Maps of Music

MTV Unplugged (2000)

Where the lyrics of MTV Unplugged take you, and where it was really made.

Shakira's MTV Unplugged was the first episode of the series broadcast entirely in Spanish, and it became her breakthrough in the U.S. market.

Key places

The Grand Ballroom show of 12 August 1999 (1999)

Live show Manhattan Center Studios — The MTV Unplugged performance was recorded on 12 August 1999 at the Grand Ballroom in New York City, and the concert was later released as this live album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• MTV Unplugged is the first live album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira
• Released in 2000 by Sony Music Colombia
• Recorded on 12 August 1999 during the MTV Unplugged performance at the Grand Ballroom in New York City
• The performance was released as a live album in 2000 and again as a DVD in 2002
• The first Unplugged episode to be broadcast entirely in Spanish
• Served as Shakira's major breakthrough in the U.S. market

Background

• The concert is noted as the first time a Latin pop act attempted an Unplugged
• Also the first Latina solo act to do so
• Also the first time a Latino act did not tape its performance at MTV's studios in Miami

Recording

• Recorded live on 12 August 1999
• Performed at the Grand Ballroom in New York City, not at MTV's Miami studios
• The album is a document of that single concert

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, born 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia.
• Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer and record producer, known as the "Queen of Latin Music".
• Signed to Sony Music Colombia at age 13; debut album Magia (1991) was not a commercial success.
• Breakthrough with Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998).
• English crossover album Laundry Service (2001) sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
• Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005) and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005) followed, with "Hips Don't Lie" becoming her first Billboard Hot 100 number one.
• Has written or co-written virtually all the music she has recorded.
• Holds four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards.
• Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (2024) topped Billboard Top Latin Albums, making her the first woman with number-one albums across four decades.
• Known for blending Latin, Western and Middle Eastern influences in her music and dance.

Philanthropy

• Founded Fundación Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation) in 1997 to build schools for underprivileged children in Colombia.
• Became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2003.
• Appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in 2011.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critically acclaimed by American critics
• Earned Shakira her first Grammy Award, for Best Latin Pop Album

Reappraisal

• Vulture Magazine listed the performance among its 7 Really Good MTV Unplugged Performances
• Nylon included Sombra De Ti on its list of the 10 best MTV Unplugged performances
• Yardbarker ranked the album at number 3 on its list of the 20 greatest MTV Unplugged albums
• Remezcla included the performance on its list of the 10 most iconic Latin American MTV Unplugged performances

Records

• Sold over 1.3 million units worldwide by June 2001
• Single No Creo released to promote the album
• Promotional singles: Dónde Están los Ladrones?, Moscas en la Casa, Ojos Así
• First Grammy Award for Shakira, Best Latin Pop Album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Unplugged concert was the first episode of the program to be broadcast entirely in Spanish
• The album was the first live album by Shakira, recorded during a single concert
• The concert is noted as the first time a Latin pop act attempted an Unplugged, and the first Latina solo act to do so
• The first time a Latino act did not tape its performance at MTV's studios in Miami

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact