Shakira
Shakira made her recording debut with Sony Music Colombia at the age of 14. She rose to prominence with the albums Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). Her first English release, Laundry Service (2001), sold over 13 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female Latin artist.
Her success was further solidified with the Spanish-language albums Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005), Sale el Sol (2010), El Dorado (2017), and Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (2024), all of which topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, making her the first woman with number-one albums across four different decades.
Her English albums Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005), She Wolf (2009), and Shakira (2014) achieved platinum status worldwide.
Shakira is among the world's best-selling musicians with numerous number-one singles, including "Estoy Aquí", "Ciega, Sordomuda", "Whenever, Wherever / Suerte", "Underneath Your Clothes", "Objection (Tango)", "La Tortura", "Hips Don't Lie", "Beautiful Liar", "She Wolf", "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", "Loca", "Rabiosa", "Can't Remember to Forget You", "Dare (La La La)", "La Bicicleta", "Chantaje", "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", "TQG", and "Dai Dai".
Shakira served as a coach on two seasons of the American singing competition television series The Voice (2013–2014), had voice roles in the animated films Zootopia (2016) and Zootopia 2 (2025), and executive produced and judged the dance competition series Dancing with Myself (2022). Billboard named her the Top Female Latin Artist of the Decade twice (2000s and 2010s), and she was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.
Involved with the FIFA World Cup at various points since 2006, Shakira has been described as the tournament's artistic, publicity, and humanitarian icon.
Shakira has written or co-written a vast majority of music and lyrics she performed during her career and is regarded as an "international phenomenon", known for blending Western and Middle Eastern influences. She received the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year awards in 2011, for her philanthropic and humanitarian work, such as the Barefoot Foundation, and was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
Additionally, she was granted the honor of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 2012, and advocates for equitable development of the Global South, the rights and interests of children, the Latino minority in the U.S. and Canada, women, and other under-represented groups.
Early life
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla, a city located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia. She is the only child of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado. Her parents are of Lebanese, Catalan, and Colombian descent, though she has distant Italian roots through an ancestor with the surname Pisciotti.
She was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools. Shakira has eight older half-siblings from her father's previous marriage.
Shakira wrote her first poem, titled "La Rosa de Cristal" ('The Crystal Rose'), when she was four years old, and continued to write poetry. As her music interests crystallized, the poetry turned into song lyrics. When she was two years old, her half-brother was killed at the age of nineteen, in a motorcycle accident. Six years later, writing lyrics on her typewriter and having been given a guitar by her aunt, she composed her first song, titled "Gafas Oscuras" ('Dark Glasses'). It was inspired by her father, who for years wore dark glasses to hide his grief.
Shakira grew up in reasonably comfortable family conditions until her father, a jeweler, went bankrupt when she was eight. Her parents sent her to stay for a while with relatives in Los Angeles. When she came back, their two cars, furniture and color TV were gone and she had to adjust to a different reality. She was able to buy her parents a car when she was 14, after receiving some money for the release of the Magia album.
When she was four, Shakira's father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant, where she first heard the doumbek, a traditional festive Arabic music drum, also used to accompany belly dancing. Spontaneously, she climbed onto a table and started to dance; soon she wanted to do it for anyone who would watch. At her Catholic school, she demonstrated belly dancing on every Friday morning, encouraged by her parents, teachers and students in the audience, who were convinced of her bright future as a performer.
A former classmate recalled, "Just her, singing and dancing on the stage." However, in second grade, Shakira was rejected for school choir because, according to the music teacher, her vibrato was too strong; classmates told her she sounded like a goat. She was often sent out of class because of her hyperactivity. To make Shakira appreciate more the modest conditions of her upbringing, her father took her to a local park so she could see orphans who lived there.
The images stayed with her and she said to herself, "one day I'm going to help these kids when I become a famous artist". Having regained some confidence in her singing, she entered a local TV station talent contest when she was ten and won the top prize, a bicycle.
Between the ages of ten and thirteen, Shakira attended various events around Barranquilla and gained some recognition singing and dancing in the area. She met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was impressed with her and told Sony Music Colombia executive Ciro Vargas about "a very talented girl who composed songs, sang and danced".
He held an audition for her, liked the performance and arranged for other Sony Music people to be present during another audition in Bogotá. Shakira sang three of her songs there and was signed, at the age of 13, for recording of three albums to be released by Sony.
Career
1990–1993: Magia and Peligro
Shakira's debut album, Magia, was released in June 1991 under Sony Music Colombia. Recording began in 1990 when she was 13; the album consists of pop rock ballads and disco uptempo songs with Shakira writing the majority of the album's tracks. The album featured her debut single "Magia" as well as "Sueños" and "Esta Noche Voy Contigo". Magia was not a commercial success and only 1,200 copies were sold in Colombia.
Little known outside of her native Colombia at the time, Shakira was invited to perform at Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival in February 1993. The festival gave aspiring Latin American singers a chance to present their songs and the winner was chosen by a panel of judges. Shakira's performance of the ballad "Eres" brought her the trophy for third place.
Shakira's second studio album, Peligro, was released in March 1993. It features the singles "Tú Serás la Historia de Mi Vida", "Eres", "Peligro", and "Brujería". Shakira was not pleased with the final result, taking issue mainly with the production. The album was better received than Magia had been, but it became another commercial failure. In 1993–1994, she acted in the Colombian telenovela El Oasis, playing the character of Luisa Maria.
Having been moved up in her classwork ahead of her age, Shakira graduated from a convent secondary school when she was 15, but her professional involvement in music prevented her from continuing formal education. At the Colegio La Enseñanza that she attended, the nuns expected students to visit the poorest areas of the town and help teach reading and writing to unschooled children there. "The seeds of their education are well-planted in my system.
I believe in God. I believe in the sacraments" – Shakira told the interviewer in 2002. On starting her career so early, she said: "I wouldn't have done anything different myself ... though I think I missed out on adolescence. I never misbehaved when I was a teenager and that's something you've got to do. I was so focused on my goals. I was already an adult when I was 14. Maybe I'll have a belated adolescence when I'm old."
1994–2000: Breakthrough with Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones?
In 1994, Shakira recorded "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" for the compilation album Nuestro Rock Volumen II. After the song became a hit in Colombia, Sony Music Colombia decided to move forward with her third studio album. Shakira began writing and recording for the album with Luis Fernando Ochoa, who would become her principal music collaborator for the next three albums.
Her third studio album, Pies Descalzos, was released in October 1995. It reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The album spawned six singles, all of which peaked within the top 20 of the U.S. Latin chart: "Estoy Aquí", "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?", "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos", "Un Poco de Amor", "Antología", and "Se Quiere, Se Mata"; the former two were top five hits. Pies Descalzos achieved top ranking in eight countries, and in August 1996 RIAA certified the album platinum in the U.S. Pies Descalzos eventually sold over 5 million copies.
In October 1995, Shakira commenced Tour Pies Descalzos, her first international tour. Its about one hundred shows in Latin America, the U.S. and Spain took two years to complete.
In 1997, Shakira received three Billboard Latin Music Awards for Album of the Year for Pies Descalzos, Video of the Year for "Estoy Aqui", and Best New Artist. That year, she released the remix album The Remixes, of which over one million were sold. At 19, Shakira was named a national cultural ambassador by the president of Colombia, a distinction she shared with writer Gabriel García Márquez. Dónde Están los Ladrones?, Shakira's fourth studio album, was released in September 1998.
It was recorded at the Miami studio of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Artistic production was done by Shakira with Emilio Estefan listed as the executive producer. Dónde Están los Ladrones? became an even bigger worldwide hit than Pies Descalzos. The album reached a peak of number 131 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and held the top spot on the U.S.
Latin Albums chart for 11 weeks. Over 7 million copies were sold worldwide, including 1.5 million in the U.S., making it one of the best selling Spanish albums there. Eight singles were taken from the album: "Ciega, Sordomuda", "Moscas en la Casa", "No Creo", "Inevitable", "Tú", "Si Te Vas", "Octavo Día", and "Ojos Así". "Ciega, Sordomuda" and "Tú" reached number one on the U.S. Latin chart.
In 1999, Shakira received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. Her first live album, MTV Unplugged, was recorded in New York City as MTV Unplugged's first Spanish language broadcast on 12 August 1999 and released in early 2000. The performance was highly acclaimed by American critics; the album topped the Latin charts and sale statistics.
In March 2000 Shakira embarked on Tour Anfibio, a two-month series of concerts in Latin America and the United States. In August 2000, she won an MTV Video Music Award in the category of People's Choice – Favorite International Artist for "Ojos Así". In September 2000, Shakira performed "Ojos Así" at the inaugural ceremony of the Latin Grammy Awards, where she was nominated in five categories: Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for MTV Unplugged, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Octavo Día", Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ojos Así", and Best Short Form Music Video for the "Ojos Así" video.
2001–2004: Laundry Service and English transition
Upon the successes of Dónde Están los Ladrones? and MTV Unplugged, Shakira began working on an English crossover album. Her manager, Emilio Estefan, took an early notice of Shakira's potential for a "crossover" into the U.S. music market because of her "universally catchy pop-rock melodies, cerebral lyrics, unwavering self-determination and natural sex appeal".
Shakira's English language skills were improved with the help of Gloria Estefan. "Whenever, Wherever", called "Suerte" in the simultaneously published Spanish language version, was released at the end of August 2001 as the first and lead single from Shakira's fifth studio album. The song took heavy influence from Andean music, including the charango and pan flute in its instrumentation.
It became an international success by reaching number one in most countries. In the U.S., it reached number six on the Hot 100.
The new album, titled Laundry Service in English-speaking countries and Servicio de Lavanderia in Latin America and Spain, was released on 13 November 2001. Servicio de Lavanderia features the same songs, arranged in different order. Nine out of thirteen tracks Shakira sings in English. The album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling over 200,000 records in its first week.
It was later certified triple platinum. Its success established Shakira's musical presence in the mainstream North American market. "Underneath Your Clothes", "Objection (Tango)", "The One", "Te Dejo Madrid", "Que Me Quedes Tú", and "Poem to a Horse" were other Laundry Service songs issued as singles. Shakira wrote or co-wrote each of the songs and Laundry Service was produced by her alone.
Critics gave Shakira's English-market debut mixed reviews, with some questioning her ability to write lyrics in a second language. Laundry Service became the best-selling album of 2002 and eventually more than 15 million copies were sold worldwide.
Laundry Service, the "crossover" transition process and its manifestations created a rift among Shakira's followers. The new album's detractors considered the singer a sellout and claimed that her now blond hair, English language singing and new look showed that she was "abandoning her essence" and "transforming into a whiter, sexier version of herself", one more "palatable for Anglo audiences".
Shakira insisted that her only motivation for blonding her hair was her own vanity. Regarding the disgruntled fans, she replied: "I'm so sure of what I represent for my people and of what I am. I know that my roots are very well-planted in Latin America. And I feel proud of being Colombian and Latin, and I say it out loud to the rest of the world every time I can." Having opted now for musical stylistic "fusion", she told the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo in 2001: "Fusion offers me the opportunity to remove any type of label people want to place on me.
It gives me freedom ... I don't want to be tied to a specific style and become the architect of my own prison."
Freddy DeMann took over Shakira's management from Emilio Estefan in 2000 and negotiated for her a multi-million dollar global promotional deal with Pepsi. Shakira released four songs for Pepsi: "Ask for More", "Pide Más", "Knock on My Door", and "Pídeme el Sol". Laundry Service: Washed and Dried album (CD and DVD) was issued in 2002.
It comprises some remixes and alternative versions of songs from the original collection. Sony Music released Shakira's Spanish greatest-hits compilation, Grandes Éxitos. At Aerosmith's MTV Icon in April 2002, Shakira performed "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". Also in 2002, she joined VH1 Divas Las Vegas. In August, she performed "Objection (Tango)" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards and won the International Viewer's Choice Award with "Suerte / Whenever, Wherever".
She also won the Latin Grammy Award for the category of Best Short Form Music Video for the Spanish version of "Objection (Tango)". In October, she won five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America for Best Female Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Artist – North (Region), Video of the Year (for "Suerte"), and Artist of the Year.
In November 2002, Shakira embarked on the Tour of the Mongoose and 61 shows took place by May 2003. The tour was her first worldwide tour, as legs were played in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. A CD and DVD live album, Live & off the Record, was released in 2004; three million sets were sold worldwide.
2005–2007: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2
Preparing for her next productions, Shakira wrote sixty songs, in Spanish and in English. Out of these, she selected twenty to be used in two albums, separated by language. "La Tortura", the lead single from Shakira's sixth studio album Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, was released in April 2005 and features Spanish balladeer Alejandro Sanz.
For a record 25 weeks, it remained on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. It reached number 23 on the Hot 100, number one in Spain and enjoyed high rankings across the world. "La Tortura" was one of the first Spanish-language songs to be performed at the MTV Video Music Awards; Shakira performed the song at the 2005 Awards in Miami.
Fijación Oral, vol. 1, released in June 2005, was well received in North America, South America, and Europe. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 157,000 copies in its first week and becoming the highest U.S. debut ever for a Spanish-language album. It has since sold over two million copies in the U.S., earning an 11× Platinum (Latin field) certification from the RIAA.
In Venezuela, it earned a Platinum certification, in Colombia, a triple Platinum certification, while in Mexico demand exceeded shipments and it became unavailable after one day of sales. It was a top album in Spain, Italy, Greece and Germany. Four more singles were released from Fijación Oral, vol. 1: "No", "Día de Enero", "La Pared", and "Las de la Intuición".
The album has sold over five million copies worldwide. On 8 February 2006, Shakira won her second Grammy Award, winning Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. She received four Latin Grammy Awards in November 2006, winning in the categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "La Tortura", Album of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Album for Fijación Oral, vol. 1.
📚 Source: Wikipedia
