WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.720 Welcome back to The Deep Dives, where we take 00:00:01.720 --> 00:00:04.339 a stack of sources and extract the core knowledge 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:07.339 you need to be perfectly informed. Today, we 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:09.720 are immersing ourselves in the world of an artist 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.699 whose career is less a straight line and more 00:00:13.699 --> 00:00:16.160 a series of earth -shattering cultural pivots. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:19.679 The one, the only, Shakira Isabel Mebarak -Ripoll. 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.859 We're examining a global force. And this deep 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:25.739 dive, it covers a career that spans over 30 years. 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:29.019 It's marked by massive commercial success, some 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:32.079 really profound artistic reinvention, and just 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:34.299 a staggering cultural influence. Yeah, it's no 00:00:34.299 --> 00:00:36.340 exaggeration, right? She is universally referred 00:00:36.340 --> 00:00:39.119 to as the queen of Latin music. Not at all. And 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:41.079 the numbers alone are just immense. I mean, she 00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:43.780 had already sold over 95 million records worldwide 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:46.759 before the release of her recent album, Las Mujeres 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:49.479 Ya No Loran. Wow. And that significance goes 00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:52.520 so far beyond just sales figures. What's truly 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:54.719 fascinating and what our sources really agree 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.219 on is that she is credited with popularizing 00:00:57.219 --> 00:01:00.179 Hispanophone music on a truly global scale. Making 00:01:00.179 --> 00:01:02.719 it mainstream in markets that were, you know, 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:05.379 previously completely inaccessible. Exactly. 00:01:05.620 --> 00:01:07.540 There's even research suggesting her influence 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:10.340 has contributed to an increase in Spanish language 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:12.159 learning around the world. I mean, that is the 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:13.859 literal definition of a cultural phenomenon. 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:16.439 It really speaks to her role as a kind of bridge. 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:19.620 an anthropological mission, which I think is 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:21.980 a perfect description. So we're going to unpack 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:26.200 how she manages to be like a purist of Colombian 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:30.340 rock, a global pop chameleon, and an acknowledged 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:33.780 artistic link between the West and the East all 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:37.120 at the same time. That's our mission today. We 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.599 are going to trace that entire multifaceted trajectory. 00:01:41.310 --> 00:01:45.730 from her rock -focused Colombian roots and those 00:01:45.730 --> 00:01:48.230 early artistic failures. Which were pretty spectacular 00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:50.349 failures, we should say. Right. Through that 00:01:50.349 --> 00:01:53.349 seismic and very controversial global crossover, 00:01:53.530 --> 00:01:56.170 all the way up to the record -breaking era that's 00:01:56.170 --> 00:01:58.329 been fueled by the alchemy of her recent personal 00:01:58.329 --> 00:02:00.189 pain. We're really looking at an artist whose 00:02:00.189 --> 00:02:03.090 identity is defined by fusion and just this incredible 00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:05.489 self -determination. She has a case study in 00:02:05.489 --> 00:02:07.709 how to maintain authenticity while embracing 00:02:07.709 --> 00:02:10.129 massive commercial change. Okay, let's unpack 00:02:10.129 --> 00:02:12.460 this. starting with the very beginning of her 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:15.699 multifaceted life, deep in the cosmopolitan port 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:18.460 city of Barranquilla, Colombia. So we begin in 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:22.479 1977, and her birthplace, Barranquilla, is often 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:25.099 called the Golden Gate of Colombia. It's a major 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:27.639 port city, which really reflects her own blended 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.430 identity. Her heritage is an immediate clue, 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:32.650 isn't it? It was the key to the fusion sound 00:02:32.650 --> 00:02:34.889 that would define her entire career. Absolutely. 00:02:34.969 --> 00:02:37.590 She's the daughter of William Mubarak Chadid, 00:02:37.610 --> 00:02:41.310 who is of Lebanese descent, and Nydia Ripol -Torado, 00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:43.830 whose background is Spanish. And our sources 00:02:43.830 --> 00:02:47.069 even find distant Italian roots through the surname 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:49.770 Picciotti in her ancestry. So it's a true cultural 00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:52.129 crossroads. It is. She was raised Catholic, but 00:02:52.129 --> 00:02:54.009 the cultural influences in that household were 00:02:54.009 --> 00:02:56.229 anything but singular. And that creative seed, 00:02:56.310 --> 00:02:59.879 it was planted. astonishingly early. At age four, 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:01.800 she wrote her first poem. Yeah, she called it 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:04.800 La Rosa de Cristal, or The Crystal Rose. And 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:06.599 this really established her as a storyteller 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.319 from the jump. This poetry would, you know, naturally 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:12.460 evolve into the deeply personal and often metaphorical 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:14.639 lyrics that we know her for. But the motivation 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.120 for her first actual song, which came just a 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.979 few years later, was rooted in some pretty profound 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.860 and tangible grief. It really highlights how 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:25.599 early her art became confessional. It's a really 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.259 heartbreaking story. When she was just two, her 00:03:28.259 --> 00:03:30.159 half -brother died in a motorcycle accident. 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.280 He was only 19. Wow. And her father, who was 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:36.419 a jeweler, was just devastated. So six years 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:38.680 later, when Shakira was eight, she wrote her 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:42.520 first song, Gafas Oscuras. Dark glasses. Exactly. 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:45.439 It was a trial to her father, who wore dark glasses 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:49.060 for years, precisely to hide his grief and his 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:52.379 tears over the loss. To memorialize that pain 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:55.379 through a song at age eight, it just shows this 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:57.759 incredible maturity in her artistic approach 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.020 from the very beginning. And her cultural duality 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:02.259 starts showing up in her performance really early, 00:04:02.340 --> 00:04:05.080 too. At age four, she discovers this powerful 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:07.539 cultural anchor from her father's side of the 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:09.680 family. Absolutely. Her father took her to a 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:11.860 local Middle East... restaurant. She heard the 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:13.400 doombeck. For anyone who doesn't know, that's 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:15.479 the very distinctive goblet drum that's foundational 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:18.060 to Middle Eastern music. And she just discovered 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:21.279 the art of belly dancing. And she was so captivated, 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:23.779 she just climbed up on a table to dance. Spontaneously. 00:04:23.819 --> 00:04:26.279 Just got up and started dancing. And her parents 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:28.620 really nurtured this. I mean, it wasn't just 00:04:28.620 --> 00:04:31.920 a childhood hobby. She was encouraged to demonstrate 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:34.920 her belly dancing talent every Friday morning 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:37.680 at her strict Catholic school. Which is just 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.879 such an amazing cultural contrast, right? You 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.060 have this Arabic movement being performed in 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:44.939 a Colombian Catholic convent setting. Incredible. 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.279 But this performance confidence, it did face 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:51.279 a significant setback, even if it was short -lived. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:53.759 The famous rejection. She was rejected from the 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:56.000 school choir in the second grade. And the reason 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.879 was that her vibrato was deemed too strong. Not 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.259 just strong. The classmates gave this unforgettable 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:03.720 critique that she sounded like a goat. Like a 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:05.699 goat. Goat? Can you imagine? If someone told 00:05:05.699 --> 00:05:07.920 me that in second grade, I would have pivoted 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:10.620 to accounting immediately. Something quiet. Right. 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:13.160 But for her, it seems to have just reinforced 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:16.240 the uniqueness of her emerging voice, which is 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.939 now famous for that warbling vibrato and that 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:21.379 yodeling technique she just powered through. 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:24.339 But there is a more serious element to her childhood 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:27.560 that planted the seed for what would become her 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:30.139 massive philanthropic work. This is a really 00:05:30.139 --> 00:05:32.339 crucial foundation for understanding her character. 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:35.100 When she was... eight her jeweler father went 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:37.879 bankrupt oh wow she came back from a brief stay 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:40.379 with relatives in los angeles to find that their 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:43.579 cars their furniture even their color tv were 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.920 all gone and she had a really difficult time 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.060 adjusting to this sudden modesty so how did her 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:51.560 father handle that in a deeply impactful way 00:05:52.029 --> 00:05:54.430 To instill in her a greater appreciation for 00:05:54.430 --> 00:05:57.050 genuine hardship, he took her to a local park 00:05:57.050 --> 00:05:59.209 in Barranquilla. To see what? To see children 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:02.149 living as orphans, scrounging for food, who were 00:06:02.149 --> 00:06:05.250 facing real persistent poverty. And that image 00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:07.730 just stayed with her. It instilled this early 00:06:07.730 --> 00:06:10.750 and enduring desire to help children once she 00:06:10.750 --> 00:06:13.509 finally became famous. So you have this confluence 00:06:13.509 --> 00:06:16.050 of cultural background, personal tragedy -fueling 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:18.990 art, early musical rejection, and a commitment 00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:21.230 to activism, all before she's even a teenager. 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.800 It really does lay the foundation for the complex, 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:27.439 driven woman she became. All those elements were 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:29.480 there from the start. Okay, so that really sets 00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.000 the stage. Now, let's look at the actual launch 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.639 pad, her initial and very rocky start in the 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.060 music industry. Right. So she began gaining some 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:41.139 local recognition between the ages of 10 and 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:43.899 13. This led her to meet a local theater producer, 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:47.240 Monica Ariza, who managed to convince a Sony 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:50.279 Music Columbia executive, Ciro Vargas, to give 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:53.000 her an audition. And she sang three songs and 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.060 impressed them enough to get signed. Signed at 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.870 just 13 years old for a three -album deal. On 00:06:57.870 --> 00:06:59.990 paper, it sounded like the breakthrough. But 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:02.449 the initial commercial results were? Yeah. Well, 00:07:02.569 --> 00:07:04.509 they were disastrous. We were talking about staggering 00:07:04.509 --> 00:07:07.370 failure here. Commercially, yes. Her debut album, 00:07:07.610 --> 00:07:11.329 Magia, which came out in 1991, only sold a shocking 00:07:11.329 --> 00:07:14.949 1 ,200 copies. Wait, 1 ,200 total? In her home 00:07:14.949 --> 00:07:17.350 country of Colombia. That's almost unfathomable 00:07:17.350 --> 00:07:19.050 for an artist who would go on to become one of 00:07:19.050 --> 00:07:20.750 the best -selling musicians in the world. That 00:07:20.750 --> 00:07:23.329 must have been a crushing blow. Yet she pushed 00:07:23.329 --> 00:07:27.120 on to a second album, Peligro, in 1993. Peligro 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.990 was, uh... marginally more developed, but she 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:31.990 was deeply displeased with the final production 00:07:31.990 --> 00:07:34.350 quality. She felt it was rushed and that it didn't 00:07:34.350 --> 00:07:37.069 reflect her artistic vision at all. So she just 00:07:37.069 --> 00:07:39.370 refused to promote it. Her dissatisfaction was 00:07:39.370 --> 00:07:41.970 so strong that she refused to advertise or promote 00:07:41.970 --> 00:07:44.149 the album, which, you know, naturally contributed 00:07:44.149 --> 00:07:46.490 to its commercial failure. This early period 00:07:46.490 --> 00:07:49.470 of having her vision compromised, it's why she 00:07:49.470 --> 00:07:51.949 later generally refused to even acknowledge or 00:07:51.949 --> 00:07:54.370 perform songs from those first two albums. It's 00:07:54.370 --> 00:07:56.410 incredible to think that a future global icon 00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:00.800 sold so few copies of her debut that she essentially 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.379 just disowned them. It seems like that experience 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:05.600 must have taught her a lot about creative control 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:09.279 later on. Precisely. That early failure, coupled 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:11.439 with her strong sense of self -determination, 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:14.379 it really solidified her need for creative autonomy. 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:17.160 She learned the hard way that if she wanted the 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:19.620 success to match the talent, she had to control 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:22.100 the product. But she did get some critical early 00:08:22.100 --> 00:08:25.019 exposure, particularly at the Viña del Mar International 00:08:25.019 --> 00:08:28.860 Song Festival in Chile in 1993. Yes, that was 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.699 a moment of validation. She won third place with 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:34.980 the ballad Heirs. And here's a cool detail from 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:37.980 the sources. One of the judges who voted for 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:40.200 her to win was none other than Ricky Martin. 00:08:40.549 --> 00:08:43.470 Oh, wow. Who was already a huge star in the Latin 00:08:43.470 --> 00:08:45.750 world. So it was a great early endorsement from 00:08:45.750 --> 00:08:48.669 a major peer. And at the same time, her education 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:51.730 is intersecting with her budding career, providing 00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:54.129 more material for her later activism. That's 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:56.610 right. She graduated from a convent secondary 00:08:56.610 --> 00:09:00.169 school at 15. And the school required students 00:09:00.169 --> 00:09:02.450 to do social service hours. Which involved what 00:09:02.450 --> 00:09:04.629 exactly? It involved visiting the poorest areas 00:09:04.629 --> 00:09:06.769 of town to help teach reading and writing to 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:09.289 unschooled children. So this requirement gave 00:09:09.289 --> 00:09:12.210 her the sustained early exposure to the chronic 00:09:12.210 --> 00:09:14.649 child poverty issues that would directly inspire 00:09:14.649 --> 00:09:17.629 her humanitarian work, specifically the Barefoot 00:09:17.629 --> 00:09:19.929 Foundation. So she had the talent, the drive, 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:22.750 the social conscience, and now this hard -won 00:09:22.750 --> 00:09:25.309 lesson in creative control, but still no commercial 00:09:25.309 --> 00:09:27.539 engine. That all changed dramatically with her 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:30.259 breakthrough Black Air Rock era. Between 1995 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:33.960 and 2000, the turning point was the success of 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.159 a single Donde Estas Corazon. from a compilation 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:40.299 album. That motivated Sony to finally commission 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:43.080 her to produce a full rock album under her complete 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.399 creative guidance. And this is where we get the 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:50.580 pivotal albums. Exactly. This is the era where 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:53.679 she defined herself as a dark -haired, raw, rock 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:57.000 -influenced artist. The angry young woman rock 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.620 attitude, as she was often described. She was 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:01.820 one of the foremost rockeras of the 90s Latin 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:04.100 scene. So what were the foundational musical 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:07.009 influences of this? black haired phase. It wasn't 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:09.029 just Latin rock, was it? No, not at all. Her 00:10:09.029 --> 00:10:11.129 foundational influences were definitely Western 00:10:11.129 --> 00:10:14.570 classic and alternative rock. Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:17.690 The Police, The Cure, Tom Petty. She's even cited 00:10:17.690 --> 00:10:20.289 Depeche Mode. Yes, their song Enjoy the Silence. 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:22.850 She said it kickstarted her passion for music 00:10:22.850 --> 00:10:24.769 and made her appreciate the electric guitar as 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:27.350 an instrument of expression. But crucially, even 00:10:27.350 --> 00:10:30.070 in this quote unquote rock era, the fusion we 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:32.509 talked about was already in full swing. So let's 00:10:32.509 --> 00:10:36.059 break down the sound of Pies Descalzos. Bare 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:40.000 Feet. What did that actually sound like? That 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.759 album is praised for its assertive sound and 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:45.919 its direct personal aesthetic. While rock was 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:48.000 the foundation, she immediately incorporated 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.799 global sounds. You can hear reggae grooves, dancehall 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:55.139 rhythms, bossa nova, bachata guitar. It was a 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:57.139 clear sign that she would never be constrained 00:10:57.139 --> 00:10:59.720 by a single genre. And some of the tracks were 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:01.659 already pushing social boundaries. Definitely. 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.559 Key tracks included Estoy Aquí, Antologia, and 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:08.139 the very controversial Sicchiae Semata. What 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:10.000 was that one about? She was already using her 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.360 platform to push the social envelope by singing 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:15.000 about the dangers women face with unsafe abortions 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:17.620 when legal options are unavailable. That is heavy 00:11:17.620 --> 00:11:19.539 subject matter for a mainstream Latin artist 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:21.809 at that time. She wasn't just doing typical pop 00:11:21.809 --> 00:11:24.590 songs. Not at all. She was injecting incisive 00:11:24.590 --> 00:11:27.029 social commentary right from the start. Then 00:11:27.029 --> 00:11:29.870 came Donde Estan Los Ladrones in 1998, which 00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:32.509 truly broadened her global sonic palette. And 00:11:32.509 --> 00:11:34.429 the title itself, Where Are the Thieves, came 00:11:34.429 --> 00:11:36.970 from a really frustrating personal setback. Yes, 00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:39.429 a stolen suitcase at an airport that contained 00:11:39.429 --> 00:11:42.129 all of her written lyrics for the album. So she 00:11:42.129 --> 00:11:45.049 turned that frustration into art. And musically, 00:11:45.210 --> 00:11:48.090 what was its great contribution? This is where 00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:50.580 that East -West link first... Becomes unavoidable. 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:53.720 Right. This is where it clicks globally. The 00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:56.980 album was a crucial, successful blend of Latin 00:11:56.980 --> 00:12:00.519 rock, pop and Middle Eastern music. And you must 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:04.360 be referring to. Ohosasi. Eyes like ears. Exactly. 00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:07.460 Ohosasi became a global hit, not just a Latin 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:10.759 one. This was due entirely to those strong Arabic 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:14.059 connotations, the musical fusion and that striking 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:17.659 video. It infused clear elements of Arabic pop, 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:20.279 particularly in the instrumental structure and 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:23.200 her distinctive vocal ad libs. It resonated instantly 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.019 with audiences who weren't usually listening 00:12:25.019 --> 00:12:27.379 to rock or Latin pop. So by the end of this era, 00:12:27.460 --> 00:12:30.120 she was basically crowned. By 19, she was the 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.860 best selling female. pop rocker in Latin America. 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:35.440 She was officially named a national cultural 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.100 ambassador by the president of Colombia, a distinction 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:40.220 she shared with the Nobel Prize winning writer 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:42.600 Gabriel Garcia Marquez. That's incredible company 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.360 to be in. And Marquez, who became a friend and 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:48.419 a mentor, even wrote an essay exalting her talent. 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:51.200 He described her as having innocent sensuality. 00:12:51.549 --> 00:12:54.450 Her MTV Unplugged in 1999 really cemented this 00:12:54.450 --> 00:12:56.289 status in the US, though. It did. It was the 00:12:56.289 --> 00:12:58.549 first Spanish -language broadcast for the series, 00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:01.269 and it earned huge critical acclaim and won her 00:13:01.269 --> 00:13:04.230 first album Grammy. She had successfully dominated 00:13:04.230 --> 00:13:06.470 Latin music. She was the leader of the rockeros 00:13:06.470 --> 00:13:09.210 and the stage goddess who connected with a massive, 00:13:09.269 --> 00:13:11.690 dedicated audience. And that's the very definition 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:14.710 of having reached a ceiling. The sources explicitly 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.710 state that after the MTV Unplugged success, the 00:13:17.710 --> 00:13:20.909 strategic decision was clear. To become a truly 00:13:20.909 --> 00:13:23.929 global phenomenon, she had to record in English. 00:13:24.169 --> 00:13:26.789 Which brings us right into part two, the crossover 00:13:26.789 --> 00:13:30.049 conundrum, a period defined by massive overwhelming 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:33.830 success, but also a deeply fraught identity debate 00:13:33.830 --> 00:13:36.610 that still follows her to this day. This move 00:13:36.610 --> 00:13:39.190 was purely strategic. Tommy Mottola, who was 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:41.570 head of Sony Music at the time, called her an 00:13:41.570 --> 00:13:44.750 absolutely brilliant artist and immediately saw 00:13:44.750 --> 00:13:47.590 her crossover potential. Because of her, what 00:13:47.590 --> 00:13:50.519 was it? universally catchy pop rock melodies, 00:13:50.899 --> 00:13:54.159 cerebral lyrics, unwavering self -determination, 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:57.500 and natural sex appeal. The industry saw a star 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:00.039 with global architecture. So she had to master 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:03.120 English first. She dedicated herself to it, with 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:05.940 help from her label mate, Gloria Estefan. The 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:08.379 initial plan was simple, just translate her previous 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.860 album. But Shakira, exercising that creative 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:13.480 control she fought for, said no. She decided 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.960 she needed to write an entirely new album from 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:18.600 scratch to really capture the spirit of the English 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.960 language properly. And she immersed herself in 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.679 that creative isolation. Yes, she worked secluded 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:26.159 for a year in Uruguay and a rented house in the 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:28.679 Bahamas to write the material. The result was 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:30.919 the launch single that truly defined the crossover, 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.620 whenever, wherever. Por suerte, in Spanish. A 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:37.159 truly landmark track that showed she wasn't abandoning 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:39.340 her roots, just evolving them. That's the genius 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:41.960 of it. It took heavy influence from Andean music. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:44.120 notably using instruments like the charango, 00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:46.799 a small -stringed instrument, and the very distinctive 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.259 sound of the pan flute. So by weaving those traditional 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:52.899 non -Western elements into a massive, catchy 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:56.080 pop song, she made it both exotic and universally 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:58.799 appealing. And it became an international smash 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:01.720 hit, reaching number one in most countries globally. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:05.259 That single was the perfect setup for the 2001 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:08.220 album Laundry Service. The commercial success 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.799 of the full album was just undeniable. Commercially, 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.559 it was a staggering triumph. It sold over 13 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.460 million copies worldwide. It's still the best 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:19.480 -selling album of all time by a female Latin 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:22.399 artist. It debuted high on the U .S. Billboard 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.919 200 chart at number three. But this is where 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:27.720 the identity debate became really heated. This 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:30.279 is the conundrum. It was a sharp critical and 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:32.820 cultural divide. Critics like Rolling Stone were 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:35.259 just brutal. They claimed her English was too 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:37.460 weak for deep songwriting, that her magic is 00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:39.720 lost in translation. And that the lyrics were 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:42.139 downright silly and full of cliches, especially 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:44.419 when you compare them to the poetic Spanish of 00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:47.740 her earlier work. Ouch. But others looked beyond 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:50.320 the literal translation and saw something new, 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:54.019 a unique form of expression. Exactly. Supporters 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:56.220 argued that she wasn't necessarily struggling 00:15:56.220 --> 00:15:59.120 with English, but rather expressing herself in 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:02.299 this singular, sometimes surreal way, a unique 00:16:02.299 --> 00:16:05.559 lyrical sensibility inherent to someone translating 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:08.740 complex Spanish poetic thought structures. into 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:11.200 english and the album has some fascinating musical 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.419 examples of this blend it really does objection 00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:17.000 tango which is a genuine rock take on tango that 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:20.500 included a genuinely peculiar rap and poem to 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:22.980 a horse which mixed nirvana influence guitars 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:26.059 with a soul horn section this cultural and musical 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:28.320 pension gave rise to what our sources call a 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.100 deeply racialized debate among her followers 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:34.179 it was fierce the core question was was she selling 00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:37.210 out the visual shift Dying her dark hair blonde 00:16:37.210 --> 00:16:40.049 and singing in English was seen by some as abandoning 00:16:40.049 --> 00:16:42.970 her essence. Transforming into a whiter, sexier 00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:45.970 version of herself that was palatable for angle 00:16:45.970 --> 00:16:48.570 audiences. There was a deep lament among some 00:16:48.570 --> 00:16:51.190 loyal Latin fans that she had to dye her hair 00:16:51.190 --> 00:16:53.529 blonde and bare her body to succeed in the U 00:16:53.529 --> 00:16:56.210 .S. market. It felt like a betrayal of the rockera 00:16:56.210 --> 00:16:58.590 she had been. That's a heavy weight to put on 00:16:58.590 --> 00:17:01.960 an artist. How did Shakira herself respond to 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:04.940 this relentless, highly personal criticism? She 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:07.539 was extremely defensive of her motivations. She 00:17:07.539 --> 00:17:10.119 adamantly stated that her roots were very well 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:12.859 planted in Latin America. She countered the hair 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:15.220 criticism by insisting the blonde color was purely 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:17.839 her own vanity. She just wanted to try something 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.079 new. But she took the defense one step further, 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.500 didn't she? She reframed the entire crossover. 00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:25.660 She did. She described the move not as a career 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:28.339 change, but as an anthropological mission, an 00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:30.599 adventure to build bridges, expose herself to 00:17:30.599 --> 00:17:32.839 new cultures, and talk to different audiences 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:34.920 around the world, taking her Latin background 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.380 with her. It's a powerful reframing, turning 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:39.460 commercial calculation into a cultural mandate. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.660 And that attitude is crucial for understanding 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:44.700 her legacy as a pop chameleon. Her ability to 00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:47.539 hybridize genres and defy labels, which truly 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:50.819 started with laundry service, it became her signature. 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:53.890 She told newspaper this embrace of fusion offered 00:17:53.890 --> 00:17:56.589 her the opportunity to remove any type of label 00:17:56.589 --> 00:17:58.789 people want to place on me. So the tension between 00:17:58.789 --> 00:18:01.349 commercial success and perceived authenticity 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:04.869 became a creative engine for her, and she wielded 00:18:04.869 --> 00:18:07.150 her increasing control to manage that narrative. 00:18:07.430 --> 00:18:09.589 Here's where it gets really interesting, that 00:18:09.589 --> 00:18:13.210 control intensified as she planned her next era. 00:18:13.670 --> 00:18:15.990 She wasn't content to simply conquer the English 00:18:15.990 --> 00:18:18.809 market. She decided to dominate both markets 00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:21.589 at the same time. And she took over production 00:18:21.589 --> 00:18:23.869 entirely for laundry service and just continued 00:18:23.869 --> 00:18:26.170 that high level of creative control throughout 00:18:26.170 --> 00:18:28.569 her career. By the time she launched her next 00:18:28.569 --> 00:18:30.990 massive era, she was wielding that power with 00:18:30.990 --> 00:18:33.569 incredible precision. So moving on to part three, 00:18:33.690 --> 00:18:35.829 this is where she stops being a controversial 00:18:35.829 --> 00:18:38.450 crossover artist and becomes a genuine global 00:18:38.450 --> 00:18:41.809 superstar defined by this artistic dualism and 00:18:41.809 --> 00:18:44.069 strategic releases. This is the oral fixation 00:18:44.069 --> 00:18:46.549 era. It was an incredible demonstration of creative 00:18:46.549 --> 00:18:49.309 output and market strategy. She prepared for 00:18:49.309 --> 00:18:52.250 this period by writing a staggering 60 songs. 00:18:52.430 --> 00:18:55.410 60. 60. She selected 20 and strategically split 00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:57.450 them across two albums separated by language, 00:18:57.609 --> 00:19:00.549 both released in quick succession, Fijation Oral 00:19:00.549 --> 00:19:02.809 Volume 1 in Spanish and Oral Fixation Volume 00:19:02.809 --> 00:19:05.890 2 in English. The Spanish album came first and 00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:08.349 immediately proved that her Latin market was 00:19:08.349 --> 00:19:11.390 still fiercely loyal and growing. It was a massive 00:19:11.390 --> 00:19:14.450 statement. Faya Sash and Oral, Volume 1, set 00:19:14.450 --> 00:19:17.930 the record for the highest US debut ever for 00:19:17.930 --> 00:19:20.230 a Spanish language album, debuting at number 00:19:20.230 --> 00:19:23.069 four on the overall US Billboard 200. And the 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:27.000 lead single, La Tortura, was just dominant. It 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:28.720 set a record by remaining atop the Billboard 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:32.140 Hot Latin Track chart for a stunning 25 consecutive 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:34.640 weeks, and it was one of the first Spanish -language 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.039 songs performed at the MTV Video Music Awards. 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:39.700 But the defining moment, the one that cemented 00:19:39.700 --> 00:19:41.759 her as a global force, came with the English 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:44.509 album's second single. Hips Don't Lie, featuring 00:19:44.509 --> 00:19:47.369 Wycliffe Jean from 2006. Its impact is just. 00:19:47.589 --> 00:19:50.130 It's still felt today. It's the essential Shakira 00:19:50.130 --> 00:19:52.589 track, isn't it? Its impact can't be overstated. 00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:55.210 It was her first U .S. Billboard Hot 100 No. 00:19:55.349 --> 00:19:57.730 1, but more importantly, it hit No. 1 in over 00:19:57.730 --> 00:20:00.769 55 other countries. A true global saturation. 00:20:01.190 --> 00:20:03.269 For a time, it was the biggest -selling single 00:20:03.269 --> 00:20:06.049 of the 21st century worldwide. And NPR noticed 00:20:06.049 --> 00:20:08.119 something crucial about this track. It reversed 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:10.079 the standard crossover equation. That's right. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:13.400 Often crossover artists have to sacrifice identity 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.559 to appease U .S. listeners. Hips Don't Lie did 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:19.579 the opposite. It mixed quintessential Latin elements, 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:23.339 salsa, reggaeton, and Colombian cumbia. Right. 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:26.539 Using a famous sample by Jerry Rivera. It wasn't 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:29.240 explicitly marketed as reggaeton, but it became 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:32.099 arguably the most widely known and biggest selling 00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:35.059 song in the genre's history globally. It was 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:37.660 like a Trojan horse of Latin rhythms into the 00:20:37.660 --> 00:20:40.200 Anglo world. With that level of dominance, her 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.980 career infrastructure, her business had to match 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:45.039 her global reach. It scaled up dramatically. 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:48.460 By 2008, Forbes named her the fourth top earning 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:51.440 female artist in music. And then came the contract 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.720 that speaks volumes. about her power and business 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:56.519 acumen. The Live Nation deal. In 2008, she signed 00:20:56.519 --> 00:21:00.559 a huge 10 -year, $312 million contract with Live 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:02.880 Nation Entertainment encompassing tours, recordings, 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.579 sponsorship, and merchandise worldwide. That 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:08.259 deal is just monumental. It gave her massive 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:10.839 operational power and control over her own career 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:13.119 direction. She essentially became the CEO of 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:16.000 her own creative enterprise for a decade. Exactly. 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:19.160 It secured her ability to pivot artistically 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:21.519 without the constant oversight of a traditional 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:24.180 record label, which is exactly what she did next 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:27.200 with She -Wolf. She -Wolf from 2009 was a big 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:30.279 stylistic swerve, a sharp turn into something 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:33.000 very electronic and conceptual, moving away from 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:34.900 the fusion rhythms that made her famous. It was 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:38.680 a sonic experiment. It focused heavily on electropop 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:42.079 and clubby sounds described by her as a sonic 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:44.599 experimental trip. The thematic focus shifted 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:46.980 heavily toward female sexual liberation. She 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:48.480 said she couldn't have written those songs when 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:51.119 she was 20. The timing was important for that 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:53.599 thematic shift. It reflected a personal evolution. 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:56.759 She noted that this shift being more in touch 00:21:56.759 --> 00:21:59.299 with my desires and embracing this unapologetic 00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:02.000 sexuality required the maturity and confidence 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:04.579 she gained in her 30s. And it immediately resonated 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:07.180 with social movements, becoming an anthem for 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:10.160 LGBTQ movements. It did, which showcases how 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:12.380 her massive commercial hits consistently carry 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:15.039 a deeper, relevant social or cultural weight. 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:17.480 Speaking of global cultural weight, we have to 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:20.789 discuss her title as the World Cup Queen. Her 00:22:20.789 --> 00:22:23.309 monumental contributions to the FIFA World Cup 00:22:23.309 --> 00:22:25.529 are one of the most visible elements of her global 00:22:25.529 --> 00:22:29.509 image. It starts in 2010 with Waka Waka, this 00:22:29.509 --> 00:22:32.190 time for Africa. The official song for the South 00:22:32.190 --> 00:22:35.390 Africa World Cup. And it was Genius Fusion again, 00:22:35.569 --> 00:22:39.259 based on a Cameroonian folk song called Zangaleva. 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:41.500 And that track didn't just sell well, it became 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.380 a global standard. It sold over 4 million copies, 00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:47.000 becoming the biggest selling World Cup song of 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:49.940 all time. It solidified her image as this unifying 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:52.819 multicultural force. And she reinforced this 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:56.079 by performing La La La at the 2014 Brazil World 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:58.619 Cup, marking her third consecutive appearance. 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.059 No other artist has achieved that level of global 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:04.319 sports dominance. After the heavy electronica 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:07.680 of She -Wolf, her 2010 album Sale El Sol felt 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:09.630 like a deliberate re -engagement with her artistic 00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:12.230 foundation. It was explicitly described as a 00:23:12.230 --> 00:23:15.029 return to her roots, mixing rock, ballads, and 00:23:15.029 --> 00:23:18.029 specific Latin dance styles like merengue, cumbia, 00:23:18.170 --> 00:23:20.269 and reggaeton. And what's really fascinating 00:23:20.269 --> 00:23:23.150 is the track Gordita, which is this meta -commentary 00:23:23.150 --> 00:23:26.250 on her own career. It is. Residente of Calle, 00:23:26.289 --> 00:23:29.369 13 raps in the song about preferring Shakira 00:23:29.369 --> 00:23:32.089 when she was chubbier, had dark hair, and was 00:23:32.089 --> 00:23:34.609 still the original rockera. That is incredible. 00:23:34.750 --> 00:23:37.509 So the internal identity debate about the blonde 00:23:37.509 --> 00:23:40.849 hair and the crossover was so active, it literally 00:23:40.849 --> 00:23:43.369 became a theme within her own music. It shows 00:23:43.369 --> 00:23:45.630 she was listening and incorporating the criticism 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:49.150 into her art, embracing that duality. She wasn't 00:23:49.150 --> 00:23:50.910 running from the debate. She was singing about 00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:53.170 it. Around this time, she also took a deliberate 00:23:53.170 --> 00:23:55.950 step into mainstream American television. Yes, 00:23:55.970 --> 00:23:58.109 she served as a coach on The Voice during seasons 00:23:58.109 --> 00:24:00.930 four and six, maintaining high visibility in 00:24:00.930 --> 00:24:03.089 the U .S. market and collaborating with major... 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:05.619 stars like Rihanna on Can't Remember to Forget 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:07.759 You. She was navigating the mainstream without 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:10.119 sacrificing her creative output. And her next 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.960 era, El Dorado in 2017, shows her truly mastering 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:16.420 the versatility of the modern Latin music landscape. 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:19.779 Specifically embracing musica urbana or urban 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:22.160 music styles. El Dorado is a musical treasure 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:24.259 trove that just proves her versatility across 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:26.910 genres. It's highly acclaimed. It was primarily 00:24:26.910 --> 00:24:30.470 Spanish language and dove headfirst into reggaeton 00:24:30.470 --> 00:24:33.750 hits like Chantage with Maluma and the Grammy 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:36.549 -winning Valenado pop fusion La Bicicleta with 00:24:36.549 --> 00:24:38.609 Carlos Vives. Well, Vienado is a traditional 00:24:38.609 --> 00:24:40.890 Colombian genre, right? It is, and combining 00:24:40.890 --> 00:24:43.549 it with Pop One record and Song of the Year Latin 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:46.450 Grammys. So she was mastering reggaeton and reviving 00:24:46.450 --> 00:24:48.589 traditional Colombian sounds at the same time. 00:24:49.069 --> 00:24:51.829 Fusion was her default setting. She also explored 00:24:51.829 --> 00:24:54.680 bachata with Prince Royce on Deja Vu. And her 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:57.119 artistic breadth expanded beyond music charts 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:59.720 to film? Correct. She had a major voice acting 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:02.700 role as Gazelle in Disney's Zootopia and recorded 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:05.519 the song Try Everything for the soundtrack. The 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:08.039 album won her a third Grammy for Best Latin Pop 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:11.519 Album in 2018, making her the only female Latin 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:14.220 artist to achieve that feat. She truly became 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:16.880 the chief architect of her entire sonic universe, 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:19.900 which leads us to a crucial deep dive into her 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:22.789 artistry, the whole package. That holistic control 00:25:22.789 --> 00:25:25.630 is key to understanding her legacy. She famously 00:25:25.630 --> 00:25:27.869 defined her artistic identity as a fusion, but 00:25:27.869 --> 00:25:29.890 she articulated it geographically and culturally. 00:25:30.210 --> 00:25:32.690 A fusion between black and white, between pop 00:25:32.690 --> 00:25:35.789 and rock, between cultures, between my Lebanese 00:25:35.789 --> 00:25:39.009 father and my mother's Spanish blood, the Colombian 00:25:39.009 --> 00:25:41.390 folklore and Arab dance I love, and American 00:25:41.390 --> 00:25:44.450 music. She is the walking embodiment of globalization. 00:25:45.069 --> 00:25:47.089 Let's focus on the architecture of that. Her 00:25:47.089 --> 00:25:49.390 fundamental role as a songwriter and producer. 00:25:49.849 --> 00:25:52.190 it's often overlooked because her dancing is 00:25:52.190 --> 00:25:55.049 so iconic but she has written or co -written 00:25:55.049 --> 00:25:57.430 virtually every song she has recorded across 00:25:57.430 --> 00:26:00.670 three decades and she's praised for her fascinating 00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:03.750 idiosyncratic songwriting her lyrics are consistently 00:26:03.750 --> 00:26:07.549 described as poetic and confessional and she's 00:26:07.549 --> 00:26:10.369 capable of weaving that incisive social commentary 00:26:10.369 --> 00:26:13.230 right into a mainstream hit she's not just directing 00:26:13.230 --> 00:26:15.190 she's hands -on with the instrument she is a 00:26:15.190 --> 00:26:17.250 competent instrumentalist and has acted as a 00:26:17.250 --> 00:26:19.859 producer on her own music She plays acoustic 00:26:19.859 --> 00:26:22.759 and electric guitars on stage. A professional 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.160 guitar tech who worked on her tours noted she 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:27.839 is in complete control over the sound and aesthetic 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:30.240 of everything on stage. And we can't forget the 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:32.740 instrument that defined her earliest rock performances. 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:36.079 The harmonica, which she played extensively in 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:39.160 her pre -laundry service rock era. So what does 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:41.519 this all mean? She's not just a singer and dancer. 00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:44.039 She's the chief architect of her entire sonic 00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:48.460 universe. And she has the technical musical skills. 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:52.259 to back up that creative control exactly when 00:26:52.259 --> 00:26:54.680 we talk about her voice and movement we are discussing 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:58.140 highly technical culturally specific skills that 00:26:58.140 --> 00:27:01.299 trace directly back to her heritage she is a 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:04.079 contralto known for a unique and mesmerizing 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:06.720 voice and this is where we connect west and east 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:09.660 how do her arabic roots specifically shape her 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:12.700 vocal style Musicologists cite her Arabic roots 00:27:12.700 --> 00:27:15.140 as shaping her vocal inflections and her use 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.900 of specific musical scales. For instance, she 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:20.259 frequently uses the double harmonic scale, sometimes 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:22.440 called the Byzantine scale, which is essential 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:24.859 to classical Middle Eastern music, or makam. 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:27.539 And in Western music, this scale sounds highly 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:29.819 dramatic and exotic. But for her, it's innate. 00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:31.680 It's the sound of her father's culture, which 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:35.079 is why Ojos Asi resonated so deeply. She's bringing 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:37.579 the makam system of musical modes into Latin 00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:40.759 rock and pop. That is the ultimate fusion. And 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.819 her signature movement complements this perfectly. 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:46.099 Her style fuses high -energy Latin dancing with 00:27:46.099 --> 00:27:49.000 Middle Eastern belly dance, a skill she credited 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:51.960 with helping her overcome shyness. And she has 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:54.660 that famous anecdote about learning to belly 00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:57.140 dance by trying to flip a coin with her belly. 00:27:57.279 --> 00:27:59.799 A skill that requires an astonishing level of 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:02.519 physical control. It makes sense that she is 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:05.440 so uninhibited on stage. Her stage presence is 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:07.960 fascinatingly layered, though. It is. She has 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:10.420 always prioritized her vocals and dance moves, 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:13.460 initially relying on minimal production. She 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:15.619 loves performing for large crowds, saying the 00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:18.099 stage and lights dress me, but has confessed 00:28:18.099 --> 00:28:20.259 to feeling highly uncomfortable performing for 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:23.140 small, intimate groups. That speaks to the internal 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:25.759 pressure she manages. It does. She describes 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:28.339 herself as a control freak who is in total control 00:28:28.339 --> 00:28:31.019 of her career. But she also admitted she is not 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:33.700 as confident as people think. Driven by a monster 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:35.599 inside of me that wants to do everything better 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:38.400 and right. It's a relentless perfectionism that 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:41.599 has defined her longevity. That desire for control 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:44.440 and perfection is the through line to the final 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.940 era we need to cover. Her recent massive resurgence, 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:50.680 fueled by one of the most publicly scrutinized 00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:53.200 breakups in recent memory. This brings us to 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:56.539 part five. Philanthropy, legacy, and the alchemy 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:59.140 of pain. But first, we should quickly acknowledge 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:02.059 the enduring influence of her humanitarian work. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:05.279 Let's detail the Barefoot Foundation, or Foundation 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:09.589 Pais Descalzos, founded in 1997. It's highly 00:29:09.589 --> 00:29:12.089 significant because of its specific, tangible 00:29:12.089 --> 00:29:15.049 mission. The foundation is dedicated to actively 00:29:15.049 --> 00:29:17.130 building and maintaining state -of -the -art 00:29:17.130 --> 00:29:19.710 schools and providing education, psychological 00:29:19.710 --> 00:29:22.750 support, and meals for underprivileged children 00:29:22.750 --> 00:29:25.190 in Colombia. And she's genuinely hands -on. She 00:29:25.190 --> 00:29:27.250 personally supervises the operation, which is 00:29:27.250 --> 00:29:29.410 why the foundation is a globally recognized model. 00:29:29.650 --> 00:29:31.769 And the world has recognized this commitment 00:29:31.769 --> 00:29:34.109 far beyond the music charts. Absolutely. She 00:29:34.109 --> 00:29:36.650 was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, honored 00:29:36.650 --> 00:29:38.519 as the Latin Recording Academy President. Person 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:40.640 of the Year and the Harvard Foundation Artist 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:43.440 of the Year. Her advocacy extends into the political 00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:46.420 realm, too. I recall her speaking out very powerfully 00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:48.839 during a controversial moment in U .S. politics. 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:52.400 That was her 2020 op -ed in Time magazine titled 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:55.839 The Parents of 545 Children Are Missing and the 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:59.299 Silence is Blaring. She strongly criticized U 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:01.059 .S. border and immigration policies concerning 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:03.880 family separation. And she strategically introduced 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:07.380 herself as the daughter of a New Yorker. emphasizing 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:09.579 her personal connection to the U .S. context. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:12.700 Her influence is global. Fortune named her one 00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:14.960 of the world's greatest leaders, and the French 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:17.279 government granted her the honor of Chevalier 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:19.380 of the Order of Arts and Letters. Looking at 00:30:19.380 --> 00:30:22.220 her musical legacy before this new era, she had 00:30:22.220 --> 00:30:25.380 already secured her place as a pioneer. She is 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:28.420 undeniably the first South American -raised artist 00:30:28.420 --> 00:30:31.200 to achieve comprehensive global crossover success. 00:30:31.539 --> 00:30:34.220 She is explicitly credited with opening the door 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:37.119 for the modern streaming era wave of global Latin 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:40.559 artists like Maluma, J Balvin, and Karol G. And 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:42.759 then came the seismic shift in her personal life, 00:30:42.859 --> 00:30:44.900 the end of her relationship with Gerard Piquet, 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:47.799 which directly birthed her recent massive creative 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:50.599 resurgence. Their relationship lasted 12 years, 00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:54.349 from 2010 to 2022, and they have two sons. The 00:30:54.349 --> 00:30:57.490 breakup was intensely public. And she revealed 00:30:57.490 --> 00:30:59.369 in interviews that she learned of his betrayal 00:30:59.369 --> 00:31:02.630 via media accounts, which happened while her 00:31:02.630 --> 00:31:05.589 father was hospitalized. This confluence of pain, 00:31:05.769 --> 00:31:08.450 betrayal, and family illness provided the intense, 00:31:08.650 --> 00:31:11.710 raw, emotional material for her art. The seven 00:31:11.710 --> 00:31:14.230 -year gap between albums closed with Las Mejores' 00:31:14.329 --> 00:31:18.349 Ya No Laren, Women No Longer Cry. in 2024. And 00:31:18.349 --> 00:31:20.849 she described the creative process as alchemical, 00:31:21.109 --> 00:31:23.690 turning her tears into diamonds and her vulnerability 00:31:23.690 --> 00:31:26.549 into strength. This approach resonated universally 00:31:26.549 --> 00:31:28.950 because the pain was so public and relatable. 00:31:29.309 --> 00:31:31.269 Let's talk about the specific singles because 00:31:31.269 --> 00:31:34.130 they set unprecedented benchmarks for the Spanish 00:31:34.130 --> 00:31:36.569 language market. The initial shockwave was Beezer 00:31:36.569 --> 00:31:40.130 at Music Sessions, Volume 53, the wildly unapologetic 00:31:40.130 --> 00:31:42.490 kiss off diss track she recorded with Bazaar. 00:31:42.609 --> 00:31:45.250 It achieved a staggering 14 Guinness World Records. 00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:47.960 And crucially, for her U .S. crossover legacy, 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:50.380 it made her the first woman to debut a Spanish 00:31:50.380 --> 00:31:52.359 language track in the top 10 of the Billboard 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:55.900 Hot 100 in over 15 years. It wasn't just a hit. 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:58.720 It was a global cultural event, fueling debates 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:01.940 about the Casio versus Rolex, Twingo versus Ferrari 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:04.599 comparisons. Absolutely. The level of cultural 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:07.299 discussion was almost unmatched. Then came the 00:32:07.299 --> 00:32:10.839 collaboration with Karol G on TQG, which cemented 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:13.400 the theme of female empowerment. And that song 00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:15.779 became her highest debuting U .S. single. at 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:18.160 number seven and broke the guinness world record 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:19.940 for the highest charting spanish language track 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:22.799 by a woman she literally broke her own record 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:24.940 established only weeks earlier the emotional 00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:27.039 center of the album though seems to be acrostic 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:30.599 that track is a heartfelt poignant open letter 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:33.619 to her two sons and in a profound integration 00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:36.740 of her family life into her art her sons milan 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:39.480 and sasha both sing and play piano on the song 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:42.460 it shows she can turn rage into anthems but also 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:45.759 deep familial love into delicate chart -topping 00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:49.079 ballads. This era secured her sustained dominance. 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:52.160 The album debuted atop Billboard's top Latin 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:55.339 albums and Latin pop albums charts. This made 00:32:55.339 --> 00:32:58.000 her the first woman with number one albums across 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:00.160 four different decades on the Billboard Latin 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:04.039 album charts. The 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:07.779 And she continues to push genre boundaries. The 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:10.519 album featured Afrobeats, a Tex -Mex revival, 00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:13.539 and even a stellar revival of her rock roots. 00:33:14.089 --> 00:33:15.789 Before we move to the final synthesis, we do 00:33:15.789 --> 00:33:18.069 have to address the complex and highly public 00:33:18.069 --> 00:33:21.490 tax controversy which ran concurrently with all 00:33:21.490 --> 00:33:23.789 of this. Yes, and we must approach this neutrally. 00:33:24.009 --> 00:33:26.410 Spanish prosecutors alleged she failed to pay 00:33:26.410 --> 00:33:30.809 14 .5 million euros in taxes between 2012 and 00:33:30.809 --> 00:33:33.549 2014. And their argument was that she was primarily 00:33:33.549 --> 00:33:36.329 residing in Barcelona with Piquet during that 00:33:36.329 --> 00:33:38.769 time, thus meeting the residency requirements 00:33:38.769 --> 00:33:41.269 for tax purposes. While her defense consistently 00:33:41.269 --> 00:33:43.549 maintained that her primary residence was legally 00:33:43.549 --> 00:33:45.769 in the Bahamas during that period. She argued 00:33:45.769 --> 00:33:48.069 she was on tour and hadn't been legally a resident 00:33:48.069 --> 00:33:50.150 of Spain for more than the required six months 00:33:50.150 --> 00:33:52.390 per year. How did that high -spakes legal chapter 00:33:52.390 --> 00:33:55.740 conclude? In 2023, just as the trial was about 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:57.900 to start, she settled the case. She agreed to 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:00.119 pay a substantial fine, ultimately settling for 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:03.400 7 .5 million euros. Citing the well -being of 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:05.480 her children as the primary reason. She wanted 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:08.079 to prioritize her family and creative work over 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:11.619 a potentially years -long legal battle. And this 00:34:11.619 --> 00:34:13.340 settlement put an end to the court proceedings, 00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:15.599 though it remains a big part of her story. Despite 00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:18.119 the legal battles and personal upheaval, her 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:20.119 professional relevance hasn't just continued, 00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:22.860 it's intensified. Her current trajectory is only 00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:26.300 rising. The Las Mujeres Ya No Loran World Tour 00:34:26.300 --> 00:34:28.539 had to be rescheduled due to overwhelming demand 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:31.320 for larger venues. Billboard declared it the 00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:33.500 highest grossing Latin tour by a woman ever, 00:34:33.639 --> 00:34:36.880 predicted to generate over $300 million. And 00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:39.880 she remains highly visible. The 2024 Copa America 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.800 final halftime show. And she's confirmed for 00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:45.780 Zootopia, too. She is undeniably a force who 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:48.539 achieved unprecedented global success, adapted 00:34:48.539 --> 00:34:51.260 to three decades of a ruthless industry. and 00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:54.139 maintained rigorous creative control. Her career 00:34:54.139 --> 00:34:56.800 is defined by constant intentional metamorphosis 00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:59.420 and fusion. She has this consistent ability to 00:34:59.420 --> 00:35:01.500 synthesize global sounds and adapt to modern 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:03.519 platforms while maintaining an extraordinary 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:06.110 degree of control and authenticity. She's the 00:35:06.110 --> 00:35:08.210 ultimate self -determined artist who took her 00:35:08.210 --> 00:35:10.610 deepest personal suffering and translated it 00:35:10.610 --> 00:35:13.269 into globally empowering anthems. It's the full 00:35:13.269 --> 00:35:17.530 360, the rocker roots, the pioneering and divisive 00:35:17.530 --> 00:35:19.849 crossover that ultimately opened the world for 00:35:19.849 --> 00:35:22.269 Latin music, the cultural impact of Hips Don't 00:35:22.269 --> 00:35:25.849 Lie and Waka Waka. And now this profound legacy 00:35:25.849 --> 00:35:28.590 of turning intense personal pain into massively 00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:31.389 successful, empowering music. It's a career trajectory 00:35:31.389 --> 00:35:34.389 that is just structurally unique. Her recent 00:35:34.389 --> 00:35:37.030 work. particularly Las Mujeres Llano Loran, is 00:35:37.030 --> 00:35:40.030 a defining act of resilience. It explicitly ties 00:35:40.030 --> 00:35:42.010 her personal suffering to female empowerment. 00:35:42.389 --> 00:35:45.030 She has established a new archetype of fame in 00:35:45.030 --> 00:35:47.510 the digital age, where authenticity derived from 00:35:47.510 --> 00:35:49.630 personal turmoil is arguably the most valuable 00:35:49.630 --> 00:35:52.070 commodity. So given her history of constantly 00:35:52.070 --> 00:35:54.630 adapting musical styles to fit global trends, 00:35:54.869 --> 00:35:58.010 from the charango and pan flute to afrobeats, 00:35:58.130 --> 00:36:01.349 what musical or cultural territory might be the 00:36:01.349 --> 00:36:03.969 next anthropological mission she decides to conquer? 00:36:04.779 --> 00:36:07.300 She has successfully conquered every corner of 00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:09.800 the globe once. It seems she's now ready to do 00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:12.659 it again in every genre imaginable. That is a 00:36:12.659 --> 00:36:14.619 truly provocative thought to leave you with, 00:36:14.739 --> 00:36:17.639 the learner, as you mull over the enduring complex 00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:20.159 career of the queen of Latin music. Thank you 00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:21.800 for joining us for this deep dive. We'll see 00:36:21.800 --> 00:36:22.199 you next time.