Shakira News

This article from the Washington Post discusses Shakira’s crossover status, her similarities (or lack thereof) with Britney Spears, and her ideas for future albums. Check it out!

Shakira and Angelina Jolie…best buds?

Through their work with the UN, Shakira and Angelina Jolie have supposedly become good friends.  (Check out this article to find out more.) Unfortunately, the article focuses on their budding friendship instead of the actual work they are doing…a sad but familiar commentary of our times.

Shakira’s Spanglish

Shakira performed at the World Cup Finals, 2007. Not intriguing, right? Wrong.

Las de las intuicion: Sexed Up, Sold Out…a continuation of “Shakira Goes Purple”

Shakira’s latest video, “Las de las intuicion”is in fact a remake video. Please watch the old video:

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Compare it to the new one:

I have but one question:

“Love in the Time of Shakira”

This recent cover article from Elle Magazine features Shakira. (The title is cleverly stolen from fellow Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s famous work, Love in the Time of Cholera.) These are the pictures that I had expected from Harper’s Bazaar but did not find (pictures featured after the jump).

Shakira and Harper’s Bazaar

Harper’s Bazaar has launched its magazine in Dubai; its first 176 page issue has Shakira gracing its cover (Shakira was chosen because of her Middle Eastern origins and her crossover appeal). 

Shakira goes purple

Shakira will be sporting a purple wig for upcoming video, “Pure Intuition.” Shakira is the one with the crown over her head (obviously).

We can only wait to see what Shakira does with her image in this new music video. However, what I can comment on is that Shakira looks like the typical sexy Asian School Girl, yet another stereotype that commonly objectifies women. What is Shakira trying to say and why has she chosen this well-known stereotype to say it?

Shakira, the Anglicized yet Sexualized Barbie Doll

Mattel’s latest barbie: Shakira

As Shakira’s doll has been hyped as being the multicultural doll, it seems interesting that the doll (pictured after the jump) looks as though she is merely a daughter to the Barbie and Ken Family.

Even Beyonce Gets Confused…

This article reveals that even Beyonce can’t distinguish between the images of Shakira and herself in their duet, “Beautiful Liar.” She states, “It was really cool because I don’t even know who is who sometimes – even I get confused!”

What happened to artistic individuality? Is the Shakira/Beyonce/Jennifer Lopez/Paulina Rubio craze a statement of the pressures minority women feel to fit a certain image? Or, is it a desirable image, one that they chose to create to sell records?

Obviously, this question has been haunting me throughout this entire process. Please see earlier blogs (Which one is Shakira?; Beautiful Liar; Latin Grammys, 2006) and then help me decide if these Latinas are actively pursuing this image or if this image has been placed upon them. I really can’t decide.

Shakira is the “in” for Robbie Williams

In an article from ContactMusic.com, Guy Chambers was quoted as saying he would once again work with British superstar Robbie Williams–but only if he were to duet with Shakira. For Chambers, “he should always have done that. It would be the perfect match and I would like to write the tune for it.” It is not, however, the mere fact that he thinks the two would perform well together. Instead, Chambers views Shakira as an “in” to the U.S. market. Chambers states, “It would be a worldwide hit and would break Robbie in America.”How would a song with Shakira help the white, British singer? It is not as though his skin color, language, or vocal style has marked him as an “other” in the United States. In fact, it has made him into the ordinary. It seems as though Chambers views Shakira as the “exotic other” and thus, will make ordinary unique once again.

As of yet, Shakira has not agreed to be in a duet. If she were to agree, however, would she be selling out? I would say yes, for in this case, it is not her skills nor her voice that Chambers is attracted to–it is her exotic body and her established success in the United States.