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I'm rarely singing in English.

I'm not a salsa singer who wants to sing in English, and I'm not this American kid who wants to sing Spanish.

I want to sing more in Spanish. I want to sing the songs of Granados; the songs of Montsalvatge. To do things that truly I've not done before.

So, when I got the contract for my album, even though it was an English record, my manager insisted on making sure we would record in Spanish as well, and it worked out really well for me.

As a singer, it's basic to preserve what I like to do, which is music, and also to remember my cradlesongs in Spanish.

Writing in English was a major challenge. I didn't want other songwriters to write for me. I wanted to preserve the spirit of my songs in Spanish. I am the same Shakira in English as I am in Spanish.

I grew up in a community that was bilingual. I've done it for a while, singing in both languages.

The power of music in Spanish is so strong, that I couldn't stay away from it any longer.

Singing beautiful melodies is one thing, but to deliver the text so that the people understand it, even in a foreign language, has to be worked at very hard.

I think foreign countries really do like it when American artists sing in their language. And when you go over there and say, 'Hi, how are you?' in their language, they love it. It makes them feel like you're doing it just for them. We in America take so much for granted.