She Wolf (album)

", Wyclef Jean (pictured) was featured on the song "Spy" in She Wolf. In 2005, Shakira attained international success with the release of her sixth and seventh studio albums Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2, which spawned the highly successful singles "La Tortura" and "Hips Don't Lie", respectively. To promote both the albums, she embarked on the Oral Fixation Tour, which reportedly grossed more than US$100 million worldwide. In 2008, Shakira signed a 10-year deal with international touring company Live Nation, which prompted Forbes to deem her the fourth highest earning female musician in history. Soon, Shakira began work on her next studio album, titled She Wolf, which was, among other places, recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Shakira said that she specifically chose the studio after learning that it had previously been used for recording sessions by artists like Bob Marley, The Cure, and AC/DC, of whom she is a fan. Unlike most of her previous projects, which are predominantly composed of Latin and pop rock styles, She Wolf is an electropop album with world music influences. Shakira and Amanda Ghost, the executive producers of the album, enlisted a diverse group of producers to collaborate on the tracks, such as Pharrell Williams, one half of the record production duo The Neptunes, who co-wrote four of the tracks on the album with Shakira. Other collaborators included John Hill, Sam Endicott, and Timbaland. The singer revealed that the two readied four tracks in five days, and commented that "What was interesting is that he's very fast and immediate in the studio and I'm a little slower". Haitian-American rapper Wyclef Jean, who previously appeared as a featured artist on "Hips Don't Lie" with Shakira, talked about his chemistry with her, saying "I have a natural chemistry with Shakira. I love the Latin vibe. The Lebanese vibe. I love the multicultural aspect of the CD. These days it's hard for you to pick up a CD and love it from beginning to end. Shakira represents that 360 degrees of: You put it in, and the whole CD rocks". In She Wolf, Jean appears as a featured artist on the track "Spy". ==Musical styles and lyrics==

She Wolf is primarily an electropop album that combines influences from the musical styles of various countries and regions, like Africa, Colombia, India, and the Middle East. The title track is an example of the electronic music styled production of the album, and is composed of 70s disco guitars and "heaps of robot effects". "Did It Again" is a midtempo electropop song that contains elements of samba. World music influences surface on songs like "Why Wait" and "Gypsy", the former is a heavy synth based electro-funk song with Led Zeppelin-inspired Middle Eastern strings, while the latter is included as the "closest thing to an acoustic song on the album" and features instrumentation from mandolin, banjo, sitar and tabla. Critics found the 1980s-stylised dance-pop and electropop track "Men in This Town" similar to the work of American band No Doubt and a highlight on the record. The Wyclef Jean collaboration "Spy" is a bouncy disco and R&B song that is described as sultry and playful. Elements of rock music are also present on the album, mostly evident on the "noisy" stadium rock song "Mon Amour". The US bonus track "Give It Up to Me" mixes pop and hip hop music with a playful rap by Lil Wayne. As Shakira wanted to make sure the "kicks hit really hard", the tracks on She Wolf were made "very bass-driven". She attributed this to her growing maturity, noting "I think maybe because I feel more like a woman today". Rolling Stone critic Jody Rosen labelled the latter "a meditation on masturbation". ==Release and promotion==

" during a concert show of the Sun Comes Out World Tour She Wolf was released on 9 October 2009, in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In the rest of Europe and Latin America, the album was released on 12 October, with subsequent releases in Spain, Japan, and Australia. The reason for this delay was because Ghost decided to include the last-minute Timbaland production "Give It Up to Me" on the track list of the US version of the album. Singles The title track "She Wolf" was released as the lead single from the album on 10 July 2009. It was well received by music critics, who praised its disco influences and unusual lyrics. Commercially, the song was a success and charted in the top 10 of countries like Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. "Loba", the Spanish-language version of the song, peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts. An accompanying music video was directed for the song by Jake Nava, and features Shakira dancing in various surroundings like a red cave and a golden cage. "Did It Again" was released as the second single off the album worldwide on 16 October 2009, excluding the United States, where it was substituted by "Give It Up to Me". The song was met with positive reviews from music critics and was complimented for its expressive songwriting. Commercially, the song was moderately successful and charted within the top 20 of various countries. In the United States, "Did It Again" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. The Spanish-language version of the song "Lo Hecho Está Hecho" peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart "Give It Up to Me", which features vocals from American rapper Lil Wayne, was commissioned as the third single off the album. It was officially released only in the United States, on 26 October 2009. The song received generally favourable reviews from music critics and was appreciated for its production. It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller and features scenes of Shakira and Lil Wayne interspersed between scenes of Shakira dancing. "Gypsy" was released as the fourth and final single off the album on 26 March 2010. The song generated a positive response from music critics, many of whom praised its acoustic-styled production. Commercially, the single was a success and charted inside the top 10 in countries like Germany, Mexico and Spain. "Gypsy" peaked at number 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, Tour Shakira embarked on the Sun Comes Out World Tour in late 2010, to promote She Wolf along with her ninth studio album Sale el Sol (2010). Shakira's official website first announced the three initial venues of the North American leg of the tour, on 3 May 2010, and subsequently 22 more venues were listed. After a special tour preview show held in Montreal, Canada, on 2 August 2010, the North American leg of the tour commenced at Uncasville, Connecticut, on 17 September, and closed at Rosemont, Illinois, on 29 October 2010. and subsequently 22 more shows were listed. The European leg of the tour was planned to commence at Lyon, France, on 16 November, and end in London, England, on 20 December 2010. The tickets for the initial dates of the European leg were soon sold out, and Shakira extended the tour into 2011, beginning by announcing a show at Paris, France; venues at countries such as Croatia, Russia, Spain and Switzerland were soon added. The Latin American leg of the tour was a part of the Pop Festival, which was heralded as an initiative to bring international music stars to Latin America. Initial tour dates for the leg were announced on 3 December 2010, and soon venues at countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico were added to the tour dates. The title track, "Why Wait", and "Gypsy" were the only songs from She Wolf to be included on the setlist for the tour. The stage was shaped like the letter "T" to enable a maximum number of viewers to see Shakira easily. A large screen was set behind the stage, on which various visuals, designed by entertainment branding agency Loyalkaspar, were projected. For the performances, Shakira mainly wore a mesh gold crop top coupled with skin-tight leather pants. Other attires Shakira wore during the concert shows included a hooded pink gown, a flamenco-skirt, The concert shows were well received by critics, many of whom praised the charisma Shakira displayed during the performances. Commercially, the tour was a success. It ranked at number 40 on Pollstar's 2010 year-end "Top 50 North American Tours" list as it grossed a total of $16.9 million in the continent, with total ticket sales amounting up to 524,723. In North America, the tour sold an average of 9,335 tickets, and a total of 205,271 tickets. A live album of the show held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, was released as Shakira: Live from Paris, on 5 December 2011. ==Critical reception==

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, She Wolf received an average score of 72 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave the album a very positive review and concluded that She Wolf is a "celebration of all the strange sensuality that comes out at night". Michael Cragg from MusicOMH singled out the tracks produced by The Neptunes as the best on the album, and also noted that they are "very much Shakira songs, not merely songs produced by The Neptunes". Johnny Davis from The Observer labelled the album "preposterously brilliant", while Mike Diver from BBC Music thought it was "perhaps the most enjoyably varied pop album of 2009". Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone was also positive towards the album and called Shakira a "charmer — a globe-straddling star you can cuddle up to". Moreover, the critic felt that Shakira had not completely abandoned her musical roots and commented: "the rumors of Shakira's vanishing Latina identity have been grossly exaggerated." Accolades She Wolf was included in AllMusic's year-end "Favorite Albums," "Favorite Latin Albums," and "Favorite Pop Albums" lists. At the 2010 Premios Oye! awards ceremony, the album received a nomination in the category "Spanish Album of the Year". At the 2010 Premios Shock awards ceremony, it was nominated "Album of the Year". Shakira was nominated for "Best International Female Solo Artist" at the 2010 Brit Awards; it was her second nomination for the award. ==Commercial performance==

In Austria, the album entered and peaked at number four on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart, staying on the chart for a total of 15 weeks. After debuting at number seven on the French Albums Chart, She Wolf went on to chart for a total of 79 weeks. The Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) certified the album gold for shipment of 50,000 copies. She Wolf debuted atop the Irish Albums Chart, displacing American recording artist Madonna's album Celebration from the top position. It was consequently certified gold by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). In Italy, the album entered the top 20 of the FIMI Albums Chart at number seven and later peaked at number one for two consecutive weeks. It became Shakira's first studio album to reach number one in the country. In Portugal, the album debuted outside of the top 10 of albums chart, but later re-entered the chart at its peak position of number five. Its total stay on the chart, however, was short and lasted for five weeks. The album appeared on the chart for 46 weeks in total. In the United Kingdom, the album entered and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and charted for seven weeks inside the top 40. She Wolf was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipping 100,000 units in the region. The Spanish-titled version of the album, Loba, was a success in Latin America. The album was certified gold for selling 20,000 units in Argentina. The success of the album in the country was such that it had shipped 90,000 units within a week and was certified platinum and gold by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON). It stayed atop the chart for four consecutive weeks, while its total stay lasted for 43 weeks. In Spain, the album entered and peaked at number two on the Spanish Albums Chart, staying on the chart for a total of 54 weeks. Loba was certified platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE) for shipments of 60,000 units. Two months after its release, She Wolf had sold 1.5 million copies in Europe and Latin America. In the United States, She Wolf debuted and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 89,000 units. The album spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart. According to New York Times, the album has sold 352,000 copies in the US as of October 14, 2010. Media outlets credited the poor performance of the album in the country to Ghost's involvement, particularly her last-minute decision to delay its release in order to add "Give It Up to Me" to the track list "after it already had been mastered and ready to ship." 20 months after her run as the president of Epic, Ghost was fired from the record label. ==Track listing==

• Shakira • Hill }} • Shakira • Pharrell Williams }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} • Shakira • Hill }} • Amanda Ghost • Shakira • Ian Dench • Carl Sturken • Evan Rogers }} • Ghost • Shakira • Dench • Sturken • Rogers }} • Shakira • Ghost • Lukas Burton • Future Cut }} • Shakira • Jean }} • Shakira • Jean }} • Shakira • Jean • Jerry Duplessis }} • Shakira • Albert Menendez }} • Shakira • Menendez }} • Shakira • Hill }} • Shakira • Jorge Drexler }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Drexler }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Drexler }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} • Shakira • Hill }} }} • Shakira • Hill }} }} • Shakira • Hill }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} • Shakira • Hill }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} • Shakira • Hill }} }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} • Shakira • Hill }} • Shakira • Drexler }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Drexler }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Timothy Mosley • Dwayne Carter • Amanda Ghost • Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon }} • Shakira • Mosley • Carter • Amanda Ghost • Harmon }} • Timbaland • Harmon }} • Shakira • Williams • Scott Mescudi }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Amanda Ghost • Shakira • Dench • Sturken • Rogers }} • Amanda Ghost • Shakira • Dench • Sturken • Rogers }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} • Shakira • Hill }} • Shakira • Drexler }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Drexler }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Shakira • Timothy Mosley • Dwayne Carter • Amanda Ghost • Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon }} • Shakira • Mosley • Carter • Amanda Ghost • Harmon }} • Timbaland • Harmon }} • Shakira • Williams • Scott Mescudi }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Amanda Ghost • Shakira • Dench • Sturken • Rogers • Drexler }} }} • Shakira • Williams }} • Shakira • The Neptunes }} • Amanda Ghost • Shakira • Dench • Sturken • Rogers }} • Amanda Ghost • Shakira • Dench • Sturken • Rogers }} • Shakira • Hill • Endicott }} }} }} ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from AllMusic. • Mert Alaş – photography • Michael Brauer – mixing engineer • Lukas Burton – producer • Míguel Bustamante – mixing assistant • Gustavo Celis – engineer, mixing engineer, vocal engineer, vocal mixing • Olgui Chirino – vocals (background) • Dave Clauss – engineer • Andrew Coleman – arranger, digital editing, engineer • Jorge Drexler – lyricist • Jerry Duplessis – producer • Future Cut – producer • Amanda Ghost – producer • Ryan Gilligan – mixing assistant • Hart Gunther – assistant engineer • Will Hensley – mixing assistant • Mario Inchausti – vocal arrangement • Wyclef Jean – producer, background vocals • Alladin El Kashef – engineer • Jaume Laiguana – art direction, design • Michael Larson – assistant engineer • Alex Leader – engineer • Stephen Marcussen – mastering • PJ McGinnis – assistant engineer • Vlado Meller – mastering • Miami Symphonic Strings – string arrangements • Walter Murphy – horn arrangements, string arrangements • The Neptunes – producer • Jessica Nolan – project supervisor • Dave Pensado – mixing engineer • Marcus Piggott – photography • Ed Rack – engineer • Hossam Ramzy – percussion arrangement, string arrangements • Andros Rodriguez – digital editing, engineer, mixing, vocal engineer • Christina Rodriguez – art direction, design • Jon Secada – vocal arrangement • Shakira – art direction, design, lyricist, percussion arrangement, producer, string arrangements, vocal arrangement, background vocals • Serge Tsai – engineer, vocal engineer • Sergio "Sergical" Tsai – mixing engineer • Joe Vilicic – engineer • William Villane – mixing assistant • Lawson White – string arrangements • Ed Williams – vocal engineer • Andrew Wuepper – mixing assistant ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications and sales==