By Tracy Bratten - Clear Channel Radio Digital
Shakira is nothing short of an international superstar. She has sold over 50 million records worldwide, and she's a bona-fide pop sensation in two languages. It's no wonder, then, that she's also a perfectionist.
Shakira delivered a preview of her forthcoming English album, She-Wolf, at a show sponsored by New York's Z100 at TriBeCa's P.C. Richard and Son Theater in Manhattan Friday evening, and it was only slightly short of perfecto.
Shakira started off the show with "Gypsy," a subdued, albeit endearing, tune that channels Middle Eastern and Indian sounds, sitting down on a pallet of brightly colored pillows as she played the harmonica. But that was the only slow moment of the night; she also sang "She Wolf," of course, as well as the Spanish language version, "Loba," and she had the audience howling and panting right along with her.
For the latest single, "Give It Up To Me," a track she collaborated with Lil' Wayne on, she was joined onstage by hip hop dancers, and it became clear that she had indeed found some "new moves," as she has hinted at in interviews about the forthcoming record, as well as body percussion.
The highlight of the night, of course, came when Shakira launched into what is arguably one of her best songs ever - 2006's smash hit "Hips Don't Lie." All 200 adoring fans sang along, yelling out "Shakira Shakira" - the lyric in the song that has made it almost impossible not to say her name twice even in casual conversation. She is a seasoned and sincere performer, a skilled songwriter, a fantastic (an untrained!) dancer, not to mention flawlessly beautiful. And take it from this fan who was perched happily in the front row for the show: her hips most certainly don't lie.
She-Wolf is due out November 23.
Photo By Tracy Bratten
