16 March 2002
Shakira’s ‘Wherever, Whenever’ is really weird. Actual pan pipes! Shakira’s strange nasally singing, especially in the “I’ll be there and you’ll be near” of the chorus, a vocal choice she only seems to make on her English-language tracks. The Google Translate lyrics, including the key line about non-mountainous cleavage. The clompy Irish-showband bassline that Shakira acts out in the video with some odd big-stepping, arm-flailing dance moves. Yet it all did the trick: ‘Wherever, Whenever’ really did turn Shakira from regional idol to global superstar. (The song actually has a writing credit for a previous Spanish-English crossover success: Gloria Estefan.)
Still, though. Did people genuinely like ‘Wherever, Whenever’ or were they just here for its hip-gyrating world-rock kitsch? Yes, I get that there was also a certain visual appeal, but surely then you’d buy a magazine instead of a record. I can’t say I’ve found much to interest me in Shakira’s Spanish-language output either. Small and humble, to borrow a phrase.
