was released on November 29, 2005 in North America, Australia, and continental Europe. Two tracks from the album, "How Do You Do" and "Timor", sparked some controversy at the time of its release. The cover of the album was also considered controversial, and had to be altered in several countries. "Don't Bother" failed to peak within the top 40 in the United States. "Hips Don't Lie", the second single released from the album, became Shakira's first number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. On March 28, 2006, the album was re-released and featured "Hips Don't Lie". Shakira received the most number of nominations for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards with "Hips Don't Lie", but she won only the award for Best Choreography. Shakira embarked on her longest tour, the Oral Fixation Tour, in June, 2006. This tour was used to help promote her albums Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2. The tour had 125 shows between June 14, 2006 and July 9, 2007. She performed on 5 continents: Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa. During this tour, Shakira performed a free concert in Mexico on May 27, 2007 with over 210,000 in attendance. This concert set the record for the highest attendance of any concert in Mexican history. According to the biography of the official website, as of 2008, “Oral Fixation Vol. 2” has sold 10 million copies worldwide. On November 12, the "Oral Fixation Tour" DVD was released (November 13 in North America). It is also available in High Definition Blu-ray format.

2008-present: Next studio album

During an online chat with her fans in "El Heraldo", she revealed that she was going to start writing her New Album in February 2008. No official release date has been announced. Furthermore, at the CD release party for Shakira's singer-songwriter cousin Isa Mebarak in Colombia, Shakira's father William Mebarak stated that Shakira is currently at work beginning to write and produce new songs for her upcoming album. This is being done in "her own studio," (which many fans thought to mean the studio at her home in the Bahamas. Shakira recorded 2005's Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2 there, as well).

However, according to an exclusive interview in "El País," an Uruguayan newspaper, Shakira has begun working on her forthcoming album in Uruguay, where she has a built-in studio in her own private estate. She has been at work there since early February.

Early in the morning on April 3, Shakira arrived at Miami International Airport and told a waiting reporter who asked about the album that she was "still cooking" and would be heading to her studio in the Bahamas later that week. She also said she was preparing a trip to China, although whether this is album-related or for other reasons is unknown.

On April 27, 2008, Shakira arrived in her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia to help oversee the plans for the new, massive school her foundation is building there. She told reporters in an interview with RCN news that because of her visits to Washington D.C. before the U.S. Congress, she has been very busy and has only worked on the new album for "exactly four days" in the month of April. She confirmed the album should be out in the upcoming year (2009).

Collaborations and other work

In late 2006, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz worked together again in the duet "Te lo Agradezco, Pero No", which is featured on Sanz' album El Tren de los Momentos. The song was a top ten hit in Latin America, and topped Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.

Shakira worked with Miguel Bosé in the duet "Si Tu No Vuelves", which was released in Bosé's album Papito, which celebrates his 30-year career.

In early 2007, Shakira worked with American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles in the track "Beautiful Liar", which was released as the second single from the deluxe edition of Knowles' B'Day. In the week of April 7, 2007, the song jumped 91 positions, from 94 to 3, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record for the largest upward movement in the history of the chart. It was also No. 1 on the official UK Singles Chart. The song earned then a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

According to Billboard, Shakira, along with Lil Wayne would collaborate on a new track for Carlos Santana's greatest hits CD titled Ultimate Santana. However, this collaboration has been cancelled, and Shakira and Lil' Wayne have been replaced by Jennifer Lopez and Baby Bash.

Shakira is featured on Annie Lennox's record "Sing", from the album Songs of Mass Destruction, which also features other twenty-three female singers such as Madonna, KT Tunstall, Faith Hill, Dido, Celine Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Joss Stone, Fergie, Anastacia and Pink.

In late 2007, Shakira and Wyclef Jean recorded their second duet “King and Queen”. This song is available on Wyclef Jean’s latest album Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant.

Love in the Time of Cholera soundtrack

Shakira wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music for two new songs that are featured in the movie Love in the Time of Cholera, based in the acclaimed novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Marquez. García Marquez himself asked Shakira to write the songs. The songs are called "Pienso en ti", a song from Shakira's breakthrough album Pies Descalzos, "Hay Amores" and the Golden Globe nominated "Despedida." All the songs can be downloaded via iTunes, as well as the score by Antonio Pinto.

It was rumored that the song would also be nominated for an Academy Award, but it was not, with many newspapers and critics calling the fact that it was left off the ballots the Academy's "worst snub."

Acting career

Shakira appeared in the Colombian telenovela El Oasis in 1994, playing the character of Luisa Maria. She has also done a few voices on TV shows and has been acting on some, too.

Personal life

In 2000, Shakira started dating Antonio de la Rúa, the son of then president of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa, a romance that made headline news throughout Latin America. In March 2001, he proposed to her. De la Rúa and Shakira remain engaged. She currently lives in The Bahamas. Shakira's future mother-in-law Inés Pertiné claimed the wedding would take place in September 2007 in the mansion which Shakira owns in the Dominican Republic (though this didn't happen). She also said that Shakira has already ordered Argentinian designer María Pryor to design her wedding dress, and by Shakira herself in Mexico.

In June 2007, Latin American media speculated that the couple had finally split up and that Shakira was involved romantically with Irish actor Colin Farrell since both were seen in a Los Angeles disco. This rumor was immediately denied by Shakira's assistants, stating that she was invited by Penélope Cruz, who later introduced Colin Farrell to Shakira. On the previous days, Shakira and Antonio were seen in a restaurant in New York City, facing and denying the rumors one more time.

Shakira maintains an intense interest in history. She frequently studies the history and languages of the countries she visits. After her Oral Fixation tour ended in summer 2007, Shakira audited a class in Los Angeles at UCLA, on the History of Western Civilization. She used her middle and last names, Isabel Mebarak, and told the professor she was visiting from Colombia so as to avoid being recognized as a celebrity.

Shakira is a cousin of model and 2005-2006 Miss Colombia, Valerie Dominguez, who is likewise of Lebanese descent.

Dancing

‎Shakira is well known for her dancing in various music videos and in concert. Her moves are based on the art of Arabic belly dancing, a part of her Lebanese heritage (her father is Lebanese). She knows the power of her feet and often performs barefoot. Shakira says she learned this form of dance as a young teen to overcome her shyness. She also mentioned in a MTV interview that she learned how to belly dance by trying to flip a coin with her belly. The intense training has afforded her a fluidity in her body movement most seen in the videos to her hits "Ojos Así", "La Tortura", "Hips Don't Lie" and "Beautiful Liar" including "Whenever, Wherever". She has had several belly dance choreographers, including award-winning Bellydance Superstar Boženka. As the MTV Making the Video for "La Tortura" reveals, she worked with Jamie King on the choreography, but ended up creating most of it herself.

“People think I like to expose my body. But I don't. It's just because the dance moves require it. My belly dancing represents me - it's a trademark. I've tried to incorporate it in original ways in modern songs. But sometimes it bugs me a bit that people resort to (saying) that I'm shaking my ass with a huge sexual charge, instead of recognizing it as a move that, yeah, it's loaded with sensuality, but it's also part of an artistic expression” she said in one of the interviews.

Philanthropy and humanitarian work

In 1997, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. It was funded by Shakira and other international groups and individuals. The name of the foundation is taken from Shakira's third studio album called Pies Descalzos, released in 1995.

During her career, Shakira has performed at a large number of benefit concerts. In 2002 she sang at a Party in the Park concert fundraising for the Prince's Trust. That same year she performed at Divas Live which support VH1's Save the Music Foundation. On July 2, 2005 she performed her hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "La Tortura" on the Live 8 benefit concert at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. On July 7, 2007, the singer opened the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg. Her set included "Don't Bother", "Inevitable", "Día Especial" (with Gustavo Cerati) and "Hips Don't Lie". Shakira also performed at the "Clinton Global Initiative", where she performed her hits "Underneath Your Clothes", "Inevitable" and "Hips Don't Lie". On May 17, 2008 Shakira and twenty other Latin American and Spanish artists performed in Buenos Aires and Mexico City to raise money for Shakira's Latin America in Solidarity Action (ALAS) charity. This concert attracted 150,000 people in Buenos Aires. Although tickets were free, the demand exceeded the supply; some fans who were fortunate enough to secure free tickets resold them.

Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global representatives. "Shakira, like all our Goodwill Ambassadors, was chosen based on her compassion, her involvement in global issues, her deep commitment to helping children, and her appeal to young people around the world. We're very pleased to have Shakira join the UNICEF family. I know she'll help bring UNICEF's mission to the audience who will have the most impact on our future – young people themselves", said UNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy.

On April 3, 2006, Shakira was honored at a United Nations ceremony for creating the Pies Descalzos Foundation. At the event, the singer said, "Let's not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America."

Shakira was recently ranked at number 48 on the list of Top 50 Most Charitable Celebrities by OK! magazine. It reported that she donates approximately $55,000 to charity yearly.

On September 28, 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative, it was revealed that Shakira' newest charity, called ALAS Foundation (America Latina en Accion Solidaria - Latin America in Solidarity Action), donated a massive $40 million to help the victims of natural disasters. An additional $5 million will be donated to four Latin American countries, to be spent on education and health. The charity was able to collect US$ 200 million from philanthropists Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, and Howard Buffett, son of U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett, the singer announced on April 15, 2008.

In December 2007, Shakira visited Bangladesh to appeal for the victims of Cyclone Sidr. She spent 3 days with the victims and visited children affected by the disaster in schools built by Unicef and participated in the distribution of family kits and warm clothes. She said that little was left of the school she visited in the village of Mirzapur, but it still provided an "oasis" for the children. "I am more convinced than ever that education is the key to so many of the difficulties that our children face in countries like mine or in developing countries like this one. It's the key to a better and safer world," she said.

Shakira served as the Honorary Chairperson for "Action Week" 2008 (April 21-27). The event is sponsored by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), to generate awareness about the Education for All Act. She spoke with the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and World Bank President Robert Zoellick to promote a move towards Global Education. Angelina Jolie served as last year's chair.

Style

Music and voice

Shakira has told many interviewers that she had grown up listening to oriental music, which influenced many of her earlier works. Shakira is known to be a fan of rock music, especially that of The Police, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin.

Shakira is known to have adopted many genres, including folk, mainstream pop and rock. Her earlier Spanish albums, including Pies descalzos and ¿Dónde están los ladrones? were a mix of folk music and Latin rock, while her cross-over English album, Laundry Service and her later albums were influenced by brit pop and rock.

Shakira is recognized for her powerful, melismatic voice. Her 1999 MTV Unplugged performance recorded in New York was critically acclaimed by many American critics and is said to have paved her path towards the English-language markets.

Songwriting and producing

Shakira is known to write and produce all of her own music. She has been recognized as "an incredible and powerful songwriter" and "a remarkable producer" by numerous critics. She is a self professed perfectionist.

With a talent for singing and an ability to play guitar, Shakira is far from a studio-produced, manufactured teeny bopper. Shakira is also a brave lyricist. Shakira sings about everything from love to religion with explicit lyrics, “fighting for fairness” and the world’s introspectively angry outlooks.

Shakira has written the lyrics to every song she has recorded with three exceptions. The first one is her 2006 blockbuster collaboration with Wyclef Jean, "Hips Don't Lie". Although she is listed on the writing credits for the verses, the chorus was taken from Wyclef's earlier song "Dance Like This". Shakira’s 10 songs from her earliest albums “Magia” and “Peligro” were written by producers. For this and not only for that reason, Shakira doesn’t want to conclude these albums to her official discography.

Influences

Shakira is influenced in part by her Arabic heritage, which was a major inspiration for her breakthrough world hit "Ojos Así".

Shakira’s songs are about survival and being alive, and involve self-analysis. Most of her songs are based on alternative rock music. As she says, she is "a pop artist with a rock & roll heart". In childhood Shakira preferred rock and roll music, heavily listening her favorite rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Nirvana, The Police and U2. She lists John Lennon as her #1 musical influence. She was also harder influenced by AC/DC, The Who, The Pretenders, Seattle and Depeche Mode, which influenced on her many prominent songs. She did electric supply on “Don’t Bother”, reflected the Beatles in the “Rules”, sung Latin rock in “Si Te Vas” and “Inevitable”, tributes Nirvana grunge-rock in “Poem To A Horse”, etc. She made covers of AC/DC 1980’s song “Back In Black” and Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” during her Tour of the Mongoose. She uses arena rock elements and rock & roll in her live performances during her worldwide tours.

She also has influenced by Andean music and South American folk music, using her native charango and panpipes in its instrumentation in the Latin dance-pop “Whenever, Wherever” and in more serious and mournful “Despedida”.

Shakira is also the artist who recorded three reggae influenced songs – “Un Poco De Amor”, “La Tortura” and “Hips Don’t Lie”.

Professional achievements

• Shakira is the 3rd best selling Latin artist in the history, behind Julio Iglesias and Santana, having sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, over 14 million of them in the U.S..
• Shakira is the first and (to date) the only South American artist who reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, the United World Chart and the UK Singles Chart.
• Shakira is the 4th richest female artist in music industry for the period, counting earnings from June 2006 to June 2007, according to Forbes.
• Shakira is the first artist who performed the Spanish-language song at the MTV Video Music Awards.
• Shakira is the only Latin artist who is the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

MTV Unplugged made Shakira the first Colombian who received the regular Grammy Award.

• Hips Don’t Lie is considered so far, the most successful single in the twenty first century; the forty-sixth most successful song in music history and also Shakira and Wyclef Jean's most successful single ever, amassing nearly 10 million points, topping the charts in at least fifty five countries..
• "Hips Don't Lie" was the most-played pop song in a single week in American radio history. It was played 9,637 times in one week, breaking Gwen Stefani's previous record with 9,582 plays in a week for her #1 hit single "Hollaback Girl" in 2005.
• Whenever, Wherever is considered Shakira’s most successful song in Europe, charting 16 weeks at #1, and the most successful song in Swiss history, charting 17 weeks at #1 there.
• Shakira is the first Colombian who received the monument in her native country.

Tours

• 1996-1997: Tour Pies Descalzos
• 2000: Tour Anfibio
• 2002–2003: Tour of the Mongoose
• 2006–2007: Oral Fixation Tour

Discography

Number-one singles

* Notice, not all of the number-one singles were posted here.

It should be noted that Shakira's three number-one singles on the Australian ARIA Singles Charts were also number-one debuts, becoming one of the few artists to accomplish this feat.

See also

• List of Shakira awards
• List of best selling music artists
• List of best selling music albums
• List of best selling singles worldwide
• List of best selling music artists in the U.S.
• List of best selling singles in the U.S.
• Belly dancing
• Arena rock
• White Latin American
• Colombian people
• List of Lebanese people

Notes

1. Baltin, Steve. "Shakira Trots Out 'Mongoose'". Rolling Stone. November 11 2002. Retrieved January 6 2007.
2. See inogolo:pronunciation of Shakira.
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8wBrRayiYA
4. "Shakira will show Mumbai the moves". ibnlive.com. 2007-03-24. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
6. Media Traffic "All Time Chart 1999-2007"
8. "Shakira proud of Arab background". BBC News. November 4 2005. Retrieved February 11 2008.
9. Shakira - Origin and Meaning of the name Shakira at BabyNames.com
10. Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Shakira
11. ^ Katz, Gregory. "Shakira it up with Shakira". USA Weekend. December 11 2005.
12. ^ Wright, Evan (2002-04-11). "Shakira". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
13. "Shakira: 'I don't hate Britney'". BBC News. March 24 2002. Retrieved January 22 2007.
14. ^ "Shakira". Contemporary Musicians, Volume 33. 2002. Retrieved February 5 2007.
15. "Driven: Shakira". VH1. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
16. Freedom du Lac, Josh. "In Any Language, a Whole Lotta Shakira Goin' On". The Washington Post. August 31 2006: page C01. January 22 2007.
17. Ask Billboard
19. http://www.sonybmg.no/nye_utgivelser/kommende_utgivelser/ Sonybmg.no
20. http://www.elheraldo.com.co/ELHERALDO/BancoConocimiento/S/soforo/soforo.asp?CodSeccion=16 Elherado.com
21. http://www.elheraldo.com.co/ELHERALDO/BancoConocimiento/S/soforo/soforo.asp?CodSeccion=16
22. http://www.elpais.com.uy/08/02/10/pciuda_329267.asp Elpais.com
23. Jonathan Cohen (2007-07-13). "Santana Rocks With Shakira, Tina, Kroeger". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
24. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070920/nyth124.html?.v=101 Biz.yahoo.com
25. Contactmusic.com
26. Contactmusic.com
27. Bayona, Jose (2007-11-7). "Gabriel Garcia Marquez & Shakira are soundtrack pals". SHAKIRAMEDIA.com. Retrieved 2008-01-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. A Second Opinion
29. "El Oasis". IMDb
30. VOY Music. "Shakira Prepares Wedding" December 29 2006
31. Terra Actualidad, "Shakira se casa en septiembre en su residencia de República Dominicana" Template:Es icon (Retrieved , Fernando de la Rúa
32. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/428276.html Eluniversal.com
33. ADNMundo.com
34. Shakira estudia historia en UCLA, retrieved 2007-09-14
35. Shakira Rests Hips to Study at UCLA, retrieved 2007-09-14
36. [http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid=737203 Miss Colombia, prima de Shakira Valerie Domínguez Tarud Miss Colombia 06]
37. Valerie Dominguez - Missosology.Org
38. "Shakira's Belly Dancing Discovery". contactmusic.com. 2006-01-27. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
39. Bozenka
40. Live Earth on MSN: The Concerts For A Climate In Crisis
41. "Shakira holds fundraising concerts in Mexico and Argentina". Colombia Reports. May 18 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
42. "Shakira performs at a benefit concert". TicketNews. May 18 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
43. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_15183.html UNICEF.org
44. Parsley, Aaron. "Shakira Honored at United Nations". Teen People. April 4, 2006
45. "Shakira collects US$200 million por poor children". Colombia Reports. May 16 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
46. UNICEF.org
47. Forbes.com
48. "Shakira: Billboard Singles". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
49. "UK Top 40 Hit Database". EveryHit.com. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
50. "Australian Singles Chart". AustralianCharts.com. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
51. "United World Chart". MediaTraffic.de. Retrieved 2007-04-30.

References

• Oral Fixation World Tour 2006 (info) Template:Es icon
• VH1 Driven: Shakira (article)
• VH1 Driven: Shakira (video)
• Book: Woman Full Of Grace by Ximena Diego
• Pareles, Jon (Nov. 14, 2005). "Shakira, from lip to hip". New Straits Times, p. L3.
• "Shakira pertahan orang Arab". (Nov. 8, 2005). Berita Harian, p. 13.
• Frank Cogan's review of Laundry Service for The Village Voice
• Chart Performance for "Don't Bother" from Billboard Hot 100
• Chart Performance for Oral Fixation 2
• Oral Fixation 2 Sales

External links

• Official website
• Official Forum
• Shakira's MySpace Official site
• Shakira at IMDb
• Pies Descalzos Foundation Official site
• Shakira at People.com
• Shakira live performing her song "La Tortura"

Template:Persondata

Template:Link FA

• Shakira
• Living people
• 1977 births
• 1990’s in music
• 2000’s in music
• Belly dancers
• Blu-Ray
• Colombian musicians
• People from Barranquilla
• Colombian Roman Catholics
• Colombian female singers
• Dance musicians
• English-language singers
• Grammy Award winners
• Colombians of Lebanese descent
• Female rock singers
• Latin female singers
• Latin Grammy winners
• Latin pop singers
• Latin rock singers
• Lebanese diaspora
• MTV Unplugged
• Philanthropists
• Portuguese-language singers
• Singer-songwriters
• Colombians of Spanish descent
• Spanish-language singers
• Colombians of Italian descent
• People of Arab descent