I debated whether Shakira should be among the 35 artists I’m covering during my musical genome project but ultimately I realized the decision should have been a no-brainer. I own every one of her seven albums, four of which are performed entirely in Spanish — if that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is.
The fact that she is the only foreign language act I listen to makes her an anomaly among this group, but she also stands apart thanks to her musical style. Or styles, I should say, because Shakira shifts between dance pop, Latin rock, R&B and jazz-era balladry.
Of my genome categories, the only one that fits is ‘Pure Pop.’ Shakira is one of the few artists (like Talking Heads) whom I like for reasons I can’t explain by pointing to other musicians.
But if I were to rank all 35 of the favorites I’m chronicling (and I will, don’t worry!), I suspect Shakira and Talking Heads would both show up near the bottom of the list. That suggests their outsider status, in terms of my genome, is a negative factor, or at least not a positive one.
Duro como una roca
Si te mostre pedazos de piel
Que la luz del sol aun no toca
Y tantos lunares que ni yo misma conocia
Te mostre mi fuerza bruta
Mi talon de Aquiles, mi poesia
Que haras solo una historia mas
Que hare si no te vuelvo a ver
Oh, oh
Si desde el dia en que no estas
Vi la noche llegar mucho antes de las seis
Si desde el dia en que no estas
Vi la noche llegar mucho antes de las seis
Mucho antes
No dejes el barco
Tanto antes de que zarpemos
Hacia una isla desierta
Y despues, despues veremos
Si me ves desarmada
Porque lanzas tus misiles
Si ya conoces mis puntos cardinales
Los mas sensibles y sutiles
Que haras la vida te dira
Que hare si no te vuelvo a ver
Oh, oh
Si desde el dia en que no estas
Vi la noche llegar mucho antes de las seis
Si desde el dia en que no estas
Vi la noche llegar mucho antes de las seis
Mucho antes de las seis
Mucho antes
Meet Me In Montauk 
I don’t really get your passion for shakira’s music. Do you really get anything out of listening to a song like this? For me, this goes in one ear and out the other.
I do like some of her upbeat tunes like “hips don’t lie.”
You must have been pleased to learn that she, along with Usher, will be playing the role of mentor/judge in the next season of The Voice. 🙂
Replacing Cee Lo and Christina, right? I’ll miss the original crew. But I’m curious to see how Shakira will do in that setting. She’s very smart (in addition to having hips that don’t lie).
And, we now learn, a new baby on the way (she’ll be grateful for those hips! 😉 Yes, she and Usher will “replace” them just for that season, then the whole group (plus whoever else might be added along the way) will rotate, so artists can leave to make albums and go on tours. Should be interesting.