Over 25 years later, Shakira's MTV ‘Unplugged' concert is available for streaming
Shakira's beloved 1999 performance on the MTV series 'Unplugged' has been released from the vault.
Paramount announced Tuesday that it added more than 50 episodes of the MTV series 'Unplugged' to its streaming platform. Each episode famously showcased live acoustic sessions by such acts as Nirvana, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, which were also released as albums. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999, then only periodically until 2009.
With the exception of some heavily pixelated clips shared on YouTube, most of these historic performances have not been available for viewing in more than 20 years. Episodes of VH1's 'Storytellers' and CMT's 'Crossroads' have also been added for streaming on Paramount +.
After 'Unplugged' introduced rock en español acts like Maná, Los Tres and Soda Stereo to viewers in the United States, Shakira became the first Latina to perform in the series. Taped in front of a live audience at the Grand Ballroom in New York City, the red-haired Colombian singer-songwriter took the stage on Aug. 12, 1999. The album, performed completely in Spanish, was subsequently released Feb. 29, 2000.
Poised to break into the domineering English music world during an era known as pop's 'Latin explosion,' Shakira was backed by her mentor and producer, Emilio Estefan. He helped her reach commercial success as a producer of her groundbreaking 1998 pop-rock album, 'Dónde Están los Ladrones?' — just as he had done with his wife, Gloria Estefan, years before in the Miami Sound Machine.
Although Shakira was already working on material for her 2001 English-language crossover album, 'Laundry Service,' her episode of 'Unplugged' proved a pivotal precursor for her ascent into the mainstream. She showed off her riffs in the gloomy introduction of 'Tú,' flaunted her vibrato in 'Estoy Aquí' and triumphed in a mariachi rendition of 'Ciega, Sordomuda' featuring the Miami troupe Mora Arriaga. Shakira's powerful stage presence and authenticity hinted at her future as an international superstar.
Ahead of the first Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, for which the album was twice nominated, an L.A. Times editorial read: 'Fortunately, the recording includes some of Shakira's stage chatter, proving that fame hasn't affected her down-to-earth persona.'
The live album helped Shakira secure her win for Latin pop album at the 2001 Grammy Awards — making it the first Latin MTV 'Unplugged' to win the award.
Despite the large volume of 'Unplugged' episodes now available on Paramount+, Shakira is the only Spanish-language act included in the mix. Other Latino artists who previously aired include Charly Garcia, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Tigres del Norte, Juanes and La Ley — but those episodes have yet to become available on streaming.
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