Shakira is desperate to become a mother.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer is keen to have children with fiance Antonio de la Rua but says the couple don’t have any plans to get married in the near future.

She said: “The fact is I’m not very traditionalist. We live together as husband and wife, we don’t need anything to make it official, especially not for the paparazzi or magazines.”

“Why fix things that aren’t broken? But I do want to have lots of babies with him.”

The 32-year-old beauty – who got engaged in 2001 – also wears her engagement ring on her middle finger as it is too big for her.

She added: “This is my engagement ring but it’s too big so I wear it on my middle finger. I haven’t got around to having it made smaller yet.”

Shakira also credits Antonio with keeping her down-to-earth.

She told Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine: “I’ve been in the public eye for along time and I don’t know any other way of living – it’s everything I know.”

“My family and my friends remind me what’s real, which helps, and Antonio – he is a wise man. If I get a bit silly he brings me back and reminds me who I am.”

Colombian pop star Shakira reportedly plans to perform a positive song about Islam and Arabs with Arab-American singer Dania Youssef.

Al-Arabiya reported that Shakira, who is of Lebanese and European descent, is penning the English lyrics, while Egyptian composer Mohamed Saad is writing the Arabic portion of the song, as well as the music.

A U.S. director is expected to film a music video for the song, which is being created to encourage tolerance and peace.

The video is to be shot in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to premiere before the end of the year, al-Arabiya said.

Shakira is set to sign a $70 million contract with Live Nation.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer is following in the footsteps of Madonna and Jay-Z by handing over management of recording, merchandising, ticket sales and other services usually handled by separate companies.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

However, the 31-year-old chart-topper’s recording rights currently belong to Sony BMG’s Epic Records and she still has two more studio albums to deliver – one in English and one in Spanish – as well as a greatest hits collection.

Talks have been ongoing for 10 months, sparking speculation the deal could actually be worth much more.

Jay-Z is believed to have received a staggering $150 million, while Madonna reportedly earned $120 million.

There is no indication of how long the contract will last, but both Madonna and Jay-Z have signed to Live Nation for 10 years.

Shakira is the highest-selling Columbian artist of all time, selling more than 50 million albums worldwide and raking in around $100 million from her global tour last year.

Columbian singer, songwriter, actress Shakira turned down a role in a movie because it involved nudity.

The new movie, Love In The Time Of Cholera, has a nude scene, which would require Shakira to strip naked.

The 30-year-old singer, who has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her soundtrack for the Mike Newell film, revealed that Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who wrote the original book, wanted her to do the main part.

However Shakira has turned the offer down, as she was scared doing a nude scene might anger her parents.

“There was nudity involved, so I said no. My parents wouldn’t like it at all. So I said thank you, but no thank you,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

Colombian pop star Shakira announced a $40 million donation on Thursday to repair damage caused by an earthquake in Peru and a hurricane in Nicaragua.

The singer, widely known for her single “Hips Don’t Lie,” revealed the donation from a foundation she co-founded during a summit on global climate change and development organized by former U.S. president Bill Clinton in New York.

Shakira is the co-founder of the Latin America for Solidarity Foundation, ALAS, which means wings in Spanish, with Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

“I’ve seen first-hand many of the challenges facing Latin America,” she said in a statement.

The two-time Grammy Award winner, who started another foundation to help poor children in Colombia when she was only 18, said 40 million infants do not go to school and 51 million people don’t have access to clean water in Latin America.

“These are challenging problems that no one person can address, but working together everyone can help make a difference,” she added.

The ALAS effort for Peru and Nicaragua includes partners like the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, Telefonica, America Movil and the Red Cross.

It aims to guarantee investments for rebuilding education, sanitation and water systems in both countries.

Shakira also announced a three-year, $5 million commitment for projects for children in the region, where about 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty.

Argentine newspapers and Page Six report that the wise hip-shaking singer has asked her fiance of six years, Antonio de la Rua, to sign a prenuptial agreement before they get married in September.

A source was quoted as saying, “When you’re very much in love, you have plenty of people giving you advice, and none of them wants to see what happened to Paul McCartney happen to her.”

And no one can blame her for taking that precaution. The Grammy Award-winning artist is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, and according to 2007’s United World Chart, is the fourth most successful musician from the 2000s.

And while she has made her millions, she is also one of the most charitable celebs around, being an ambassador for the UNICEF and founding her own charity, Fundacion Pies Descalzos (Bare Feet Foundation).

Then again, her husband-to-be is hardly lacking in finances – he is the son of former Argentine president Fernando de la Rua.

The 30-year-old has joined hands with ALAS Foundation (Latin America in Solidarity Action) and revealed her intentions at the organisation’s event at Panama’s Teatro Nacional earlier this month.
As part of the campaign the singer will perform at four concerts in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and New York this year.

The charity organisations’ step is a joint venture with The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The singer insisted that the charity organisation aims at making Latin Americans aware and concerned about homeless and hungry kids.

“ALAS came about because of a social emergency: 350 thousand children die each year due to avoidable causes, 40 million children work and live on the streets. We want an active Latin America, that doesn’t give up, united for our children,” Contactmusic quoted Shakira, as saying.

The music icons will perform on 14th and 15th July in the Nigerian festival.

‘So Sick’ singer Ne-Yo is very excited about the event that will mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things, and can’t wait to get over there and give back some of the love that I’ve been given from over there,” Contactmusic quoted Ne-Yo, as saying.

“It’s an honour and a pleasure to even get the opportunity to visit, let alone perform,” he said.

Last year Beyonce Knowles, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliot, Ciara and Busta Rhymes performed at the festival.

The ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ singer and De la Rua have been engaged for 7 years, and even though they’ve been living together, her fans have long awaited their wedding.

The famous singer’s wedding will take place in her mansion located in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, reports the Mirror.

The exact date of the marriage was not revealed by the couple, but several indications point to a September ceremony.

Meanwhile Shakira, who is currently on her ‘Oral Fixation’ world tour, recently gave a powerhouse performance for 50,000 fans in Mexico City.

The Beautiful Liar babe has so far given 119 concerts on the Oral Fixation Tour, attracting around two million fans.

The “Dreamgirls” star earned nods for top female R&B artist and video of the year for “Irreplaceable.” Beyonce’s collaboration with Shakira on “Beautiful Liar,” was also nominated for video of the year, Billboard reported.

She was nominated for best collaboration for two duets with Jay-Z — “Deja Vu” and “Upgrade U.” She also is under consideration for the viewer’s choice award.

Earning three nominations each were Jennifer Hudson, Ciara, Akon and Gnarls Barkley. Garnering two nominations were Robin Thicke, the late Gerald Levert, Ludacris, Diddy, Ne-Yo and Mary J. Blige.

The BET Awards also will present the lifetime achievement award to Diana Ross and the humanitarian award to actor Don Cheadle.

This year’s ceremony will be televised live June 26 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

For the first time in the show’s seven-year history, fans can vote on which song they want to hear by one of the show’s featured performers, who will be announced in the coming weeks. Comedian-actress Mo’Nique returns for the third time as host of the event.

Beyonce Knowles was taught how to belly dance by Shakira.

Beyonce, who teamed up with Shakira to record new track “Beautiful Liar,” admits the Colombian singer created most of their raunchy routine.

The “Bootylicious” singer told People magazine: “Shakira taught me how to belly dance, she taught me the whole routine. I used to watch her videos and I thought she was so cool. When she was teaching me the moves I thought, ‘This is crazy, Shakira is showing me how to belly dance!’”

“I got the best teacher. We didn’t have a lot of time to come up with the choreography – most of it was done on the spot. I was just watching her and learning from her. It was so much fun, the best energy. She was really easy to work with, so sweet and humble.”

The 25-year-old also revealed that although her friends didn’t like her drastic weight loss for her “Dreamgirls” role, she misses wearing being so svelte because she could wear whatever she wanted.

She said: “When I did ‘Dreamgirls’ I did lose my curves. I remember coming home and seeing my friends and they were like, ‘Who are you? Where are you?’”

“So if I lose too much weight I will lose my curves. When I finished ‘Dreamgirls’ I could wear anything and the samples fitted me. But now none of the samples fit any more! I am back to reality.”

Venezuala’s President Hugo Chavez welcomed Colombian pop singer Shakira to his country on Saturday and said he may go undercover to watch the hip-shaking superstar perform.

“Shakira’s arrived. … Welcome, Shakira,” Chavez said during a televised speech.

Chavez said that the other day he’d put on a wig and not even his bodyguards would be able to recognize him. “Maybe I’ll put on a wig and go see Shakira,” he quipped.

Shakira, who last month was nominated for five Latin Grammy awards, is traveling on her worldwide “Oral Fixation” tour and was set to perform Saturday evening in Caracas.

Chavez, who says he is leading a socialist revolution in Venezuela, frequently criticizes what he calls the onslaught of major multinationals and U.S.-style capitalism on traditional Venezuelan culture.

He said he had given special authorization for an airfield in central Caracas, normally reserved solely for government use, to be used as a venue for her concert.

TheHimalayanTimes.com

Pop diva Shakira will donate the proceeds from a concert in her hometown to build an arts school for 1,800 children forced to flee their homes by Colombia’s civil war.

The concert, part of her worldwide Oral Fixation tour, will held Nov. 15 in the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla and is being billed as a festive homecoming for the hip-shaking international superstar who last month was nominated for five Latin Grammy awards.

The English and Spanish bilingual school will bear the name of Shakira’s Pies Descalzos (Spanish for Bare Feet) foundation and have an emphasis on arts education, the foundation said Thursday in a statement.

The school will be located in La Playa, a poor suburb of Barranquilla where 45 percent of the residents are minors, only about half of whom attend school.

Tickets for Shakira’s concert in Barranquilla start at under $7 each, a far cry from the up to $200 being charged at two more Colombian dates in Bogota and the southern city of Cali.

Premios Oye! is hosted by The National Academy of Music in Mexico, an association of musicians, record company executives, music journalists and others.