Artist of the Week: Shakira

This week, my Artist of the Week is Shakira. Born in Columbia, to a Columbian mother and a Lebanese father, she has achieved great success in America and Europe, mixing a Latin American style of music with Middle Eastern dancing. When I was watching the MTV Europe Music Awards, 2006, last week, Shakira had three nominations, including Best Female. Unfortunately, she lost out in that category to Christina Aguilera. I like Christina, but I haven't been thrilled with the tracks I have heard, so far, from "Back to Basics." Shakira didn't win in either of the other two categories she was nominated in, so I thought I would give her a win, here.
Her current album is "Oral Fixation Volume 2." I have selected "Hips don't Lie," as my profile song for the week. I was slow to warm to this song, not because of Shakira herself, but because of the parts contributed by Wycleff Jean. I personally think the song would have been better without him. It was seeing the music video which won me over. Shakira's dancing in it is top quality and very sexy. It's nice to see Spanish language artists having success in American and European markets. I have been to Columbia, in the early 1990s, attending a beer festival in Cali, which had loads of live bands. I have also dated a couple of Columbian women and let me tell you, there's a lot of talent there. You can add Shakira as a friend on Myspace, at: www.myspace.com/shakira . Leave her a nice comment and tell her I sent you.