Shakira, born in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1977, is one of the most commercially successful Latin artists in pop history, with 3 Grammys and 13 Latin Grammys to show for it. Pies Descalzos made her a star; Laundry Service (2001) made the whole world catch up. Browse Shakira vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born in Barranquilla, Colombia on February 2, 1977 to Lebanese-Colombian and Italian-Spanish-Catalan heritage. The name Shakira is Arabic for grateful (شكيرة). She launched her recording career as a child in the early 1990s with the Sony Music Colombia albums Magia (1991) and Peligro (1993). Her 1995 breakthrough Pies Descalzos and 1998 follow-up Dónde Están los Ladrones? established her as the most important Colombian and Latin American singer-songwriter of the late 1990s. Her 2001 album Laundry Service marked her English-language crossover with international commercial breakthrough - featuring the international #1 singles Whenever, Wherever and Underneath Your Clothes. Her 2005-2006 paired Spanish-language Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 / English-language Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 - featuring the Hips Don't Lie (with Wyclef Jean) - continued her commercial dominance. She has parallel work as a philanthropist (Pies Descalzos Foundation for Colombian children's education) and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (since 2003). Her 2010 World Cup theme Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) became the most-streamed FIFA World Cup theme song. She has won 3 Grammy Awards and 13 Latin Grammy Awards. Her foundational influence on contemporary Latin pop and Latin music crossover is widely cited.
Shakira's sound combines Latin pop, pop, pop rock, dance-pop, reggaeton, alternative rock, Latin rock, and Middle Eastern-influenced pop (use of Lebanese musical traditions reflecting her father's heritage) with her distinctive vocal delivery (range and use of melisma), virtuosic dance performance, and arrangements drawing on Colombian, Lebanese, and broader Latin musical traditions alongside contemporary pop influences.
Sony Music, Epic Records, and RCA Records pressings of the Shakira catalog have been issued in extensive color variant editions and elaborate limited deluxe pressings, with collector demand.
Listeners new to Shakira typically start with Laundry Service (2001) or Pies Descalzos (1995).
