Shakira

Shakira first gained worldwide fame with the 2001 release of single "Whenever, Wherever", which topped pop charts all over the world and shot her album Laundry Service to sales of 15 million.

Colombia-born Shakira was something of a child prodigy, writing her first poem aged four in 1981. These early poems slowly turned into songs; she wrote her first when she was eight. She was signed to Sony Columbia and released her debut album Magia in 1991 when she was only fourteen.

Unfortunately, it did not sell well, nor did its follow-up, 1993's Peligro.

She returned to the studio in 1995 after a break to finish High School. The result was Pies Descalzos and at last, this hit the big time in Latin America, selling over five million copies.

By the time ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? was released in 1998 it was hailed by an ever more receptive public. Her fame began to spread to non-Spanish speaking countries leading her to record MTV Unplugged, and she began work on an English language crossover album. The result was 2001's Laundry Service which sold monstrously well, gaining her the fame and awards she had worked for so long to achieve.

In 2005 she started work on the Oral Fixation project, releasing the first album Fijación Oral Vol. 1 in June and Oral Fixation Vol. 2 in November. In 2006 she eclipsed the success of "Whenever, Wherever" with "Hips Don't Lie", which topped the United World Chart for an incredible 16 weeks.