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Shakira - Biography |
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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 Mebarak (full name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) was born
February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, into a poor family. Her
mother was a native Colombian and her father was of Lebanese descent, and
so as a child Shakira soaked up music from both cultures; 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 Bogotá 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 the
rock-tinged single "Estoy Aqui," which became a hit all over Latin
America, as well as Spain. After that breakthrough, Pies Descalzos just
kept spinning off singles: "Dónde Estás Corazón?," "Antología," "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 Dónde Están
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 Así," her most explicit nod yet to the Arabic music
she'd picked up from her father (not to mention its latent belly-dancing
connotations). 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.
When Gloria Estefan offered to translate "Ojos Así" 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 Así," and took home Unplugged-related trophies for Best Female Pop
Vocal ("Ojos Así") 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 lead 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. |
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Shakira - Personal Quotes |
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The worst mistake of a woman
is to go to the kitchen, because then she never gets out of there.
I can't hire other people to write songs for me. I have to write
them myself.
"I admire a person who, for the love of art, is able to take off
their clothes in front of a camera. But I'm not capable, I'm too
cowardly for that".
"It's not easy to work with me, I recognize that. It's not easy if
those people aren't as perfectionistic as I am".
"The worst frustration for a singer is choosing a career in making
music and then not being able to make music because you're always
giving interviews".
"My brain, I believe, is the most beautiful part of my body".
Videos come definitely after the music has been created, but I have
always felt, and especially today, that videos are vital in the
album process. I think that we live in a very visual era and if you
make a mistake with a video, those images will accompany the song
forever. There is no way to divorce the image from the music once
the video has been filmed and exposed.
I remember the first time I saw the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video.
I will never forget that day. I just wanted to see Kurt Cobain's
face. I had a feeling he was very cute. But, I couldn't see his
face. When I finally did see him, he was even cuter than I imagined!
People think I like to expose my body. But I don't. It's just
because the dance moves require it.
You can laugh, but since I was a child I knew that I was going to be
a well- known singer/songwriter; that was something I had no doubts
about. It was almost like a prophecy.
I love reading about history. Sometimes, I feel I was born in the
wrong era. There was more creativity in the air when people were
still discovering new worlds.
Writing in English was a major challenge. I didn't want other
songwriters to write for me. I wanted to preserve the spirit of my
songs in Spanish. I am the same Shakira in English as I am in
Spanish.
I expect my beloved to be kind, generous, I expect him not to lie so
I can look him straight in the eyes, and I expect him to fall in
love with me 10 times a day.
I think my dad is the only Arabic descendent who is an unsuccessful
businessman.
I'm lucky to have family around me. Otherwise, I'll be taking the
risk of falling in love with myself. But there are always people
close to me who I trust, who will scold me and pull my ears if I
need it. Fame isolates people from reality. That happens to many
artists, and I don't want it to happen to me.
I have learned that I am an adult already. And to grow with
something is sometimes painful. And its great; I don't say it's a
bad thing-but many things change, and many more responsibilities
come, and you have more closure in your life, and more
possibilities. It's just that it's not as pink as before, but its
more interesting.
The cobra is deadly but mongoose can overcome it. We all have
possibillity to defeat prejudiced and resentment in our lives. Fear
is the thing that makes us attack, that makes us strike. We must
overcome it. We must.
I'm a believer. I try to be near God, because when I feel that
there's a certain distance, everything begins to look like a blur.
It makes the road somewhat smoother. When I feel that I'm without
God, I have to make an effort to drag my feet to keep on going.
I think I look like a chipmunk.
The leaders are lacking love, and love is lacking leaders.
I cannot expect that I will be successful my whole life. We live so
caught up in the moment, it's important to get some perspective.
Ultimately, I know I've been very lucky.
When I perform, I find myself exorcised of everything that keeps me
trapped in my everyday life.
A bed is still the first thing I look for when I have 20 free
minutes. I still read a book if I have a free hour, and go to a
movie if I have four.
I never went through an adolescence when kids become rebels and do
drugs.I was always the good girl.
I had my first boyfriend when I was 12, and my parents knew about
it. My dad was very jealous. I had an older sister in medical
school, and he would not let her wear tight jeans.
Earlier I tried not to show my stomach, because I thought it wasn't
perfect and I would have seemed fat. I would have died! But that
does not bother me anymore. Like my dad says there is nothing more
beautiful than some meat on the bones.
I am a pop star, but I also have an opinion. I grew up in a country
that has existed under the whip of violence for 40 years, so how can
I not? You know in my country, a 5-year-old knows not only of Disney
and Mickey Mouse but of guerrillas and paramilitaries. You grow up
with that kind of awareness, of what the world is really like. To be
political in my country doesn't mean you want to run for presidency,
to be political simply means to have an opinion
Of course I am trying to make my accent not bother anyone, but I am
not going to drive myself crazy trying to pretend I am an American
girl when I am from Colombia.
I've gone through everything with the paparazzi, where they are even
hanging from the trees trying to get a picture. But I have a
wonderful relationship with the press. I don't feel mistreated.
There is great communication between me and the media, and that
makes me feel so lucky because I see how an artist can suffer. But I
also live a life a journalist would find very boring. I've been
dating the same guy for six years. I'm not a party animal, and you
never see me shopping because I hate shopping.
Colombia is a country of victims, and not of murderers.
I do feel that there is a difference between - especially the visual
part - what I used to do in Latin America and what I do now. This
album (Laundry Service) came out and all of a sudden I saw myself
surrounded by 20 stylists, makeup artists, hairdressers, directors,
assistant to the director, assistant to the assistant to the
director. I try to be in control because some of your essence kind
of gets a little hurt. That's why it's so important for me to do
these live shows. On the stage, there's no tricks, there's no way to
fool anybody, so you either like what you see or you hate it, that's
it. It's just the bare truth.
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.
I certainly don't want to identify with Cinderella, she had a dream
that lasted only until midnight. I want it to last until at least 3
a.m.
The industry is a bit more visual oriented (more) towards something
to the eyes than something to the ears, That's a bit of a
contradiction. We can't forget that, at the end of the day, what
really matters here is music. I must confess that sometimes I have
been a victim of that.
I guess there's many ways to become an enlightened human being, but
I guess the shortest path is always through love. And the shortest
path to becoming a better person is always through loving someone.
If you don't know how to treat the ones that you love then how are
you going to treat those that you don't know, or those who are your
enemies?
I think in every artist's life, when, right after a performance, we
get to feel a certain loneliness and solitude. After receiving so
much attention and love from your fans, suddenly everything stops.
Nationalism is cured by traveling
I want to learn how to live in the present with my eyes open.
Because, you know, we always go through the present blindfolded with
our hearts in the past and our minds in the future. And that way we
never enjoy the here and now.
When you fall in love, you prioritize everything. It's like cleaning
up and putting things in place.
I always believed that women have rights and that there are some
women that are intelligent enough to claim those rights. There are
some others that are stupid enough not to. It is as cut-and dried as
that. It doesn't matter if you are a woman or not; in this life, to
earn your place you have to fight for it.
My celebrity arrived gradually, and this is why I am not too much
shocked or am not traumatised. In spite of that, I am always
surprised when I see myself on TV. |
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Shakira - Discography |
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Studio albums
1996: Pies Descalzos
1998: ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones?
2001: Laundry Service / Servicio De Lavanderia
2005: Fijación Oral Vol. 1
2005: Oral Fixation Vol. 2
Soundtracks
2007: Love in the Time of Cholera (EP)
Live albums
2000: MTV Unplugged
2004: Live & Off the Record
2007: Oral Fixation Tour
Compilation albums
1997: The Remixes
2002: Laundry Service: Washed & Dried
2002: Colección de Oro
2002: Grandes Éxitos
2006: Oral Fixation Volumes 1 & 2 |
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Shakira - Filmography |
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"Caiga quien caiga" (1
episode, 2007)
- Episode dated 13 April 2007 (2007) TV episode
Shakira: Live and Off the Record (2004) (V) .... Shakira
MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica 2002 (2002) (TV) .... Performer
The 2002 World Music Awards (2002) (TV)
"Saturday Night Live" .... Musical Guest (1 episode, 2001)
... aka NBC's Saturday Night (USA: first season title)
... aka SNL (USA: informal title)
... aka SNL 25 (USA: alternative title)
... aka Saturday Night (USA: second season title)
... aka Saturday Night Live '80 (USA: sixth season title)
- Derek Jeter/Shakira/Bubba Sparxxx (2001) TV episode .... Musical
Guest
"Oasis, El" (1996) TV series .... Luisa Maria |
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Shakira - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Shakira
YouTube: Shakira
Shakira at Celebs, Inc.
Shakira at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
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