5 Lessons Shakira Can Teach Contestants On ‘The Voice’

She’s certainly persevered, that’s for sure!  Even if you don’t like her music, or her hips that “don’t lie,” you really can’t deny that Shakira is one of those stars that has truly transcended the so called “crossover” phenomenon.  From the very beginning, while Ricky Martin was shaking his “bon bon” all over the major US networks, Shakira was carefully plotting her domination in the English-language music industry, working alongside US Latino entertainment royalty Gloria and Emilio Estefan no less.  Back then, the Colombian born songstress who had already conquered all of Latin America with her breakout Spanish-language album Pies Descalzos, was the all too often overlooked wild card in the “Latino crossover” revolution of the late 1990s.

That wouldn’t be the case for very long.  Since then, Shakira – just her, not as part of any “phenomenon” – has gone on to sell more than 60 million albums around the world, and she is now pretty much a household name across the globe.  On the next season of The Voice, she’ll also become the newest celebrity judge to join the stellar cast of the hit US television series, replacing fellow Latina superstar Christina Aguilera.  So what should contestants expect to learn from the 35 year old rock star and mother to be?  Here are a couple of hints:

5. Nobody can move their hips like Shakira!

Yes, I know the show is about singing… not necessarily dancing, but if contestants are interested in offering the “full package” they should definitely take full advantage of Shakira’s unique and incomparable dance moves.

4. Perseverance. Perseverance. Perseverance.

About coming up with a winning strategy, connecting and working with the right people, taking natural talent and blending it with the right producers, executives, etc., no other judge on the show can likely match Shakira’s abilities.  And at the end of the day that’s what it’s going to be all about for all of the contestants.

3. Business 101!

She didn’t become an international super star by disregarding the basics of business, and most importantly, always building and strengthening her brand and reputation.  Shakira is not only an entertainer.  She’s an artist, a philanthropist, a leader, and even to some degree, the voice of US Latinos on a national scale.

2. Lyricist by Craft.

I’m not going to say her lyrics today are anywhere near as heartfelt and compelling as they once were, on the album Pies Descalzos, but storytelling through lyrics is one of Shakira’s most unique strong points.  She’s got another socially-impacting classic like that one in her future, I’m convinced of it.

1. She’s a Rock Star!

And then of course, who doesn’t want to be a Rock Star?  More to the point for contestants, who wouldn’t want to have Shakira’s success?

Now let’s just hope she rocks as a judge too.