Shakira

Shakira is going to reach the age-milestone of 30, in February this New Year. She is reigning the pop charts today both in Latin and English music… her personal life is perfectly in-sync with her professional life… equally harmonious and successful… so what is on Shakira’s mind next.

She is going steady with boyfriend Antonio De La Rua since last five years and has already decided to marry him.

“Shakira has already made the decision to marry Antonio de la Rúa,” said the newspaper, adding that “when she was on tour in Buenos Aires she also said that her wishes to become a mother are getting more and more intense.”

So is wedding on the cards for Shakira? Guess so… may be after she gets back after her Tour of Europe the coming New Year. She has also thought of signing a Pre-nuptial contract with De La Rua in which Antonio would renounce any right to the fortune she has earned over the course of her career, avoiding possible future problems. She didn’t wanna end up like Paul McCartney.

2006 has been a very good year of Shakira. She had released her CD ‘Fijación Oral Vol. 1/Oral Fixation Vol. 2′ this year and her hit single ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ from the album has been the chart topper with the number one ranking everywhere including Latin America, United Kingdom, USA, Australia, Spain and other European countries.

It was also a very good year for her in terms of Awards and Achievements.She won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album, Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Pop Album and Latin Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album.

She also set up a charitable organization called ALAS that would be solving the problem of education in the underprivileged Latin American Children.

The people of Columbia also honored her with a 15 feet tall statue erected in her hometown Columbia.

The coming year, 2007 also looks bright, as Shakira has been nominated for the “Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals” for her single Hips Don’t Lie that features Wyclef Jean too.

Way to go Shakira!

ALPE (Latin Show Business Journalists Association) was honouring the Latin stars yet again. .. they have voted Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin artist of the year… he was named the Brightest Star of 2006 for getting along best with entertainment journalists and for giving the best interviews.

They voted for our Columbian crooners Shakira and Juanes as Star Heart for their efforts to protect two of the most helpless sections of society.

Shakira and Juanes tied for the ‘Star Heart’ honor.

Good going Shakira…you have yet another award in your kitty!

Shakira has Lebanese-Spanish roots and she holds fast to them as she stood for the Arab world, when the world started looking down upon Arabs as terrorists, after the unfortunate September 11 attacks at the World Trade Centre.

On the 9-11 attacks she said,

” When I received the news… I reacted like the other millions of people, very nervous and confused. The fear that I have is that… this tragedy will turn into an even worse tragedy, because it is very easy to fill ourselves with hatred and bitterness…When we are filled with this hate, it affects our actions. Therefore, I was worried that a war might occur and that the entire world might suffer for the irresponsible acts committed by a few people.”

She defended the Arabs saying,

“I’m also afraid of generalizations, because the Arabic world is a very large and grand culture. The Arabic world is not all Muslims, nor are all Muslims terrorists. I don’t think the US or any other country for that matter should retaliate against this terrorism. There is way to end terrorism without hurting innocent people,” she protested.

“These generalizations and the tendency to generalize bother me alot. My father is 100 percent Lebanese, and he is not a terrorist. I come from a Catholic Arabic family, and I have never even met a terrorist in my whole life,”

confessed Shakira.

If you are wondering what this kinda hot lookin guy doing on Shakira’s fan blog, then look closely. It is Shakira’s beau Antonio De La Rua striking a pose…Check out those sexy tatoos. The picture is old though… he looks chiseled and toned by right now he seems to have packed some pounds.

Garcia Marquez is coming up with a movie and Shakira is going to sing three songs for the film.

A source was quoted saying, “On his own initiative, he convinced hip-shaking pop star Shakira, who hails from the nearby city of Barranquilla, to provide three songs for the film. “I could‘ve wandered a long time looking for that haunting, lilting sound that‘s so particular to this place and which he was able to put his finger on instantly,” said Newell.

Seems like Shakira wants to chill out and rejuvenate her spirits after a tiring tour of Latin America. After inaugurating her charity organisation ALAS, she has been keeping a low profile ever since.

Sources say she has been working with Beyonce on her forthcoming album…and spending time with her family and partying with her beau Antonio De La Rua.

She has an entire tour of Europe lined up in the coming year. I hope the break fills in more energy in her performances and makes them more thrilling than ever.

Shakira has been the reigning queen of the Latin Pop Industry and is making her presence felt in the English Pop market too. The success of her album and her tours to all the important countries of Latin America has made her huge, really huge…and that might have obviously put a lot of pressure on her. She might be working hard to live up to the expectations.

“I’m always trying to escape from the pressure of expectation. But the biggest pressure is from the people who want this record to be done in 15 days! That kind of pressure can turn into an aggression against your work. But I’m a perfectionist without remedy. I’m not making detergent here; I’m making music. You can’t put a knife to the neck of sensibility,” says Shakira.

Indeed!

The 2006 Napster Awards have now been annouced. The USP of these awards is that they honor artists and their songs based on the fan’s buying and Listening Habits.

“The Napster Awards provide insight into how music fans behave when they can listen to an enormous variety of music away from restrictive radio playlists, limited retail shelf space and 30-second clip, buck a track digital stores,” said Chris Gorog, chairman and CEO of Napster.

Among the Latin category, our Columbian crooner won the honors for Most-Played Latin Artist, Most-Played Latin Song for her song “Whenever, Wherever”.

We congratulate all of the 2006 Napster Award winners, and look forward to continuing to honor the music Napster subscribers enjoy playing the most,” added Gorog.

Ever since Shakira crossed over to English pop from Spanish, she has achieved many accolades and won over many fans.

When she decided to switch to English, she didnt want the other songwriters to write for her because she thought that would hamper the spirit of her songs in Spanish.

“Writing in English was a major challenge. I didn’t want other songwriters to write for me. I wanted to preserve the spirit of my songs in Spanish. I am the same Shakira in English as I am in Spanish.”

But she seems to have taken the challenge of writing her songs in English in the right spirit…and the results that we see are fantabulous!

“It’s a very interesting process to write in English because all my literary resources come from Spanish, … I must confess that I felt really handicapped, creatively, when I accepted the proposal to sing in English. … I thought that I would encounter more difficulties, but everything has come together.”

Indeed!