About Shakira
After achieving superstar status throughout Latin America, Colombian-born Shakira became one of
Latin Pop's biggest female crossover artists ever. Well known for her hip-shaking dance moves,
powerful voice and rock-influenced style, Shakira became an instant world-wide pop sensation when
she collaborated with Gloria Estefan to release her first English material in 2001.
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia to a Colombian mother and a Lebanese-American father, she was one
of seven siblings, one of which is her road manager.
more Shakira began writing and composing music at
the age of eight. When she was a teenager, a local theater producer convinced a Sony Colombia
executive to hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby, which landed her a three-record
contract. After a brief and unsuccessful stint as a recording artist, Shakira decided to take a
hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high school.
Shakira returned to recording in 1995 with her third studio album, Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet),
the catalyst for her fame in Latin America. In 1998 came the release of Her fourth album, ¿Dónde
Están Los Ladrones (Where Are The Thieves).
Shakira released Fijación Oral Vol. 1 in June 2005, and the lead single "La Tortura" eventually
reached number one in Spain and, in the US, spent a record twenty-five weeks at number one on the
Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. Shakira's second English album, Oral Fixation Vol. 2, was
released in November 2005. Its second single "Hips Don't Lie" (featuring Wyclef Jean) became her
first single to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart.
Shakira is the most nominated artist of the year for this year's MTV Video Music Awards '06. Her
seven nomiations are for "Hips don't lie", including video of the Year and Best Female Video. "Hips
don't lie", a remake of the 2004 duet "Dance Like This" that Wyclef Jean recorded for the Dirty
Dancing: Havana Nights soundtrack with Claudette Ortiz, made history in the first week of June 2006
as the most played song in the history of the radio. This June Shakira started her biggest tour
ever, the "Oral Fixation Tour", which will last until the summer of 2007.
less
