Shakira
Colombian singer-songwriter (born 1977)
Shakira: a Colombian pop career with an education mission
Building a Spanish-language audience
Shakira began recording while still young, but the late-1990s album Dónde Están los Ladrones? brought her onto the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination. The Colombian singer wrote within a Spanish-language pop tradition before seeking a wider English-language audience. That sequence matters: her international crossover grew from an established Latin American career.
Crossing into global pop
Laundry Service, released in 2001, was her first English-language album and reached number three on the Billboard 200. Its singles included Whenever, Wherever and Underneath Your Clothes. The later album Oral Fixation Vol. 2 produced the US number-one single Hips Don’t Lie, turning her multilingual approach into sustained mainstream chart success.
Education alongside music
Shakira’s public work extends beyond records. A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2003, she founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation to expand educational opportunities for children in Colombia. UNICEF also records her advocacy for early childhood education. In 2017 the World Economic Forum recognized that humanitarian work with a Crystal Award.
Data and sources
Billboard — Shakira biography and chart history ↗