Sale el Sol

Background

In October 2009, Shakira released her eighth studio album, She Wolf. The composition of the record shifted from her more traditional Latin pop and pop rock styles, and was primarily an electropop album with combined elements of world and dancehall. The album was positively received by most music critics and was praised for its distinguished nature and Shakira's experimentation with electropop. Commercially, She Wolf was a success and topped charts and attained gold and platinum certifications in several South American and European territories. However, it performed poorly in the United States and became Shakira's first studio album since Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998) to miss peaking inside the top 10 after it debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 200 chart. In May 2010, she wrote and recorded "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which became a worldwide hit.

Production

Following the worldwide success of "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", Shakira soon began work on her ninth studio album Sale el Sol. She decided to experiment with merengue music on the album, saying "I grew up listening to merengue—that was a big part of my life, and I was missing it." Merengue is recognized as the national music of the Dominican Republic and the singer travelled to the country to work with Dominican songwriter and record producer El Cata, resulting in songs like "Loca" and "Rabiosa". Shakira said that the recording of the two songs took place in "this tiny studio in the middle of nowhere", and that "it wasn't planned, I was just following my instincts. So this album is very genuine, and very personal as well".

Other collaborators on the album include American rapper and songwriter Armando Pérez, better known by his stage name Pitbull, Shakira's friend and frequent collaborator Luis Fernando Ochoa, René Pérez Joglar, better known by his stage name "Residente Calle 13", John Hill, Lester Mendez, Albert Menéndez, Tim Mitchell and Jorge Drexler. Shakira co-wrote and co-produced every track on the album, with the exception of "Islands". The recording of the album took place at locations such as The Bahamas, London, Barcelona and the Dominican Republic.

Armando Pérez, who co-wrote the tracks "Loca" and "Rabiosa", talked about Shakira's previous album She Wolf, saying "on the last album they tried to Americanize Shakira by giving her the big producers. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, but it’s just not her". Talking about his collaboration with Shakira, El Cata revealed that she told him "You have something that makes me move". Cata responded by telling Shakira that "it was the percussion" and "Those sounds that you want, I have them in my studio.", which led to a recording session between the two. He appears as a featured artist on the Spanish version of "Loca".

René Pérez Joglar, who performs as the lead singer of Puerto Rican alternative hip hop band under the name of Residente, appears as a featured artist on the track "Gordita". He explained the conception of the song, in which he raps about the fact that "he liked Shakira better when — early in her career: she was chubbier, had dark hair and was a rock chick", by saying that "I told her (Shakira) it was a good idea to make fun of yourself. That way the haters can't say anything, because you already said it". British rapper Dizzee Rascal appears as a featured artist on the English version of "Loca". He said that he felt "honoured" that Shakira chose him for the song, by saying that "She's a bit of a trendsetter -- she does loads of different things on a major scale. You'd expect her to use an American rapper (for the song), but she chose me. It meant a lot".

Music and lyrics

Sale el Sol is considered to be Shakira's return to her "roots" and is a "fusion between rock and pop heavily influenced from Latino and Colombian music". Shakira said there are three "directions" of Sale el Sol: a romantic one, a "very rock and roll" one, and a "Latino, tropical" one. Explaining the romantic "direction" of the album, she said that it was something "which I hadn't tapped into for the past three years, but it suddenly came to me and I couldn't hold it back. So it’s [the album has] got songs that are very intense, very romantic [sic]". Examples include ballads like "Antes de las Seis" ("Before Six O'Clock") and "Lo Que Mas" ("The Most"); in the former Shakira delivers "sad, emotional, and heartfelt vocals," while in the latter she sings over a piano and string-supplemented melody. About the rock and roll "direction" of the album, Shakira said "I started my career as a rock artist and then I kind of crossed over into pop, so it’s been fun to re-encounter that side of my artistic personality".

It’s like I found myself again. You get influenced by everything you hear on the radio, or maybe by what you feel that other people’s expectations are. But then you suddenly realize that everything you need to write about is what’s inside of you – to not look outside but inside.

The title track is an acoustic guitar-driven alternative rock and Latin pop-infused song, while "Devoción" ("Devotion") is a techno-influenced alternative rock track in which Shakira "beats all U2-inspired arena rockers at their own game," according to AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine. The "sultry, energetic, bass-laden" "Tu Boca" ("Your Mouth") finds influences from new wave music. "Islands" is a cover of the original song of the same name by English indie pop band The xx. Shakira adds a few house music elements to the original art pop song.

The "Latino" and tropical side of the album is prominently influenced by merengue music. The genre is characterized by the use of the accordion and the percussion instrument tambora. "Loca" ("Crazy"), is Shakira's interpretation of El Cata's song "Loca Con Su Tiguere", and is composed of horn-heavy merengue beats set over techno dance percussion beats. Similarly, "Rabiosa" ("Rabid") is Shakira's interpretation of El Cata's song "La Rabiosa", and is a fast-paced merengue-influenced dance track. In addition to merengue, songs like "Addicted to You", which features "bilingual lyrics, a very 70's chorus and Copacabana sounds", are influenced by reggaeton music. "Gordita" ("Chubby"), a duet between Residente Calle 13 and Shakira, is a cumbia and Latin rap hybrid.

Talking about the album's lyrical content, Shakira said that there are some songs "that are just to dance to in a club, that don’t have a big transcendence". In "Rabiosa", Shakira sings about her partner's sex appeal. "Loca" expresses Shakira's erratic and obsessive behaviour towards her lover, more so than his other leading lady. However, Shakira also said that there are some songs which "will remain in people’s hearts and people’s consciousness, sometimes forever". She described these tracks as "songs that have the power to feed people’s relationships and states of mind and states of spirit". According to Billboard, the title track is composed of "evocative and hopeful" lyrics which are dedicated to Argentine singer-songwriter and Shakira's friend Gustavo Cerati, who had been in a coma around the time of the release of the album. "Antes de las Seis" deals with issues of longing, regrets and loneliness. Shakira said these songs are written "in such a personal and intimate way that at that moment. I'm not really thinking much. I'm just letting it all out".

Release and promotion

Sale el Sol was released worldwide on 19 October 2010. The album was made available for digital downloading on the iTunes Store on the same day. An English titled version of the album, The Sun Comes Out, was also released and contains exactly the same track list; the only difference being in the running order as the Spanish versions of "Loca" and "Rabiosa", featuring El Cata, are included as bonus tracks, while the English versions, featuring Dizzee Rascal and Pitbull, respectively, are included on the main track list.

Singles

"Loca" was chosen as the lead single from the album; the Spanish version, featuring El Cata, was released on 10 September 2010, while the English version, featuring Dizzee Rascal, was released on 13 September 2010. It became an international success. It peaked atop the charts of countries like France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. In the United States, the song peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also topped the Hot Latin Songs, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Songs charts. "Loca" was certified double-platinum in Mexico and Spain by the Mexican Association of Phonograph Producers and the Producers of Spanish Music. In Shakira's native country Colombia, it was certified diamond by the Colombian Association of Phonograph Producers. It also attained platinum certifications in Italy and Switzerland. The accompanying music video for "Loca", directed by Jaume de Laiguana, was filmed in Barcelona, Spain, and features Shakira interacting with a beach crowd, and dancing in front of the sea wearing a golden bikini.

"Sale el Sol", the title track of the album, was released as the second single on 4 January 2011. The song charted very limitedly but managed to perform well in Mexico and Spain, peaking at numbers one and eight on the Monitor Latino and Spanish Singles Chart, respectively. It was certified gold in both countries. "Sale el Sol" peaked at numbers 10 and two on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts, respectively. The accompanying music video was directed by Jaume de Laiguana, and contains scenes of Shakira finding her way out of large maze and finally emerging outside to a sunny garden.

"Rabiosa" was chosen to be the third single off the album; both the Spanish and English versions of the song, featuring El Cata and Pitbull, respectively, were released on 8 April 2011. A commercial success, it topped the chart of Spain, and reached top ten positions in countries like Austria, Belgium, and Italy. A success on the Latin record charts in the United States, it peaked at number eight on both the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and Latin Pop Airplay chart, and also peaked at number 13 on the Tropical Songs chart. The song was certified double-platinum in Mexico, and platinum in Spain and Italy. The accompanying music video for the single, directed by Jaume De Laiguana, features Shakira enjoying an underground party while sporting a brown bob-cut wig; it also contains scenes of her poledancing while sporting her normal long blonde hair.

"Antes de las Seis" was released as the fourth single on 21 October 2011. It wasn't successful on singles chart but performed moderately well on airplay charts, topping the airplay chart in Spain and peaking at number four on the US Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart. It is the only song from the album to miss the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. In 2013, "Antes de las Seis" was certified gold in Mexico. The live recording of Shakira's performance of the song during the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy concert show of The Sun Comes Out World Tour, taken from the live album Live from Paris, served as the accompanying music video for the single.

"Addicted to You" was released as the fifth and final single off Sale el Sol, on 13 March 2012. It became a success in Mexico, where it received a platinum certification, and Poland, where it topped the airplay chart. In the United States, it peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, and at number three on both the Latin Pop Airplay and Tropical Songs charts. The accompanying music video for "Addicted to You" was directed by Anthony Mandler, and features Shakira dancing in various locations, such as an "old Spanish style" town, a cathedral-like room, and a bathtub, while sporting different "high fashion" outfits.

Tour

To promote Sale el Sol, as well as She Wolf, Shakira embarked on The Sun Comes Out World Tour in late-2010. Shakira's official website first announced the three initial venues of the North American leg of the tour, on 3 May 2010,< and subsequently 22 more venues were listed. After a special tour preview show held in Montreal, Canada, on 15 September 2010, the North American leg of the tour commenced at Uncasville, Connecticut, on 17 September, and closed at Rosemont, Illinois, on 29 October 2010. The initial dates for the European leg of the tour were announced on 28 June 2010, and subsequently 22 more shows were listed. The European leg of the tour was planned to commence at Lyon, France, on 16 November, and end in London, England, on 20 December 2010. The tickets for the initial dates of the European leg were soon sold out, and Shakira extended the tour into 2011, beginning by announcing a show at Paris, France; venues at countries such as Croatia, Russia, Spain and Switzerland were soon added. The Latin American leg of the tour was a part of the Pop Festival, which was heralded as an initiative to bring international music stars to Latin America. Initial tour dates for the leg were announced on 3 December 2010, and soon venues at countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico were added to the tour dates.

The setlist of the tour was primarily composed of songs from Sale el Sol: "Antes de las Seis", "Gordita", "Loca", "Sale el Sol" and "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)". The stage was shaped like the letter "T" to enable maximum amount of viewers to see Shakira easily. A large screen was set behind the stage, on which various visuals, designed by entertainment branding agency Loyalkaspar, were projected. For the performances, Shakira mainly wore a mesh gold crop top coupled with skin-tight leather pants. Other attires Shakira wore during the concert shows included a hooded pink gown, a flamenco-skirt, and a feathery blue dress.

The concert shows were well-received by critics, many of whom praised the charisma Shakira displayed during the performances. Commercially, the tour was a success. It ranked at number 40 on Pollstar's 2010 year-end "Top 50 North American Tours" list as it grossed a total of $16.9 million in the continent, with total ticket sales amounting up to 524,723. In North America, the tour sold an average of 9,335 tickets, and a total of 205,271 tickets. The tour was a bigger success worldwide, ranking at number 20 on Pollstar's 2011 "Top 25 Worldwide Tours". Its total gross during its worldwide dates was of $53.2 million and ticket sales amounted up to 692,064. A live album of the show held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, was released as Shakira: Live from Paris, on 5 December 2011.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Sale el Sol received an average score of 89 based on 5 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Carlos Quintana from About.com praised Shakira's experimentation with merengue and rock sounds on the album, noting that her "never ending innovative style giving us an indication of her artistic evolution and current musical interests", and that Sale el Sol "shows again why Shakira is one of the top Latin Pop artists in the world". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave it a very positive review, complimenting Shakira's versatility in her "pan-global approach", and praising the album's simple and "breezy" nature, saying it "never once sounds disparate or overworked -- it's sunny and easy, its natural buoyancy disguising Shakira's range and skill -- but listen closely and it becomes apparent that nobody makes better pop records in the new millennium than she does". The Billboard review of the album was also extremely positive, noting that its composition is "infinitely more memorable and unique than the singer's baffling 2009 set, She Wolf", and that it "manages to bridge the divide between the old and new Shakira with a spark that keeps you listening to the very end".

Michelle Morgante from Boston.com chose the merengue-influenced songs of Sale el Sol as "some of its strongest moments", and noted that the album is a "truer representation of the Shakira who has excited Latin America and propelled her onto the world stage". James Reed from The Boston Globe felt that while Sale el Sol "isn't as heady as She Wolf", it proves to be "another step forward for an artist who rarely looks back". Mikael Good from Entertainment Weekly termed Sale el Sol as a demonstration of "Shakira's boldly global mindset" and awarded it a perfect "A" grade. Jesus Yanez-Reyes from Northern Arizona News favoured the album's rock-influenced tracks and concluding that Sale el Sol "is one of Shakira’s best releases, with songs sure to become classics within the next year". Mikel Toombs from Seattle Post-Intelligencer said that the album features Shakira "at her most upbeat". Jennifer Schaffer from Stanford Daily called Sale el Sol a "fantastically diverse album with some awesome collaborations and a truly impressive range of emotions", and commended Shakira's vocal delivery, saying "the sheer power of Shakira's vocal chords is clearly the focus of the album". Allison Stewart felt the album was a showcase for Shakira's "remarkable" voice, and concluded that while Sale el Sol is not "necessarily adventurous", it "provides a better showcase for Shakira's countless charms than its predecessors ever did". Carlos Macias from Terra USA, however, gave the album a mixed review and said it "delivers half the goods".

Accolades and recognition

Sale el Sol was included in AllMusic's "Favorite Albums of 2010" and "Favorite Latin Albums of 2010" year-end lists. At the 2011 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony, Sale el Sol was nominated for "Album of the Year" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Album", winning the award in the latter category. At the 2011 Billboard Music Awards Sale el Sol was nominated for "Top Latin Album", but lost it to Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias's album Euphoria. At the 2011 Latin Billboard Music Awards, the album won the award for "Latin Digital Album of the Year", and Shakira won the award for "Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year, Female". At the 2011 Premios Juventud awards ceremony, the album was nominated for "Lo Toco Todo. CD Favorito" ("Your Favorite CD"). At the 2011 Premios Shock awards ceremony, it was nominated Album of the Year.

At the 2012 Premios Lo Nuestro awards ceremony, Sale el Sol won the award for "Pop Album of the Year". At the 2012 Premios Oye! awards ceremony, it was nominated for "Spanish Album of the Year". At the 2012 Premios Nuestra Tierra award ceremony, it was nominated "Best Album of the Year".

Commercial performance

The album was a success in Europe. In Austria, Sale el Sol entered and peaked at number three on the Austrian Albums Chart, spending a total of 44 weeks on the chart. In this region, it was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling 20,000 units. The album debuted at number 15 on the Ultratop chart in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium and jumped to its peak position of number eight the following week. It entered the chart at the same debut position in the French-speaking Wallonia region of the country but saw more success as it later peaked at number one, displacing French pop rock duo AaRON's album Birds in the Storm from the top spot. Sale el Sol became Shakira's first studio album to reach at number one in the region. In Flanders and Wallonia, the album charted for 55 and 54 weeks, respectively. The Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) certified the album platinum for sales of 20,000 units.

After entering the French Albums Chart at number two, Sale el Sol peaked at number one for two consecutive weeks, propelled by the success of the lead single "Loca" in the country. It spent 17 consecutive weeks inside the top 10 and 113 weeks in the top 20, making it Shakira's longest charting album in the country. It finished as the 13th best-selling album of 2010 in France, with sales of 236,616 units. The album further sold 198,000 units in 2011, appearing at number 10 on the year-end chart and bringing its total sales to 425,000 units. In addition to being her first album to top the French Albums chart, Sale el Sol is also Shakira's highest-certified album in the country as it was certified diamond by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for sales of 500,000 units. It is one of the best-selling albums in France of all time. By contrast, Sale el Sol became the singer's lowest charting studio-album in Germany, peaking at number six on the Media Control Charts. However, it achieved high sales in the country and was certified platinum by The Federal Association of Music Industry (BVMI) for having shipped 200,000 units in Germany. The album peaked at number four on the Hungarian Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Association of Hungarian Record Companies for selling 10,000 units.

In Italy, it debuted at number three on the FIMI Albums chart and ascended to number one the following week. Sale el Sol was Shakira's second consecutive album to peak atop the Italian albums chart, after She Wolf topped the chart in 2009. Its stay inside the top 20 lasted for 19 weeks. The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) certified the album platinum for sales of 60,000 units. Sale el Sol debuted atop the Portuguese Albums Chart — Shakira's first album to accomplish the feat in the country — and spent two weeks at number one. It was able to stay within the top 10 for 23 consecutive weeks. It was certified platinum by the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP) for selling 15,000 units in Portugal. Sale el Sol was Shakira's first studio album since Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005) to peak at number one on the Spanish Albums chart after it debuted at the top position. It spent a total of 63 weeks on the chart and was certified double-platinum by the Producers of Spanish Music (PROMUSICAE) for shipments of 80,000 units. Sale el Sol entered and peaked at number two on the Swiss Albums Chart and was kept from attaining the top position by American rock band Kings of Leon's album Come Around Sundown, which debuted at number one. It charted for 49 weeks in total. In Switzerland, it was certified double-platinum by IFPI for selling 40,000 units.

The album also enjoyed high-sales in South America. In Shakira's native country Colombia, it sold in excess of 200,000 units and was certified diamond by the Colombian Association of Phonograph Producers (ASINCOL). In Mexico, Sale el Sol debuted at number one on the Mexican Albums Chart, becoming the singer's second consecutive studio album to enter the chart at the top position. It also became her longest-charting album in the country, spending a total of 50 weeks. In this region, it was certified platinum and gold by the Mexican Association of Phonograph Producers (AMPROFON) for shipments of 90,000 units. In Canada, the album peaked at number 11 on the Canadian Albums Chart, spending a total of two weeks on the chart. In the United States, Sale el Sol debuted and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart on the chart date of 6 November 2010. On the Latin Albums chart, Sale el Sol debuted at number one with first-week sales amounting up to 46,000 units, as compiled by Nielson SoundScan. It marked the highest debut for a Latin album for the year and was Shakira's fifth album to peak at number one. According to Billboard, 35% of its first-week sales were credited to strong digital sales. In total, Sale el Sol spent 118 weeks on the Latin Albums chart. On the Latin Pop Albums chart, it again peaked at number one and spent 118 weeks on the chart in total.

Track listing

Sale el Sol – Standard edition

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.