Shakira Net Worth: The Cultural Mix

Shakira Net Worth is $350 Million (as of 2019)

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoli is so hot that she needs only one name. Much like Beyonce or Prince, she is simply known by her fans as “Shakira”. Born on February 2, 1977, in Barranquilla, Colombia, she has taken the world by storm. Known not only for her talent, but for having the most incredible abs in the industry, she gives her fans what they crave. Not just a singer, she is a dancer, songwriter and a musician who plays the guitar, the drums and the harmonica. Being one of the few stars to be able to cross over from Latin music to American Pop, she continues to break records and glass ceilings with every goal that she attains professionally and personally.

Quick facts

Coming from a large family, Shakira one of eight siblings, showed her gifts early on. At just the age of four, she wrote her first poem. Asking her father for a typewriter, she began composing poetry that soon became the basis for her songwriting career. Turning her struggles into songs, she touched a nerve with the Colombia public who were no stranger to hard times. Always a little over the top, she began belly dancing at the age of four and perfected it as she grew older. Never fitting into anyone else’s mold she was rejected from choir at school for being too “robust”. This little girl from Colombia got the chance that other little girls can only dream of, she scored an audition with a famous executive of Sony Colombia Ciro Vargas. In an offbeat audition, held in a hotel lobby, a star was born.

At the young age of just 13, Shakira released her first album under the Sony label. The music was something that was outside the box. A mix of Latin, American pop, and a bit of the Middle Eastern influences she picked from her belly dancing, she filled the album with pop-rock ballads. The album was released with lackluster enthusiasm. Sinking quickly, it looked as if Shakira may be done before she even began. That was before she was noticed by a rising talent by the name of Ricky Martin. Having a sluggish start in the Latin audience, Shakira was not dissuaded. She worked harder, perfected her vocals, started to take command of her own production, and finally got her chance to begin an international tour.

The international stage was where she excelled, impressing American audiences with a sound that was unlike anything heard before. Her style, her confidence, and her talent were something that the industry was just ripe for. Her MTV video exposed and splashed her music onto the mainstream American stage and catapulted her to the fame that no little girl from a small village in Colombia could have ever dreamed of. Finally breaking through, she released an album in English appealing to her English-speaking audience.

Shakira may have had a slow start, but once her music caught on, it went up like wildfire. Setting the Latin music world afire, she did what other musicians have only dreamed of. Crossing Latin music with English pop, she united two cultures and introduced something that English audiences had never heard before. She continues to produce, sing and perform but has held fast mainly to her Latin roots.

Shakira’s official website

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