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Shakira
Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born: February 2, 1977) known simply
as Shakira, (pronounced /ʃəˈkiːrə/ in English [2]) is a
Colombian singer-songwriter of Lebanese and European
descent, 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 is a native
Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Portuguese,
Italian,[3] and some Arabic. In 2001, she broke through into
the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry
Service, which sold over thirteen million copies
worldwide.[4] Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian
artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums
worldwide, according to BMI.[5] She has also won numerous
awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, eight Latin
Grammy Awards, fifteen Billboard Music Awards, three 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 will be awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of
Fame, making her the first Colombian 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 descent.[8] 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.[9] It is the
feminine form of the name Shakir.[10] 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.[11]
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, 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.[12] 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".[12][13] 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.[12] "That's how I
discovered my passion for live performance," she says.[11]
Between the ages of ten and thirteen Shakira was invited to
various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition
in the area.[14] 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.
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 them a Grammy Award
nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The song
was one of Knowles' most successful worldwide.The song was
particularly popular in spanish-speaking countries such as
Argentina and Spain, where it landed at #1.
According to Billboard, Shakira, along with Lil Wayne would
collaborate on a new track for Carlos Santana's greatest
hits CD titled Ultimate Santana.[24] 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.
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.
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.[30] 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,[31] All
this was denied 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 is intensely interested in world 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 has a Lebanese background but was raised in Colombia.
She knows the power of her feet[citation needed] 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.[38] 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.
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".[40]
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.[41] 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 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.
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 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.
Shakira has written the lyrics to every song she has
recorded with two exceptions. The first one is her 2005 song
"Día Especial". It's lyrics were written by Argentinian
rocker Gustavo Cerati and the music was co-written by
Shakira, Cerati and Luis Fernando Ochoa. The second
exception 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".
Influence
Shakira is influenced in part by her Arabic heritage, which
was a major inspiration for her breakthrough world hit "Ojos
Así". Shakira is also influenced by well known rock groups
such as Led Zepellin and AC/DC, resulting in her performance
of "Back in Black" during her Tour of the Mongoose.
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