It seems like a premonition, a warning of what the following decades of the international music scene would be like.
The first single with which Shakira was presented to the world was the cry of I’m hereone of the anthems that he collected in his long career and that announced something very big: Shakira I was there to make history and become one of the icons of popular culture.
After 11 studio albums that have paved the way for one of the most awarded professional careers of all timethe question that arises is what Shakira was before she was the most awarded Latin artist in history and an example of artistic aspiration for any dancer or singer.
Shakira, a child prodigy
In the case of the Colombian, it could be said that she came into the world with talent and ingenuity under her arm. Music, dance and, in general, the artistic discipline, has always been part of the life of Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll —her real name, which is Arabic and comes from “shukran”, which means thank you—.
Daughter of William Mebarak Chadid, a Lebanese writer who emigrated to Colombia, and Nidia Ripoll Torrado, of Catalan descent, Shakira was born in 1977 and did not take long to show that She was practically a child prodigy.: At only 8 years old he started composing his own songs.
Already then he dropped by television programs and live shows, where a palpable self-confidence was already noticeable on stage. A place that was already familiar to her and where she felt more than comfortable.
This is how she herself spoke in one of her appearances, where she confessed that her approach to music It was first because of Arabic dance when I was 5 years old.: “All my life I have liked dancing more, I discovered singing three years ago,” said an 11-year-old Shakira with lush brown hair and great ease in front of the cameras. With a family endowed with a “very great artistic vein,” the artist said: “from a very young age, If I didn’t dance, I painted, and if I didn’t paint, I did something else.”. Success was a matter of time.
Already then, the singer showed off her clear ideas with a very mature and responsible speech when asked about her studies: “I do not neglect my studies at any time. I do everything in its place and at its time,” she concluded.
He released his first album when he was 14 years old.
Little by little, her presence on the sets and stages made the young artist She met a theater producer who took her out of her native Barranquilla. Then came a test for Sony Colombia that won over the executives with a live performance, unlike the tape they had previously heard from Shakira.
Thus, at the age of 14, Shakira released her first album, Magicin 1991. Nine songs derived from material written by her since she was eight years old and by other composers who were released under the Sony Music Colombia label.
The album includes the song Your dark sunglassesa special piece written by the Colombian when she was nine years old that hides the story of the death of one of his brothers, who died in an accident when she was only 2 years old. Her father hid her pain behind dark glasses that later inspired the lyrics of the song, as the magazine tells us. Hello.
His arrival to stardom
However, the release of this first project only sold 1200 copies and It turned out to be a commercial failure. Nothing to do with what would come later.
The relationship between Shakira and Sony was signed to record three albums. After Magic and Dangerthe third time was the charm with the puck Barefoot in 1995, in which she collaborated with producer Luis Fernando Ochoa and which placed her on the international scene. Sold more than 4 million copies and is considered one of the most important works of Latin pop. It was followed by Where Are the Thieves?, the work that definitively made her the star she remains today.
The 46-year-old artist released her first bilingual album Laundry Service either Laundry service in 2001, a real success that made him reach the top positions on the Billboard Hot 100 charts worldwide.
Success grew even more that decade for the singer, who released Oral Fixation Vol. 1 and Vol 2., which gave him a Grammy for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album and four Latin Grammys.
The Golden, with which she won her third Grammy Award in 2018 in the Best Latin Pop Album category, was the singer’s last album project. Until now.
The most current and transgressive Shakira
Shakira prepares the imminent launch of a new work that will close the circle of his return, which began in 2022 with the musical series about his separation from former Catalan soccer player Gerard Piqué: I congratulate you, Monotonía, Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53 and TQG.
Despite a career like few others in the music industry and a strong identity that has built Shakira’s personality and success as a singer, nine years ago, the artist acknowledged in an interview for CNN in Spanish: “I am always afraid, it is a natural thing for me, but I also have the desire to overcome it.”
An icon who made history in music years ago and who remains humble and prepared to continue facing fears, such as the difficult personal moment due to his recent divorce, to turn them into art and continue giving us memorable milestones.
