Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripolli, born inside Barranquilla, Colombia on February 2 1977, known simply when Shakira (significant "Woman of Grace" around Arabic), is a singer and songwriter.

Biography
around February Two, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira was natural to an American father of Christian Lebanese descent and the Colombian mother. She moved to Bogotá at the age of 13, & freed her foremost album, Magia (Magic) a year later on a Sony label. A album achieved moderate profits within her native united states.

Whilst her next release Peligro (Danger) did not fare better than its predecessor, Shakirthe turned to acting & played the role inside a Colombian telenovela ("El Oasis"), but failed as an actress. She was approached by her record company to write a song for a Rock nut Español compilation album, &, in the period of her cab ride to the meeting sustaining the music executives, wrote the song "Dónde Estás Corazón" to present to the babies. She returned to the music business within 1995 with the album Pies Descalzos (Barefeet), which included this song & established her commercial profits. A hit Estoy Aquí became known internationally. The Remixes was created and featured remixes from either a songs in Pies Descalzos, by owning a bit of songs redone around Portuguese.

Resulting this, Shakira met Emilio Estefan, Jr., who would become the executive producer of her next album. ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? (Where come a stealer?) was the immense productiin on which on top US$3 million were spent. It was the vast profits which gained wide critical plaudits & which numbers of assume to exist as her better album ever. A virtually all notable singles from either a album were "Inevitable" & a worldwide mega-hit, "Ojos Así". A album's successful blend of rock and Latin soundscapes made it an brobdingnagian profits. Shakira too produced Shakira MTV Unplugged, a survive album according to ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?.

Shakira so focussed on the English-speaking market, improving her English plenty to start out writing Laundry Service. Using a additional rock-edged sense, a album was aimed at the international English-speaking market, although it contained occasionally Spanish songs. Occasionally humans claimed that Shakira's English skills were as well infirm for her to write within English, however Cleaning Service was however the large profits, better known for the infective individual "Whenever, Wherever" (English version of "Suerte"), & for existence one of a top albums of 2002. Shakira is easily known for acute, athletic survive performances involving belly dancing, Arabic rhythms and more sensual movements. A individual "Whenever, Wherever" e.g., includes a today-famous lyric, "Lucky that my breasts are small and humble so you don't confuse them with mountains."

Around 2002, Shakira too freed a greatest hits volume Grandes éxitos. Shakira: Live & Off the Record, a DVD and a 10-song CD from her 2002-03 world tour (the "Tour of the Mongoose"), was released March 30 2004. A title of a tour was from either the fact that mongoose can defeat the cobra without being flushed by its poison. the concerts were interspersed by having visuals of the mongoose fighting a cobra.

Shakira's latest plan has been split into ii volumes. A number 1 album, a Spanish-language Fijación Oral 1 was released around June 2005. A watch-higher, a English-language Oral Fixation 2, is slated for a November 29 2005 release.

She co-writes & co-produces her songs by having Luis Fernando Ochoa and Lester Méndez. Vocal co-compilation, too when counsel of background vocal sessions by Rita Quintero.

Shakira is considered by numbers of to exist as a great talent. When Gabriel García Márquez once wrote of her, "Shakira's music has a personal stamp that doesn't look like anyone else's and no one can sing or dance like her, at whatever age, with such an innocent sensuality, one that seems to be of her own invention."

Since 2000, she has been engaged to Antonio de la Rúa, the boy of the dishonored previous president of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa. Inside weak of the humanist & social crisis within Argentina, many members of a click lampooned the relationship when frivolous & self-important. Inside response, Shakirthe gave a non-profit-making concert inside Buenos Aires and further promoted her human-centred toddlers's foundation "Pies Descalzos" (Bare feet), known as fallowing her third album. This was decried by numerous as a elementary celebrity public relations move, even though such foundation was began per singer shortly fallowing a profits of the Pies Descalzos album (1995-1996). Shakira has since built trinity simple schools around Colombia to help youngsters that were displaced due to the guerrilla wars around her united states. Inside October 2003 UNICEF known as Shakirthe a Spherical Goodwill Ambassador for the organization. She was Xxvi at a instance, making her a immature UNICEF Ambassador inside its history.

Current album
It was announced April 8 2005 that Shakira would be releasing ii albums this month. Fijación Oral Vol. 1, a Spanish-language album, was released first in Ireland on 3 June 2005, the rest of the EU on 6 June and then on June 7 in the U.S.A, 2005. Disputation surrounded her album release. Ritmo Latino, United states's large latin music retail merchant, refused to sell Shakira's album. It felt that she experienced forgotten her latin fans. Oral Fixation 2, an English-language album, is scheduled to hit store shelves in November. A number 1 individual off Fijación Oral One, La Tortura (The Torture), features Spanish pop-star Alejandro Sanz.

A April 26 episode of MTV's "Making the Video" showed behind-a-scenes clips of "La Tortura" & ended sustaining a premiere of the streaming. This was notably a number one period a indicate got been aired completely around Spanish (by having English subtitles).

When a launch of Shakira's 2nd English Language album, Oral Fixation Vol. Two nears, short clips of ii songs from either a fresh album, ''Don't Bother - a number 1 only, & How else Run You Do? come okay, available around several musical stream outlets.

It has been confirmed that Don't Bother is distributed electronically by SonyBMG to radio stations in the United States & more locations in October 11th 2005. Low music places like iTunes come required to stand the only for download in October 18th , a strategy which proved successful in the marketing campaign for La Tortura.

Charts
A streaming for La Tortura made its debut on Total Request Live (TRL) at number nine, & was a 2nd Spanish music video ever to be involved in the countdown. It reached the peak of dull foursome on the countdown, setting the record for greatest position on the chart.

Fijación Oral 1'' was simultaneously freed altogether of Latwithin Usa & following at first in most everthing of its countries. It debuted at total quatern on the Billboard 200 and is currently a right-selling Spanish foremost-week sales album (180,000), breaking Ricky Martin's self-titled album (#12 , selling 63,000). It was besides easily-received inside non-Spanish speaking countries such as Germany, where it reached first, & Austria, at number tierce. A album besides has processed history within Europe reaching #2 for many weeks by using a only La Tortura staying in the Top 10 singles awhile.

As well, Shakira's "La Tortura" achieved a bit of profits on the MTV Top Xx & VH1 Top 20 Countdown.

Shakira, world health organization performed at a 2005 MTV Videos Music Awards around Miami, Florida on August 28, 2005, was nominated for three MTV Cd Music Awards: "Best Female Video", "Best Dance Video", & "Viewers Choice" for her smash "La Tortura". Her VMA performance processed history when existence a number one performance on the VMAs ever that was totally around Spanish.

Shakira is today nominative for Half a dozen MTV Latin Usa awards (2005). A awards is held around Mexico City on October 20, 2005.

Discography
Albums
Magia (1991) Peligro (1994) Pies descalzos (1995) - #Five LAT; United states of america sales: One million, WW 5 million The Remixes (1997)US sales:200,000WW sales One million ¿Dónde están los ladrones? (1998) -#1 LAT United states sales: One million, ww sales: Five million MTV Unplugged (2000) - #1 LAT United states sales: 500,000, ww One-Two million Laundry Service (2001) - #3 US; #2 UK; #1 Could; #1 GER;U.s. sales: Trey.Three million Worldwide sales: 13 million Grandes éxitos (2002) #1 LAT United states of america Sales:250,000 Live & Off the Record (2004) - #1 US (Music Videos), #45 US; Worldwide sales: 2 million Fijación Oral 1 (June 2005) - #1 LAT; #4 America; #7 Potty; #1 GER; #3 AU;The states sales: 600,000 Worldwide Sales: about Four million* Oral Fixation 2 (November 2005)

Singles

1996: "Estoy Aqui" - #2 LAT 1997: "Donde Estas Corazon?" -#5 LAT 1997: "Antologia" - #15 LAT 1997: "Se Quiere Se Mata" - #8 LAT 1998: "Ciega Sordomuda" - #1 LAT 1999: "Tu" - #1 LAT 1999: "Inevitable" - #3 LAT 1999: "Ojos Asi" - #22 LAT 1999: "Moscas en la Casa" - #25 LAT 2000: "No Creo" - #9 LAT 2001: "Whenever, Wherever / Suerte" - #6 US; #2 UK; #1 AU; #2 Potty; #1 Latisimus dorsi; #1 GER; #1 NL 2002: "Underneath Your Clothes" - #9 US; #3 UK; #1 AU; #1 Could; #2 GER; #1 NL 2002: "Objection (Tango)" / "Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)" - #16 LAT #55 US; #17 UK; #1 AU; #12 Might; #19 GER; #4 NL 2002: "Te Dejo Madrid" - #45 LAT; #1 SPA 2003: "The One"- #5 PRT; #15 FRA; #16 AU; #26 NL 2003: "Que Me Quedes Tu" - #1 LAT 2005: "La Tortura" (feat. Alejandro Sanz) - #1 LAT; #23 Usa; #21 Might; #1 SPA; #4 GER; #3 ITA; #2 SWZ 2005: "No" - #1 LAT 2005: "Don't Bother" - Oct 2005

DVDs, films
MTV Unplugged (2000) Live & Off the Record (2004)