Юрий Антонов
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and philanthropist, and one of the most successful Latin American artists in the history of popular music. Throughout her career, she has combined Latin pop, rock, pop music, electronic sounds, reggaeton, Colombian and Caribbean rhythms with elements of Middle Eastern musical traditions. Shakira records songs in both Spanish and English and is regarded as one of the artists who played a key role in bringing contemporary Latin American pop music to the global market.
Shakira has sold more than 95 million records worldwide. By 2026, she had won four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards. Her international catalog includes «Whenever, Wherever», «La Tortura», «Hips Don't Lie», «She Wolf», «Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)», «Chantaje», «Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53», «TQG» and other major hits. In 2025, the album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran earned the singer her fourth Grammy, while the world tour launched that same year became the largest touring project of her career.
Childhood in Barranquilla and first songs
Shakira was born to William Mebarak Chadid and Nidia Ripoll Torrado. Her father's side of the family is of Lebanese descent, which later influenced the singer's musical and stage aesthetics. She grew up in Barranquilla, a major port city on Colombia's Caribbean coast, where Latin American, Caribbean and Middle Eastern cultural influences intersect.
Shakira began writing as a child. At the age of four, she wrote her first poem, and at around eight, one of her first songs, «Tus gafas oscuras», dedicated to her father. As a child, she also became interested in Middle Eastern music and dance; her distinctive movements incorporating elements of belly dance later became one of the most recognizable features of her live performances.
As a teenager, Shakira performed at local events and sought opportunities to record her own material. At the age of 13, she signed a contract with the Colombian division of Sony Music. Even then, a significant part of her repertoire consisted of songs she had written herself.
Magia, Peligro and the first professional recordings
Her debut album Magia was released in 1991. It featured songs Shakira had written during her early teenage years. The record did not become a commercial breakthrough, but it gave the young singer her first experience of professional studio work.
Her second album, Peligro, followed in 1993. Its commercial performance was also modest, and Shakira later distanced herself from much of the material. Between the early and mature phases of her music career, she also tried acting, appearing in the Colombian television series El Oasis.
The first two albums are important primarily as part of her artistic development. Shakira's international career effectively began later, when she gained greater creative control and developed her own combination of pop music, guitar-driven rock and Latin American rhythms.
Pies Descalzos: the real breakthrough
The turning point came with Pies Descalzos, released in 1995. Unlike her earlier recordings, the album clearly revealed Shakira's songwriting identity, distinctive vocal style and interest in combining pop and rock music with Latin American melodic traditions.
Her major early hit was «Estoy Aquí». «Dónde Estás Corazón?», «Antología», «Un Poco de Amor», «Pienso en Ti» and «Se Quiere, Se Mata» also became successful. The album gradually transformed Shakira from a promising Colombian performer into one of the most notable new figures in Spanish-language pop music.
During this period, Shakira began touring extensively across Latin America, while her music reached audiences beyond Colombia, including Spain and the Latin market in the United States.
¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? and international recognition
The next major stage was the album ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones?, released in 1998. This record established Shakira's reputation not only as a pop singer, but also as an independent songwriter capable of combining commercially accessible melodies with rock energy and more complex lyrics.
The album included «Ciega, Sordomuda», «Inevitable», «No Creo», «Tú», «Ojos Así» and other songs that became part of her classic Spanish-language repertoire. «Ojos Así» was especially representative, blending Latin pop with Arabic melodic and rhythmic elements.
In 1999, Shakira recorded an MTV Unplugged performance. The album released from the concert earned her first Grammy Award in 2001, in the Best Latin Pop Album category. The performance itself became an important step in strengthening her position in the US market even before her full English-language breakthrough.
Laundry Service and the rise to global pop stardom
By the beginning of the 2000s, Shakira was already one of the leading singers in the Spanish-speaking world, but her next strategic move was to work in English. The result was Laundry Service, released in 2001.
The album did not represent a rejection of the Latin American character of her music. On the contrary, Shakira brought her own musical identity into English-language pop, combining guitars, elements of Andean music, Latin rhythms and her distinctive voice. The lead single «Whenever, Wherever» became an international hit and reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the singer her first Top 10 entry on the main US singles chart.
«Underneath Your Clothes» and «Objection (Tango)» also achieved major success. Laundry Service firmly established Shakira as a global star and demonstrated that an artist from Latin America could retain a distinct cultural identity while entering the international English-language market.
Fijación Oral, Oral Fixation and Hips Don't Lie
In 2005, Shakira divided her new material between two interconnected albums. The first was the Spanish-language Fijación Oral, Vol. 1. One of its central tracks was «La Tortura», recorded with Alejandro Sanz, which combined pop music with contemporary Latin rhythms.
Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. The record was also highly successful at the Latin Grammy Awards and became one of the key Spanish-language pop albums of the mid-2000s.
The second part of the project, the English-language Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, was released later in 2005. A reissue included her duet with Wyclef Jean, «Hips Don't Lie». In 2006, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Shakira's first US chart-topper on that ranking. It also became one of the most recognizable global pop hits of the decade.
She Wolf, Sale el Sol and World Cup music
The 2009 album She Wolf marked another stylistic shift. Electronic pop, synthesizers and club-oriented rhythms became more prominent in its sound. The title track, «She Wolf», became one of the best-known songs from this period.
The following year, Shakira released Sale el Sol, which once again placed the Spanish language and Latin American styles at the forefront. The album included «Loca», «Rabiosa», «Antes de las Seis» and the title track.
A special place in Shakira's career belongs to «Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)», recorded with the South African group Freshlyground. FIFA selected the song as the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It became one of the best-known songs ever associated with the World Cup and further expanded Shakira's international audience.
Shakira and El Dorado
In 2014, the self-titled album Shakira was released. Its principal singles included the duet «Can't Remember to Forget You», «Empire» and «Dare (La La La)». During this period, the singer continued to work for both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences without limiting herself to a single musical direction.
Her next album, El Dorado, appeared in 2017 and was predominantly in Spanish. Its success was preceded by «Chantaje» with Maluma, «La Bicicleta» with Carlos Vives and «Me Enamoré». In 2018, El Dorado won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.
After problems with her vocal cords forced the beginning of the tour to be postponed, the El Dorado World Tour eventually took place in 2018 and returned Shakira to large-scale touring.
Super Bowl and a new creative period
On February 2, 2020, Shakira co-headlined the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in Miami with Jennifer Lopez. For Shakira, the performance functioned as a retrospective of several stages of her career, combining major English-language hits, Spanish-language material and elements of traditional Colombian music.
After several years without a new studio album, Shakira returned to a particularly active schedule of single releases. In 2022, she released «Te Felicito» with Rauw Alejandro and «Monotonía» with Ozuna.
In January 2023, she released «Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53», created with Argentine producer Bizarrap. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language global hits of the year, entered the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and won Latin Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song. During the same period, her duet «TQG» with Karol G also achieved major international success.
Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran
On March 22, 2024, Shakira released her twelfth studio album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, her first full-length studio project since El Dorado. The album combined previously released songs «Te Felicito», «Monotonía», «Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53», «TQG», «Acróstico», «Copa Vacía» and «El Jefe» with new material including «Puntería», «La Fuerte», «Cómo Dónde y Cuándo», «Nassau» and «Última».
The album title — «Women No Longer Cry» — was taken from one of the best-known lines in «Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53». Thematically, the record connected personal experiences, separation, motherhood and recovery after a life crisis with Shakira's characteristic stylistic freedom, moving between pop, electronic music, reggaeton, Mexican influences and rock elements.
At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran won Best Latin Pop Album. The award became the fourth Grammy of Shakira's career. A year earlier, the Tiësto remix of «Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53» won a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Electronic Music Performance.
Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
In February 2025, Shakira launched the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, her first world tour since the El Dorado World Tour. The show was built around songs from the new album and a retrospective of her best-known recordings from different stages of her career.
The scale of the tour surpassed all of Shakira's previous touring projects. According to Pollstar, during the 2025 reporting period alone the tour grossed around $320 million and attracted more than 2.4 million spectators, ranking fifth among the highest-grossing worldwide tours of the year. By the beginning of 2026, revenues had continued to rise, making it the biggest tour of Shakira's career and one of the largest stadium tours ever mounted by a Latin American artist. The tour continued into 2026.
Dai Dai and the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Shakira's association with football's biggest tournament continued in 2026. Together with Nigerian singer Burna Boy, she recorded «Dai Dai», the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The track was released in May and became part of the tournament's official music project.
Shakira and Burna Boy performed «Dai Dai» at the opening ceremony in Mexico City and performed it again on July 19 during the halftime show of the final. Sixteen years after «Waka Waka», Shakira therefore once again became one of the central musical figures associated with the FIFA World Cup.
Musical style
One of Shakira's defining qualities is her ability to change musical language without losing her identity. At different stages, her catalog has included alternative rock, Latin pop, pop-rock, electronic music, dance-pop, reggaeton, bachata and other styles.
Guitars and the influence of 1990s alternative rock played an important role in her early albums. Later, electronic and dance elements became more prominent, while her work during the 2010s and 2020s increasingly interacted with the contemporary Latin pop and urban scenes.
Another distinctive element is the Middle Eastern influence connected to the singer's Lebanese family roots. It can be heard in certain melodic phrases and rhythms and seen in her stage movement. Combined with Colombian and Caribbean traditions, these elements have created a style that is difficult to reduce to a single genre.
Shakira co-writes a significant part of her repertoire and has remained actively involved in songwriting and record production throughout her career. This creative authorship distinguishes her from many international pop performers whose careers have been built primarily around material supplied by outside songwriters.
Philanthropy
While still young, Shakira founded Fundación Pies Descalzos in Colombia, with the main goal of improving education for children from socially vulnerable communities. The foundation works on educational infrastructure, school support and programs aimed at increasing access to high-quality education.
Since 2003, Shakira has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In this role, she has repeatedly participated in international initiatives focused on early childhood development, education and the protection of children's rights.
Personal life
From 2011 to 2022, Shakira was in a relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué. The couple have two sons: Milan, born in 2013, and Sasha, born in 2015. Shakira and Piqué never married and announced their separation in June 2022.
The events of this period were directly reflected in songs such as «Monotonía», «Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53», «TQG» and a significant part of Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, turning a personal crisis into one of the most commercially successful phases of her later career.
Shakira studio albums
- Magia — 1991
- Peligro — 1993
- Pies Descalzos — 1995
- ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? — 1998
- Laundry Service — 2001
- Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 — 2005
- Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 — 2005
- She Wolf — 2009
- Sale el Sol — 2010
- Shakira — 2014
- El Dorado — 2017
- Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — 2024
By the mid-2020s, Shakira had progressed from a teenager recording her first albums for Sony's Colombian division to a global stadium-level artist. Her career did not develop as one uninterrupted period of popularity, but rather through several distinct phases: Latin American rock-pop in the 1990s, the worldwide English-language breakthrough of the early 2000s, the era of «Hips Don't Lie», electronic experimentation, a return to Spanish-language music and a new commercial resurgence after 2022.
Her ability to operate simultaneously within Latin American culture and the international pop industry has made Shakira one of the defining figures of contemporary Latin music. More than three decades after her first professional recordings, she continues to release global hits, perform in stadiums and remain an independent songwriter with a distinctive musical and stage identity.
