It's been a long time since the Colombian "rockera" has appeard anywhere so unchaperoned. But here she is, in sharp stilettos and hip-hugging jeans, blonde curls tamed by a baby-blue beret.
When she arrived in Miami three years ago, already a hot property in her homeland but bent on busting borders, it wasn't unusual to see her pulling up to the Cardozo Hotel for industry parties, not a handler in sight.
Inside, she stuck close to Gloria Estefan, who never tired of plying journalists and industry folks with electric predictions about how big Shakira was going to be one day. Just 21, her brown locks woven in technicolor threads, Shakira would stand there and smile her shy smile.
But even then she was a woman with a master plan of success on more than one continent - and later in more that one language. That plan took a major step forward with the release of her first English-language album, "Laundry Service"." - Lydia Martin
"Shakira arrived in Miami in 1998 wanting it all. A couple of years later, Shakira, with eight million records sold, had Latin America under her spell and the hype was catching up with her. Crossing the parking garage to a part at Bongos, the maga-Cuban nightspot owned by the Estefans, she was surrounded by black-suited bodyguards who fended off fans while the paparazzi marched backward, flashes popping.
Things are a lot quieter at Oasis. Shakira, who might be positioned to blast past Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and company to become the next Latin star at the top of the mainstream, is dunking falafels in a cowl of hummus and searching for thoughtful answers to every question, many of which focus on "Laundry Service."
The expectations are huge. Is she worried about being a letdown?
"I was very Nervous at the beginning of the project, when I took on the challenge of writing an entire album in English. But now I'm ready" She says, almond eyes unblinking.
If there's a dream team for a pop singer trying to reach the stratosphere, Shakira's got it. Executive producing her new CD was Emilio Estefan, the king of the crossover. Masterminding her bid for pop icon status is Freddy DeMann, the guy who made it happen for Michael Jackson and Madonna. Vowing to do "Whatever it takes" to get Shakira to the top is Tommy Mattola, Sony Music Entertainment's chief executive and on of the biggest guns in the recording business worldwide.
Three years ago, Shakira Barely spoke English, so Emilio hired a tutor and Gloria offered to translate her searing Spanish lyrics. At first Shakira agreed, but as she got more comfortable with English, a language she now speaks with ease, she decided she would write a new batch of songs herself, (however, Gloria's translation of the Arabic-infused "Ojos Asi," from Shakira's previous album, mad it to "Laundry Service" and she also helped Shakira write "Whenever, Wherever" featuring Andean flute.)
"I was born in Spanish, I grew up in Spanish, I love in Spanish, I get angry in Spanish," Says Shakira, 24.
"When I realized the implications of having to write my next album in English, I thought, 'How did I get myself into this?' but I had a lot to say. At first it seemed impossible, but it turned into a defiance. And then it turned more and more passionate. As a composer, it was a great adventure."
Shakira may be a pop princess, but she's a pop princess with substance.
"Shakira's charisma, musicianship and songwriting ability appeal to listeners everywhere. Her persona is extremely powerful and absolutely unique," Mottola says.
In a time of cookie-cutter careers, the biggest compliment you can pay a performer is to call her an original. And many say just that about Shakira's quirky writing style and equally quirky vocals. She also has that picture-perfect Grace Sick-meets-sex-kitten vibe going for her.
Add a sprinkle of Colombian folk, a helping of Arabic influence (from her Lebanese father) and you get the Latin act that might prove the Latin pop phenomenon isn't just another flash in the pan.
A lot is riding on the girl from Barranquilla, born Shakira Mebarak, whose first taste of applause came at age 4, when she performed a Middle Eastern dance at school and knew right away she'd be a star.
By the time she was 8, she was composing songs. By 13, she had recorded her first album, "Magia" ("Magic"). Her third and fourth releases, 1996's "Pies Descalzos" ("Bare Feet") and 1998's "�Donde Estan los Ladrones?" ("Where are the Thieves?"), cemented her role as an edgy Latin rocker with plenty to say.
With Latin music sales throttling down after a decade of big growth, with "Livin` La Vida Loca" off the radar, and with the second Latin Grammys never having made it to prime-time TV because of the terrorist attacks, Shakira now carries a lot of the weight of the Latin crossover movement. If she fails, she could be closing the door for many behind her.
But her backers are betting the farm she'll make it. And the media is doing the rest, the hype about whether she'll be the next Madonna spreading thicker and thicker.
"She's real," Says Emilio, who also was executed producer of "Ladrones," and managed her career until DeMann stepped in.
"She's not just what American wants, She's what America Needs," Says DeMann, a spinmaster like no other. "We need that kind of entertainer who is pure, who you can lose yourself in, who can help you forget your woes. We'll want to be in this person, revel in her." Plus she has already built-in lore.
DeMann says he was literally yanked out of retirement when he laid eyes on Shakira. He was home watching the "ALMA Awards," Where Shakira was performing a duet with Melissa Etheridge.
"I said to my wife, 'Who is that girl?' The next day I called the producer of the show. He said her name was Shakira. I'd never heard of her. But I knew she was going to be a star," DeMann says. Six months later, in January 200, he was flying to Miami to meet her.
"When she walked in the room, I nearly had a heart attack, she had that much presence," he says. As it happened, Shakira was in the market for a new manager. Though some have speculated she quit Emilio because she wanted a manager who could get her to the mainstream faster, Shakira maintains it was all part of their plan.
"Emilio has a lot of other projects," she says. "We always said that at some moment there would be a transition to another manager who could focus on my career 100%. But he's still there for me."
DeMann was not the only one to get blown out of his easy chair when he got a glimpse of Shakira on TV. Grace Slick, the hard-rocking diva explosive belly dancing on last year's Latin Grammy Awards and becoming excited.
"I thought, man, there's Madonna. She makes (Christina) Aguilera and (Britney) Spears look like second string," Slick says.
"Shakira has a wonderful gift of a voice, she is an unbelievable songwriter, she is beautiful-looking and she dances her butt off," DeMann adds. "That's a quadruple threat."
Plus there's one thing Shakira has that Michael Jackson and Madonna don't.
"She speaks Spanish," says DeMann.
DeMann won't offer the details for his plan of attack, except to say he's planning on making her a household name the old fashioned way - one radio appearance and TV interview at a time.
"My dream is to transcend, to break culture barriers," Shakira says. "If I thought of being bigger than Madonna, then my dreams would turn into plain ambition and would stop being dreams."
"Shakira's Quirky writing style and equally quirky vocals have won her scores of admirers."