Shakira Changed Name And Wore Disguise For UCLA Class

How did Shakira manage to take a summer history class at UCLA in 2007 and not make headlines until after the course was over?.



The Colombian-bred international pop star revealed her successful game plan in a recent interview with the UK's The Guardian..

"I used to wear a cap and a big backpack," Shakira explained. "I looked like a boy. I didn't get recognized.".

When onlookers got suspicious and inquired whether or not she was the "Hips Don't Lie" singer, she told them that her name was Isabel, which is actually one of her middle names..

Her simple plan worked. Professor Robert Cleve, who taught the Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations from Prehistory to Circa A.D. 843 class, had no idea "Isabel" was actually a pop star..

"She told me she was visiting from Colombia and that she was just doing this for her own enlightenment and enjoyment," Cleve told the Associated Press in 2007. "She looked like just an ordinary student. She wasn't flamboyant...she didn't act like a big celebrity or anything.".

The singer, whose song "She Wolf" is No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, sat near the front of the class and regularly stayed afterwards to ask questions, Cleve added. "I was really impressed with how intelligent she was," he said..

Shakira decided to take the class after wrapping the tour for her album, "Oral Fixation.".

When most celebs need a break from the business, they typically take a real vacation. They travel to a remote destination, relax, and clear their minds..

But Shakira said challenging her mind instead was the ideal getaway after the tour..

"It was such a long tour, I needed a break from me," Shakira told The Guardian. "The universe is so broad, I cannot be at the center of it. So I decided to go to the university and study history for a summer course, just to kind of switch gears, taste the student life.".

Shakira has been known to spend her spare time studying, and learning about the countries she visits, her manager Fifi Kurzman told The Associated Press..

While Shakira did not attend the last few classes, she told The Guardian that she enjoyed the experience. "I would go to the university over and over again if I could," Shakira said.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/91703/shakira-changed-name-and-wore-disguise-for-ucla-class/
SEE MORE VIDEOS HERE. UPDATED!

View Here...

Shakira To Give 'Ugly Betty' Some S.O.S.

Colombian superstar will guest-star in an upcoming episode in the Bahamas.
"Ugly Betty" is about to get a lot more beautiful. Shakira will play herself in an upcoming episode of the ABC comedy.

"We're huge fans of Shakira," show creator Silvio Horta told People, adding that the cameo springs from a moment in the show's first season. "We had a very memorable moment in the third episode where Betty has a makeover that goes wrong and she struts down the street to 'Hips Don't Lie.' "

Horta said the Colombian superstar was perfect for the show about a young Latina woman, Betty (America Ferrera), trying to make it in the cutthroat world of fashion magazines. "We've mentioned her several times over the course of the series and have always wanted to work with her. She's an enormous Latina icon, as is Betty, and we thought it was a perfect fit."

In the episode titled, "The Bahamas Triangle," Shakira helps fix a "Mode" fashion shoot that got off track on location in the Bahamas (where, incidentally, the singer recorded her upcoming album, She Wolf).

Shakira is only one of the big names stopping by "Ugly Betty" this season. Supermodel Christie Brinkley will join the show as Penelope Graybridge, an editor at a competing magazine, and according to E! Online, Kristen Johnston will be guest starring in the role originally meant for Paula Abdul.
source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1622751/20091001/shakira.jhtml?rsspartner=rssYahooNewscrawler
SEE MORE HOT CELEBRITIES HERE. UPDATED!
View Here...

Shakira: The 'She Wolf' Billboard Cover Story

In Shakira's hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, there's a 15-foot metal statue of her, wearing bell-bottoms and strumming a guitar. It was donated by a German sculptor in 2006, in the midst of the singer's wildly successful Oral Fixation world tour, which featured her jaw-dropping belly-dancing and a finale of "Hips Don't Lie" with Wyclef Jean.

Shakira occasionally strummed a glittery guitar during the show, but by the time the statue was put up, she was far from the acoustic pop-rocker she'd been on her 1996 breakthrough album, "Pies Descalzos." And if the statue already was playing catch-up with her image in 2006, it barely captures her now.

A preview of Shakira's third English album, "She Wolf," due Oct. 13 on Epic, reveals what may be some of her most club-oriented music to date: electronic pop with strong basslines and prominent world music textures, combined with a dose of in-your-face sex appeal.

"I felt very curious and intrigued about the electro-pop world and everything it has to offer," Shakira tells Billboard by phone from her home in the Bahamas. "I wanted to make sure that this album was very bassy and that the kicks hit really hard, and I wanted to concentrate on the beat. But my music, to a certain extent, is very complex -- because I always try to experiment with sounds from other parts of the world." Shakira produced and wrote "She Wolf," teaming with Pharrell Williams on production; other collaborators include Jean; John Hill, who's worked with Santigold; the Bravery's Sam Endicott; and Academy Award winner Jorge Drexler. Keyboardist Albert Menendez also co-wrote a song.
source: http://www.billboard.com/#/features/shakira-the-she-wolf-billboard-cover-story-1004012552.story View Here...