Maps of Music

El Dorado (2017)

Where the lyrics of El Dorado take you, and where it was really made.

Recording for this mostly Spanish-language album is linked to studios in Los Angeles, Jersey City, Miami and New York City.

Key places

Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles (2017)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — The source names Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles as one of the recording places for El Dorado. The pin marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Lula Recording, Jersey City (2017)

Recording site Lula Recording — The source names Lula Recording as a recording place for El Dorado. The pin shows Jersey City at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

RedLab11, Miami (2017)

Recording site The Hit Factory Criteria — The source lists RedLab11 in Miami as a recording place for El Dorado. The pin shows Miami at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Calpio, New York City (2017)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The source lists Calpio in New York City as a recording place for El Dorado. The pin shows New York City at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• El Dorado: eleventh studio album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira
• Released 26 May 2017 by Sony Music Latin
• Mainly sung in Spanish, with three songs in English
• Primarily a mixture of Latin pop and reggaeton
• Other influences include bachata, vallenato, cumbia, salsa, hip-hop, R&B, trap and electropop
• Six vocal collaborations: two with Maluma, one each with Nicky Jam, Carlos Vives, Prince Royce, Black M and Magic!

Background

• October 2015: Shakira announced she would return to the studio for her eleventh studio album
• After her tenth album (2014) she had her second child, suffered writer's block and was unsure about her career
• Her collaboration with Carlos Vives on La Bicicleta encouraged her to keep working on music
• Voiced the character Gazelle in the animated movie Zootopia (2016) during the early stages of the record
• Inspired by her personal life, the album mainly features songs about her relationship with Gerard Piqué

Recording

• Work on the album began in early 2016
• Longtime collaborator Luis Fernando Ochoa worked on the album
• New producers Supa Dups, Rude Boyz and The Arcade were enlisted
• Recording studios named in the source: Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles), Lula Recording (Jersey City), RedLab11 (Miami), Calpio (New York City)

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

• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars
• AllMusic praised the album as coherent and mature in its control of mood
• The National's Si Hawkins called it a summer treat for her Latino fans
• Hawkins said the album's Hispanic focus let its star have some fun rather than follow North American chart trends
• Knoxville News Sentinel's Chuck Campbell called it a solid hodgepodge of trendy and classic tracks and praised Luis Fernando Ochoa's work
• ABC News's Allan Raible said Shakira continued to grow as a performer
• Latin Times's Joan Wallace felt the album was a forced compilation of previously released songs plus five not-so-great new tracks

Reappraisal

• Critics commended the album's coherency and its fun yet mature nature
• Other critics felt the album lacked creativity and relied too heavily on previously released collaborations

Records

• Debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200, with 29,000 units in the USA and 68,000 album-equivalent units globally
• Debuted at number 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart, then topped the chart the following week
• Debuted at number one on the Latin Pop Albums chart
• Debuted in the top ten of album charts in Argentina, Austria, France, Spain and Switzerland
• Won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album, Shakira's third Grammy win
• Certified nine-times platinum (Latin) by the RIAA in May 2018
• In France, peaked at number 9 and was later certified Platinum for 100,000 copies sold

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Fans visited over 1,000 locations in 99 countries to unlock exclusive content, including the track listing, videos of recording sessions and clips of new songs.
• The album was originally planned for a North American tour start in November 2017, but a vocal chord hemorrhage led to a postponement until June 2018.
• Chantaje, the lead single, was released on 28 October 2016 and featured Maluma.
• The 2024 vinyl release added a 2018 duet with Maluma as the final track, so it is not part of the original tracklisting.
• Shakira received a plaque from Sony ATV Latin in Sunrise, Florida in August 2018 for the album's Diamond certification in the Latin program.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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