Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (pronounced [(t)ʃaˈkiɾa isaˈβel meβaˈɾak riˈpol];

English: /ʃəˈkiːrə/; born 2 February 1977)[3] is a Colombian singer, songwriter,

dancer, and record producer. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she began
performing in school, demonstrating Latin American, Arabic, and rock and roll
influences and belly dancing abilities. Shakira's first studio albums, Magia and
Peligro, failed to attain commercial success in the 1990s; however, she rose to
prominence in Latin America with her major-label debut, Pies Descalzos (1996),
and her fourth album, Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998).
Shakira entered the English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry
Service. Its lead single, "Whenever, Wherever", became one of the most
successful singles of 2002. Her success was solidified with her sixth and seventh
albums Fijación Oral, Volumen Uno and Oral Fixation, Volume Two (2005), the
latter of which spawned one of the best-selling songs of the 21st century, "Hips
Don't Lie". Shakira's eighth and ninth albums, She Wolf (2009) and Sale el Sol
(2010), received critical praise. Her official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,
"Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", became the biggest-selling World Cup song
of all time. With over 1.5 billion views, it is one of the most-watched music videos
on YouTube. Shakira served as a coach on the fourth and sixth seasons of the
American version of The Voice in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Her tenth album,
Shakira (2014), is preceded by its lead single, "Can't Remember to Forget You".
Shakira has won many awards, including five MTV Video Music Awards, two
Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, 28
Billboard Latin Music Awards and has been Golden Globe-nominated. She has a
star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has sold between 70 and 125 million
records worldwide (depending on the source),[4][5] making her the best selling
South American singer and one of the best selling Latin artists of all time. She
carries out well-known philanthropic activities through charity work most notably
through her Pies Descalzos Foundation. In 2014, she was listed as the 58th most
powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[6]
Early life
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla,
Colombia. She is the only child of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll
Torrado. Her paternal grandparents emigrated from Lebanon to New York City,
where her father was born.[7][8][9][10] Her father then emigrated to Colombia at
age 5. The name Shakira is Arabic (‫شَا ِك َرة‬, šākirah), from which language it
translates as "grateful". It is the feminine form of the name Shakir (‫شَا ِكر‬, šākir).
From her mother, she has Spanish (Catalan and Castilian)[11][12] and Italian[13]
ancestry. She was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools.[14] She has
eight older half-siblings from her father's previous marriage.[15] Shakira spent
much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located on the northern Caribbean coast
of Colombia, and wrote her first poem, titled "La Rosa De Cristal/The Crystal
Rose", when she was only four years old. As she was growing up, she was
fascinated watching her father writing stories on a typewriter, and asked for one
as a Christmas gift. She got that typewriter at the age of seven, and has continued
writing poetry since then. These poems eventually evolved into songs. When
Shakira was two years old, an older half-brother was killed in a motorcycle
accident; six years later, at the age of eight, Shakira wrote her first song, titled
"Tus gafas oscuras/Your dark glasses", which was inspired by her father, who for
years wore dark glasses to hide his grief.[16]
When Shakira was four, her father took her to a local Middle Eastern restaurant,
where Shakira first heard the doumbek, a traditional drum used in Arabic music
and which typically accompanied belly dancing.[17] She started dancing on the
table, and the experience made her realize that she wanted to be a performer.
She enjoyed singing for schoolmates and teachers (and even the nuns) at her
Catholic school, but in second grade, she was rejected for the school choir
because her vibrato was too strong. The music teacher told her that she sounded
"like a goat".[17][18] At school, she was often sent out of the class because of
her hyperactivity (ADHD).[19] She says she had also been known as "the belly
dancer girl", as she would demonstrate every Friday at school a number she had
learned.[17] "That's how I discovered my passion for live performance," she
says.[15][20] To instill gratitude in Shakira for her upbringing, her father took her
to a local park to 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."[15]
Between the ages of 10 and 13, Shakira was invited to various events in
Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area.[21] It was at this
approximate time that she met local theater producer Monica Ariza, who was
impressed with her and as a result tried to help her career. During a flight from
Barranquilla to Bogotá, Ariza convinced Sony Colombia executive Ciro Vargas to
hold an audition for Shakira in a hotel lobby. Vargas held Shakira in high regard
and, returning to the Sony office, gave the cassette to a song and artist director.
However, the director was not overly excited and thought Shakira was something
of "a lost cause". Undaunted and still convinced that Shakira had talent, Vargas
set up an audition in Bogotá. He arranged for Sony Colombia executives to arrive
at the audition, with the idea of surprising them with Shakira's performance. She
performed three songs for the executives and impressed them enough for her to
be signed to record three albums.[22]
Career
1990–1995: Beginnings
Main articles: Magia and Peligro
Shakira's debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music Colombia in 1990
when she was only 13 years old.[23] The songs are a collection made by her
since she was eight, mixed pop-rock ballads and disco uptempo songs with
electronic accompaniment; however, it was hampered by a lack of cohesion in
both its recording and the production. The album was released in June 1991 and
featured "Magia" and three other singles. Though it fared well on Colombian radio
and gave the young Shakira much exposure, the album did not fare well
commercially as only 1,200 copies were sold worldwide.[17] After the poor
performance of Magia, Shakira's label urged her to return to the studio to release
a follow-up record. Though then little known outside of her native Colombia,
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
perform their songs, and the winner was then chosen by a panel of judges.
Shakira performed the ballad "Eres" ("You Are") and won the trophy for third
place. One of the judges who voted for her to win was the then 20 year old Ricky
Martin,[23] whose initial prominence had come from his membership in Menudo.
Shakira's second studio album, titled Peligro, was released in March, but Shakira
was not pleased with the final result, mainly taking issue with the production. The
album was better received than Magia had been, though it was also considered
a commercial failure due to Shakira's refusal to advertise or promote it. Shakira
then decided to take a hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high
school.[23] In the same year, Shakira starred in the Colombian TV series The
Oasis, loosely based on the Armero tragedy in 1985.[24] Since then, the albums
have been pulled from release and are not considered official Shakira albums but
rather promotional albums. Shakira originally recorded the song "¿Dónde Estás
Corazón?" (later released on her album Pies Descalzos) for the compilation
album Nuestro Rock in 1995, released exclusively in Colombia.[25] The album
Pies Descalzos brought her great popularity in Latin America by the hit singles
"Estoy Aquí", "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos" and "Dónde Estás
Corazón".[23] Shakira also recorded three tracks in Portuguese, titled "Estou
Aqui", "Um Pouco de Amor", and "Pés Descalços".
1995–2000: Latin breakthrough
Main articles: Pies Descalzos, Dónde Están los Ladrones?, and MTV Unplugged
Shakira during her Tour Anfibio
Shakira returned to recording music under Sony Music along with Columbia in
1995 with Luis F. Ochoa, using musical influences from a number of countries
and an Alanis Morissette-oriented persona which affected two of her next
albums.[26] These recordings spawned her third studio album, and her major-
label debut, titled Pies Descalzos. Recording for the album began in February
1995, after the success of her single "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" Sony gave
Shakira $100,000 to produce the album since they predicted that the album would
not sell past 100,000 copies.

The album, Pies Descalzos, was released in February 1996. It debuted at number
one in eight different countries. However, it only managed to reach number one-
hundred-eighty on the U.S. Billboard 200 but reached number five on the U.S.
Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The album spawned six hit singles, "Estoy
Aquí", which reached number two on the U.S. Latin chart, "¿Dónde Estás
Corazón?" which reached number five on the U.S. Latin chart, "Pies Descalzos,
Sueños Blancos" which reached number 11 on the U.S. Latin chart, "Un Poco de
Amor" which reached number six on the U.S. Latin chart, "Antología" which
reached number 15 on the U.S. Latin chart, and "Se quiere, Se Mata" which
reached number eight on the U.S. Latin chart.[27] In August 1996, RIAA certified
the album platinum status.[28]
In March 1996, Shakira went on to her first international tour, named simply the
Tour Pies Descalzos. The tour consisted of 20 shows and ended in 1997. Also in
that year, 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.[29] Pies Descalzos later sold over 5 million copies,[30][31] prompting the
release of a remix album, simply titled The Remixes. The Remixes also included
Portuguese versions of some of her well-known songs, which were recorded as
a result of her success in the Brazilian market, where Pies Descalzos sold nearly
one million copies.[21]
Her fourth studio album was titled Dónde Están los Ladrones? This, produced
entirely by Shakira herself and Emilio Estefan, Jr. as the executive producer, was
released in September 1998. The album, inspired by an incident in an airport in
which a suitcase filled with her written lyrics was stolen, became a bigger hit than
Pies Descalzos. The album has reached a peak position of number 131 on the
U.S. Billboard 200 and held the top spot on the U.S. Latin Albums chart for 11
weeks. It has since sold over seven million copies worldwide[32][33][clarification
needed] and 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, making it one of the best selling
Spanish albums in the U.S. Eight singles were taken from the album including
"Ciega, Sordomuda", "Moscas En La Casa", and "No Creo", which became her
first single to chart on the U.S. Billboard Billboard Hot 100, "Inevitable", "Tú", "Si
Te Vas", "Octavo día", and the "Ojos Así". The latter two songs won Shakira one
Latin Grammy each, with six of the eight singles reaching the top 40 on the U.S.
Latin chart.
2008–2015: She Wolf, Sale el Sol and Shakira
Main articles: She Wolf, Sale el Sol, and The Sun Comes Out World Tour
Shakira performing with Usher and Stevie Wonder at the We Are One: The
Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in 2009.
In early 2008, Forbes named Shakira the fourth top-earning female artist in music
industry.[50] Then, in July of that year, Shakira signed a $300 million contract
with Live Nation, an international touring giant, which contract was to remain in
effect for ten years.[51][52] The touring group also doubles as a record label
which promotes, but does not control, the music its artists release. Shakira's
contract with Epic Records called for three more albums as well – one in English,
one in Spanish, and a compilation, but the touring and other rights of the Live
Nation deal were confirmed to begin immediately.
In January 2009, Shakira performed at the Lincoln Memorial "We Are One"
festivities in honor of the inauguration of President Barack Obama. She
performed "Higher Ground" with Stevie Wonder and Usher.[53]
She Wolf, was released in October 2009 internationally and on 23 November
2009 in the U.S. The album received mainly positive reviews from critics, and was
included in AllMusic's year-end "Favorite Albums,"[54] "Favorite Latin
Albums,"[55] and "Favorite Pop Albums" lists.[56] She Wolf reached number one
on the charts of Argentina, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and Switzerland. It also charted
inside the top five in Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. It debuted at
number fifteen on the Billboard 200. She Wolf was certified double-platinum in
Colombia and Mexico, platinum in Italy and Spain, and gold in numerous
countries including France and the United Kingdom. To date the album has sold
2 million copies worldwide, becoming one of Shakira's least successful studio
album to date in terms of sales.[57]
Shakira in 2010.
When asked about her artistry Shakira stated, "my music, I think, is a fusion of
many different elements. And I'm always experimenting. So I try not to limit
myself, or put myself in a category, or... be the architect of my own jail."[83]
Shakira has frequently stated she is inspired by oriental music and Indian music,
which influenced many of her earlier works.[84] She has also been influenced by
her Arabian heritage, which was a major inspiration for her breakthrough world
hit "Ojos Así". She told Portuguese TV, "Many of my movements belong to Arab
culture." She also cites her parents as having been major contributors to her
musical style.[85] She is also strongly influenced by Andean music and South
American folk music, using her native instrumentation for her Latin dance-pop
songs.[86]
Her earlier Spanish albums, including Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los
Ladrones? were a mix of folk music and Latin rock. Her cross-over English album,
Laundry Service and later albums were influenced by pop rock and pop
Latino.[87] "Laundry Service" is primarily a pop rock album, but also draws
influences from a variety of musical genres.[88] The singer credited this to her
mixed ethnicity, saying: "I am a fusion. That's my persona. I'm a fusion between
black and white, between pop and rock, between cultures – between my
Lebanese father and my mother's Spanish blood, the Colombian folklore and
Arab dance I love and American music."[89]
The Arabian and Middle Eastern elements that exerted a high influence on Dónde
Están los Ladrones?[89] are also present in Laundry Service, most prominently
on "Eyes Like Yours"/"Ojos Así".[90] Musical styles from different South American
countries surface on the album. Tango, a style of fast-paced ballroom dance that
originated in Argentina, is evident on "Objection (Tango)", which also combines
elements of rock and roll.[88] The uptempo track features a guitar solo and a
bridge in which Shakira delivers rap-like vocals.[91]
Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global
representatives. On 3 April 2006, Shakira was honored at a UN ceremony for
creating the Pies Descalzos Foundation.[126] In March 2010, she was awarded
a medal by the UN International Labour Organization in recognition of being, as
UN Labour Chief Juan Somavia put it, a "true ambassador for children and young
people, for quality education and social justice".[127] In November 2010, after
performing as the opening act of the MTV European Music Awards, the
Colombian singer also received the MTV Free Your Mind award for her continuing
dedication to improve access to education for all children around the world.[128]
Personal life
Shakira began a relationship with Argentine lawyer Antonio de la Rúa in 2000. In
a 2009 interview, Shakira stated their relationship already worked as a married
couple, and that "they don't need papers for that".[133]
After 11 years together, Shakira and de la Rúa separated in August 2010 in what
she described as "a mutual decision to take time apart from our romantic
relationship". She wrote that the couple "view this period of separation as
temporary", with de la Rúa overseeing Shakira's "business and career interests
as he has always done".[134] As first reported in September 2012,[135] de la Rúa
sued Shakira in April 2013, asking for $100 million he believed he was owed after
Shakira suddenly terminated her business partnership with him in October
2011.[136] His lawsuit was dismissed by a Los Angeles County Superior Court
judge in August 2013.[137]
Shakira entered a relationship with the Spanish football player Gerard Piqué,
centre back for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team in 2011.[138][139]
They first met in the spring of 2010, when Piqué appeared in the music video for
Shakira's song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010
FIFA World Cup.[135] Shakira gave birth to the couple's first son, Milan Piqué
Mebarak, on 22 January 2013 in Barcelona, Spain, where the family had taken
up residence.[140] Shakira gave birth to their second son, Sasha Piqué Mebarak,
on 29 January 2015.[141]