There were no retina- burning klieg-light blasts, mid-show fire works, or even excessive costume changes, but there was no doubt a diva was in the house at Shakira's Madison Square Garden debut last night.
Her two-hour performance was a blend of fast dance music, heartfelt ballads (in English and Spanish) and arena power rock. It was the kind of mix designed for mass appeal, and it worked.
No one at this sold-out show seemed to have any use for their seat once she started singing.
In past performances at smaller venues, similar program mixes felt stylistically scattered, but not at this gig.
The blond Colombian bombshell's musical diversity is part of her concert charm, but this performance was about more than just the music.
You knew that right from the start by the way she walked to the stage through the crowd -- kissing kids, hugging moms and getting up close with male fans.
Even Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia who was in the house, seemed to have excessive national pride and a healthy lust when the singer said, "I'm here to please you . . . Tonight I'm all yours."
Shakira was sizzling. In skintight pants, she pranced about the stage actually singing. She had no need of dancers to back her because she moved to her own music better than any hired hoofer could have done -- hips don't lie.
While her own tunes were uniformly excellent, her unusual Andean folk cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" redefined the tune. It was nothing short of incredible.
Another top song in the set was the rap 'n' roll "Esto a ti te va Calentar," sung in Spanish.
Throughout the show, Shakira demonstrated her musicality not just with her rich, earthy vocals, but also as a guitar strummer and a quick turn on harmonica.
All that -- and she belly dances, too.
This was the concert package that showed New York why Shakira is one of music's true global superstars.
source nypost.cm
