Shakira (album)

Shakira
Standard cover
Studio album by
Released21 March 2014 (2014-03-21)
Recorded2012–2013
GenrePop[1]
Length41:45
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
Label
Producer
Shakira chronology
Live from Paris
(2011)
Shakira
(2014)
El Dorado
(2017)
Singles from Shakira
  1. "Can't Remember to Forget You"
    Released: 13 January 2014
  2. "Empire"
    Released: 24 February 2014
  3. "Dare (La La La)"
    Released: 25 March 2014

Shakira (stylized Shakira.) is the fourth English-language studio album and tenth overall by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, released on 21 March 2014 by RCA Records in partnership with Sony Music Latin. It is 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.[1] 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.[2]

  1. ^ a b Mike Wass (21 March 2014). "Shakira's "Chasing Shadows" Is A Sublime Electro-Pop Moment: Preview The Target Bonus Track". Idolator. Retrieved 24 March 2014.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "España ocupa el puesto número 13 en el mercado mundial de la música grabada". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 26 February 2018.