Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born: February 2, 1977) known simply as Shakira

is a Colombian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. She is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Portuguese, Italian, and some Arabic. In 2001, she broke through onto the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, according to BMI. She has also won numerous awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards among eighteen nominations, sixteen Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, a People’s Choice Award and receiving a Golden Globe nomination. She is also the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, and the UK Singles Chart.

Shakira was to be awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which would have made her the first Colombian to receive this honor.

Shakira was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is the only child of Nidya del Carmen Ripoll Torrado, a Colombian of Italian and Spanish ancestry, and William Mebarak Chadid who is of Syrian descent.

Shakira’s debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music in 1991, when she was only fourteen years old. Though it fared well on Colombian radio and gave the young Shakira much exposure, the album did not fare well commercially, selling fewer than a thousand copies. After the poor acclaim of Magia, Shakira’s label urged her back into the studio to release a follow up with more hit songs, to give the album potential. The album Peligro was released in 1993, but Shakira was not pleased with the final result, mainly taking issue with the production. The album was better received than Magia, though it was also considered a commercial failure, due to Shakira’s refusal to advertise it. Although 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 then 20-year-old Ricky Martin. Shakira then decided to take a hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high school. In the same year, Shakira starred in the Colombian TV Series “The Oasis”, loosely based in the Armero tragedy in 1985.

On November 30, a picture of Shakira and Pharell Williams surfaced on the net. In the photo, the pair are seated together in a music studio. The blurb accompanying the photo offered no additional information as to what the two were recording, but it is assumed to be at least one track for her upcoming album. In the weeks after, pictures of Shakira with reggeaton duo Calle 13 and producer Toby Gad at her home in the Bahamas have also surfaced on her official message board.

Also, in some websites, a demo called “Fire” was leaked online and since then it has been available on YouTube]. The song was mistaken for being a new single for Shakira’s upcoming album, but it was revealed that is from 13 years old romanian girl named Sanziana Nicula. At President Barack Obama’s Inauguration, Shakira was interviewed about the album. She comfirmed to have recorded duets with: Madonna, Calle 13, Wyclef Jean, and Nelly Furtado. This exclusive news took many fans by surprise. The album is said to be released March 17, 2009.

Source [ Wikipedia ]