Shakira… just another Latina?

Shakira. Sounds like a voodoo mantra.

Don’t kid yourself. This woman doesn’t swing too far from magic.

For those of you who could give a rat’s ass about who’s who in music… Shakira could easily pass for pop singer Anastacia mixed with a little Mariah and a load of J.Lo’s booty.

That’s just her look. Ding! Packaging strategy more than taken care of.

Far from discrediting this Latina star (who wrote her first song at eight and signed her first contract at the ripe old age of 13. The pretty face and bombshell body are just an added bonus to a voice so powerfully potent and amazingly enthralling … you’ll find yourself wondering why you failed to pick up on her before.

Then again, it’s not completely your fault, ignorant slave to the all-American, Hollywood dictatorship! It’s about time wold music fought for a place in the scene of popular sound.

Or maybe it’s because you never really get Latino.

Understandable. (So why all the hoopla about Ricky Martin or Christina Aguilera? Like you’ll ever marry one of them someday!)

Well, there’s no using that excuse anymore as Shakira’s latest album, Laundry Service, is her first attempt at braving the English language as beautifully as she did her innate Spanish tongue. The feat was a challenge to the ultra-talented 24-year-old, but at the end of the day, to improve as an artist… she knew she had to evolve. On her initial effort, she cam up with the song "Objection", fully inspired by her faith in the Supreme Being.

The rest was again, songwriting history. So what is Shakira’s sound all about? Definitely not your regular Madonna enhanced by synthesizers and great back up vocals. What you get is a very strong yet soulful rock genre, spiced up by blissfully hypnotic Arabic tastes from her Lebanese roots. Totally soothing.

But don’t be misled … this girl ain’t no Enya. With icons like Led Zeppelin, the Cure, and Nirvana spearheading her list of favorites, be sure to expect a lot of angst-driven sound, lifted up to a spiritual plane by her more than soulful lyrics.

Her full international recognition came last year, when Shakira won a Grammy for being the best Latin act. Not that she needed it to prove herself to the world. She is a kindred spirit who writes and sings because she is in love with the process… her passion being the sizzle of electric guitars. She just happens to be really good at what she does.

Still not convinced? Try defying the words of Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez! Of her talent, he wrote, anyone else’s and no one can sing or dance like her, at whatever age, with such innocent sensuality, one that seems to be of her own invention."

Inspiring words for an incredibly inspired woman.

Have a dose of some soulful rock … maybe just what the doctor ordered for that insipid music collection you boast of.