Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (/ʃəˈkɪərə/ shə-KEER-ə, Spanish: [ʃaˈkiɾa isaˈβel meβaˈɾak riˈpol]; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. She has had a significant impact on the musical landscape of Latin America and has been credited with popularizing Hispanophone music on a global level. The recipient of various accolades, she has won four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards, including three Song of the Year wins.
Shakira made her recording debut with Sony Music Colombia at the age of 14. Following the commercial failure of her first two albums, Magia (1991) and Peligro (1993), she rose to prominence with the next two, Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). Shakira entered the English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry Service (2001), which sold over 15 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album of all time 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-language albums Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005), She Wolf (2009), and Shakira (2014) received platinum certifications in various countries worldwide.
Shakira scored numerous number-one singles and other top songs worldwide, including "Estoy Aquí", "Ciega, Sordomuda", "Ojos Así", "Whenever, Wherever", "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", "Te Felicito", "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", and "TQG". Shakira served as a coach on two seasons of the American singing competition television series The Voice (2013–2014), had a voice role in the animated film Zootopia (2016), and executive produced and judged the dance competition series Dancing with Myself (2022).
With over 125 million records sold worldwide, Shakira is one of the world's best-selling musicians. Noted to be a "global phenom" whose impact has "reached every corner of the world", Shakira has been described as an "artistic link between the west and the east" for popularizing Middle Eastern sounds in the West, and western sounds in the East (mainly the Middle East). She is credited with opening the doors of the international market for other Latin artists. Billboard named her the Top Female Latin Artist of the Decade twice (2000s and 2010s). For her philanthropic work with her Barefoot Foundation and her contributions to music, she received the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year awards in 2011. Shakira was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in the United States in 2011, and Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 2012.
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her name means "thankful" in Arabic. She is the only child of William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado. Her family is of Spanish and Lebanese descent. Shakira's great-grandmother on her father’s side emigrated to Sincelejo, Colombia from Lebanon. After establishing in Colombia, Shakira's grandmother was born, who gave birth to Shakira's father, William, in New York City. When he was around five, his family moved back to Colombia. Shakira's grandfather on her mother’s side, Tomás Eduardo Ripoll, was born in Barranquilla whereas her grandmother, Josefina Torrado Núñez, was born in Ábrego. The Spanish surnameTorrado of her grandmother on her mother's side is Catalan and originates from four brothers who immigrated from Catalonia to coastal Colombia in the 19th century. She has also stated that she has distant Italian roots through an ancestor with the surname "Pisciotti". She was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She has eight older half-siblings from her father's previous marriage. Shakira spent much of her youth in Barranquilla, a city located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia.
Shakira 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 age seven, and has continued writing poetry since then. These poems eventually evolved into songs. When Shakira was two years old, her older half-brother was killed, at the age of nineteen, in a motorcycle accident; six years later, at age 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.
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 Middle-Eastern music and which typically accompanied belly dancing. 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". At school, she was often sent out of the class because of her hyperactivity. 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. "That's how I discovered my passion for live performance," she says. 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."
Between the ages of ten and thirteen, Shakira was invited to various events in Barranquilla and gained some recognition in the area. 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 Music 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 Music Colombia 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 Music 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.
Shakira's debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music Entertainment (Colombia) from 1990, when she was only 13 years old. The songs are a collection composed by her since she was eight and by others, mixed pop-rock ballads and disco uptempo songs with electronic accompaniment and some live musicians. The album was released in June 1991 and featured "Magia" (provided with a music video, as was "Sueños") 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 in Colombia. After the poor performance of Magia, Shakira's label urged her to return to the studio to release a follow-up record. 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 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.
Shakira's second studio album, titled Peligro, was released in March 1993. More developed than Magia, it lists many musicians who participated in the recordings, has fuller sound and features a video for "Tú Serás la Historia de Mi Vida". 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. Of the eighteen songs presented on Magia and Peligro, nine were written by Shakira. In her later work, Shakira generally did not refer to or perform songs from the first two albums. From 1994 to 1997, Shakira starred in the Colombian TV series El Oasis, loosely based on the 1985 Armero tragedy.
Shakira originally recorded her song "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?" (later included on her album Pies Descalzos) for the compilation album Nuestro Rock Volumen II, released in Colombia in 1994.
Having been moved up in her class work ahead of her age, Shakira graduated from secondary school when she was 15, but her professional involvement in music prevented her from continuing formal education. On starting her career so early, she later 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".
Recording for Shakira's third studio album and her international debut album, titled Pies Descalzos, started in February 1995, after the success of her song "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?". Its reception motivated the Sony Music Entertainment (Colombia) label to commission Shakira to produce a complete rock album. She did songwriting and recording with Luis Fernando Ochoa, her principal music collaborator for her next three albums: Pies Descalzos, The Remixes and Dónde Están los Ladrones?. Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones? are Shakira's most important albums. The Remixes, mostly Pies Descalzos music redone as dance pieces, is a highly popular album where Shakira showcases newly recorded songs and vocals, while Ochoa demonstrates his instrument playing and music production skills. DJ Memê (Marcello Mansur), Pablo Florez and Javier Garza remixed many of the songs. With Pies Descalzos, Shakira began using musical influences from a number of world regions and genres, the trend she continued and cultivated later in her career.
The Pies Descalzos album was released in October 1995. It 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. Pies Descalzos achieved top ranking in eight countries, and in August 1996 RIAA certified the album platinum status in the U.S.
Of the eleven songs on Pies Descalzos album, all list Shakira as the first author and Luis F. Ochoa as the second one; the same is true regarding the twelve tracks on The Remixes. Pies Descalzos lists Ochoa as the "music and artistic producer".
In October 1995, Shakira commenced her first international tour, named simply Tour Pies Descalzos. The tour consisted of 112 shows and went on for two years. Among Shakira's remarkable recorded stage performances of that era are the initial 6 October 1995 Concierto de Lanzamiento de Pies Descalzos in Bogotá, Colombia, the 22 November 1996 Tour Pies Descalzos concert at Mexico City's Auditorio Nacional attended by 10,000 spectators, and the 1997 Viña del Mar International Song Festival concert in Chile. Ochoa was responsible for musical and artistic production during the tour, with Shakira's co-production. Besides singing, dancing and speaking to the assembled (she values communications very highly and has said that her most important treasure is "words"), Shakira played the guitar and, prominently at that time, harmonica. Shakira's singing and movements reflected an "angry-young-woman-rock attitude", enthusiastically applauded by her audiences. "Vuelve" was the opening rock anthem salvo at concerts of the tour.
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. Pies Descalzos eventually sold over 5 million copies. Its success prompted the release of a remix album titled The Remixes, of which over one million were sold. The Remixes also included Portuguese language versions of "Estoy Aquí", "Un Poco de Amor" and "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos", which were recorded as a result of Shakira's success in the Brazilian market, where Pies Descalzos sold nearly one million copies. Even before becoming fluent in English, Shakira learned Portuguese and was able to converse with her hosts on her visits to Brazil. At 19, Shakira was the best-selling female pop rocker in Latin America. She was named a national cultural ambassador by the president of Colombia, a distinction she shares with the writer Gabriel García Márquez.
Her fourth studio album was titled Dónde Están los Ladrones? It was recorded at the Miami studio of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, produced by Shakira with Emilio Estefan as the executive producer, and released in September 1998. The album's name was inspired by an incident at an airport where a suitcase containing her written lyrics was stolen. Dónde Están los Ladrones? became an even bigger worldwide hit than Pies Descalzos. The album had 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 sold over 7 million copies worldwide 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: "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, but it was "Ojos Así", together with its Arabic connotations and a striking video, that had become a truly global hit. The song infused elements of Arabic pop.
Of the eleven songs on Dónde Están los Ladrones?, all were created primarily by Shakira again. Music of five was co-written by Ochoa and there were other music co-authors, except for "Moscas en la Casa" and "Que Vuelvas", which were written entirely by Shakira.
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. It also topped the Latin charts and sale statistics. Highly acclaimed by American critics, it is rated as one of her best live performances. (There is, however, a Sony Pictures DVD titled SHAKIRA – TOUR PIES DESCALZOS. It depicts Shakira's 1997 Festival Viña del Mar concert, also one of her finest moments.) In March 2000, Shakira embarked on her Tour Anfibio, a two-month tour of 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. MTV Unplugged became there the first in a series of albums that have earned Shakira an album Grammy.
Dónde Están los Ladrones? was a very effective presentation of Shakira's strong-willed persona and her self-analysis; it enhanced her already tremendous popularity with her female fans. A stage goddess who sang about heartbreak and alluded to government corruption with "intimate, rhapsodic lyrics", she became an "irreverent leader of [...] rockeras" in Latin America and among its diaspora. The two studio albums indicated the mutability of Shakira's artistic identity and, after MTV Unlugged, she was ready for a change.
Upon the success 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 unprecedented, among Latin American artists, potential for a "crossover" into the enormous 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. As Latin music sales were growing in the U.S. at twice the total industry rate, Tommy Mottola, head of Sony Music, referred to Shakira as an "absolutely brilliant artist" and predicted Latin music to be the global reservoir of talent in the future.
Shakira worked for over a year on new material for the album. "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 her first album intended for English-speaking audience and fifth studio album. The song took heavy influence from Andean music, including the charango and panpipes 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.
Shakira's 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. It had established, for the most part, 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.
The rock and Spanish dance-influenced album, created for the English-language market, gained mild critical success, with some critics claiming that Shakira's English skills were too weak for her to write songs in that language. Rolling Stone, for one, stated that "she sounds downright silly" or "Shakira's magic is lost in translation". A similar view was expressed by Elizabeth Mendez Berry in Vibe: "While her Spanish-language albums sparkled with elegant wordplay, this record is rife with cliches, both musically and lyrically. [...] For Anglophone Latin lovers, Shakira's lyrics are best left to the imagination." A reviewer form The Guardian took a broader view, however, noting that the critics need to be open-minded regarding the lyrical sensibilities of Spanish: "Ripoll (Shakira) is not struggling with the intricacies of English, just expressing herself in a singular and puzzling way. Good for her". Laundry Service had become the best-selling album of 2002 and eventually more than 15 million copies were sold worldwide. With the most successful album in Shakira's career, she was considered the biggest Latin female crossover artist in the world. In Chicago Tribune, journalist Joshua Klein, while not uncritical of aspects of Shakira's stagecraft as displayed at the United Center in January 2003, characterized her "international ascent" as "as multilateral, multicultural and cooperative as they come." Klein wrote of Shakira who dyed her dark hair blond, "enlisted Gloria Estefan's husband to help her with her crossover mission", and produced a "so resolutely middle-of-the-road" current batch of music. According to him, the singer emphasized theatrics over artistic integrity and craft, but she also "dedicated much of her set to her Spanish songs", "briefly played politics" and "played up her place as a girl-power icon". Shakira released four songs for Pepsi for her promotion in the English markets: "Ask for More", "Pide Más", "Knock on My Door", and "Pídeme el Sol".
In 2002, at Aerosmith's MTV Icon in April 2002, Shakira performed "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". Also in 2002, she joined Cher, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Anastacia, and the Dixie Chicks for VH1 Divas Live 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 the video. 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, she embarked on the Tour of the Mongoose and 61 shows took place by May 2003. The tour was also her first worldwide tour, as legs were played in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. In 2002, Shakira's label Sony Music Entertainment released her Spanish greatest-hits compilation, Grandes Éxitos. A CD and DVD live album, named Live & Off the Record, was released in 2004, and three million sets were sold worldwide. It commemorated the Tour of the Mongoose.
The initial idea was to translate the lyrics of Dónde Están los Ladrones? into English with the help of Gloria Estefan and publish it as an English language album. But as the language-talented and hard-working Shakira grew more comfortable with her English, she decided to create a new album from scratch. She worked on it for a year, secluded on the farm in Uruguay and at a rented house in the Bahamas.
As she 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".
Laundry Service, the "crossover" transition process and its manifestations created a rift among Shakira's followers. Some wanted her to remain an independent, outspoken and introspective diva they had worshiped, whereas others demanded that she conforms to the prevailing commercial standards of the music industry and its fashions. A "deeply racialized debate" ensued concerning the malleability and authenticity of the artist. The "tensions and conflicting desires between Latinx, Latin American and Anglo audiences" of Shakira had become apparent. 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". A fan wrote, "she's got to dye her hair blond and bare her body [...] to succeed in the United States".
Like other young foreign female artists in the U.S. music industry, "Shakira faced constant sexualization and exotification". Some have argued that the artist "exploited these tropizalizing tropes of Latinas, buying into collective fantasies for greater visibility". Shakira's "identity as a white, blonde Latina facilitated her explosive entry into the English-language market", writes Isabelia Herrera. "Her whiteness allowed her to play off and against these tropes, particularly through the mediums of movement and dance, furthering her ascent to the upper echelons of pop."
As for the political narrative about Latin artists success in the mainstream market ("cross-cultural exchange"), Herrera says it "is lauded as an antidote to political and social oppression". She concludes that "Laundry Service exhorts us to rethink the utility of the crossover narrative—who it is designed for and who it liberates, if anyone".
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.
The lead single from Shakira's sixth studio album, the Spanish Fijación Oral, vol. 1, named "La Tortura", was released in April 2005 and featured the Spanish balladeer Alejandro Sanz. For a record 25 weeks it remained on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. "La Tortura" reached number 23 on the Hot 100, number one in Spain and enjoyed high rankings across the world. Shakira and Sanz, who sang "La Tortura", and Daddy Yankee, were the first ever artists to perform Spanish language songs at the MTV Video Music Awards; it took place at the 2005 edition of the Awards in Miami.
Fijación Oral, vol. 1 became available in June 2005 and was very 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. Fijación Oral had thus become 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. After only a day of release in Latin America, the album earned certifications. In Venezuela, it earned a Platinum certification, in Colombia, a triple Platinum certification, while in Mexico demand exceeded shipments and the album was unavailable after only one day of release. It became a top album in Spain, Italy, Greece and Germany, and received high ratings in many other countries. Four other singles were also released from the album: "No", "Día de Enero", "La Pared", and "Las de la Intuición". Fijación Oral, vol. 1 has since sold over five million copies worldwide. On 8 February 2006, Shakira was granted her second Grammy Award with the win of Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album for Fijación Oral, vol. 1. She received four Latin Grammy Awards in November 2006, winning in the categories of Record of the Year, Song of the Year for "La Tortura", Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Fijación Oral, vol. 1.
Shakira's second English studio album and seventh studio album, Oral Fixation, vol. 2, was released in November 2005. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling 128,000 copies in its first week. It went on to sell 1.8 million records in the U.S. and over eight million copies worldwide.
The lead single for Oral Fixation, vol. 2, "Don't Bother", in the U.S. missed the top 40 on the Hot 100. It did, however, reach the top 20 in most countries worldwide. "Hips Don't Lie", which featured Wyclef Jean, was released as the album's second single in February 2006. It became Shakira's first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached number one in over 55 countries as well. Shakira and Wyclef Jean also recorded the "Hips Don't Lie - Bamboo" version. It was sung by them at the closing ceremony of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Shakira released the third and final single from the album, "Illegal", which featured Carlos Santana, in November 2006. She embarked on the Oral Fixation Tour. The tour consisted of 120 shows between June 2006 and December 2007; five continents were visited. In February 2007, Shakira performed for the first time at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and earned the nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean. Her third live album, Oral Fixation Tour, was released in November 2007. In 2006, Shakira was honored with the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award for her Fundación Pies Descalzos.
In late 2006, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz sang "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" as a duet; the song is featured on Sanz's album El Tren de los Momentos. "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No" was a top ten hit in Latin America and topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. Shakira also collaborated with Miguel Bosé on the duet "Si Tú No Vuelves", which was released in Bosé's album Papito. In early 2007, Shakira worked with American R&B singer Beyoncé on the track "Beautiful Liar", which was released as the second single from the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's album B'Day. In April 2007, the single jumped 91 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, from 94 to three, setting the record for the largest upward movement in the history of the chart at the time. It was also number one on the official UK Singles Chart. "Beautiful Liar" earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Shakira was also featured on Annie Lennox's song "Sing", from the album Songs of Mass Destruction, together with 23 other female singers. In late 2007, Shakira and Wyclef Jean recorded their second duet, "King and Queen". The song was featured on Wyclef Jean's 2007 album Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant.
Shakira wrote the lyrics, and jointly composed the music, for two new songs that are featured in the movie Love in the Time of Cholera, based on the novel of the same title written by Colombian author and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez. García Márquez himself asked Shakira to write the songs. The songs that Shakira provided for the soundtrack were a version of "Pienso en ti" from her breakthrough album Pies Descalzos, "Hay Amores", and "Despedida". "Despedida" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 65th Golden Globe Awards.
In early 2008, Forbes named Shakira the fourth top-earning female artist in the music industry. In July, Shakira signed a $300 million contract with Live Nation Entertainment, an international touring conglomerate, which was to remain in effect for ten years. According to the artist, the deal would encompass tours, recordings, sponsorship and merchandise worldwide. Her existing contract with Epic Records called for three more albums – one in English, one in Spanish, and a compilation, but the touring and other rights under the Live Nation contract were to begin immediately.
On 17 May 2008, before an audience of over 150,000 people, Shakira was one of the artists who performed at the ALAS Foundation charity concert in Buenos Aires. Invited by Alejandro Sanz, she led the presentation of his song "No es lo Mismo". Mercedes Sosa, Shakira and Pedro Aznar performed there a cover of Silvio Rodríguez's song "La Maza" On 18 January 2009, Shakira performed in Washington, D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial "We Are One" festivities in honor of the inauguration of President Barack Obama. She sang "Higher Ground" with Stevie Wonder and Usher. In June 2009, a studio recording of "La Maza" by Sosa featuring Shakira was featured on Sosa's album Cantora, un Viaje Íntimo.
In July 2009, Shakira released "She Wolf" as the lead single from an upcoming album with the same title. The single was a commercial success, receiving certifications in 17 countries. Shakira released her eighth studio and third (mostly) English album She Wolf in October 2009. The album received mainly positive reviews from critics. Mike Diver on BBC Review sees in it "perhaps the most enjoyably varied pop album of 2009" but detects "a greater sense of passion in songs playing out in her native tongue". Beyond the chart-conquering smashes, Shakira has "often explored some truly mind-boggling pop territories, deep-drilling for veins of inspiration absolutely alien to so many of her peers". "She Wolf" was included in AllMusic's year-end "Favorite Albums," "Favorite Latin Albums," and "Favorite Pop Albums" lists. It 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. It was certified double-platinum in Colombia and Mexico, platinum in Italy and Spain, and gold in numerous countries including France and the United Kingdom. The album sold 2 million copies worldwide, becoming one of Shakira's least successful studio albums to date in terms of sales. Four singles were released off the album: "She Wolf", "Did It Again", "Give It Up to Me", and "Gypsy". "Good Stuff" was released as the album's sole promotional single.
In 2010, Shakira collaborated with the South African band Freshlyground to create the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" is based on a Cameroonian folk-song called "Zangaléwa". With lyrics written in Fang and other languages, it was performed by the group Golden Sounds from Cameroon. The Golden Sounds' hit originated in turn from traditional Cameroonian soldiers' marching chant. Released on 7 May 2010, "Waka Waka" was then performed by Shakira at the World Cup kick-off and closing. According to her, the FIFA World Cup "represents an event that has the power to unite and integrate, and that's what this song is about". The "Waka Waka" single reached the top 20 in countries of Europe, South America and Africa and the top 40 in the U.S. "Waka Waka" sold more than four million copies worldwide and became the biggest-selling World Cup song of all time.
For her involvement with the World Cup related campaigns and other philanthropic work, Shakira received the 2010 Free Your Mind MTV award. On that occasion, she thanked "all the people around the world who joined me with the Waka Waka and who danced for the cause of promoting universal education so that millions of children living in the developing world can have a chance at their own dreams."
In October 2010, Shakira released Sale el Sol, her ninth studio album. It received critical acclaim and was included in AllMusic's "Favorite Albums of 2010" and "Favorite Latin Albums of 2010" year-end lists. At the 2011 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony, Sale el Sol was nominated for "Album of the Year" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Album", winning the award in the latter category. Commercially, the album was a success throughout Europe and Latin America. Sale el Sol peaked atop the charts of Belgium, Croatia, France, Mexico, Portugal, and Spain. In the United States, it debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, marking the highest debut for a Latin album for the year; it was Shakira's fifth album to peak at number one in the Latin albums category. According to Billboard, 35% of its first-week sales were digital. The album peaked at number one on both the Top Latin Albums (remained number one there for twelve weeks) and Latin Pop Albums charts, due in part to strong digital sales. The lead single, "Loca", was number one in many countries. "Sale el Sol", "Rabiosa", "Antes de las Seis", and "Addicted to You" were also released as singles. Sale el Sol has sold ten million copies since its release.
In August 2011, Shakira participated in an episode of Dora the Explorer, animated TV series. A song off the episode titled "Todos Juntos" by Dora, featuring Shakira, was released with a music video. In September, Shakira embarked on The Sun Comes Out World Tour, in support of her two most recent albums. The tour visited countries in North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa with 107 shows in all. The tour was met with positive reactions from critics, who praised Shakira's stage presence and energy during her performances. In December 2011 Shakira released her fourth live album, Live from Paris. The album was promoted with the release of "Je l'aime à mourir" as a single.
On 9 November 2011, Shakira was honored as Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for her artistic achievements and philanthropic undertakings; she was the youngest of the musicians who had had received this distinction.At the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, she was showered with expressions of praise and numerous artists performed versions of her songs. She herself sang a cover of Joe Arroyo's "En Barranquilla Me Quedo", as a tribute to the singer who had died earlier that year. In early 2012, Shakira signed to Roc Nation as her management for the upcoming studio album. Shakira collaborated with rapper Pitbull for the song "Get It Started", which was slated to be the lead single from Pitbull's 2012 album Global Warming. The single was released in June 2012. In September 2012, it was announced that Shakira and Usher would replace in March 2013 Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green as coaches for the fourth season of the U.S. TV show The Voice. Shakira served also on the sixth season of the vocal competition series. In January 2013 Ivete Sangalo released a single titled "Dançando", featuring Shakira, off her album Real Fantasia. In February 2013, Draco Rosa released "Blanca Mujer", a duet he sang with Shakira, as a promotional single.
Shakira originally intended to release a new album in 2012, but plans to release the single and video were postponed due to her pregnancy. In December 2013 it was announced that Shakira's new single ("Can't Remember to Forget You", a duet with Rihanna) would be issued in January 2014. Shakira, the artist's self-titled tenth studio album, was released in March 2014. Commercially, the album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 85,000 copies. Because of that, Shakira became the singer's highest-charting album on Billboard 200, although it also had her lowest first-week sales figure (for an English-language album). The album spawned three singles. After releasing "Can't Remember to Forget You" and "Empire", RCA chose "Dare (La La La)" as the third single. The song "Medicine" was released as a promotional single off the album. The World Cup version of "Dare (La La La)" was officially released at the end of May to impact radio stations; it features Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown. On 13 July 2014, Shakira performed "La La La (Brazil 2014)" with Carlinhos Brown at the 2014 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It was her third consecutive appearance at a FIFA World Cup.
Shakira's work on her eleventh studio album, the mostly Spanish El Dorado, had been in progress from the latter part of 2015. Among her other projects was starring as a voice actress in the 2016 animated movie Zootopia. She voiced a character named Gazelle and sang a song titled "Try Everything". In May 2016, she collaborated with Colombian singer Carlos Vives on the track "La Bicicleta", which subsequently won the Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. On 28 October 2016, Shakira released the single "Chantaje" with Colombian singer Maluma; the song was a track from the upcoming El Dorado. It became Shakira's most-viewed YouTube video, with over 2.1 billion views as of 1 June 2018. Maluma had previously produced a remix to "La Bicicleta". Shakira was featured on the single "Comme moi" by French rapper Black M. "Comme moi" and its English version were also included on El Dorado. On 7 April 2017, Shakira released the song "Me Enamoré" as the second official single from El Dorado. The El Dorado album was issued on 26 May 2017. The song "Perro Fiel" featured American singer Nicky Jam. Its official release as El Dorado's third single took place on 15 September 2017, the same date its music video, filmed in Barcelona, was premiered. Before being released as a single, "Perro Fiel" was already certified gold in Spain.
In January 2018, Shakira won her third Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for El Dorado; it made her the only female Latin artist to have done so. The album also earned her a top Latin Grammy and she was recognized by a number of other prizes. With El Dorado, she had received thirteen Grammys overall, including ten Latin Grammys. She released "Trap", the fourth single off the album and her second collaboration with Maluma.
The El Dorado World Tour was announced on 27 June 2017. The European and U.S.–Canada dates were published; the Latin American dates were to be announced later. It was to be sponsored by Rakuten. Other announced partners of the tour were Live Nation Entertainment's Global Touring Division (which had previously collaborated with Shakira on her The Sun Comes Out World Tour and which would "produce" the present tour) and Citi, which facilitated the pre-sale of tickets through its Private Pass program.
The tour was scheduled to begin on 8 November, in Cologne, Germany, but due to "strained vocal cords" related problems the singer experienced during rehearsals (she became unable to sing), the date was cancelled one day before the concert and it was announced that it would be rescheduled. On 9 November, for the same reason, she announced the postponements to later dates, to be announced, of the shows in Paris, Antwerp and Amsterdam. On 14 November Shakira let her fans know, through her social networks, that she had suffered a haemorrhage on her right vocal cord in late October and she needed to rest her voice for some time to recover. The tour's entire European itinerary had to be delayed until 2018.
In January 2018, Shakira announced new dates for the El Dorado World Tour. The first leg of the tour, in Europe, started in Hamburg on 3 June. The same month, she released a collaboration with Maluma titled "Clandestino" as a standalone single. The European leg of the tour ended in Barcelona on 7 July. After the performances in Asia on 11 and 13 July, the tour was continued in North America. It started on 3 August in Chicago and finished in San Francisco on 7 September. The Latin America shows started in Mexico City on 11 October. Also in October, Shakira was featured on a remix of Camilo and Pedro Capó's single "Tutu". The El Dorado World Tour finished in Bogotá, Colombia on 3 November. A total of 54 concerts took place. At the age of forty one (some had already spoken of her "longevity" as a headline artist), Shakira did stage performances, with all her dancing, running and jumping, largely by herself, without back-up dancers. On 3 November 2018, "Nada" was released as the fifth and final single off El Dorado. Shakira released her fifth live album, Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour, in November 2019. It was her first album available as digital download only. Forbes ranked her among the world's highest-paid women in music in 2019, at number 10. In January 2020, she released "Me Gusta", a collaboration with Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA.
On 2 February 2020, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez performed at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. According to Billboard, the halftime show had a viewership of 103 million people, while 102 million watched the game itself. On YouTube, it was the most viewed halftime show by that time. Shakira and Lopez appeared again in the finale of the event, singing jointly Waka Waka. In May and June, Shakira participated in two television specials performing her songs during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II (with "Try Everything") and Global Goal: Unite for Our Future (with "Sale el Sol"). In December 2020, Shakira teamed up with Black Eyed Peas on the single "Girl Like Me", written as a tribute to Latin women.
In January 2021, Shakira sold her catalog of 145 songs (publishing rights) to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. As the COVID-19 pandemic largely eliminated live performance earnings for top musicians, a number of them, beginning with Bob Dylan, sold their catalogues of songs, and Shakira followed that trend. On 16 July 2021, she released a single titled "Don't Wait Up".
On 21 April 2022, Shakira released the song "Te Felicito" with singer Rauw Alejandro, as the lead single of her upcoming but at that time yet unnamed twelfth studio album, the all-Spanish Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. On 19 May, she was granted the Special International Award with Apple Music at the British Ivors Academy's Ivor Novello Awards, for her accomplishments as a songwriter and musician. During the 67th annual edition of "The Ivors", 21 composers in 14 categories were recognized. On 31 May, the dance competition show Dancing with Myself, on which Shakira served as an executive producer and judge, alongside Liza Koshy and Nick Jonas, premiered on NBC. The series was cancelled after one season. In June, the song "Don't You Worry" by Shakira, Black Eyed Peas and David Guetta, was released. In October, "Monotonía", Shakira's collaboration with Ozuna, was released as the second single of her forthcoming album. In "Monotonía", the "heartbreak" song and video, Shakira deals with the pain she incurred upon the breakup of her relationship with her partner and father of her children, Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué. In November, Shakira and Alejandro were nominated for Record of the Year with "Te Felicito" at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
On 11 January 2023, the single "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" was released, a collaboration with Argentine DJ Bizarrap. The song reached number one in 16 countries, achieved 14 Guinness World Records, and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Shakira's fifth top-ten in the U.S. and her first in over 15 years, since "Beautiful Liar" (2007). She became the first woman in U.S. history to debut a Spanish language track in top-ten of the chart. The song reached number two on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excluding U.S. charts. "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" is a diss track aimed at Shakira's ex-partner, Gerard Piqué. Its lyrics are direct and explicit to the degree not found in Shakira's earlier work or in pop music in general. She characterized the role of this song-making process for her as catharsis, relief and healing. The lyrics, music and visual productions of "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" are strongly influenced by the hip-hop genre of art. The song achieved record-breaking success on streaming services, and had a measurable cultural impact.
On 24 February 2023, the single ″TQG″ by Karol G and Shakira was released. It became Shakira's sixth top-ten, second top-ten of 2023, and highest-debuting single in the U.S. at number 7. It broke the Guinness World Record for the highest-charting Spanish language track by a woman in the U.S. The song debuted atop the Global 200, becoming both her and Karol G's first number one. Shakira released "Acróstico" on 11 May as the fifth single from her upcoming album. A second version of the song, featuring vocals from her children Milan and Sasha, was released three days later. In June, "Copa Vacía" with Colombian singer Manuel Turizo followed as the next single of the record. On 29 July 2023, Shakira became the first woman in history to occupy the top three spots on the Latin Pop Airplay chart with "TQG" at the summit, "Acróstico" at number two and "Copa Vacía" at number three. In September, she released "El Jefe", a collaboration with American regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida, as the seventh single of her forthcoming album. According to Emma Harrison of Clash, "El Jefe" "pays tribute to the working class and their struggles as they aspire for a better life".
On 12 September, Shakira received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards and performed a medley of her hits as the recipient; she became the first South American artist to receive the accolade. At the 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, she received seven nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Shakira became the first artist in the award show's history to receive three nominations for Song of the Year in a single ceremony—with "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", "TQG", and "Acróstico". She won Song of the Year and Best Pop Song for "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53" and Best Urban/Fusion Performance for "TQG".
Shakira's twelfth studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, was released on 22 March 2024 through Sony Music Latin. According to a Billboard reviewer, the "Colombian hitmaker" is "vulnerable and raw" in "her most personal LP to date". Speaking of her first studio album in nearly seven years, after El Dorado (2017), Shakira called the creative process "alchemical" and that it turned her "tears into diamonds" and her "vulnerability into strength". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Variety writes of the singer who "solidified herself as a pillar of international pop stardom", "fully invests in these cross-genre marvels" and "makes a grand re-entrance into society after what she's openly called the 'darkest hours' of her life". Shakira "rejoices in the experimentation and liberation of the new school she helped build". According to a Clash writer, she "effortlessly turns pain into art", "combining latin, rock and hip-hop". Shakira's new album is "revelatory, raw but resplendent throughout"; it is a "fitting testimony to her strength and resilience". Rolling Stone noted that "in a crowded Latin music landscape, the international pop icon's first album in 7 years reaffirms her relevance and dominance". The New York Times wrote that the record continues Shakira's "career-long penchant for pulling together music and collaborators from across the Americas, dipping into rock, electro-pop, trap, Dominican bachata, Nigerian-style Afrobeats and regional Mexican cumbia and polka". "The she-wolf is all over this album. The she-wolf is what helped me rebuild myself", Shakira told the reporter, referring to the important symbolic concept of hers that goes back to the song of that name. Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran debuted at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard 200, with 34,000 album-equivalent units sold during its first week. It debuted atop the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts, making Shakira the first woman with number one albums across four decades on the Billboard Latin album charts. It was certified seven-times platinum (Latin) upon release.
"Puntería" with Cardi B was released as the eighth single in tandem with the album. It reached number one on the Latin Airplay chart and topped the Latin Pop Airplay chart for nine weeks. "(Entre Paréntesis)" with regional Mexican band Grupo Frontera was issued as the ninth and final single from the record, on 25 March. The song reached the summit of the Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay charts, extending Shakira's record as the woman with the most leaders on the former chart (23) and earning her first chart-topper on the latter. On 26 March, the day after she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Shakira conducted a free pop-up concert in New York's Times Square. The concert was announced only hours prior to its start but gathered an enthusiastic crowd estimated at 40,000. Shakira celebrated the release of Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, performing with her dancers and musicians "Hips Don't Lie" and songs from the new album.
On 12 April 2024, at Coachella Festival in California, Shakira joined Bizarrap onstage, to give, at his invitation, a surprise guest performance during his set. She sang their collaborations "La Fuerte" and "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53". She announced there the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, her first tour in over six years, in support of the album.
On 14 July, Shakira gave a performance at the 2024 Copa América final, Argentina vs. Colombia match, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It was the first such halftime show at a soccer championship game. Association football allows only 15 minute halftime breaks but this one had to be made longer because of Shakira's show. With an assembly of dancers, she sang "Hips Don't Lie", "Te Felicito", "TQG", and "Puntería".
By the fall, a variety of Latin tour ticket sales and concert records had been broken. Many large-venue shows across Latin America were quickly sold out. A number of new ones were added, especially in Mexico, where there were timing possibilities at the end of the Latin leg of the tour. Shakira expected the tour to be the greatest in her career. Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour was planned to begin in North America, but its U.S.–Canada part, originally scheduled for November and December 2024, was rescheduled to follow, rather than precede, the Latin American leg. The demand for larger stadium venues in the U.S. was given as the reason and many of the shows were rescheduled at locations different from originally intended. The first concert of the tour occurred on 11 February 2025 in Rio de Janeiro.
In September 2024, Shakira walked off stage mid-performance at the LIV Miami nightclub, reportedly after noticing fans filming up her dress. On 25 September, she released the single "Soltera". Topping the Latin Pop Airplay chart for seven weeks and reaching number two on Latin Airplay, it tied her with Enrique Iglesias for the most number ones on the former and third-most top-tens on the latter chart. Shakira received three nominations at the 25th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran and Song of the Year for "(Entre Paréntesis)". Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran has also been nominated for Best Latin Pop Album at the upcoming 67th Annual Grammy Awards. Shakira will reprise her voice role as Gazelle and write a new song for Zootopia 2, to be released in November 2025.
At the February 2025 Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Shakira, in final stages of preparations for her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album. She gave a performance and dedicated the award on stage to her "brothers and sisters", immigrants in the United States. At the Grammys she was accompanied by her sons, Milan and Sasha.
After Shakira's first tour concert at Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on 11 February, Ludmilla Correia of Billboard magazine noted that the artist made heavy investment in the tour and its equipment, including large scale realistic projections driven by artificial intelligence. Shakira, after her turbulent period, now shines with tranquility, Correia wrote, and during the show "seemed to be overflowing with joy, like a child". According to other Billboard writers, "The show is a display of innovation and technology, but also a doctrine of female empowerment, carrying a clear message that has been conveyed through Isabel, the she-wolf, in whom many people have found inspiration for strength and freedom."
To uplift women through the power of music and "empower her sisters this International Women's Day (8 March) and beyond", Shakira joined forces with Hard Rock International and they announced together on 27 February 2025 a year-long partnership. She also spoke of "breaking barriers and making the world a more inclusive space where every woman feels confident being themselves". The Hard Rock Heals Foundation declared donating $250,000 to Shakira's Pies Descalzos Foundation.
Shakira was hospitalized with an abdominal issue that made her cancel a show in Peru. She recovered and performed the following night, 17 February, in Lima. The concert scheduled for 24 February in Medellín, Colombia was cancelled, due to safety concerns over a faulty stage roof. As the string of tour disappointments continued, the show in Santiago, Chile on 2 March was called off because of stage production safety concerns. There were sold out concerts scheduled in Santiago for 2 March and 3 March, but the floor (ground) on which the 62 ton stage would be installed was found to be uneven and unstable. The missed performances were technically postponed and due to be rescheduled. The second Santiago show also had to be cancelled. Distressed Shakira wrote an emotional letter to her fans on social media. "Ladies and gentlemen who have kept me company for more than thirty years" – she invoked her followers.
According to a ¡Hola! magazine report (10 March 2025), Gerard Piqué "relocated to Miami" to be with his and Shakira's sons during her tour and was seen practicing football with them. The boys were then sent to South America to join their mom, who had reportedly stayed in Uruguay at the mansion of her other former partner, Antonio de la Rúa.
Shakira said that the cancellations in Chile and the resulting stress made her physically really sick and medical treatment was necessary before she was able to perform in Argentina. Three additional shows were scheduled in April in Santiago, Chile and two in Medellín, Colombia. They more than compensate for the lost performances there.
During an interview with Danielle Dithurbide on 27 March, almost three years after the end of Shakira's relationship with Piqué, the singer referred to her emotional state, saying "healing processes take many years" and "I’ve learned that you can feel joy even while carrying pain—while living with a wound that won’t quite heal". After additional concert dates in Mexico were announced in late March, the total number of completed and intended shows there increased to an unprecedented 22, higher than in any other country (21 tour concerts were scheduled in the United States as of 2 April). Shakira spoke of a more "intimate and profound" character of the tour now. The concerts are "deep encounters where healing happens", she says, and with each performance she feels "stronger and happier". Over the years 2025 and 2026, according to Billboard, after the Americas, Shakira plans to take her show to Europe, Asia and the Middle East, so that "her music, her story, and her legacy will resonate in every corner of the globe".
Shakira has been characterized as a "legacy artist". "The Colombian hitmaker", wrote the Billboard reviewers, "is intentional in her songwriting with raw lyrics, meticulous as a producer and an extraordinary performer bringing to life the songs that define not only her eras but those of women across generations." Her texts deal with women and their vulnerabilities.
In 2017, Deutsche Welle's journalist Kate Müser commented on Shakira's "globalized sound": "[her] Latin beats, spiced with Middle Eastern and other world elements and made comfortably familiar by being churned through the pop machine, make you feel like a citizen of the world". Müser quotes the Rolling Stone magazine's comparison of Shakira with her contemporaries and rivals, American female pop idols: "the stylistic breadth of Shakira's music - elements of folk, Middle Eastern and traditional Latin styles over a foundation of rock and pop - gave her a degree of credibility the American teen queens lacked". She writes, "[Shakira's] globalized sound could be a healthy escape [...] in times where national boundaries are being fiercely defended and cultural differences become points of contention".
In her early youth, Shakira was influenced by rock music, listening heavily to such bands as Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Nirvana, The Beatles, the Police, The Cure, and Aerosmith. "I was so in love with that rock sound" – she said. Her other influences included Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Janis Joplin, Marc Anthony, and Van Morrison. She cited Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" as the song that "kick started her passion for music". Shakira recalled her early convictions as follows: "There was no doubt for me, ever. Call it a premonition, call it an instinct. I was born to do this, to connect with a wide audience. The calling I have is the same reason why a dog barks. I always knew I would be a big performer and a public figure".
Shakira's orthodox rock skills were on display most prominently during her original Tour Pies Descalzos. Its 112 shows lasted for two years, from October 1995 to October 1997 (for example, the 1996 Tour Pies Descalzos concert at Mexico City's Auditorio Nacional and the Viña del Mar 1997 concert in Chile). Then during Tour Anfibio (2000), and then again, in different rock renditions, during the Tour of the Mongoose (2002–2003), of which the Rotterdam concert was published as the Live & off the Record record set.
Shakira's earlier albums, from "her black-haired rock era", Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones?, are primarily rock with elements of folk music. Pies Descalzos (1995), featuring assertive sound, "direct lyrics and personal aesthetic", utilizing aspects of dancehall, bossa nova and bachata among its styles, "put Shakira on the map internationally". The album's anthems are "Estoy Aquí", "Antología", "¿Dónde Estás Corazón?", "Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos", "Se Quiere, Se Mata", "Un Poco de Amor", "Te Necesito", "Quiero", "Vuelve", "Te Espero Sentada" (bossa nova), and "Pienso en Ti", sang at tour performances in an expanded version.
In Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998), Shakira "unleashes a maelstrom of infectious energy" with a mesmerizing voice of which there is no other, "a deep vibrato" that "leaves listeners spellbound". She displays her "bohemian rockera persona" and, through "powerful balladry" and "lyrical depth with incisive social commentary", demonstrates wisdom beyond her age. "Her songwriting shines throughout" on such tracks as "Ciega, Sordomuda", "Moscas en la Casa", "No Creo", "Inevitable", "Octavo Día", "Tú", "Si Te Vas", "Dónde Están los Ladrones?", or the closing "Ojos Así", famous for its "boundary-pushing musical fusion".
With her first mostly-English album, Laundry Service (2001), and later works, Shakira diversified into various pop music genres, pop rock and Latin pop. Laundry Service is a pop and rock album, impacted by other genres and styles. The singer credited this to her mixed ethnicity and background, 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." Shakira was the first Latin crossover artist who attained critical acclaim from the mainstream U.S rock press. She claimed that her motivation for entering the English-speaking market was strictly intellectual: being exposed to new cultures, building bridges, growing as a person. "I just feel that my playground is larger now. I now talk to different cultures and I hope that I can bridge those gaps and differences between us. It's an adventure, a dream... I feel like I'm on an anthropological mission"—she told Ted Kessler of The Observer in July 2002. On the day she spoke to him, Shakira had 18 interviews followed by other scheduled activities, which Kessler characterized as "promotional treadmill", even if "poetically romanticized" by the singer.
The Arabic music and Middle Eastern music elements exerted high influence on "Ojos Así" world hit from Dónde Están los Ladrones?. Its English version "Eyes Like Yours" was included on Laundry Service. Musical styles from different South American countries surface on the album. Tango, a style of fast-paced ballroom dance that originated in Argentina, Shakira sings in its rock version, "Objection (Tango)". The uptempo track features a bridge in which Shakira delivers "a genuinely peculiar rap". The Guardian reviewer Alexis Petridis marvels at Shakira's lyrics: "thought-provoking lines", "bewildering lyrical iceberg" and "non sequiturs so eccentric", all rendered with an unyielding conviction by "her powerful voice leaping octaves to add emphasis". He then sarcastically observes that "sniggering media pundits have suggested Ripoll (Shakira) can't actually understand what she is singing". The rock piece "Poem to a Horse" "mixes Nirvana-influenced guitars with a soul horn section to mind-boggling effect". Petridis finds Laundry Service's "ramshackle production and imponderable lyrics" to be "striking and unique".
Shakira said at that time, "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." She has been inspired by the music of Asia, and in particular by Indian music, which influenced her works, including dancing. Proud of her Arab ancestry, she told Portuguese TV, "Many of my movements belong to Arab culture." South American folk music and Andean music in particular have influenced her and she has used its native instrumentation, most notably in "Whenever, Wherever" / "Suerte", Shakira's grand anthem (its music was co-written by Tim Mitchell, English words by Gloria M. Estefan). In the song's videos the artist introduced "her signature iconic hip-swiveling dance moves" that she developed further in many live performances. Laundry Service also includes the dance-pop track "Ready for the Good Times", the ballad "The One, "Underneath Your Clothes", "Que Me Quedes Tú", and other songs.
According to Isabelia Herrera, the "Underneath Your Clothes" video "was the Colombian singer's self-aware introduction to Anglo audiences" and the intentionality of its beginning (the verbal exchange with the journalist who asks her to speak English) "was the crux for her metamorphosis into an international supernova". Herrera writes of Shakira's "inimitable warble" in her singing, that she excels "in her meditations on erotic power" and that "through power ballads and post-grunge vengeance, Shakira empties her body, harnessing anguish and devotion and tracing a blueprint for so many young people’s journeys of femme self-discovery". She calls Laundry Service "a formidable compendium of Shakira's sonic and corporeal world".
Laundry Service established "Shakira's legacy as a pop chameleon". Her later forays into different music genres "can be traced back to the hybrid vision initiated" on her "crossover" album.
The Spanish language Fijación Oral, vol. 1 (2005) features "La Tortura" with Alejandro Sanz and reggaeton beats. The popular song was played also on English language stations. The album consists mostly of pop songs. Besides "La Tortura", "No", "Día de Enero" and "Las de la Intuición were issued as singles. Music of the last highly melodic song was composed jointly by Shakira and Luis Fernando Ochoa. There is also "La Pared" in two versions and the ballad "Día Especial". The classic "Obtener un Sí" is a tribute to traditional bossa nova.
The English Oral Fixation, vol. 2 (2005), a sister album, followed and brought Shakira back "into mainstream pop and rock". The outstanding and most successful song of the set is "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean. It mixes salsa with reggaeton and cumbia and utilizes a sample by Jerry Rivera. "Don't Bother" represents continuity of Shakira's work with guitar rock, while "Illegal" brings collaboration with Carlos Santana. She explores, as usual, "new musical territories", also on other tracks of the record. Several of the songs represent "off the beaten path", unconventional but striking pop/rock, with the sometimes underappreciated Shakira's English lyrics, for example "How Do You Do", "Costume Makes the Clown", or "Animal City". The last piece comes with music co-written by Luis F. Ochoa and includes an intriguing contraposition of rock guitars and Latin brass, utilized among other seemingly disparate musical elements. Music for the ballad "Something" was also co-written by Ochoa. Cabaret-like sounding "Hey You" and the romantic ballad "Your Embrace" have music co-written by Tim Mitchell. The music of the ballad "Dreams for Plans" was co-written by Brendan Buckley. The lyrics and music of the protest song "Timor" are by Shakira alone. The whole album was produced by Shakira.
She Wolf (2009) is primarily an electropop album that contains, in the first place, the "She Wolf" celebrated anthem and its Spanish equivalent "Loba". With its electronic, clubby sound, the album contrasts sharply with the music Shakira had released before. It combines influences from musical styles of various countries and regions such as Africa, Colombia, India, and the Middle East, as Shakira says she "always try to experiment with sounds from other parts of the world". She aimed at club-oriented dance music, electronic pop with strong basslines and harder sounds. The English and Spanish versions of the "She Wolf" song came with videos, in which the 32-year-old singer proffers a "more unabashedly sexed-up presentation". The Billboard reviewer writes of "a bluntness to her urges only hinted at in her previous work". According to Shakira, "She Wolf" represents her being "a little more in touch with my desires and a little more empowered or encouraged to satisfy those desires and set them free. It's something that just comes with time. I probably would not have written a song like this when I was 20". This time around she wanted to write with "a little less prudeness" and "make an album that people could just have fun with". As for the She-wolf character, Shakira says "I think people are craving fantasy". She termed She Wolf a "sonic experimental trip" and said she researched folk music from different countries in order to "combine electronics with world sounds, tambourines, clarinets, oriental and Hindu music, dancehall, etc". Among the songs on the record, there is "Good Stuff", the Spanish in character "Años Luz" or "Why Wait", "Did It Again" or "Lo Hecho Está Hecho", and "Men in This Town", which possibly epitomizes the intended club dance spirit of the album.
Shakira's next album, the mostly Spanish Sale el Sol (2010), was meant to be a return to her beginnings and, accordingly, is very different from its predecessor. It contains ballads, rock songs, and Latin dance songs. Reggaeton, merengue and cumbia are among the styles utilized in the eclectic album. The English and Spanish versions of the previously released Waka Waka were included. Shakira collaborates with El Cata on "Loca", with Pitbull on "Rabiosa" and with Residente on "Gordita". Residente raps about "liking Shakira better when she was chubbier, had dark hair and was a rockera" (she was visibly "chubbier" when she was 18, at the time of her 1995 Concierto de Lanzamiento de Pies Descalzos in Bogotá).
Sale el Sol opens with a melodic rock "Sale el Sol" song written by Shakira and L.F. Ochoa. The ballad "Antes de las Seis" Shakira composed with Lester Mendez. Merengue pop "Addicted to You", despite its title, is sung mostly in Spanish. The sorrowful ballad "Lo Que Más" is the work of Shakira and Albert Menéndez. "Islands" is Shakira's cover of the song of the same name by the xx.
With the Shakira (2014) album, Shakira retreats, for the most part, into the mainstream pop/rock/adult contemporary/country music range. The best-known songs on the record are the ballad Empire, reggae rock "Can't Remember to Forget You" featuring Rihanna (or sung by Shakira alone as "Nunca Me Acuerdo de Olvidarte"), and "Dare (La La La)", a version of which was a theme song for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. "Chasing Shadows" has been called "a sublime electro-pop moment". The country pop song "Medicine" features Blake Shelton.
El Dorado (2017), named after the City of Gold envisioned by the Muisca people of Colombia, "shines with resounding versatility and cultural pride" and provides the listener with "a rich musical treasure trove". Among the album's hits are the reggaeton "Chantaje" with Maluma and vallenato "La Bicicleta" with Carlos Vives. Shakira utilizes the styles of música urbana. "Me Enamoré" refers to Shakira's love for Gerard Piqué back then and it starkly contrasts with the narrative of her next album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. In "Toneladas", a ballad written with Luis Fernando Ochoa, Shakira "highlights her emotive prowess" being happy with "toneladas masivas de amor" (massive tons of love). "Deja Vu", "a sensual bachata fusion", features Prince Royce. According to the Billboard reviewers, however, the message of the song "When a Woman" contrasts with the empowering essence of Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran sharply and in an unsettling way.
There are many melodic items in this set. The ballad "Nada" was composed by Shakira and L.F. Ochoa. "Amarillo" was also written by them. The reggaeton "Perro Fiel" features Nicky Jam. Shakira sings "Trap" with Maluma. The stylistically unique, nostalgic "Comme moi" is given in two versions. Black M sings and raps in French in one (this one comes with a video), and MAGIC! in English in the other.
Being "dragged down" by her partner Gerard Piqué, as Shakira tells it, it took her seven years before her next album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (March 2024), was released. Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, a rich collection of 16 songs, was born out of their breakup and associated Shakira's emotions. "In a stunning transformation", the artist turned her pain into musical gold, one of her most acclaimed creations. She utilizes a variety of moods and genres, including Afrobeats in "Nassau, "soul-stirring" bachata in "Monotonía", or Tex-Mex rhythms in "(Entre Paréntesis)". "Cómo Dónde y Cuándo" is "a stellar revival" of Shakira's rock roots.
Shakira, describing herself as being in a survival and reflection stage, "celebrates the strength of womanhood". As she continues "to craft melodies and lyrics that evoke pain, passion and allure", she sings by herself in such tracks as "Tiempo Sin Verte" and "Última", or collaborates with Cardi B, Karol G, Ozuna, Grupo Frontera, Rauw Alejandro, or Bizarrap, with whom, most famously, she produced "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53, the "wildly unapologetic kiss-off" to her ex. Las Mujeres features two versions of "Vol. 53". The song's video shows Shakira and Bizarrap performing in the studio. At Times Square, the Tiësto remix was used with her singing and dancing.
In the opening electropop "Puntería", Shakira sings, Cardi B sings and raps, and the action in the video takes place in a mythological setting. "La Fuerte" is another electropop piece done with Bizarrap. The pop rock "Tiempo Sin Verte" is a "punchy alternative track fused with subtle dance melodies", in which Shakira "chants in her potent rockera vocals". "Cohete", a brilliant, pulsating dance-pop pearl with "a futuristic allure", she sings with Rauw Alejandro. The piano ballad "Última" was the last song that Shakira insisted on adding to the album. She wanted to tell "about coming to terms with the end of her relationship and leaving the past behind". The video for the track was done on a cold day in New York City subway system. "Te Felicito" was the first single released by Shakira for her planned album. Another collaboration with Rauw Alejandro, this reggaeton electropop song "sets the tone for Shakira's no-holds-barred attitude" with respect to her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran lyrics. The reggaeton hit "TQG" and the video Shakira recorded with Karol G; its "fierce and unapologetic" lyrics were motivated by their comparable personal experiences. The "Acróstico" ballad is "a heartfelt, yet poignant open letter from Shakira to her two children". Milan and Sasha sing and play the piano alongside their mother. "Copa Vacía", another reggaeton track sung with Manuel Turizo, is known for its Shakira-mermaid video. "El Jefe" and its video were recorded with regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida. According to Shakira, "it's about abuse of power".
In September 2024, Shakira released the lively, Afrobeats-influenced "Soltera" song. Focused at this point on her sons and career, she extols the virtues and pleasures of living without a male partner. The song was followed in October with its video, which "is all about a carefree night out with friends", mostly Shakira's fellow female celebrities.
Next to performing music, Shakira is dedicated to dancing. She credits her belly dance-derived dancing with helping her overcome shyness. Her distinctive style is said to combine Latin dancing with Middle Eastern belly dance, which she was exposed to because of her Lebanese heritage. As Shakira said, "because my father is of 100 percent Lebanese descent, I am devoted to Arabic tastes and sounds". She told MTV that she learned how to belly dance by trying to flip a coin with her belly. Her hip shaking is mentioned, for example, in Fifth Harmony's "Brave Honest Beautiful" song, where the girl group members claim they can "dance like Beyoncé" and "shake like Shakira".
In her earlier live performances, Shakira was noted for usually employing minimal production, taking to the stage with little makeup and, until and including the El Dorado World Tour, without or with few background dancers. She preferred to focus on her vocals, dance moves, and stage presence. She confessed, however, to "getting lost in a cloud of hairdressers, make-up artists and assistants" for years, but declared "reclaiming her image" and doing her own make-up now (2006).
Shakira had repeatedly spoken of being a "control freak", wanting to do and be involved with "everything" on "her ship" by herself. "So I get involved in every part of my career. I'm in total control. Sometimes I feel like my mind is going to explode, but I can't change it. I've tried to delegate, but believe me, it doesn't work". On being a perfectionist, she said, "I'm not as confident as people think". [...] "I still have that monster inside of me that wants to do everything better and right".
The stage has been the one and only place of public exposure where Shakira feels uninhibited. She greatly enjoys performing before large gatherings, but feels uncomfortable when the number of spectators is small. "The stage and crowd and lights and applause of the people dress me. Once you take that away and you’re there with your voice—it’s such a private, intimate act, the one of singing and exposing your soul."
Beginning in her twenties, Shakira dyed her black hair blond (first) and often performed barefoot (later). For her light-dyed hair (on account of which she has been called a "sellout"), she gave an interviewer the following explanation: "But it wasn’t a calculated move. It wasn’t like, Oh, I want to reach the American audience—let me be blonde and let me get a pair of blue contact lenses and bleach my skin. I didn’t want to be white. I just thought my curls looked cool with a blonde, beachy style". Between Shakira's MTV Unplugged (1999) and Roseland Ballroom (2001) Manhattan shows, her stage appearance and style changed dramatically. To Ted Kessler of The Observer (2002), Shakira "did look like a Latino Britney", with her "all bleached blonde curls" and a "tiny 5ft frame", "but as soon as she opened her mouth, she slipped into gear and motored powerfully past Britney's breathy bump'n'grind".
Music industry executive and artist manager Merck Mercuriadis praised Shakira's songwriting footprint, saying "what no one should ever take for granted is that she is one of the most serious and successful songwriters of the last 25 years, having written or co-written virtually every song she has ever recorded". Isabelia Herrera, a music editor, critic and curator, wrote of Shakira's "fascinating, idiosyncratic songwriting". Shakira has written several hundred songs, of which at least several dozen have become widely known hits.
Shakira is a contralto and is known for her "unique and mesmerizing" singing voice, which includes her "trademark" yodeling. Ted Kessler described her as having "the range of an operatic diva".
Professional guitar technician Drew Foppe, who has worked with Shakira on several of her tours, spoke on her instrument playing and competence: "She can play the guitar just fine. She plays both acoustic and electric guitars on stage. There really isn't anything that happens on stage that she isn't in complete control over, from the tones, arrangements, and the overall look of everything. It's her baby, so to speak. She isn't really a gear nerd. However, she knows exactly what she wants things to sound like from every single instrument on stage. [...] The aesthetics of how a piece of gear looks is just as important as how it sounds with Shakira."
In her pre-Laundry Service rock performances, Shakira also played harmonica extensively.
Shakira is a prominent figure in Latin and world music. Steve Huey of AllMusic described her (22 November 2009) as a "wildly inventive diva who created a cross-cultural pop sound rooted in her native Colombia but encompassing nearly every territory in the world. [...] Noted for her aggressive, rock-influenced approach, Shakira maintained an extraordinary degree of creative control over her music, especially for a female artist; she wrote or co-wrote nearly all of her own material, and in the process gained a reputation as one of Latin music's most ambitiously poetic lyricists. When she released her first English material in late 2001, she became an instant pop sensation, thanks to her quirky poetic sense and a sexy video image built on her hip-shaking belly dance moves."
Fiona Sturges of The Independent named Shakira an "international phenomenon". "At the MTV Europe Awards in November" (2005), she wrote, (Shakira) "was the winner of the Best Female award, seeing off rivals Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey". The New York Times (2018) called her "a titan of Latin Pop", adding that "even as a new generation of Spanish-speaking artists are crossing over into American music's mainstream, Shakira's output stands alone". As the newspaper noted, "the seemingly ageless singer-songwriter" had produced, over almost three decades, rock, pop, and reggaeton. In January 2021, Merck Mercuriadis of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which bought Shakira's song rights, hailed her, like many others had, as the "Queen of Latin Music". He stressed her role as "one of the most serious and successful songwriters of the last 25 years, having written or co-written virtually every song she has ever recorded".
Shakira's global success differs from that achieved by other famous Latino singers such as Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan or Enrique Iglesias, because it has been accomplished by a star who grew up in South America, the first one of this type to crossover globally. "It was difficult for Anglo critics to decipher the differences between Latin Americans and U.S.-born Latinos, who grew up speaking and writing in English." Shakita's unprecedented expansion has inspired other Latin American artists to attempt crossing over into the U.S. music market. One example is Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio, of whom MTV wrote "there's no question that Shakira opened doors in this country for artists like Rubio to succeed". Likewise, Spin credits Shakira for having paved the way for such Latin artists as Maluma and J Balvin to crossover. In September 2017, Time magazine referred to Shakira as a "pop legend". In December 2020, Entertainment Tonight perceived Shakira as "one of the most influential artists of the 21st century". Shakira has been called "the crossover queen" by The Economist, "the queen of the World Cup" by Billboard, and "Latin America's pop queen" by Pitchfork. Billboard has noted that Shakira's music videos have "redefined the role of dancing in music videos", while seeing her as the best Latin female music video artist of all time. The Middle Eastern newspaper El Correo del Golfo credits Shakira with "having opened the way" for several Hispanic singers today.
The authors of Reggaeton, published by Duke University Press, credited Shakira for popularizing the reggaeton genre in North America, Europe, and Asia, The Public Broadcasting Service called her one of the three "most successful artists of the so-called Golden Age of Latin Music which reshaped America's cultural landscape for the twenty-first century". Alongside her impact on Latin and mainstream popular culture, Shakira has also influenced popular culture in the Arab world due to her popularity in the region. In a publication titled Popular Culture in the Arab World: Arts, Politics, and the Media, author Andrew Hammond credits Shakira for impacting the images of Arab pop stars such as Moroccan Samira Said and Lebanese Nawal El Zoghbi, saying "(they) have shifted their image and sound in attempt to follow in her (Shakira's) footsteps".
In 1999 Shakira's MTV Unplugged became the program's first episode to be broadcast entirely in Spanish. The concert is also noted to be the first time a Latin pop act attempted an Unplugged, as well as the first Latina solo act to do so. In 2001 Shakira's "Whenever Wherever" music video was aired on MTV with both the English and Spanish versions. According to a spokesman for the channel, this is noted as "the first time that U.S. MTV has aired a Spanish-language video". Following Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" by five months, "La Tortura" was one of the first full Spanish-language music videos to air on MTV without an English version. In 2005, Sanz and Shakira performed "La Tortura" at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2006 "Hips Don't Lie" was selected as one of the greatest songs by 21st century female artists by National Public Radio, ranked at number 65. "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" was named by Billboard the best and most commercially successful World Cup song. Published by the US Bureau of International Information Programs, the journal Global Issues (2006) cited Shakira as an example of a celebrity "in today's globalized world" who "made it big by sharing the uniqueness of their talent and culture with the global community". In 2020, The New Zealand Herald found Shakira's longevity in the industry "particularly impressive given her ability to breach the lines of crossover, a feat not many artists have been able to achieve". A similar remark was made by Paper magazine, when writing about Shakira's longevity and her being one of the few pre-digital era artists to successfully crack the digital-streaming era of music, penning "[Shakira] is a titan in the digital era of music where she devours billions of streams with her catalog".
In 2010, Google revealed that Shakira was the most searched female entertainer of the year. In 2020, Shakira was the most Googled musician of the year.
Many artists have cited Shakira as an influence, including Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber, Maluma, Ozuna, Ed Sheeran, Anitta, Cardi B, and many more. In December 2021 Shakira was named by Kiss FM as one of the most influential female artists of the 21st century highlighting her achievements in the international market.
Among intellectuals and writers who have admired Shakira counts, in the first place, the Colombian Nobel Prize winning novelist Gabriel García Márquez, who wrote in 1999 "no one of any age can sing or dance with the innocent sensuality Shakira seems to have invented". Márquez, who has become Shakira's friend, published an essay exalting her "phenomenal musical talent", and "extraordinary maturity".
The newspaper El Correo del Golfo wrote that Shakira was the greatest exponent of Middle Eastern music in the West, citing her interest in Arabic music and dance.
Her influence has transcended the boundaries of pop culture, that she has become a socio-political influencer, and was named as one of the "World's Greatest Leaders" of 2017 by Fortune. The Guardian has written an extensive article about Shakira's impact on Colombia's social change, specifically in education, and her ability to discuss this issue with world leaders like Barack Obama, and Gordon Brown. Similarly The Independent has described Shakira as a "living proof that pop and politics mix" further noting that through her efforts and influence she is able to have "the ears of the global political elite".
Shakira has received numerous awards and recognition for her work. She is the recipient of four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards—the second most for a female artist. Shakira has sold more than 95 million records worldwide, making her one of world's best-selling music artists. By the time she released Laundry Service in 2001, she have already sold 10 million albums in Latin America according to Billboard. Three of her albums are among the best-selling Latin albums in the United States: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (8th), Dónde Están los Ladrones? (9th) and Pies Descalzos (23rd); she is the female artist with the highest number of best-selling Latin albums in the country. Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 became the best-selling Latin pop album and the second best-selling Latin album overall of the 2000s in the U.S. Dónde Están los Ladrones? is also one of the best-selling albums in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico; as well as Pies Descalzos is one of the best-selling albums in Brazil and Colombia.
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems said that "Hips Don't Lie" was the most-played pop song in a single week in American radio history, being played 9,637 times in one week. This song makes Shakira the first artist in the history of the Billboard charts to reach the number-one spots on both the Top 40 Mainstream and a Latin chart in the same week. Additionally, she became the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, and the UK Singles Chart. Shakira is the female artist with most top-ten hits on the Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart (37). Her song "La Tortura" at one time held the chart's record for most weeks appearing at number-one, with a total of 25 non-consecutive weeks (this record is currently held by the Luis Fonsi song "Despacito" with 56 weeks). She is also the act with most number-one songs on the Latin Digital Song Sales chart (18) and the female artist with most number-one hits on the Latin Airplay chart (24).
Nokia stated in 2010, that there were more Shakira music downloads in the prior year than for any other Latino artist in the last five years, and She Wolf topped the Top 10 Latino downloads. In 2010, she was ranked number five on the 'Online Video's Most Viral Artists of 2010' with 404,118,932 views. In 2011, Shakira was honored at the Latin Grammys as Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, and by the Harvard Foundation as Cultural Rhythms Artist of the Year. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6270 Hollywood Blvd. Originally, she was to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004, but she turned the offer down. In 2012, she received the honor of Chevalier De L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2014, Shakira became the first musical act to perform three times at the FIFA World Cup. In the same year, Aleiodes shakirae, a new species of parasitic wasp was named after her because it causes its host to "shake and wiggle". Forbes ranked Shakira on their list of "Top 100 World's Most Powerful Women" at number 40 in 2012, at 52 in 2013, and at 58 in 2014. In 2015 Time recognized Shakira as one of the most influential people on social media. Shakira and Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were the only Latin influencers named on the list. More so, Time noted that Shakira has an "unparalleled platform" on social media where she promotes her philanthropy. In 2008, Shakira was named as the Honorary Chair of the Global Campaign for Education Global Action Week.
In 2018, Spotify included Shakira in the list of the top 10 most streamed female artists of the decade on the platform, making her the highest streamed Latin artist. In 2020, Shakira became the first female artist to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify, also marking her as the only artist with Spanish songs, the only Latin artist, and third overall after Michael Jackson and Eminem to achieve this milestone. In the same year, she broke the Vevo Certified Awards record, and set it at 37, becoming the artist with the most videos with over 100 million views. She is now worth $300 million.
In 2022, MTV included her in the list of "The Most Influential Women in the History of Music", being the only Latina on the list.
Shakira speaks Spanish, Portuguese, English, Italian, French, and Catalan.
Shakira has ventured into many other businesses and industries. She acted in the Colombian telenovela El Oasis beginnig in 1994, playing the character of Luisa Maria.
Shakira began her own beauty line, "S by Shakira", with parent company Puig, in 2010. Among the first perfumes it released included "S by Shakira" and "S by Shakira Eau Florale", along with lotions and body sprays. As of 2019, she has released 30 fragrances, not counting deluxe editions. On 17 September 2015, she was featured as a playable bird in the game Angry Birds POP! for a limited time, and also in a special tournament in the game Angry Birds Friends after a few weeks. On 15 October 2015, Love Rocks starring Shakira was the first video game that featured the pop star.
On 14 August 2015, at Disney's D23 Expo, it was announced that Shakira would play a character in the Disney animated movie Zootopia; in it, she would give voice to Gazelle, the biggest pop star in Zootopia. Shakira also contributed an original song to the film, titled "Try Everything", which was written and composed by Sia and Stargate. It opened to a record-breaking box office success in several countries and earned a worldwide gross of over $1 billion, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2016 and the 43rd highest-grossing film of all time. On 8 November 2024, Shakira announced that she will return as Gazelle for Zootopia 2, slated for release in 2025.
In December 2021, it was announced that Shakira will be an executive producer for Dancing with Myself, an NBC dance competition series that aired in 2022.
In 1997, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. It was funded by Shakira and other international groups and individuals. The name of the foundation was taken from Shakira's third studio album, Pies Descalzos, which she released in 1995. The foundation's main focus is on aid through education, and the organization has five schools across Colombia that provide education and meals for 4,000 children. On 27 April 2014 Shakira was honored with the Hero Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards for her Fundación Pies Descalzos work.
In 2005, Shakira became a founding member of Latin America in Solidarity Action (ALAS Foundation), a coalition of artists and business leaders seeking to promote integrated early childhood public policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2008, she served as the Honorary Chair of the Global Campaign for Education Global Action Week. Later, in 2010, she collaborated with the World Bank and the Barefoot Foundation to establish an initiative that distributes educational and developmental programs for children across Latin America.
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. In March 2010, she was awarded a medal by the UN International Labour Organization in recognition of being, as UN Labour Chief Juan Somavía put it, a "true ambassador for children and young people, for quality education and social justice". 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.
In the Spanish edition of the magazine GQ, Shakira directed a few words to Sarkozy, "We are all gypsies". In the interview she made her viewpoint very clear: "What is happening now to them (the gypsies) will happen to our children and our children's children. We must turn to our citizens to act for the fundamental rights of human beings and condemn all that seems to us indictable", she declared.
In February 2011, the FC Barcelona Foundation and Pies descalzos reached an agreement for children's education through sport. Shakira was honored at the Latin Grammys as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year on 9 November 2011, for her philanthropy and contributions to Latin Music. Also in 2011, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. The World Literacy Foundation announced Shakira as the recipient of the 2020 Global Literacy Award for "her significant contribution to the improvement of literacy for disadvantaged children around the world".
On 2 November 2018, during a visit to her birthplace, Barranquilla, for the construction of a school through her Barefoot Foundation (Pies Descalzos Foundation), Shakira spoke about the educational policies of the government under Ivan Duque (President of Colombia, 2018–2022). Speaking against the government's intentions to reduce the national education budget from 13% to 7%, she said, "This is unacceptable. It shows that instead of progressing forward we are moving backward. We need to invest more in education and we need to build more schools in places where there are none." She also talked about social inequality and unschooling. In 2020, Shakira was appointed by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge as a voters' council member for the Earthshot prize which provides 50 environmental pioneers with the funds needed to further their work in tackling major problems impacting the environment. In May 2020, Shakira donated more than 50,000 face masks and ten respirators to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in her hometown of Barranquilla. During the 2021 Colombian protests, Shakira condemned the violence and asked President Iván Duque Márquez to "immediately stop the human rights violations" and "restitute the value of human life above any political interest".
Shakira's wrote an op-ed commentary for Time magazine, published on 30 October 2020 under the title "Shakira: The Parents of 545 Children Are Missing, and the Silence Is Blaring". Her immediate concern was the fate of 545 children separated at the U.S.–Mexico border from their parents, whose whereabouts were unknown. She strongly criticized the U.S. border control and immigration practices: "How [...] could a nation built on the shoulders of immigrants [...] have such unimaginably cruel immigration policies?". "This is not about politics", she asserted, but "the people responsible for this cruel policy ("the harm caused to these innocent children") must be held accountable". She noted that "speaking up isn’t always easy, especially when one is not an American citizen and can be perceived as an outsider commenting on domestic policies". She introduced herself as "the daughter of a New Yorker", referring to the place of birth of her father.
On 2 February 2025, Shakira's 48th birthday, at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, she received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. She dedicated the award on stage to her "brothers and sisters", immigrants in the United States: " I want to dedicate this award to all my immigrant brothers and sisters in this country", she said. "You’re loved, worth it and I will always fight with you. And to all of those women who work really hard every day to provide for their families, you are the real she wolves. So this is for you, too".
Shakira began a relationship with Argentine lawyer Antonio de la Rúa in 1999. In a 2009 interview, Shakira stated their relationship already worked as a married couple, and that "they don't need papers for that".
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". As first reported in September 2012, 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. His lawsuit was dismissed by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in August 2013.
Shakira entered a relationship with the Spanish football player Gerard Piqué in 2011. Piqué, who is exactly ten years her junior, and Shakira met in spring 2010 after he appeared in the music video for Shakira's song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Shakira gave birth to the couple's first son, Milan, on 22 January 2013 in Barcelona, where the family took residence. Shakira gave birth to their second son, Sasha, on 29 January 2015. Forbes listed Shakira and Piqué in their list of "World's Most Powerful Couples". In June 2022, the couple confirmed in a joint statement that they were separating after being together for 11 years.
In 2020, Shakira announced her completion of an ancient philosophy course through the University of Pennsylvania, describing it as an impractical hobby of hers.
In November 2017, Shakira was named in the Paradise Papers. It was disclosed that she was the sole shareholder of a Malta-based company used to transfer $30 million in music rights. Her legal representatives maintained that her use of the company was entirely lawful.
In 2018, partly due to information revealed in the Paradise Papers, Spanish authorities initiated an investigation into Shakira's finances. Prosecutors alleged that she failed to pay taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014, a period during which she resided in Spain with Piqué and their family. Shakira contended that her primary residence remained in the Bahamas during that time and that she was otherwise engaged in international touring. In July 2021, a Spanish judge determined that there was "evidence of criminality" sufficient to bring Shakira to trial on charges of tax fraud.
In 2021, the Pandora Papers revealed that Shakira submitted applications for three offshore companies in 2019. Her representatives informed LaSexta that these applications were not intended to establish new companies but were part of the process of dissolving existing ones. They asserted that the companies had no income or activities and that Spanish authorities had been informed of their existence.
In July 2022, following unsuccessful negotiations with the Spanish Prosecution Ministry, Shakira opted to go to trial to prove her innocence. Prosecutors requested an eight-year prison sentence for six alleged tax fraud offences. On 27 September 2022, a Spanish judge in Esplugues de Llobregat approved the tax fraud trial after prosecutors accused her of failing to pay €14.5 million ($13.9 million) in taxes. Shakira claimed she had already paid all owed amounts plus €3 million ($2.8 million) as interest. A trial date was set for November 2023, after the presiding Barcelona judge, Ana Duro, received the necessary qualifying papers from both parties.
On 20 November 2023, at the commencement of the trial, Shakira settled the case by paying a €7.5 million fine. In a statement, she cited her well-being and its impact on her children as factors influencing her decision.