The four year hiatus is over. Shakira’s tenth and self-titled album will be released on Tuesday, reported Colombian media.
A lot has changed since the Colombian pop princess last graced the international music scene with a studio work, and this latest project promises to reflect those developments.
While the bulk of the album will reportedly be in English, three songs will be in her native Spanish, and one in the Catalan of her new home, Barcelona.
The language isn’t the only thing Shakira has acquired in the time since her last release, 2010’s “Sale el Sol.” Her latest album will encompass themes drawn from the singer’s personal milestones.
The Barranquilla-native married Barcelona FC soccer start Gerard Pique in 2010, and gave birth to her first child, Milan, last year, both during the recording of “Shakira,” which began in 2011. The tracks “23” and “Milan” deal explicitly with her experiences as a wife and mother, but the changes have also reflected in Shakira’s voice itself, which apparently carries a “deeper, rounder and thicker” essence that fans can only attempt to contemplate ahead of Tuesday’s release.
The new album is said to incorporate a myriad of musical influences such as reggae and rock, folk and pop, perhaps even a little bit of American country.
The flames of anticipation have been fanned by Shakira’s popular and provocative collaboration with fellow Caribbean pop star Rihanna in “Can’t Remember to Forget You.”
Shakira is arguably Colombia’s most famous musician, and one of the best selling female recording artists in the world. She plays an active role in her “Barefoot Foundation,” which supports social inclusion and education in Colombia’s coastal region, and has been widely recognized for her philanthropy.
