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}} ''Laundry Service'' ((スペイン語:Servicio de Lavandería)) is the fifth studio album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, globally released on 13 November 2001 by Epic Records. It is her first album to be primarily recorded in English. After the release of her fourth studio album ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'', which became a success in Latin America, Shakira was encouraged by American singer Gloria Estefan to record songs in English as she believed the singer had the potential to crossover into the English-language pop market. Shakira was initially hesitant to undertake the project, but later decided to learn English well enough to be able to write songs in the language herself. The title of the album was chosen to reflect Shakira's views on love and music. It was also released as ''Servicio de Lavandería'' in Hispanic regions in January 2002. Musically, ''Laundry Service'' is primarily a pop rock record but it also experiments with a variety of other musical styles, including Andean music, dance-pop, Middle Eastern music, rock and roll and tango. The lyrical theme of the album is mostly based around love and romance. Every song on the album was written and produced by Shakira. Six singles were released from the album. The lead single "Whenever, Wherever" became an international success and reached number one on record charts of countries like Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Follow-up single "Underneath Your Clothes" repeated its success, topping the charts of Australia, Austria, and Belgium. Both singles charted inside the top ten in the United Kingdom and United States. The third single "Objection (Tango)" became a top ten hit in most countries around the world. Spanish-language singles "Te Dejo Madrid" and "Que Me Quedes Tú" performed well in Hispanic regions, becoming hits in Spain and on the Latin record charts in the United States, respectively. "The One" was a moderate commercial success and became the last single to be released from ''Laundry Service''. Shakira embarked on the Tour of the Mongoose in 2002 and 2003 to promote the album. It was her first major worldwide tour and visited numerous countries and cities. Upon its release, ''Laundry Service'' received favourable to mixed reviews from music critics. Many critics complimented Shakira's incorporation of different musical styles in the production and her originality, while some critics argued that the album sounded too generic. Shakira's vocal talent also attracted praise. ''Laundry Service'' topped the charts of countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada and Switzerland, while reaching the top five in other countries like Argentina, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the United States, ''Laundry Service'' peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album received numerous record certifications in various countries, including quintuple-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, Spain and Switzerland. It was also certified multi-platinum in the United Kingdom and the United States, proving to be a successful crossover for Shakira. Globally, ''Laundry Service'' was the seventh best-selling album in 2002. == Background and recording == In 1998, Shakira released her second major label studio album ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' (''Where Are the Thieves?''), which became a success in Latin America and received record certifications in various countries like Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Spain. The rock en español-influenced latin pop album drew comparisons to the work of Canadian-American singer songwriter Alanis Morissette and "cracked the lucrative US market wide open", spending a total of 11 weeks atop the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums chart. It became Shakira's first album to receive a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Donde+Estan+los+Ladrones%22 )〕 ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' spawned the Arabian-styled single "Ojos Así" ("Eyes Like Yours"), which became a hit and was deemed the "signature track" of the album.〔 The success of ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' prompted American singer Gloria Estefan, whose husband Emilio Estefan was managing Shakira at that time, to persuade Shakira to attempt to crossover into the mainstream pop industry. However, Shakira was initially hesitant to record songs in English as it was not her first language, so Estefan offered to translate "Ojos Así" into English in order to show her that "it could translate well."〔 Shakira then began translating the song herself and showed it to Estefan, who responded "Quite honestly, I can't do this better!."〔 As Shakira wanted to have full control over her recordings, she decided to learn English better to enable her to write her own songs.〔 Wanting to find a method to express her "day-to-day stories in English", Shakira bought rhyming dictionaries, started analysing the lyrics of songs by Bob Dylan, reading poetry and the work of authors like Leonard Cohen and Walt Whitman and took English lessons from a private tutor. The first song she wrote was "Objection (Tango)" and in an interview with ''Faze'', she revealed that writing songs in English proved to be challenging for her: "I prayed and asked God to send me a good song today, and I remember I started writing the song ((Tango)' ) a couple of hours after. I wrote the music and lyrics at the same time, and when that happens it's really magical to me."〔 After completing "Objection (Tango)", Shakira decided to write ten more songs and began setting up portable recording studios in the rural region of Uruguay.〔 She wrote various songs with a "dictionary in one hand and a thesaurus in the other."〔 Shakira collaborated with various writers and producers on the album including Estefan, Lester Mendez, Luis Fernando Ochoa and Tim Mitchell. Being "more in control than ever", Shakira closely supervised the development of the album.〔 The singer also served as the primary producer of the album.〔 Shakira's record label at that time, Epic Records, opposed the decision to release and commission ''Laundry Service'' as they "wanted her just to throw a couple of songs in English on a Latin record."〔 Estefan argued with Tommy Mottola, then head of Sony Music Entertainment (the parent company of Epic Records), and convinced him to release the album, arguing that an "American audience" would not buy a Spanish record simply due to its inclusion of a few English tracks. In an interview with ''Latina'', she said "I got in the trenches there with Tommy () - I fought for that. Because they didn't believe it. Just like they told us (and Emilio during the Miami Sound Machine days ). They were trying to think in the box and I wanted to take her out of the box. And fortunately, Tommy, whom I love and adore and is a good friend, he really listened to me."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Laundry Service」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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