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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born
February 2, 1977), known simply as Shakira, is a
two-time Grammy Award-winning and eight-time Latin
Grammy Award-winning Colombian singer, songwriter,
instrumentalist, record producer, dancer and occasional
actress who has been a major figure in the pop music
scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s.
In 2001, she broke through into the
English-speaking market with the release of her first
album in that language, Laundry Service, which has sold
over fifteen million copies worldwide. Shakira is the
highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having
sold around fifty million albums worldwide. She is also
the only artist from South America to reach the
number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian
ARIA chart and the UK Singles Chart. Shakira is also
known for her intelligence, having an IQ of 140; and for
her ability to speak five languages.
Childhood and youth: Shakira Isabel Mebarak
Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla,
Colombia. She is the only child of Nidia del Carmen
Ripoll Torrado, a Colombian of Catalan-Italian descent,
and William Mebarak Chadid, an American-born Catholic of
Lebanese descent. Her father also had eight children
with his former wife. One of her siblings is also her
road manager.
Shakira, which means "grateful" or
"thankful" (شاكِرة)
in Arabic, is named after her paternal grandmother. She
spent much of her youth in Barranquilla. She has stated
to have grown among Lebanese, Jewish and Italian
communities.
Shakira wrote her first poem, entitled "La Rosa De
Cristal", when she was only four years old. After
receiving a typewriter as a gift, she began to write
poems constantly. Her poems eventually evolved into
songs. At the age of eight, after an older brother was
killed in a motorcycle accident, Shakira became inspired
to write her first song, which is entitled "Tus
Gafas Escuras" and documents her father's grief.
At a young age, her father took her to a local Middle
Eastern restaurant, where Shakira first heard the
doumbek, a traditional Arabic drum used in Arabic music
and which typically accompanied belly dancing. Before
she knew it, Shakira was dancing 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 motel 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 fifteen years old. The
album did not fare well commercially, selling less than
one thousand copies. After the poor acclaim of Magia,
Shakira released Peligro in 1993. The album was better
received than Magia, though it was also considered a
commercial failure, due to Shakira's refusal to
advertise it. Shakira then decided to take a hiatus from
recording so that she could graduate from high school.
1995-2000: Success in Latin America and Spain:
Shakira returned to recording in 1995, using musical
influences from a number of countries and an Alanis
Morissette-oriented persona which affected some of her
next albums,[14] and made her third studio one, Pies
Descalzos, which brought her great fame in Latin
America. The singles "Estoy Aquí", "Pies
Descalzos, Sueños Blancos", and "¿Dónde Estás
Corazón?" became pop culture icons. Pies Descalzos
sold over five million copies, prompting the release of
a remix album, titled simply The Remixes, which sold
more than a million copies. 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. It was produced by Emilio Estefan,
reportedly cost US$3 million, and had more of a polished
sound than Pies Descalzos. It was even more successful
and solidified her as one of the major Latin artists of
the 1990s.
She began to gain more fans in
non-Spanish-speaking countries like 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 the songs from ¿Dónde Están
Los Ladrones?.
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.
2001-2004: Worldwide Success: In 2001, upon the
success of ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?, 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. The result
was Laundry Service. 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"
(That I Have Left You).
Some critics claimed that Shakira's
English skills were too weak for her to write in it, but
Laundry Service was a success, with more than 15 million
sales worldwide, yielding the worldwide hit
"Whenever, Wherever" and singles
"Underneath Your Clothes" (a Canadian
number-one), "Te Dejo Madrid" (I Leave You
Madrid), "Objection (Tango)", and "The
One". The album and its singles helped to establish
Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North
American market.
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.
2005-present: Oral Fixation Era, Fijación Oral:
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 and Latin
Americas and Australia. The lead single from the album,
"La Tortura", which features Alejandro Sanz,
was released as a single in April and and achieved
large-scale success on different radio and chart
formats. It spent a record of twenty-five weeks at
number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks 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 thes U.S., becoming the highest debut
ever for a Spanish language album. In Latin America, on
the 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 September 2005, and peaked at number one in
Colombia, for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. The third
single from the album, "Día De Enero", is
dedicated to Shakira's fiancé, Antonio de la Rúa.[citation
needed] This single was number one in several countries
in Latin America, but it did not had 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 April 27, 2006, Shakira
received six Billboard Latin Music Awards for Fijacion
Oral Vol. 1. She was also honored with the Spirit of
Hope Award for the Fundación Pies Descalzos. In late
2006, Shakira released "La Pared" as the
fourth single from Fijación Oral Vol. 1. The song
reached number one on Spain.
Later in 2006, "Las de la Intuición" was
released as single in Spain. It became an instantaneous
success, topping the radio chart Los 40 Principales for
four consecutive weeks. In mid April, Shakira filmed a
video for the song in Miami, which was then premiered
via the internet on May 7th. The video features Shakira
with a bright purple wig, alternating between wearing a
tight black corset and a striped shirt with a tie.
According to Mexican media, "Las de la Intuición"
is to be the fifth and final single from Fijación Oral
Vol. 1. So far, Fijación Oral Vol. 1 has sold over
seven million copies worldwide.
Oral Fixation: Before the release of Oral
Fixation Vol. 2, the second and last album 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 and Australia, and in continental
Europe. Two tracks of 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 it had to be altered
in several countries.
While "Don't Bother" was warmly received by
music critics as the lead single from the album, it
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 (and, to date,
only) number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
and UK Singles Chart. On March 28, 2006, the album was
re-released and featured "Hips Don't Lie".
Shakira got the most number nominations for the 2006 MTV
Video Music Awards with "Hips Don't Lie", but
she won only the award for Best Choreography.
In June, Shakira started her biggest world tour, called
the Oral Fixation Tour, which will last until the spring
of 2007. The Oral Fixation tour has 111 dates and
counting, visiting many European, American, African and
Asian countries.
Later in 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 also released "Illegal", which
features Carlos Santana as a single. "Illegal"
was released to pop radio in the United States, but it
was not picked for regular rotation outside the
Rhythmic/Dance format stations. "Illegal" has
become another major hit for the singer on both the Hot
Dance Music/Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts. The
song became a top ten hit in much of Europe, and Shakira
added the song to the tracklist of her tour. As of 2007,
Oral Fixation Vol. 2 has sold about eight million copies
worldwide.
Collaborations: In late 2006, Shakira worked with
Alejandro Sanz 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.
Future projects: According to an article
published on December 10, 2006 on The Boston Globe,
Shakira is to provide three songs for the soundtrack of
the movie adaptation of the Gabriel García Márquez
novel Love in the Time of Cholera, which is due out
around late 2007.
Acting: Shakira appeared in the Colombian
telenovela El Oasis in 1996, playing the character of
Luisa Maria. Since then, the singer has shown no desire
to ever act again. She is, however, purportedly attached
to co-star in Dare to Love Me, a movie about the famous
tango singer Carlos Gardel, along with Rodrigo Santoro,
Paz Vega, and Jordi Mollà. The production release is
scheduled for 2007. To this date, the rumor persists
although Shakira's management has long since denied it.
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 of
2001, he proposed to her. De la Rúa and Shakira remain
engaged, with future plans to marry. She currently lives
in The Bahamas.
Dancing: Shakira is well-known for her
dancing in various music videos. The moves are based on
the art of belly dancing, which she believes to be a
part of her Lebanese heritage, which Shakira says she
learned as a young teen to overcome her shyness. The
intense training has afforded her a fluidity in her body
movement most seen in the video to her hits "Ojos
Así", "La Tortura", "Hips Don't
Lie" and "Beautiful Liar". She has had
several belly dance choreographers, including
award-winning Bellydance Superstar Bozenka As the MTV
Making the Video for "La Tortura" reveals, she
worked with Jamie King for the choreography, but ended
up creating most of it herself.
Philanthropy: In 2001, Shakira founded the
Fundación Pies Descalzos. It is a Colombian charity
with special schools for poor children in Quibdó (a
city on the Pacific coast of Colombia) and Barranquilla.
It is funded by Shakira and many other international
groups and individuals.
On July 2, 2005, Shakira performed her hits
"Whenever, Wherever" and "La
Tortura" on the Live 8 benefit concert on the
Palace of Versailles, near Paris.
Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNICEF 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 an United
Nations ceremony for creating the Fundación Pies
Descalzos. At the event she 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." |
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