A Celebration of Shakira’s Career on Her 44th Birthday

Feliz cumpleaños, Shakira! The Colombian pop star turns 44 today, and fans around the world are celebrating.

The hitmaker has been in the music business since she was 13 years old and released her first album, Magia. Though her first album was considered a commercial flop, selling only 1,000-1,200 copies, Shakira kept going. Now, 30 years later, she has reached the Billboard Top 100 charts 22 times, including the 2006 song, “Hips Don’t Lie,” which went #1 in June of that year.

Aside from “Hips Don’t Lie,” she has had 21 other hits that have reached the Billboard 100, including her first English language song, “Wherever, Whenever,” which peaked at #6 in 2001. In 2017, she added a different recognition to her name when she was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders for the work of her foundation, Pies Descalzos in Colombia. The foundation, named for one of her earlier albums) focuses on early-childhood development and education in Colombia.

Despite being in the business for over 30 years now (still looking youthful and stunning), Shakira is still going strong. Just a year ago, she co-headlined one of the biggest, and last, public events of 2020, the Super Bowl, where she shared the stage with Boricua star, Jennifer Lopez.

At 44, Shakira has earned her place as a global Latin superstar, and earlier this year, she sold the rights to her entire back catalog for an undisclosed amount, cementing her place in music history.

There will be a lot of celebrating at home, because she also shares her birthday with her partner, Barcelona soccer player Gerard Pique.

Felicidades to both!