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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known simply as Shakira, is a Colombian contralto singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. She speaks fluent English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, French and Italian. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. After achieving superstardom throughout Latin America, Colombian-born Shakira became Latin pop's biggest female crossover artist since Jennifer Lopez broke down the doors to English-language success. Noted for her aggressive, rock-influenced approach, Shakira maintained an extraordinary degree of creative control over her music, especially for a female artist; she wrote or co-wrote nearly all of her own material, and in the process gained a reputation as one of Latin music's most ambitiously poetic lyricists. When she released her first English material in late 2001, she became an instant pop sensation, thanks to her quirky poetic sense and a sexy video image built on her hip-shaking belly dance moves. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, according to BMI. She has also won numerous awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, fifteen Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and a People's Choice Award. 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 2007 the 6th most successful artist so far from the 2000s. She is also the only artist to have two songs in the top ten of the most successful singles since 1999. She also listened heavily to English-language rock & roll, listing her favorite bands in later interviews as Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Police, the Cure, and Nirvana. Shakira wrote her first song at age eight, began entering (and winning) talent competitions at age ten, and started learning the guitar at age 11; one story runs that around this age, she was kicked out of her school choir for singing too forcefully. In 1990, at age 13, Shakira moved to Bogotב in hopes of pursuing a modeling career, but wound up signing a record deal with Sony's Colombian division instead. Her 1991 debut album, Magia (Magic), was comprised of songs she'd written over the past five or six years, including some of her earliest efforts. Although it didn't break internationally, the record started to make a name for her in her home country. Dissatisfied with the pop inclinations of the follow-up, 1993's Peligro (Danger), Shakira changed direction for a time, joining the cast of the Colombian soap opera El Oasis in 1994. When Shakira returned to recording in 1995, she asserted more control over the direction of her music, and worked more rock & roll rhythms -- as well as occasional Arabic tinges -- into her Latin pop material. The first results were Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet), which was initially released in 1995; a slow seller at first, the album gradually caught on thanks to "Estoy Aqui," which became a hit all over Latin America, as well as Spain. After that breakthrough, Pies Descalzos just kept spinning off singles: "Dףnde Estבs Corazףn?," "Antologםa," "Pienso en Ti," "Un Poco de Amor," "Se Quiere, Se Mata." The album hit number one in eight different countries and eventually went platinum in the U.S. as well; Shakira toured for nearly two years promoting it (she finally left El Oasis in 1997). Seeking to build on her success, Shakira signed Emilio Estefan -- Gloria's husband and a highly successful music-biz insider -- as her manager and producer. The move paid off when her follow-up album, 1998's Dףnde Estבn los Ladrones? (Where Are the Thieves?), became an even bigger worldwide hit than its predecessor. What was more, it cracked the lucrative U.S. market wide open, spending 11 weeks at number one on Billboard's Latin album chart and producing two U.S. number ones (on the Latin chart) with "Ciega, Sordomuda" and "Tu." The album's signature track, however, was the worldwide hit "Ojos As" her most explicit nod yet to the Arabic music she'd picked up from her father (not to mention its latent belly dancing connotations). Dףnde Estבn 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. When Gloria Estefan offered to translate "Ojos Asם" into English, the prospect of a crossover suddenly seemed tangible, and Shakira decided that the most effective way to maintain control over her material was to learn English well enough to write in it herself. In the meantime, she set the stage for her crossover bid with a performance on MTV Unplugged, the channel's first Spanish-language broadcast. MTV Unplugged was released as an album in early 2000, and topped the Latin charts for two weeks on its way to becoming her third straight platinum album; it also won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards ceremony in 2000, Shakira delivered a much-discussed, show-stopping performance of "Ojos Asם" and took home Unplugged-related trophies for Best Female Pop Vocal ("Ojos Asם") and Best Female Rock Vocal ("Octavo Dia"). Mainstream pop stardom beckoned. Shakira dyed her long brown hair blonde, romanced Antonio de la Rua (son of the former president of Argentina), and went to work on her first (mostly) English-language album, Laundry Service. The single/video "Whenever, Wherever" was released in advance of the album in late 2001, and made her a star in the English-speaking world almost overnight. Laundry Service entered the American pop charts at number three, and "Whenever, Wherever" climbed into the Top Ten of the singles chart, peaking at number six. The follow-up, "Underneath Your Clothes," also hit the Top Ten, halting at number nine; less than a year after its release, Laundry Service had gone triple platinum. Reviews of Laundry Service were divided as to the effectiveness of Shakira's English lyrics, but nearly all agreed on her unique poetic imagery. Extensive touring to support Laundry Service led to a long break for the singer, so a remix collection (2002's Laundry Service: Washed and Dried) and a live album (2004's Live & Off the Record) appeared in lieu of a new album. Revitalized, Shakira began the writing process for her next release and soon had 60 songs ready to go, some in English, some in Spanish. Twenty of the songs were selected and divided up by language to make two different albums. Both appeared in 2005 and both hit the Top Ten, with the Spanish-language album Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1 leading the way in June with a number four placing and the English-language album, Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, following in November at number five. As sales of Oral Fixation began to slow in early 2006, Epic reissued the album in March with a bonus track, "Hip Don't Lie." The newly recorded song went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June, becoming one of the summer's biggest hits and reviving sales of Oral Fixation as well as Shakira's entire back catalog. 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 Maronite descent. 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" 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 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. Shakira's debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music in 1991, when she was only fourteen years old. The album did not fare well commercially, selling less than one 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. 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. Shakira originally recorded the song ¿Dónde Estás Corazón? (later released on her album Pies Descalzos) for the compilation album "Nuestro Rock" in 1995, 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 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? was released in 1998. 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", "Moscas En La Casa", "No Creo", "Inevitable", "Tú", "Si Te Vas", "Octavo Día", and the world-famous "Ojos Así". 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. 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: "Ask for More", "Pide Mas", "Knock on My Door" and "Pideme El Sol". 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 "Que Me Quedes Tú" (As Long as You Stay with Me). Some critics claimed that Shakira's English skills were too weak for her to write in it. The album sold extremely well and was certified triple platinum in the US(denoting sales exceeding 3 million copies) and thus helped to establish Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North American market.The album has sold approximately 13 million copies worldwide. 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. 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, Anastacia, Cher, and the Dixie Chicks for VH1 Divas Live Las Vegas. Shakira stayed out of the spotlight for over two years. She announced the Oral Fixation project in early 2005. 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. 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. 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 14th, 2006 and July 9th, 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 27th, 2007 with over 210,000 in attendance. This concert set the record for the highest attendance of any concert in Mexican history. On November 12th, the "Oral Fixation Tour" DVD was released (November 13th in North America). It is also available in High Definition Blu-ray format. 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 3rd, 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. 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 Beyoncé's 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 them 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. 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." 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 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 "Suerte". 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. 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. Throughout 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 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's newest charity, called ALAS Foundation (America Latina en Accion Solidaria - Latin America for Solidarity), 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. 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 is to be the Honorary Chair for Action Week 2008 (April 21 to 28). The event is put together by the Global Campaign for Education to generate awareness about the Education for All Act. Angelina Jolie served as last year's chair. |
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