Fans shocked after discovering how Shakira wrote her debut album without knowing a word of English

Writing, singing and releasing an entire album in a foreign language… I can’t understand how anyone can do that.

But that’s exactly what Shakira did for her first English-language album, and fans were amazed to see that the Colombian star managed to create several hits without knowing English.

You’re not here to listen to my comments, and frankly, I’m sure you don’t care… but… if I were trying to sing a Spanish song for example, I think I would know the rhythm but there would be no way I could sing the whole song without making a mistake.

It is easy to memorize songs in our native language because you can understand what the artist is singing through the lyrics.

Anyway, I digress.

Shakira, or to give her her full name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, released her fifth studio album in 2001. Washing servicewhich resulted in Laundry in English – his first in the language.

And his music was a hit, so much so that one song from the album was streamed over 632 million times. The song? “Whenever, Wherever” – a real melody.

So how did the “Hips Don’t Lie” icon write her first English-language album?

Well, this was 2001, so she couldn’t really rely on Google Translate, I mean, we didn’t even have iPhones back then.

Instead, she used a dictionary.

Speaking about this herself in a 2009 interview, the singer explained: “Writing songs was so difficult for me. A few years ago, I barely spoke English and I wrote my songs with a dictionary.

“It was a real labor of love and I would spend hours sitting there searching for words. But now, thankfully, it comes more naturally and spontaneously to me.”

She did so with the help of her former manager Emilio Estefan Jr. and his wife, Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan.

After its release and seeing its success in the United States and around the world, she released three more albums in English.

If you were a fan of Shakira before, I’m sure you’re in awe of her now.