A few years ago, Shakira was interviewed by Time Magazine for their 10 Questions video series.
Self-study activity:
These are the questions Time readers asked Shakira. Take brief notes about her answers.
1 What about that sound appeal [in your new album] to you and why did you want to move in that direction?
2 Do you enjoy singing more in English or in Spanish?
3 Many musicians feel the need to their hand at movies. Is that something that you've ever considered?
4 How did you get involved in the efforts to combat child profiting?
5 Ever injured yourself from dancing too vigorously?
6 Why is it that you think that hips do not lie?
You can read the transcript below for the answers.
I’m Gilbert Cruz for Time.com and I’m here with Grammy award-winning singer Shakira, whose new album She-wolf will come out this month. She’s going to answer questions today from Time readers. Shakira, thank you for being with us today.
Thanks for having me.
Our first question is from Julie Mills Wilson who is from Washington DC. Your new album has a more electronic and dance feel to it than in previous albums, what about that sound appeal to you and why did you want to move in that direction?
I think that the electronic world has a lot to us, musicians. I think it’s going through a very good phase. So I fed from all that but I still kept the fusion. In this album, you’re gonna find a lot of influences from India, the Middle East, Colombia, all within this electronic context.
Do you enjoy singing more in English or in Spanish?
You know, they’re both such different languages and they both have different resources. I remember that when I first started writing in English I could barely speak English so I had to do it with it with the help of the dictionary and now it is it's more of a spontaneous process.
Many musicians feel the need to their hand at movies. Is that something that you've ever considered?
No. Actually, I don’t know. I mean, I still debate about about that in my own head, you know. So, I’m not very sure if, if it’s something I want to pursue because I’m not really sure if I have a talent for acting. I’m sure about my musical talents, sort of, but not very sure about pursuing an acting career. And I wouldn’t like to commit to something and not do a good job, so, I’m not really sure. I think I’ll be a terrible actress, that’s the truth.
Our next questions is from Haydn Hsin from Taipey City. Haydn asks how did you get involved in the efforts to combat child profiting?
When I was eight years old dad went bankrupt and he lost his business and our whole life changed so much because of his bankruptcy. And I was really upset about it. So they took me to the park where all the orphans lived and sniff glue to deal with the tragedies of their own lives. And I remember this moment vividly because I think it was a turning point in my life and in my view all the world. And when I had my first big success, when I was 18 years old, a big international success, I decided to establish a foundation for children and since then we’ve been focusing on providing high-quality education with nutrition. And it just became something very, very essential in my life.
Ever injured yourself from dancing too vigorously?
Yes, I have. Actually, many times. After the She-wolf video there was not one muscle in my body that didn’t ache, you know, I was in so much pain. My neck, usually.
Got to sit in a warm bath afterwards.
Yeah, eat some salts. That’s what they say, you know. I see hot.
Why is it that you think that hips do not lie?
Whenever I’m in the music studio and then… sorry, in the recording studio or with my band rehearsing and I’m not too convinced about the arrangement that we’re doing or the way it sounds, you know, I would… or if I’m mixing a record and I’m not reacting to it the way I know this is because my body doesn’t react, you know, to the music. So I always say, ‘Hey, am I moving? Are my hips moving? My hips don’t lie. If they’re not moving, this is not going anywhere.’ So basically I do really a lot on my body and my physical, my physical relationship to music whenever I’m mixing or creating kind of arrangement on music in general.
Thank you for talking to Time Magazine.
Thanks again, no thank you so much.
