Feb 022020
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with covers of his or her songs. Let someone else do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Shakira

Today Shakira celebrates her 43rd birthday in style, sharing the Super Bowl halftime show stage with J-Lo. So today we celebrate Shakira’s storied career. Shakira has been a bit under the radar lately; we last heard from her in 2017 with her El Dorado album and world tour. She has already released a new single in 2020, though, so I hope that means another Shakira album is on the horizon.

From being a major player in making Spanish music more mainstream (pre-“Despacito” and friends) to performing pump-up jams at major sporting events (for both kinds of football, no less) to tackling body image issues (although attracting some criticism for her stance), Shakira is so much more than her truthful hips. Taylor Swift’s new documentary even reminded me that Shakira was presenting Swift the award during the Kanye West drama.

Shakira is especially active in charity efforts and politics; her charity operation, the Pies Descalzos Foundation, provides schools for poor children in her home country of Columbia. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has been recognized by the UN for her many efforts. Keep up the good work, Shakira, while we remind ourselves of your many hits.
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