Monday, March 24, 2008

1995–2000: Success in Latin America and Spain

Shakira originally recorded the song ¿Dónde Estás Corazón? (that is found on her album Pies Descalzos) for the complication album "Nuestro Rock" in 1995, released exclusively in Colombia. ¿Dónde Estás Corazón? was the only hit off the album. This allowed Sony to give Shakira a third attempt at making an album. Shakira returned to recording in 1995 with Luis F. Ochoa, using musical influences from a number of countries and an Alanis Morissette-oriented persona which affected some of her next albums,[14] and made her third studio album, Pies Descalzos, which brought her great fame in Latin America. Pies Descalzos sold over five million copies,[12] prompting the release of a remix album, titled simply The Remixes. The Remixes also included Portuguese versions of some of her best-known songs, which were recorded as a result of her success in the Brazilian market, where Pies Descalzos sold nearly one million copies.[12]

Her fourth album, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? was released in 1998. She began to gain more fans in non-Spanish-speaking countries like Turkey, France, Switzerland, Canada, and especially the United States. Eight of the album's eleven tracks became singles, including "Ciega, Sordomuda", "Moscas En La Casa", "No Creo", "Inevitable", "Tú", "Si Te Vas", "Octavo Día", and the world-famous "Ojos Así". Shakira's first live album, MTV Unplugged, was composed of "Estoy Aquí" and all the songs from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? except Que Vuelvas.

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 now-defunct category of People's Choice - Favorite International Artist.

1991-1994: Debut album

Shakira's debut album, Magia, was recorded with Sony Music in 1991, when she was only fourteen years old. The album did not fare well commercially, selling less than one thousand copies.[10] After the poor acclaim of Magia, Shakira's label urged her back into the studio to release a follow up with more hit songs, to give the album potential. The album Peligro was released in 1993, but Shakira was not pleased with the final result. The album was better received than Magia, though it was also considered a commercial failure, due to Shakira's refusal to advertise it. Although little known outside of her native Colombia, Shakira was invited to perform at Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival in February 1993. The festival gave aspiring Latin American singers a chance to perform their songs, and the winner was then chosen by a panel of judges. Shakira performed the ballad "Eres" ("You Are") and won the trophy for third place. One of the judges who voted for her to win was then 20-year-old Ricky Martin. Shakira then decided to take a hiatus from recording so that she could graduate from high school.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Shakira


Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known simply as Shakira , is a two-time Grammy Award-winning and eight-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Colombiansinger, songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, dancer and occasional actress who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking market with the release of her first album in that language, Laundry Service, which has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide.[2] Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold around fifty million albums worldwide.[3] She is also the only artist from that country to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart and the UK Singles Chart. Swords
Titanium rings