INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR
SHAKIRA
EMERGES WITH TWO-PART ALBUM

Marks First New Music Since 13 Million-Selling Laundry Service


In 2001, the internationally revered creative force known as Shakira knocked the entire world off its feet with her first English album Laundry Service which went on to sell over 13 million copies. Now, after having sold 25 million records the maverick musician, singer, songwriter and producer is ready with a newly created opus of music in two languages. This new body of work will be released in two distinctive parts; the first album Fijacion Oral 1 will hit stores on June 7, 2005. It will be followed up in November 2005 with the English language album Oral Fixation 2. Both albums will be released by Epic Records. The first single in Spanish entitled "La Tortura" which features Spanish superstar Alejandro Sanz will hit radio airwaves this month.

Shakira comments, "I did not set out to make two albums when I began the writing process but suddenly I realized I had written sixty songs, some in English and some in Spanish. Twenty of these songs were selected and divided up by language to make two different albums." As Shakira lives a bilingual life, it is no surprise that the songs were written in two languages. She explains, "As I write songs, some times they come to me in English and some times they will come to me in Spanish. Many times I let the melody suggest which language the song should be."

Shakira began writing Fijacion Oral 1 and Oral Fixation 2 immediately following her last world tour. The albums were recorded at both her home studio in the Bahamas as well as Warehouse in Vancouver. Not only did Shakira write or co-write every song on both albums, she produced the project along with some of her regular collaborators Lester Mendez, Luis Ochoa and Tim Mitchell as well as new collaborator Gustavo Cerati (Argentinian former lead vocals of Soda Stereo and one of the most important figures of the Hispanic pop rock scene). The albums are Executive Produced by the legendary Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer).

As spoken language plays a fundamental role in Shakira's life, it's no surprise that she chose the title Fijacion Oral/Oral Fixation, "I always end up saying everything I think about." The concept also reaches beyond this, "The stage at which human beings are the most orally fixated is the first stage of our lives, which is the most elementary, the most instinctive, and the most primitive. I think I am still in that stage, especially at this moment because I feel the most in touch with that animalistic aspect within me."

After achieving superstardom throughout Latin America, and the United States (her last Spanish album sold over 1 million in the U.S. and nearly 4 million copies in Latin America and Spain) Colombian-born Shakira became Latin rock's biggest female crossover with the launch of 2001's Laundry Service, her first English album. Her unique artistry was quickly exalted and the album, Laundry Service produced a string of successes including chart-topping hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes." A tri-lingual child prodigy who wrote her first song at age eight, Shakira signed her first recording contract with Sony Music Colombia by the age of 13. Her first breakthrough release Pies Descalzos, ("Barefeet") catapulted her to superstar status in Latin America, Brazil and Spain. Her next album, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? produced by Shakira, became an even bigger worldwide hit, spending 11 weeks at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Latin album chart and producing two #1 Latin hits "Ciega, Sordomuda," and "Tu." Shakira is the recipient of three Latin Grammys and won the Best Latin Pop Album Grammy for her acclaimed MTV Unplugged album.

Additionally, Shakira dedicates as much time as possible to her Foundation Pies Descalzos, which promotes education and relieves some of the basic needs among children displaced by violence in Columbia and has become a goodwill ambassador for Unicef.

great news. thanx

gracias shakira.

I never did buy the first album but I like her. She just seems real and I think unlike some female (and male) pop/rock stars, she can laugh at herself, which is great. Too bad she is making two albums and making the American fans wait.

Ugh.

cover art??

Can't wait. But how is it a 2 part album? Isn't just releasing a Spanish language album 1st , then releasing an English one?





And change your damn avatar V.C.

VinnyM27 said:

Which first album? Laundry Service was techincally her fifth studio release.

Chico319 said:

That's right. That new avatar better not last very long.

sextonseven said:

I'll have to find a new one. I've even had orgnotes from people asking me to remove it I didn't know Usher Gaymond was so reviled around here

I prefer when Shakira sings in Spanish and what she's saying isn't so clear (to me). Some of the magic is gone when she sings in English and her awkward phrasing is laid bare for all gringos to hear. 'Dónde Están Los Ladrones?' remains one of my desert island discs.

sextonseven said:

Baby I was born so far away so I speak English as a second language
I don't understand a word I say, there's no word that rhymes with language.

Lucky that I have a smoking body, 'cause I only sing in gibberish
Lucky that I am such a hottie, watch my lips go quiverish

Whatever, don't matter, I could sing about pancake batter
I'll just shake my derriere, and you won't go nowhere.

VoicesCarry said:

At first I thought Shakira's weird lyrics were just an English thing, but I found out recently she writes just as strangely in Spanish. It's not the language barrier, it's her.

Yes, it was disappointing how she Britnified herself to get played on MTV.

I love Shakira. Can't wait for that album.


My favorite Shakira moment is when she sang Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" on that Icon show. Even Steve Tyler was amazed. She owned that song and sashayed right down next to him and sang that final bars with him.

She was on fire and played the harmonica to.


BTW, I like her strange phrasing... that's what makes Underneath Your Clothes so good.

she's working with ALEJANDRO SANZ? he's great!!!!!

Great news. I love Shakira! She's one of my favourite artists and MTV Unplugged is on my top 5 albums list. She's got it all: she's a writer, a composer, a singer, a musician, a dancer, a producer plus she looks hot. As for her phrasing... I don't think of it as strange, more as original and unique.

poor thing, I can tell she's trying to be "alternative" with these weird album titles like "laundry service" and now "oral fixation"? Hilarious