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Wallpapers >> Global Celebrities(F) >> Shakira >> Biography
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Shakira |
Born Shakira Mebarak Ripoll on February 2, 1977, in the coastal city of Barranquilla, Colombia,
Shakira is the youngest sibling of her parents' eight children. Her name, which in Arabic means "woman full of grace," belies her ancestry.
Her father William Mebarak, who is American of Lebanese descent--a jeweler and
writer and Colombian mother, Nidia Ripoll, both supported their
daughter's ambition of becoming a singer. Shakira knew early on that she wanted
to be a professional musician and by the time she was 8, she was already writing
her own songs. This undeniable prodigy even began playing the guitar by 11 years
of age. Shakira was making her musical talent known by winning talent shows
playing the guitar, and she was even kicked out of her school choir because her
voice drowned out the other choir singers. She started winning local and national talent contests at age 10.
By 13, she had signed a record deal with Sony in Colombia, which resulted in her first album,
Magia (Magic), a compilation of songs she wrote between the ages of 8 and 13. It was an effort that put Shakira in Colombia's musical map, and led to her being chosen to represent her country at the
Fesival OTI in Spain. Because she was under the minimum age of 16, she wasn't allowed to participate. So instead, Shakira recorded a second album of original material,
Peligro (Danger).
At that point, not neglecting her education, Shakira took a break from music and
returned to school to receive her high school diploma and came back with a vengeance.
Shakira wanted to sing in the rock genre, despite Sony's original attempts to make her a pop
singer (adhering to the commercial standards of the time), Shakira came up with
her third album. The result was the phenomenally successful Pies Descalzos, a hit-laden smash, which has sold close to four million copies worldwide. Shakira became an international sensation touring for an almost solid two years, playing her songs to sold-out audiences throughout the world. In Brazil alone,
Pies Descalzos sold in excess of 900,000 copies. Her popularity pushed her to
release Portuguese remixes of her songs for her fans in Brazil
She abandoned the light pop format she had been doing and declined her label's suggestion to explore more commercial avenues. Instead, she insisted on recording her very own brand of music: a blend of pop and rock that was unprecedented for a Colombian musician, much less a woman.
Shakira entered the realm of acting with a role on the Colombian soap opera ElOasis from 1994 to 1997, but her true passion remained music.
In 1998, Shakira released her fourth album Donde Estan los Ladrones, a collection of potential hits that further explores the realms of rock 'n' roll without losing Shakira's authenticity. Donde Estan los
Ladrones received much critical acclaim and was considered Shakira's
breakthrough album - at least in the Latin genre. The album went multi-platinum
in U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Central America, Mexico, and went platinum
in Spain.
Shakira was chosen as the cover girl for Time Magazine's issue featuring
the article "Era of the Rockera," and has also graced the cover of Cosmopolitan.
In addition, Shakira was named an official goodwill ambassador by the
Colombian government and Latin Female Artist of the Year at the World Music
Awards. The Pope granted her an audience in the Vatican.
While she
released an MTV Unplugged album in 2000 - which MTV didn't air at first,
but later aired on MTV Latin America. The next logical step was to crossover to the English market.
But a performance on the CBS-aired Latin Grammys in September
2000, and a catchy song Whenever, Wherever, made American audiences sit
up and take notice. Shakira's English recording debut, Laundry Service
was released in 2001, and with the help of Whenever, Wherever, and the follow-up
single, Underneath Your Clothes, has been certified double platinum.
For the most exciting singer/songwriter to come out of Latin America in years, the possibilities are endless. For the millions that already buy her albums, she is already the voice of a new generation.
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