Shakira

Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira first dominated Latin America before emerging as one of Latin pop’s foremost global crossover acts, moving millions of records internationally while amassing hundreds of honors. Her rock-tinged style granted her unusual artistic autonomy; she authored or co-authored nearly every track she released and earned recognition as one of the field’s most ambitious lyricists. After the 1990s breakthroughs Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones?, she seized the worldwide spotlight with her debut English-language album, the chart-topping 2001 blockbuster Laundry Service. Powered by the radio smash “Whenever, Wherever”/“Suerte,” the project became an immediate pop phenomenon. She continued as a platinum-certified presence on charts everywhere, reaching both Spanish- and English-speaking audiences with later releases including 2005’s Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, 2009’s She Wolf, and 2010’s Sale el Sol. With 2017’s El Dorado she secured her fourth number-one Billboard Latin album and received the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. During the interval before her next studio set she kept adding hits through varied collaborations, most prominently the 2023 record-shattering “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Bizarrap, which ultimately appeared on 2024’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, to a family of modest means. Her Colombian mother and Lebanese-descended father exposed her early to music from both traditions; she also immersed herself in English-language rock & roll, later citing Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Police, the Cure, and Nirvana among her favorites. She composed her first song at age eight, began winning talent contests at ten, and took up guitar at eleven; one account holds that she was dismissed from her school choir around that time for singing too powerfully. At thirteen, in 1990, she relocated to Bogotá intending to model, yet instead signed with Sony’s Colombian imprint. Her 1991 debut Magia gathered material she had written across the previous five or six years. Though it failed to register abroad, the album drew notice at home. Displeased with the pop direction of 1993’s Peligro, she stepped away from recording and joined the cast of the Colombian soap opera El Oasis in 1994.

Returning to the studio in 1995, Shakira assumed greater command of her sound and folded rock rhythms plus occasional Arabic inflections into her Latin pop. The initial outcome was Pies Descalzos, issued that year; a modest starter, it gained traction through “Estoy Aquí,” a hit throughout Latin America and Spain. Success snowballed as further singles—“Dónde Estás Corazón?,” “Antología,” “Pienso en Ti,” “Un Poco de Amor,” and “Se Quiere, Se Mata”—kept emerging. The set reached number one in eight countries and eventually earned platinum status in the United States; Shakira toured nearly two years in support, finally departing El Oasis in 1997.

To extend her momentum she enlisted Emilio Estefan, Gloria’s husband and a seasoned industry figure, as manager and producer. The partnership yielded 1998’s Dónde Están los Ladrones?, an even greater global success that opened the U.S. market, logging eleven weeks at number one on Billboard’s Latin Albums chart and spawning U.S. Latin number ones with “Ciega, Sordomuda” and “Tú.” Its standout cut, “Ojos Así,” offered her clearest nod yet to Arabic influences absorbed from her father, and she incorporated belly dancing into performances to honor that heritage. The album also showcased her assertive persona most vividly; introspective writing endeared her to female listeners while her fury at romantic betrayal prompted comparisons to Alanis Morissette.

When Gloria Estefan proposed translating “Ojos Así” into English, a crossover suddenly appeared feasible, prompting Shakira to master the language sufficiently to write her own material. She previewed the move with an MTV Unplugged performance, the network’s first Spanish-language broadcast. The resulting album, released in early 2000, topped Latin charts for two weeks, became her third consecutive platinum release, and earned a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. At the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards she delivered a memorable rendition of “Ojos Así” and collected trophies for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Mainstream stardom followed. Shakira lightened her long brown hair and prepared Laundry Service, her first largely English-language album. Advance single “Whenever, Wherever” made her an overnight star in English-speaking territories; the album debuted at number three on the U.S. pop chart and the single reached number six. Follow-up “Underneath Your Clothes” climbed to number nine, and within a year Laundry Service was certified triple platinum. Critics split over her English lyrics yet largely praised her distinctive imagery.

After extensive touring she took an extended hiatus, during which a 2002 remix set, Laundry Service: Washed and Dried, and a 2004 live album, Live & Off the Record, appeared. Refreshed, she amassed sixty songs—some English, some Spanish—then selected twenty for two separate albums released in 2005. Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 entered at number four in June while Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 followed at number five in November. When sales of the latter slowed, Epic added the bonus track “Hips Don’t Lie” featuring Wyclef Jean in March 2006; the song topped charts in the U.S., Australia, and much of Europe, becoming one of the year’s biggest hits and reviving interest in her catalog.

In 2008 Shakira signed a ten-year Live Nation deal that prompted Forbes to rank her the fourth-highest-earning female musician ever. She then recorded She Wolf with producers including RedOne, Wyclef Jean, and Luis F. Ochoa; the electro-disco album arrived in October 2009, her third English-language project. Though less commercially dominant than its predecessor, it yielded modest hits with the title track and “Gypsy.” She rebounded swiftly with “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem that became a global smash, paving the way for fall release Sale el Sol. A live document, Shakira: Live from Paris, followed for the 2011 holiday season.

Shakira joined The Voice as a coach in 2012, replacing Christina Aguilera for one season before departing in 2013 to finish her tenth album. Titled Shakira and released in March 2014, it featured the Rihanna duet “Can’t Remember to Forget You” and “Dare (La La La),” later reworked with Carlinhos Brown for the 2014 World Cup; she returned to the show for season six. While preparing her next project she voiced Gazelle in Zootopia; the soundtrack single “Try Everything,” co-written by Sia and Stargate, earned double-platinum certification. Early 2017 brought the Prince Royce duet “Deja Vu,” followed by May’s El Dorado, which included “La Bicicleta” with Carlos Vives and “Chantaje” with Maluma. The album captured a Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album and the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album.

Subsequent years brought further hits: 2018’s “Clandestino” with Maluma, “Me Gusta” with Anuel AA, and “Girl Like Me” with Black Eyed Peas, plus a 2020 Super Bowl LIV halftime performance alongside Jennifer Lopez. “Don’t Wait Up” appeared in 2021, followed by 2022’s multi-platinum “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro. Additional collaborations—“Don’t You Worry” with Black Eyed Peas, “Monotonía” with Ozuna, and the triple-platinum Karol G track “TQG”—kept her prominent into 2023. The standout release proved “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” a pointed track with Argentine DJ Bizarrap that reached the U.S. Top Ten and topped charts across Central and South America plus Europe.

Ending a seven-year absence of new full-lengths, Shakira issued her twelfth studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, in March 2024; it incorporated several prior hits alongside fresh material exploring vulnerability and recovery. The set peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard 200 while topping the Latin Albums chart. Standalone single “Soltera,” an empowering break-up anthem, followed in September.