Much like our ‘Retro Rewind’ and ‘From the Vault’ segments, readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past. So in a quest to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday we introduced a new retrospective segment – ‘TGJ Replay’.
Unlike its ‘Rewind’ and ‘Vault’ predecessors, ‘Replay’ looks to dust off and showcase albums (and eras) from a library of pop music hits. Next, we’ll serve up a visit to 2001’s ‘Laundry Service’ by Colombian hitmaker Shakira…
The year was 2001. As Hip Hop and teen pop led the way as the year’s dominating forces in music, acts like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Enrique Iglesias were christened frontrunners of the “Latin Pop” movement also taking charts by storm. While Lopez’s offerings rested more on the lines of pop/R&B with hip hop fusion, tracks like ‘Let’s Get Loud’ still tapped into the Latina’s musical roots.
But, while they invaded U.S. shores with their infectious rhythmic numbers, a certain internationally known seductress Shakira was dominating charts in every other part of the world – namely Spanish speaking countries. With her sights set on making a similar splash Stateside, the singer introduced her first album featuring English tunes.
Titled ‘Laundry Service’, the album was kicked off with the mountain moving lead single ‘Whenever, Wherever‘…
‘Whenever, Wherever’
It was true – her hips did not lie. Seemingly mesmerized by the temptress’s awe-inspiring hip rolls, the video was quickly named one of the sexiest of the year. Soaring straight to the U.S. top 10 (her first), the tune eventually became so popular that it was listed as the year’s top seller. Also seeing similar success in the U.K. and Australia, it appeared the diva had finally made her mark on the English-speaking world.
The acclaim of ‘Whenever’ was mirrored upon its November debut. With first week sales in excess of 200k, the album would prove a steady seller for the upcoming year. On the hems of the its slower follow-up ‘Underneath Your Clothes’…
‘Underneath Your Clothes’
Like its predecessor, ‘Clothes’ was met with generally favorable critical acclaim and even greater commercial acclaim. The tune sailed to number 1 in a host of countries and landed Shakira yet another U.S. top 10. Eventually going on to multiplatinum status, the song ended the decade as one of Yahoo Music’s “Top 20 Songs of the Decade” and gave her the second biggest hit of her career (at that time).
‘Underneath Your Clothes’ (VH1 Divas 2002)
‘Laundry Service’s success was not met without backlash, however. As Shakira’s star shined brighter abroad, those familiar with the songstress’s early offerings complained of abandonment – claiming the hip rolling hitmaker was a “sellout” to her culture.
Perhaps the answer to that was the merengue-tinged follow-up to ”Clothes”. Titled ‘Objection’, the accompanying video gave clue to some of the rock-offerings that would line some of the singer’s future album. Despite not living up to the success of its predecessors ‘Whenever’ and ‘Clothes’, the fan favorite still managed to make its way to Billboard’s upper half.
‘Objection (Tango)’
Combined, the products of ‘Laundry Service’ helped it surpass 15 million in worldwide sales. As the decade that followed its release saw Shakira experiment with everything from Hip Hop to more EDM based tracks, we still reflect fondly on the time when the fresh faced diva hip rolled her way to the top of charts with her highly touted yodel.
While we anxiously await her newest offerings due late 2013, we ask you: