Latin pop star Shakira has opened a new school in her native Colombia that she helped fund. At Wednesday’s dedication of the $6 million school, Shakira was joined by President Alvaro Uribe, who decorated the pop star with a medal. The 140,000-sq.-ft. school will cater to 1,800 students and is the fifth that Shakira’s Pies Descalzos foundation has built. Watch a report from ITN below.
Shakira spoke with CNN’s Jessica Yellin about why she thinks President Barack Obama is different from other politicians. “You know I get to meet a lot of politicians, and you know they’re always a little bit distracted. They have a lot of things on their minds,” Shakira explained. “But I noticed President Obama is very focused. He really gets in touch with every person and connects with every person he’s talking to. You know he’s in the moment, and that is pretty remarkable. And he was very warm and very nice, as well as Michelle. What a woman, she’s very intelligent and also very accessible. I really liked them. I don’t sound very objective when I talk about the Obamas because I like them too much.” The singer added that she and Barack talked about education during their get together. Watch the interview below.
Pop acts on television this week include:
Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, who perform on ‘Kids’ Inaugural: We Are The Future’, a concert honoring military families airing on the Disney Channel on Monday at 9:30 PM ET/PT.
‘American Idol’ (FOX) continues the audition phase of the show with stops in San Francisco on Tuesday and Louisville on Wednesday. In addition, show judge Kara DioGuardi makes an appearance on ‘Live with Regis and Kelly’ (ABC) on Monday.
Mariah Carey and Shakira perform on ‘The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration’ (ABC) on Tuesday at 8 PM ET/PT.
Becky Baeling, who visits ‘Chelsea Lately’ (E!) on Wednesday.
James Morrison, who performs on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ (Syndicated) on Thursday.
Shakira spoke with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, where the Colombian pop singer talked about the honor of being invited by the Presidential Inauguration Committee and the President-elect Barack Obama to participate in the official ceremonies. “The swearing in of Obama is a triumph for all minorities, African Americans, Latinos, Arabs, Asians, and so many other communities who live in this country and by way of their daily work make America the great power that it is,” Shakira said. “I hope that the triumph of Obama serves to let all the children of the world know that they have the same rights and that they can aspire to any level of success that they wish. God willing many hispanic children are now thinking today that they want to be president when they grow up when before today that was difficult to imagine.” Shakira added that among the Latino community, she’s “sure that sooner or later, in a not-so-far-off future, will have among them a future president of the United States.” Read more.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the producers and initial talent lineup for ‘The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration’, which will air live on ABC (8:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, Tuesday, January 20), and the “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are The Future,” a concert honoring military families airing on Disney Channel (8:00 – 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, Monday, January 19).
Musical performers scheduled for the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball include Beyonce Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, JAY-Z, Alicia Keys, Shakira and Stevie Wonder. Nick Cannon will DJ the event. Additional performers will be announced as they are confirmed.
Musical performances for the Kids’ Inaugural event include the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Bow Wow. Billy Ray Cyrus, Keke Palmer, and Usher Raymond IV are also scheduled to appear. 13-year-old Perry Rubin, daughter of entertainment reporter Sam Rubin, will be the special backstage correspondent. Additional performers and guests will be announced as they are confirmed.
Shakira took time out of her schedule to get down to to see the devastation of Cyclone Sidr first-hand in Bangladesh courtesy of UNICEF. The singer spoke about the importance of the institution of school stating, “School is always an oasis in the middle of any tragedy. School goes beyond education. It’s the space where kids can grow in a healthy environment away from those troubles for at least a few hours, and they can be children again.” Watch an Artisan News Service report at YouTube.
Shakira has been doing her part to help the cyclone-devastated Bangladesh. The singer arrived in the South Asian country for a three day visit on Monday (December 17) as part of her role as a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ambassador to observe the reconstruction efforts. “I will never forget the faces of the mothers who lost their children, or the story of Shahnaz, the little girl who died holding onto her book, or the marks on the arms of the young mother, who lost both her children,” the singer told ITN. Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh on November 15th, killing nearly 3,500 people and leaving millions homeless. Watch a report via YouTube below.
Shakira talked with Artisan News Service about her recently released ‘Oral Fixation Tour’ DVD, which features concert footage from her Miami concert on December 9, 2006, as well as a look at the kids in her native Columbia living in vulnerable areas and living as refugees. “This tour was really organic, relaxed,” the singer said of her Oral Fixation tour. “I felt very authentic on stage. I wanted to make sure from the very beginning that the production, whatever it was going to be, could never be a barrier between me and my fans. On the contrary, I wanted to be closer to them than ever before.” Watch the report at YouTube.
Shakira attended the Los Angeles premiere of New Line Cinema’s ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ held at the Cinerama Dome on Sunday (November 11) in Los Angeles, California. The film features the new song ‘Despidida’ from the singer. Check out pictures from GettyImages. Watch the film’s trailer, featuring ‘Despidida’, below.