Whenever, Wherever

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"Whenever, Wherever"
Single by Shakira
from the album Laundry Service
Released	December 18, 2001
Format	CD maxi single 12" single
Genre	Latin Pop
Length	3:16
Label	Sony International
Writer(s)	Shakira, Tim Mitchell, Gloria Estefan
Producer(s)	Shakira, Tim Mitchell
Certification	Gold
Chart positions
#1 (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) #2 (UK) #4 (Canada) #6 (USA Hot 100) #1 (Hot Latin Tracks) #8 (Japan)
Shakira singles chronology
"No Creo" (2000)	"Whenever, Wherever" (2001)	"Te Dejo Madrid" (2002)

"Whenever, Wherever" is a latin pop song written by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira for her first English album, Laundry Service (2001). It's Shakira's second most successful song in her career, behind "Hips Don't Lie".

Contents 1 Song information 2 Music video 3 Spanish version 4 Chart performance 5 References

[edit] Song information

The track was produced by Shakira, and was released as the first single from the album in the autumn of 2001. It was an international success, peaking at number one in Colombia, the rest of Latin America, Germany, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. It reached number two in the United Kingdom (blocked by that year's biggest seller, "Evergreen" by Will Young, which sold a million copies in the week it went head-to-head with Shakira, compared to Shakira's 90,000 copies), number four in Canada, and number six in the U.S. It also hit number one in many European countries, and generally peaked within the top ten where it failed to hit the top.

The song's lyrics include the bizarre observation: "Lucky that my breasts are small and humble/So you don't confuse them with mountains", which garnered attention, controversy, and ridicule in equal measures, especially among male fans. Remixes were made, the most famous being the Tracy Young "Spin Cycle" mix.

[edit] Music video

The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence, and features Shakira barefoot surrounded by the earth's natural wonders, including the mountains and deserts. She is also seen dancing amid a stampede of horses. When the horses are gone, Shakira walks into mud, and begins rolling around in it. At the end of the video, she is on top of a snowy mountain, and jumps off, descending into water.

The video became an instant hit on several music programs. It became Shakira's first video to retire on MTV's Total Request Live, and reached number one for a single week on the MuchMusic program Countdown. A parody was made by MADtv saying that even though Shakira doesn't speak better English, all she has to do is shake her butt and everyone will notice her. It was entitled, "Whatever, Don't Matter". [1]

[edit] Spanish version

There is also a version of "Whenever, Wherever" in the Spanish language, "Suerte", also written by Shakira and Mitchell. It was released as a single in Spain and in a handful of nations in South America and North America (Mexico). It peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart.

[edit] Chart performance

"Whenever, Wherever" reached #1 in several countries including Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	4
Japan Tokyo Hot 100	8
Latin American Singles Chart	1
United Kingdom Singles Chart	2
United World Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks	1

[edit] References

• Shakira charts history

Preceded by "In Your Eyes" by Kylie Minogue	ARIA (Australia) number one single February 3, 2002 - March 10, 2002	Succeeded by "Not Pretty Enough" by Kasey Chambers
Preceded by "Get the Party Started" by P!nk	RIANZ number-one single February 10, 2002 - March 3, 2002	Succeeded by "Amazing" by Alex Lloyd
Preceded by "Amazing" by Alex Lloyd	RIANZ number-one single March 17, 2002 - April 7, 2002	Succeeded by "Hands Clean" by Alanis Morissette