Shakira to Donate Concert Proceeds

Shakira, the pop diva of “Hips Don’t Lie” fame, will reportedly donate the proceeds from her November 15th concert in her hometown of Barranquilla. The funds will be used to build an arts school for children that have been forced from their homes as a result of Colombia’s civil war.

The concert is one of many in the singer’s Oral Fixation tour. The hip-shaking, international star has announced that the school will be located in La Playa, a poor suburb of her hometown. Estimates have 45 percent of the area’s residents as minors with barely half of the school age children actually attending school.

The bilingual (Spanish and English) school, set to open in 2008, will bear Shakira’s name. The school has received approval from Colombian education officials and is being designed by Rafael Vinoly, the designer of the New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center facility.

Shakira makes party appearance

Shakira is not exactly known as a wild party animal in celebrity circles. But according to reports in US media today, she made an exception for her friend Wyclef Jean.

The Colombian reportedly attended a party hosted by Hips Don’t Lie co-star Jean. Naturally there’s a bunch of stuff in the piece about her acting the Diva making all kinds of demands. From requesting personal space so she could move around comfortably barefoot, and bottles of Herradura tequila ready to be devoured by those in her circle. One Shakira fan even apparently offered to pay $3,000 to crash the party and meet their hero, but was not welcomed.

Shakira receives six Latin Grammy nominations

Shakira leads the nominations for the Latin Grammy awards after receiving six nomination on Tuesday including for record of the year and album of the year.

The Latin Recording Academy announced the nominations in New York. The seventh annual awards will be presented on Nov. 2.

Shakira, known for combining various Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms, also was nominated for best female pop vocal album for “Fijacion Oral Vol. 1,” best engineered album, best short video, and song of the year, an award for songwriting, for “La Tortura.”

Valley gets its fix of Shakira

With thousands of adoring fans shouting, Latin superstar Shakira greeted her followers with a fierce taste of “Estoy Aqui” sending Dodge Arena into a frenzy Monday night.

Thus began a glorious night of belly-shaking, hip-thrusting and hand-waving with the enthusiastic songstress.

Following her introduction, she quickly gained momentum with “Don’t Bother”, while playing a sparkle-encrusted Fender American Stratocaster guitar.

Fans, smiling from ear to ear, wanted more.

Shakira, sporting a sparkly silver bolera vest with black cargo pants, circled the stage in her trademark bare feet under a florescent lighting scheme welcoming the crowd to her show.

“Good evening Hidalgo,” she said.

It was her first of two, back-to-back shows in the Rio Grande Valley — a much anticipated visit
for men and women,
boys and girls who have followed her since the days of her debut on Siempre en Domingo with Raul Velasco 10 years ago.

Fixated on Shakira

There’s no pigeonholing Shakira. Just try and peg her as one type of artist, she’ll then turn around, do something out of left field and blow your theory to smithereens. And we’re talking within the space of a concert. The Colombian singer-songwriter’s show Saturday night at American Airlines Center, the Dallas stop on the “Oral Fixation Tour,” touched on her many muses mostly through the sheer force of her personality.

Shakira worked for every roar of applause from the 15,775 fans in attendance. The allure of the performance was solely hers. The stage wasn’t much in the way of decor, simply four video screens hanging above and a back wall that was occasionally used to reflect images. The platform was full of musicians including a percussionist with a gong, a pianist.

Yet she commanded all the attention. Not because the vampy-quirky star is particularly statuesque or emanating bombshell sparkle. If anything, Shakira still has a pixie quality.

It’s no lie: Shakira proves to be an unshakable force

The positive reviews of Shakira’s sellout Oral Fixation tour continue unabated. Her latest show at the Toyta Centre In Houston, Texas was a huge success and the local media joined the lovefest with positive reviews of the gig.

The following piece was written by Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle:

Shakira’s gravity-defying gyrations have earned her a permanent place among today’s singing, flash-dancing sex symbols.

But during the early part of her searing set Tuesday night inside a packed Toyota Center, she was more rock goddess than bellydancing diva.

Shakira took the stage amid the strains of early hit Estoy Aqui, dressed in a midriff baring top and low-rise pants that exposed her chiseled abs. The tune’s triumphant Spanish calls of “I’m here” were all the crowd needed to reach a feverish appreciation level.

Songwriter wants to pair Shakira with Robbie

The songwriter who helped British pop star Robbie Williams rise to fame as a solo artist has said he is ready to reunite with the showman on one condition: he gets together with Shakira to perform a duet.

Guy Chambers penned a number of worldwide classics with Williams including Angels, Rock DJ and Supreme. But the pair split after Williams moved to the US to try and crack the lucrative North American market.

“If he ever duets with Shakira it would be the perfect match. I would like to write the tune for it. It would be a worldwide hit and would break Robbie in to America,” Chambers said.

Williams and Shakira are already known to have become good friends since the Brit moved stateside. So a colloboration between the duo is far from beyond the realms of possibility sometime in the future.

Shakira shoots video with Sanz

Latin bombshell Shakira recently shot a new music video with Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz for his currently untitled new album.

The Colombian will play the role of Alejandro’s boyfriend in the video for the track te lo agradezco pero no, loosely translated: thanks but no thanks, which is set to be the second single off his upcoming new album. The song and video will be a continuation of the first single a la primera persona (to the first person) which stars Paz Vega. Both tracks are classic dance tunes, so expect to see Shakira performing her trademark dance routines in the video. The videos were shot in New York recently under the direction of Jaume De Laiguana.

A la primera persona will drop on September 25, with the release date for the album to be announced.

High-spirited Shakira’s hips, voice don’t lie

It’s called the “Oral Fixation” tour, which sounds like something about sex.

Yet Shakira’s jubilant, high-energy performance Wednesday at the TD Waterhouse Centre defied that narrow cliche. Let MTV reality shows capitalize on sex — Shakira’s charismatic stage presence is about something more.

Not that there wasn’t extensive hip rolling, rump shaking and belly dancing, but this Colombian superstar’s expressive voice and engaging facial expressions almost turned the gyrations into art.

It’s worth mentioning that Shakira is drop-dead beautiful, with a radiant smile and beguiling eyes that blow the grading curve for other celebrity hotties. With a tilted eyebrow or some other subtle movement, she softens and humanizes the sexually charged choreography.

“Can you do one thing for me?” she asked early in the show. “Can you make a woman happy? . . . I want you to have fun tonight.”

Shakira dazzles the second time around

When Shakira played Miami nearly four years ago, this critic wrote that she’d never be a rock star unless she stopped trying so hard to act like one. Friday night at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena, she proved she doesn’t have to try anymore.

Shakira was natural, supremely confident, comfortable in her body and with herself — and far more appealing and charismatic.

As in her last concert, the audience was loaded with women, young girls and adoring teenagers like the one who shouted, “I love you! I love you!”

From the minute she strode into the sold-out Arena, singing Estoy Aquí (I’m Here), Shakira seemed to completely enjoy herself. Her hips don’t lie — how could they? They were almost as much an instrument as her voice.

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