Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2 1977), known simply as Shakira ( in English, Arabic: ?????? See [LINK: http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/d1107/Shakira] inogolo:pronunciation of Shakira.), is a Colombian from Lebanese origin, contralto singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, dancer, philanthropist and occasional actress who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. A two-time Grammy Award-winning and seven-time Latin Grammy Award-winning artist, Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide according to BMI[LINK: http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/535199] [1].She is also the only artist from South Am