Friday 7 August 2009

Shakira: "She Wolf"

Friday 7 August 2009


For a while it seemed that Colombian singer/songwriter Shakira was fated to become a one-hit wonder after "Whenever, Wherever" turned the belly-dancing hottie into a global star. And, while she's hardly been churning out Number Ones since then, she's managed to release enough good songs to keep herself in the public eye -- most notably via collaborations with US stars ("My Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean, "Beautiful Stranger" with Beyonce.) But now Shakira's back with "She Wolf", her third English-language album, the title track of which uses lycanthropy as an allegory for women sneaking out of their bedrooms to prowl nightclubs for men...

As we've come to expect from the lithe Shakira, this is a physical, upbeat, sexy track. She appears to have joints in her abdomen where none should exist, as some of her moves don't even seem anatomically possible! She's a body-popping slinky. It's mesmerizing1. The video is stirring stuff, with Shakira swinging around inside a gold cage in flesh-coloured tights, or wearing a pair of spray-on trousers that only cover one leg, but it's done with a mischievous attitude and a beaming smile. It's sexy and FUN, not sleazy and dirty2, and the song itself slowly worms itself into your head. Awwooooo!


1.
See: 1:10:00.

2. Pay attention Sugababes, this is how you do sexy electro-pop.