Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977),
[2] known professionally as
Shakira (pronounced
/ʃəˈkɪərə/,
Spanish: [tʃaˈkiɾa] or
[ʃaˈkiɾa]),
[3] is a
Colombian singer,
songwriter,
musician,
record producer,
dancer, and
philanthropist who emerged in the music scene of
Colombia and
Latin America in the early 1990s. Born and raised in
Barranquilla,
Colombia, Shakira revealed many of her talents in school as a live performer, demonstrating her vocal ability with
rock and roll,
Latin and
Middle Eastern influences with her own original twist on
belly dancing. Shakira is a native
Spanish speaker and also speaks
fluent English and
Portuguese as well as some
Italian,
French and
Arabic.
[4]
After commercial flops with local producers on her first two albums, and being little-known outside Colombia, Shakira decided to produce her own brand of music. In 1995 she released
Pies Descalzos, which brought her great fame in
Latin America and
Spain, and her 1998 album
¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? was a critical success selling over 10 million copies worldwide.
[5] In 2001, aided by the worldwide success of her first English single "
Whenever, Wherever", she broke through into the
English-speaking world with the release of
Laundry Service, which sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
[6][7] Four years later, Shakira released two album projects called
Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and
Oral Fixation Vol. 2. Both reinforced her success, particularly with the best selling song of the 2000s, "
Hips Don't Lie".
[8]
