Shakira
Shakira was born in Columbia. She planned to be a singer since her childhood: the girl took dancing and singing lessons, and wrote her own songs. Shakira danced professionally and participated in various competitions. At the age of 10 she was first in the song contest on the local television. When Shakira was 13 years old, she captured the attention of one representative of Sony Latin Company and later, Shakira signed a contract with him for three years. She released two albums «Magia» and «Peligro», which were sold in Columbia only. But the first real success of the singer was a song «¿Dónde Estás Corazón?» written by Shakira. This song was included into the third album Pies descalzos (1995). The album topped hit parades of several countries. Shakira’s real hits were songs «Estoy Aquí», «Un Poco de Amor», «Se Quiere», «Se MataSe Quiere», «Se Mata» and «Pies Descalzos». In 1998, she released the second studio album Dónde Están Los Ladrones? The album’s success of the singer, who just started her career, was unbelievable – Shakira sold millions of copies and received her first Grammy nomination in 1999. In 2000, the singer toured around Latin America, during which she sang the songs from her album.
After the unbelievable success of Spanish language albums, Shakira decided to record English album. The first single of her debut English language album Laundry Service (2000) was «Whenever, Wherever». It was very popular in European countries. Singles «Underneath Your Clothes», «Objection (Tango)», «The One», «Te Dejo Madrid», and «Que Me Quedes Tú» also became international hits. In 2002, Shakira received the MTV Latin Award in all five categories, in which she was nominated. The same year, Shakira made the world tour around 30 countries. The next album Fijación Oral Vol. 1 was released in 2005. The title single «La Tortura» became the hit in many countries of the world. In 2006, this song and album earned Shakira four Grammys at Latin Grammy Awards. In 2005, an album Oral Fixation Vol. 2 was also released, and it contained only English language songs. Although, the first single «Don't Bother» was not a great success, this did not influence the popularity of two other released singles «Hips Don't Lie» (featuring Wyclef Jean) and «Illegal» (with Carlos Santana). Shakira released her next album She Wolf in 2009. The title single was a song «She Wolf», which topped hit parades worldwide. The second official international single was «Did It Again», and the second one in USA and Canada was «Give It Up to Me» (featuring therapper Lil Wayne). In 2010, Shakira was a co-author and singer of an official hymn of the World Football Cup 2010 titled «Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)». In the end of 2010, the singer released her next studio album Sale el Sol. Its first single was «Loca», which reached top ten on world charts. Later on, a song «Sale el Sol» was released. The single, which Shakira is planning to release next, is «Rabiosa» (featuring the rapper Pitbull).
