Shakira's 'She Wolf' is something to howl about
Photo credit: Getty Images | Singer Shakira performs onstage at the 2009 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. (Nov. 22, 2009)
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Shakira
Shakira has finally figured it out.
On "She Wolf" (Epic), the Colombian megastar abandons all hope of trying to fit into America's limited expectations of its superstar divas and crafts her own loopy vision of what pop music should sound like.
The lyrics are wild enough - with her howling at the moon and crazy talk of lycanthropy in the title track, her lament of "Matt Damon's not meant for me" in the chugging "Men in This Town," and her curses for an ex-boyfriend ("Hope the French fleas eat you both alive and your room smells and the toilet doesn't flush") in "Mon Amour."
>> BACKSTAGE PASS: Listen to new music by Shakira, Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle and Rihanna!
Combining all that with her passionately odd delivery and the multi-culti synth-pop collaborators The Neptunes, Timbaland and "Hips Don't Lie" pal Wyclef Jean surround her with, "She Wolf" truly becomes a head-scratching marvel.
The new single "Give It Up to Me," produced by Timbaland and featuring Lil Wayne, is a pretty good attempt at guaranteeing a surefire radio hit, but it pales when compared to the rest of "She Wolf." It needs more of Shakira's seductively loony point of view - as we all do.SHAKIRA
"She Wolf"
GRADE A
BOTTOM LINE Wildly adventurous ride through retro dance-pop
>> BACKSTAGE PASS: Listen to new music by Shakira, Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle and Rihanna!
