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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, born in
Barranquilla, Colombia on February 2, 1977, known simply as Shakira
(meaning "Woman of Grace" in Arabic), is an internationally famous
singer and songwriter.
* * * *
Biography
Shakira was born to a Lebanese father and a
Colombian mother, and moved to Bogotá at the age of thirteen. She
released her first album, Magia (Magic), one year later, on the Sony
label. The album was only moderately successful, and Peligro (Danger),
her second album, was no better received.
Shakira turned to acting and played a role
in a Colombian telenovela ("El Oasis"), but returned to the music
business in 1995 with the album Pies descalzos (Barefeet), which
established her commercial success. The hit "Estoy aquí" became known
internationally. The Remixes was created and featured remixes from the
songs on Pies descalzos.
Following this, Shakira met Emilio Estefan,
Jr., who would become the executive producer of her next album.
¿Dónde están los ladrones? (Where are the
thieves?) was a huge production which cost over US$3 million. It was a
huge hit which gained wide critical acclaim and which many consider to
be her best album ever.
It produced the singles "Inevitable" and
the worldwide mega-hit, "Ojos así". Its successful blend of rock and
Latin soundscapes made it an immense success. Shakira also produced
Shakira MTV Unplugged, a live album based on ¿Dónde están los ladrones?.
She became widely known throughout the entire Spanish speaking world.
Shakira next turned her sights towards the
English-speaking market, improving her English enough to begin writing
Laundry Service. With a more rock-edged feel, Laundry Service was aimed
at the international English market although it contained some Spanish
songs. Some people said that Shakira's English skills were too weak for
her to write in English, but Laundry Service was nevertheless a big hit,
best known for the infectious single "Whenever, Wherever" (English
version of "Suerte"), and for being one of the top albums of 2002.
Shakira is well known for intense, athletic performances involving belly
dancing and Arabic rhythms. She makes use of erotic and sensual moments
involving her torso.
In 2002, Shakira also released the greatest
hits volume Grandes éxitos. Shakira: Live & Off the Record, a DVD and a
10-song CD from her 2002-03 world tour (the "Tour of the Mongoose"), was
released March 30 2004. "The Tour of the Mongoose" was so-called because
a mongoose can defeat a cobra without being killed by its poison. The
concerts were interspersed with visuals of a mongoose fighting a cobra.
Shakira is currently finalizing the details
of her next project. This body of work will be released in two parts.
The first album, Fijación Oral 1 (released in June 2005), followed by
Oral Fixation 2, (which will be released in November 2005). She
co-writes and co-produces her songs with Luis Fernando Ochoa and Lester
Méndez. Vocal co-compilation, as well as direction of background vocal
sessions by Rita Quintero.
Shakira is considered by many to be a great
talent. As Gabriel García Márquez once wrote of her, "Shakira's music
has a personal stamp that doesn't look like anyone else's and no one can
sing or dance like her, at whatever age, with such an innocent
sensuality, one that seems to be of her own invention."
Since 2000, she has been engaged to Antonio
de la Rúa, the son of the former President of Argentina. In light of the
humanitarian and social crisis in Argentina, many members of the press
lampooned the relationship as frivolous and arrogant. In response,
Shakira gave an nonprofit concert in Buenos Aires and further promoted
her humanitarian children's foundation "Pies Descalzos" (Bare feet),
named after her third album. This was decried by many as a simple
celebrity public relations move.
Current album
It was announced April 8 2005 that Shakira
would be releasing two albums this year. Fijación Oral 1, a
Spanish-language album, was released first in Ireland on 3 June 2005,
the rest of the EU on 6 June and then on June 7 in the U.S.A, 2005, and
Oral Fixation 2, an English-language album, is scheduled to hit store
shelves in November. The first single off Fijación Oral 1, "La Tortura"
(The Torture), features Spanish pop-star Alejandro Sanz.
The April 26 episode of MTV's "Making the
Video" showed behind-the-scenes clips of "La Tortura" and ended with the
premiere of the video. This was notably the first time the show had been
aired entirely in Spanish (with English subtitles).
Charts
The video for "La Tortura" made its debut
on Total Request Live (TRL) at number nine, and was the first Spanish
music video ever to be included in the countdown. It reached a peak of
number four on the countdown, pushing the record even further.
Fijación Oral 1 was simultaneously released
in all of Latin America and charted at number one in almost all of its
countries. In the United States it charted at number four on the
Billboard 200 and is currently the best-selling Spanish first-week sales
album (157,000), breaking Ricky Martin's self-titled album (charting
number twelve, selling 65,000). It was also well-received in non-Spanish
speaking countries like Germany, where it reached number two, and
Canada, at number seven.
* * * *
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Date Article Copied:
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