Shakira is the fourth English-language and tenth overall studio album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was released on 21 March 2014, via RCA Records, her first English-language album since her eighth studio album, She Wolf (2009). Shakira revealed in November 2011 that she had begun work on the album, which continued into 2013. The album was initially set to be released in 2012, but was delayed because of Shakira's pregnancy, which caused her to scrap most of the recorded songs and start making new ones. Since starting the album, Shakira departed Epic Records, signed a new management deal with Roc Nation and subsequently signed to Epic's sister label, RCA Records.
A pop album, Shakira has a diverse musical style that incorporates a range of genres such as reggae and rock, as well as dance and country elements. Its production is characterized by lean, tender verses and muscular, ecstatic choruses, that incorporate swirling, crashing sounds. The album's lyrics explore motherhood, the complexities of romantic relationships, stages of love and the search for personal happiness. Most of the album was written by Shakira, along with Nasri and Adam Messinger, with all the previous predominantly producing the album.
Upon release Shakira was met with positive reviews from music critics, praising its lyrical content, while others stated that Shakira was trying to "Americanize her sound". Commercially, the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 85,000 copies. By doing so, Shakira became the singer's highest-charting album on the chart, although it also achieved her lowest first-week sales figure (for an English-language album). The album campaign started in 2014, with the release of its first single, "Can't Remember to Forget You", followed by the singles "Empire" and "Dare (La La La)". The album has sold 900,000 copies worldwide in the year of 2014 according to PROMUSICAE, the organisation responsible for the Spanish Albums Chart.
Background In October 2010, Shakira released her ninth studio album, Sale el Sol. The record marked a return to her musical roots after her experimentation with electronic music and was primarily a Latin pop album with influences of rock and merengue music. It garnered critical acclaim and was a commercial success internationally. A year later in November, Shakira revealed in an interview with Billboard magazine that she had begun writing new material and working with various producers for a new record. The following year, she ended her recording contract with Epic Records and signed under Roc Nation for management purposes. In December 2013, it was announced that Shakira had signed a recording contract with RCA Records, under which the record would be released.
Recording
In November 2011, Shakira said about her tenth album: "I already started to write new material. I've begun to explore in the recording studio whenever I have time in Barcelona and here in Miami. I'm working with different producers and DJs, and I try to feed off from that and find new sources of inspiration and new musical motivation. I'm anxious to return to the studio. My body is asking for it". In February 2012, Shakira revealed a picture of herself, LMFAO and Akon working in the studio together, it was also revealed she was working with other producers such as Benny Blanco, Tiësto, RedOne, Max Martin, Dr. Luke. The following month, Shakira took to Twitter to reveal she has been working with American singer and songwriter Ester Dean, as well as working with other producers including Fernando Garibay, Sia. The same month it was revealed once again via Twitter Shakira had been working with The Runners, The Dream, Shea Taylor and Billboard.
Blake Shelton, Rihanna and Magic! are all known to make guest appearances on the album. The initial idea for the song with Blake Shelton came about when Shakira told Shelton that she wanted to work with Nashville musicians due to growing tired of L.A. perspective, Shakira's aim was to get "another point of view" from "real people with roots with whom I feel comfortable working in the same room." Shakira added that she has told Shelton that she wanted to do a song that had "the narrative of a country song, that was picturesque, that was a real song," But also needed to "suit" her due to her Colombian roots. Speaking on the writing of the song Shakira revealed that she has folk roots in her previous albums and wanted to incorporate those elements into her self-titled album, when writing the song Shakira tried a large style of different genres saying "When I wrote ['Medicine'], I didn't know what direction to go in and I did, like, eight versions ... dance, pop. But, I said, no, this is a country song." She later contacted Shelton and told him that a country song is what type of song she wanted to do due to the "acoustic guitars, that type of narrative, songs that have a traditional structure."
On 1 September 2013, Shakira gave an update on her album, stating: "Amazing day in the studio! 2 years and I finally feel in these songs as comfortable as [I do] in my torn jeans!". In November, she confirmed via her official Facebook that she was writing the final lyrics for the record. In January 2014, Shakira spoke on the album's recording and production, saying that she was "so happy" to be sharing her album "with you all", Shakira continued to speak about the album; saying it was something she had "been working on for over two years now." In the same interview Shakira elaborated saying "The work on this album has spanned a very eventful time, with many ups and downs but ultimately, the happiest period in my life thus far, including the birth of my son. I've explored many different directions, worked with many different people, and written many, many demos before arriving at the finished product I will soon be presenting to you." In January 2014, Shakira released a statement through her Facebook regarding the album's recording process: "In the end, what I realized is that throughout the course of creating this body of work, I learned a lot about myself. Though I didn't realize it at the time, all the directions I began exploring in the initial phases of recording were helping to pave a path for me of rediscovery. In the end I realized that I will always be a little bit of everything and I don't have to choose, I am sometimes extremely sensitive, sometimes upbeat, others dreamy and romantic, and even at times a little melodramatic. (Call it the Caribbean blood.) But always authentic and always sincere. Most importantly, I am enough., imperfections and all. So what I am offering you now is just that."
Music and lyrics
Musically the album was described as an "uneasy bargain" between a "rootsy, often acoustic-based pop with a rangy feel and an affinity for early Alanis Morissette" that Shakira wanted and the producers' desire for hits. Emily Mackay of Digitalsy characterised the album as being a "fine balance" between Shakira's style and "what's best about" her and trying to stay relevant in the music industries rat race. When first announcing the record, Shakira described its sound as being "a little bit of rock, a little bit of folk, a little reggae and naturally some dance." On Shakira, she blends an "array" of musical influences and flavors that follow in the same vein as previous albums. Mixing a variety of genres including "dance-pop, Spanish, reggae and rock," the album lyrically talks about how she loves, both in her relationship and as a mother.
Mike Wass from Idolator described Shakira as being a blend of experimental "poetic pop" songs that take influence from a range of genres including reggae, dance, rock and country. Kevin Harley of the Independent described the album's musical content as being built upon "reggae-tinged, bouncy melodies," and noted the album's lyrics as being "absurd" and "occasionally quite poetic." Lyrically the album focus on topics including love and motherhood, whilst the album's music was described by Leila Cobo from Billboard as being "cohesive" with an "organic set" that's roots "lie mostly in melodic pop-rock and unexpected touches from multiple influences." Shakira is built on "lean, tender" verses and "muscular, ecstatic" choruses, and incorporate "swirling, crashing" sounds noted on "Spotlight". Throughout the album Shakira sings about searching for "realization of personal happiness," which was noted as a "recurring topic".
According to James Reed of The Boston Globe, Shakira is the singer's most "personal effort in years", Reed continued to praise Shakira and the album's lyrical content which he described, saying "She sounds at ease and reborn on this new album, proudly addressing the joy of new love from both her child and partner." Leila Cobo from Billboard noted the change in the album's lyrical and musical style to that of She Wolf (2009), Cobo said "Instead, get ready for a set of convincing, honest music, on which the Colombian star often unabashedly professes her love for boyfriend Gerard Pique. Perhaps love is what makes this album soar."
Songs
The album opens with "Dare (La La La)", the song an uptempo dance track that contains Brazilian beats and takes influence from electronica, with a Spanish version of the song also recorded for the album. The following track, "Can't Remember to Forget You", is an uptempo new wave and reggae rock track that incorporates elements of ska. The song opens with a "low-slung, reggae-tinged verse" before moving into a "guitar-heavy" chorus which contains "ska guitars and horns" and a "chunky rock arrangement". Lyrically, the song concerns a man that Shakira can not get off her mind, discussing how easy it is to forget how bad someone is for you when you still love them. "Empire" is a mid-tempo rock-influenced song, described as being Shakira's biggest rock transition in a long time since her earlier music. The song begins with an acoustic "sparse" intro and builds up to an anthemic rock tune. Lyrically, the track talks about a bursting passion that the singer simply cannot express in words.
The track "You Don't Care About Me" is a bruised and moody midtempo Latin pop song. The song contains "syncopated beats" and a "slightly retro 60s sound", that lyrically discusses "spite". "Cut Me Deep", a collaboration between Shakira and MAGIC!, is a reggae-pop song. The song is built over a reggae beat, steel drums and horns pick and contain a mixture of ska and rock. The following track "Spotlight" is a pop rock song that and has been compared to the work of Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen. "Spotlight" takes influence from heavy rock tracks, with power guitars that lyrically delivers a "crushing message". "Broken Record" is a love song that follows in the vein as "Empire", the song contains a guitar, before breaking into a power ballad with "grandiose strings". "Medicine" that features Blake Shelton is a country pop ballad, with lyrics such as: "I won't reach for the bottle of whisky/ You won't see me popping the pills. The song "23", is heavily inspired by her boyfriend Gerard Piqué, is a melodic pop rock song with lyrics as; "Hey, do you believe in destiny? 'Cause I do as I did then, when you were only 23."
"The One Thing" is a guitar based pop song that features hand-claps and foot-stomps and takes influence from Shakira's son and motherhood. "Loca por Ti" is a Catalan song (originally by Sau) that pays "homage" to Pique. The Catalan version "Boig per Tu" is available on the Spanish deluxe edition of the album.