Shakira Rocks NYC for 'GMA's' Summer Concert Series

June 3, 2005 — -- Shakira shook her famous hips and tossed her blonde locks as she belted out "La Tortura" -- a single from her all-Spanish album "Fijacion Oral 1" -- to an exuberant crowd in New York City's Bryant Park this morning in the second installment of "GMA's" Summer Concert Series.

Fans came from as far as Colombia, and one couple even flew in from Puerto Rico for the show the night before and planned on flying back immediately afterward.

They were rewarded with two additional songs, "Underneath Your Clothes" from Shakira's 2001 album "Laundry Service" and "Obtener Un Si," also from "Fijacion Oral 1."

"Laundry Service" introduced the Latin songstress to American audiences with chart-topping hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes." The breakthrough album, Shakira's first in English, sold 13 million copies worldwide.

Shakira's popularity in Latin America was established well before "Laundry Service." The artist, 28, wrote her first song at age 8, and signed with Sony Music Colombia at 13.

Her latest album, which is being released in two parts, is a combination of her multi-lingual past. The first disc, "Fijacion Oral 1" hits stores on June 7 and is completely in Spanish. The music video for "La Tortura" will be the first Spanish-language video in the history of MTV.

"One day I found myself with 60 songs I had written in the past year and a half and I put myself in difficult task of selecting my favorite ones," Shakira said at Bryant Park. Her favorite songs were written in both Spanish and English, inspiring the idea for the double release.

"Oral Fixation 2," which features Shakira's latest songs in English, will be released in November.

Shakira maintains strong creative control of her work, unusual for a solo female artist in today's world. In addition to writing all of her own lyrics, Shakira is also a producer.

Her music is influenced from her international background. Growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, with her native Colombian mother, and father, who is of Lebanese descent, Shakira listened to both Latin and Arabic music, in addition to some classic rock 'n' roll. The rocker speaks five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Arabic.

She is engaged to Antonio de la Rua, son of the former president of Argentina.

For more information, you can visit Shakira's official Web site at www.shakira.com.