Shakira Wins Big At Latin Grammys
Shakira won the top three prizes at the Latin Grammy Awards Thursday including song of the year and record of the year for her smoldering "La Tortura" duet with Alejandro Sanz, and album of the year for "Fijación Oral Vol. 1."
On the red carpet Shakira told Judy Faber of The Showbuzz, "It's going to be a very emotional night, I think. Just the mere fact that I'm going to be meeting with so many of my friends and colleagues and sharing the stage with them. It's something, you know?"
She also earned best female pop vocal album, and her recording team took home honors for best engineered album. She was the leading nominee going in to the show with five nominations.
She lost best short form video, which went to Puerto Rico reggaeton group Calle 13. They took home a total of two awards, as did Argentine rock legend Gustavo Cerati.
Earlier in the evening, Shakira sang her ballad "La Pared" seated sweetly on a stool, and after changing into tight leggings and a midriff-baring top she joined Alejandro Sanz for a performance of "La Tortura."
Perhaps her next win will be a Nobel Prize for science because the way she's able to isolate her torso and hip movements is certainly a feat of engineering.
Andrea Bocelli performed songs from his album "Amor" which was nominated for best male pop album. "This was my first album recorded almost completely in Spanish," he told The Showbuzz. "It was a big challenge for me and for this reason I'm very happy to be here."
Ricky Martin picked up this year's Person Of The Year award for his humanitarian work in the fight against human trafficking. Martin had the audience on their feet and dancing with his performance of two songs from his upcoming MTV Unplugged album.
Video: See Shakira, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and more."We are here fighting for all of you," he said, referring to victims of human trafficking. "And to the traffickers: we're at war and God will bless us."
Triple nominee Calle 13 swept their categories, winning awards for best music album, best new artist, and best short music video Grammy for its reggaeton song "Atrevete te, te!" Its members were ecstatic as they won, bouncing onstage to pick up the video award.
"I'm very nervous. I want to send a shout out to my grandmother," said Calle 13 rapper and lyricist Residente. "I want arroz con habichuelas [a Puerto Rican rice and beans dish] when I get home!"
The self-titled disc by Cafe de los Maestros won best tango album. The recording's Argentine producer, Gustavo Santaolalla, already won an Oscar for best original score on the movie "Brokeback Mountain" and recently composed music for the film "Babel."
Gustavo Cerati won best rock song for "Crimen" and best rock vocal album for "Ahi vamos." He is one of Argentina's best-loved artists having been one of the founders of the legendary rock band, Soda Stereo.
Other winners included Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, who was nominated for four awards. She won best alternative album for "Limon y sal" in the pre-televised awards ceremony.
This year, Madison Square Garden played host to the Latin Grammys, now in its seventh year. In the past, the show has alternated between Miami and Los Angeles.
Merengue star Milly Quezada, who hails from Washington Heights in New York City, appeared in a pre-taped segment about the diverse Latino community in the city.
She introduced New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who took to the stage to a Latin beat, escorted by several female dancers dressed in red. "Welcome to my house," said Bloomberg, delivering his greeting in Spanish.
Thursday's show was broadcast by Univision television for the second straight year. Ratings lagged in 2004 when the Latin Grammy Awards were broadcast in English by CBS. But the show attracted more than 5 million watchers in 2005 — its first year in Spanish — up from about 3.2 million in 2004, according to the ratings agency Nielsen Media Research.
List of winners for Thursday's 7th annual Latin Grammy Awards:
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By Judy Faber