Songoftheday 2/10/23 - Lucky you were born that far away so we could both make fun of distance, lucky that I love a foreign land for the lucky fact of your existence...

 

 

"Whenever, Wherever" - Shakira

from the album Laundry Service (2001)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 19

 

Today's song comes from Shakira (Ripoll), who was born and raised in the South American country of Colombia. Her parents came to the country from the United States (from Lebanese heritage) and Spain. Performing since she was a child, Shakira was discovered really early and signed to Sony Music in that country, where she released her first album Magia ("Magic") in 1990 when she was thirteen years old. The record was not a success, but she was in for three albums with them, and put out a sophomore effort, Peligro ("Danger") three years later. After that also got little attention, Shakira retreated back to concentrate on her schooling 

Her third try with Sony Colombia, however, changed things around for her. Pairing up with producer Luis Fernando Ochoa and switching her sound to a more pop/rock production, Shakira reaped rewards with the lead single of her next album Pies Descalzos ("Bare Feet"), "Estoy Aqui" ("I'm Here"), which crossed over to the American market, and reached #2 on Billboard magazine's Hot Latin Songs chart and topped the Latin Pop Airplay list in 1996. Two more songs from the record also made the top ten on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, and her momentum was kicked into high gear. After a remix album, Shakira was moved over to Sony's Columbia/Sony Latin Records label proper, giving her a much wider scope for her next release. For Dónde Están los Ladrones? ("Where Are The Thieves"), Shakira was assisted by Gloria Estefan's husband Emilio and other prominent Latin producers. All of the tracks were written or co-written by Shakira and her transformation to Latin alternative rock princess was complete. The lead single, "Ciega, Sordomuda" ("Blind, Deaf, and Mute") spent three weeks at #1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, followed by a week for "Tu" ("You"). Another song from the set, "Ojos Asi" ("Eyes Like Yours", The Arab-styled song became an international success, reaching the top-40 on singles charts all over Europe (#15 in France, #16W/#29F in Belgium, #25 in the Netherlands, #27 in Romania, and #33 in Switzerland). The album placed on the Billboard 200 sales tally at #131, and sold over a million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 1999, Donde was nominated for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance, losing to hugely popular Mexican band Mana for their Suenos Liquidos. 

That same year, Shakira shot an appearance on MTV Unplugged, which became her next album release. The acoustic live set went to #124 on the Billboard 200, and won the Grammy in 2001 for Best Latin Pop Album. A reggae-fied version of "No Creo" ("I Don't Believe") from her previous album hit #9 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. 

At this point, the Estefans encouraged Shakira to record an English-language album, which finally emerged in the late fall of 2001 as Laundry Service. Again, she co-wrote all the material on the disc, including the lead single "Whenever, Wherever", which she wrote with Gloria and producer Tim Mitchell. The song has her telling her lover how she'd travel the ends of the earth for him. It's definitely sporting syntax from someone learning the language, with the obvious forced rhymes including a hilarious comparison of her small breasts to mountains, but since it's her own words she sells it effectively. The production combines the sensual groove of Arab belly-dancing music with instruments from South America, making it as different sounding as her quivering vocals. And to top it off, she reinvented her image, dyeing her hair blond and going full crimper on it, making a sex symbol out of herself for the new audience she's courting. MTV of course jumped on board, and Shakira found herself with her first English-language hit on her first try...

"Whenever, Wherever" reached the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 pop chart at the close of 2001. On the radio, the song climbed to #4 on the Mainstream Top-40 airplay chart, #32 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, and #27 on the dance-oriented Rhythmic station list. The remixes of the track, done by DJ Tracy Young among others, helped it climb to #3 on the Dance Club Play chart as well. Internationally, the single was a massive success, topping the charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland, and peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and Romania and #4 in Canada. The Laundry Service album, released in November of that year, spent a week at #3 on the Billboard 200, lingering on the list for over a year and selling over four million copies. Both Shakira and the album will be back to the series.

(7/10)

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The Spanish-language version of the song, "Suerte", ruled the Latin Songs chart in Billboard for seven weeks and fourteen weeks on the Latin Pop Airplay list...

Here's the "Spin Cycle" remix by Tracy Young that was responsible for it reaching the top three on the dance chart...

Shakira promoted the song on The Tonight Show, bringing exposure to a huge audience...

..next up, in concert the same year in New York City...

and lastly, on tour in Paris for her DVD release in 2011...

I'll be back Monday with a groovy rocker getting entrenched.