SHAKIRA, SHAKIRA?
THE GLOBAL POP STAR WE KNOW DOESN’T RESEMBLE THE EARLY VERSION OF HERSELF. WHAT HAPPENED?
SHAKIRA: EL DORADO WORLD TOUR
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Where: Toyota Center, 1510 Polk Tickets: $50.50-$205; houstontoyotacenter.com
SHAKIRA IN SPANISH
If you only know her in English, you don’t know her at all. Here are some of Shakira’s best songs en español:
“Estoy Aquí” (1995) “Dónde Estás Corazón?” (1996) “Antologia” (1997)
“Ciega, Sordomuda” (1998) “Inevitable” (1998)
“La Tortura” (2005) “Loca” (2010) “Chantaje” (2016)
I still remember the first time I heard Shakira sing in English.
She performed a translation of her song “Inevitable” with Melissa Etheridge on the 1999 ALMA Awards. They also traded verses on Etheridge’s “Come to My Window.” Shakira’s English was rough, to be sure. But it was exciting.
Shakira, who favored grunge over glam in her Spanish-language anthems, looked every bit the rock star. She was dressed head to toe in black, her dark hair punched up with maroon highlights and braids.
That performance was a preview of what was to come. Two years later, she released “Laundry Service,” her English-language debut album. It came with a heavy assist from Gloria and Emilio Estefan, who years earlier
crafted the blueprint for Latin crossover success. “Laundry Service” spawned a series of radio hits in two languages, sold more than 3.5 million copies in the U.S. and established Shakira as a major pop force.
But this was not the same Shakira. Not entirely. She looked different. She sounded different. And she moved differently.
Shakira’s previous albums, “Pies Descalzos” and “Dónde Están los Ladrones?” were very much steeped in a rawer, rock-influenced sound. Less Britney Spears and much more Alanis Morissette. Her “MTV Unplugged” album, recorded entirely in Spanish and released in 2000, still stands as a masterwork, the crystallization of her unique presence and a voice that can quiver like an agitated cat or coo like an angel. And though that album can feel like a time capsule of her pre-Americanized style and appearance, it’s worth noting that Shakira has been opening her current tour, which comes to the Toyota Center Wednesday, with a medley of “Estoy Aquí” and “Dónde Están Los Ladrones” — two songs featured in that “Unplugged” performance.
Shakira’s “new” image (blond hair, more midriff and belly dancing) and sound (English lyrics, pop-radio sensibilities) were meant for mass consumption by Englishspeaking audiences. Many longtime fans were dismayed. But it hasn’t been a complete washout. She still frequently writes with an absurd, abstract sense of poetry. Listen to the lyrics on “Laundry Service.” And bask in the delicious, delirious, disco loopiness of the “She Wolf” album.
Still, much has changed since the days of songs like “Estoy Aquí” and “Ciega Sordomuda.” But let’s not forget her earlier days. Here are a few reminders of the Shakira that once was, before duets with Beyoncé and before her hips didn’t lie. HER HAIR
The most striking difference has been the change in hair color. On her first several albums, Shakira sported jet-black locks, sometimes broken up with strands of color or braids. She went blond for her English-language crossover, initially drawing the ire of fans who saw it as selling out or pandering to white audiences.
“I know my Latin people find this difficult,” she told Faze in 2013. “My hair is a coincidence. I dyed it more than two and a half years ago.” HER GUITAR
Shakira strums a guitar in several of the music videos from her “Pies Descalzos” album: “Estoy Aquí,” “Dónde Estás Corazón?” “Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos.” She still does it on tour. But it seems less an extension of her artistry these days and more like an accessory. HER SOUND
Shakira was never a full-on rock goddess. But her early music was built around a framework of guitars and drums, then layered with pop elements. That early duet with Etheridge made sense, and Morissette was an obvious influence. But much of that was stripped away when she began singing in English, replaced with more globalized sounds selling a “global” artist. Dance and disco also came into play on later albums. Today, however, much of her music is in line with the reggaeton sound that dominates Spanish-language radio. She’s done four duets with genre star Maluma, including current single “Clandestino” and the worldwide hit “Chantaje.” But it would be nice if her next album broke up some of that monotony. HER BELLY DANCING
It’s now considered one of her signatures, but Shakira didn’t start belly dancing in music videos until 1999’s “Ojos Asi,” one of the last Spanish-language singles released before “Laundry Service.” It quickly became an integral part of her image, cresting with the 2006 tune “Hips Don’t Lie.”
That song is Shakira’s only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and, at the time, broke the record for the most radio plays in a single week.
We still love you, Shakira. But sometimes we miss you, too.