Underneath Your Clothes

"Underneath Your Clothes"
Single by Shakira
from the album Laundry Service
Released	February 2002
Format	CD single, CD maxi, 12" single
Recorded	2001
Length	3:44 (album version) 3:37 (video edit)
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Shakira Lester Mendez
Producer(s)	Shakira Lester Mendez
Shakira singles chronology
"Whenever, Wherever" (2001) "Underneath Your Clothes" (2002) "Objection (Tango)" (2002)

"Underneath Your Clothes" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira for her third studio album and English-language debut, Laundry Service (2001). The power ballad was the second English language single released from the album; it features lyrics by Shakira with music and production from Shakira and Lester Mendez.

Some critics commended the song for being a highlight from the album. However, others were more critical towards her songwriting and the song's production, which according to them resembled The Bangles' "Eternal Flame" and Beatles' "Penny Lane". The song was a huge success on the charts, reaching the top ten in several countries, including the United States, and selling more than 6 million copies worldwide.

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by fashion photographer Herb Ritts. It depicts Shakira's loneliness as a tourist musician. It features Shakira's then-boyfriend Antonio de la Rúa, whose unpopularity in Argentina led to a ban of her albums there.

Background and release

During the songwriting process for Laundry Service, Shakira wrote "Underneath Your Clothes" as a love song for de la Rúa.^[1]

"Underneath Your Clothes" was released to U.S. radio stations as the second single from the album in February 2002,^[2][3] while the physical single was released in May 2002.^[4]

Composition and lyrics

	"Underneath Your Clothes" (2002) On the power ballad, Shakira sings with "the range of an operatic diva"[5] about an unconditional love that a woman has for her boyfriend.[6]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Underneath Your Clothes" was recorded at The Hit Factory in Miami and Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. It was mixed and recorded at Crescent Moon Studios in Miami.^[7]

Critical reception

"Underneath Your Clothes" received mixed reviews from music critics. While calling her voice "odd", Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote that it "dart[s] from a delicate, girlie, Jewel-like delivery to a determined, tough-chick croon - it certainly gives the song a signature edge and multiple layers that seem to draw out something new with each successive spin."^[2] Lisa Oliver of Yahoo! Music claimed to find similarities between Shakira's and Jewel's vocals, calling it "a Jewel-esque ground swelling".^[8] Ted Kessler of The Observer noted that the song "may be slightly kooky pop-rock, but it's sung by someone with the range of an operatic diva."^[5] Alex Henderson of Allmusic picked the song as a highlight from the album,^[9] while Robert Christgau wrote that its lyrics have an "awkward, carnal, unhesitatingly female chauvinist."^[10] Matt Cibula of PopMatters said that "it could have been a great little thing, [...] simple, graceful, light, but now it’s a damned mess," citing the "tell-tale touches" at the start, the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” influence and “Penny Lane” trumpets by the end" as examples. Cibula called it "a potentially cool song [that] has been studioed out of existence."^[11] Frank Kogan of The Village Voice criticized the lyrics, calling it a song "with no fresh insights on the subject."^[12]

Accolades

"Underneath Your Clothes" is listed at number 391 on Blender's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" list.^[13] Bill Lamb of About.com picked the song at number four on his "Top 10 Shakira Pop Songs",^[14] while Robert Copsey of Digital Spy placed the song at number 3 on their "Shakira's 10 best songs", writing that it "remains the ultimate Shakira ballad for the mere fact that we can still remember every single world of it to this day."^[15] The website Latin Post ranked it as her eighth biggest hit, calling it "a powerful ballad."^[6] The song entered Billboard's list of her Biggest Hits at number 5.^[16]

Commercial performance

The song was commercially successful and peaked atop the charts in Australia,^[17] Austria,^[18] and Belgium;^[19] being certified platinum in the three countries.^[20][21][22] In Australia, the song debuted at number 2, peaking two weeks later at the top of the charts, while spending 20 weeks inside the Aria Charts.^[17] In Austria, "Underneath Your Clothes" debuted at number two, remaining for three consecutive weeks at the position, before moving to the top the following week.^[18] The song topped the charts of Hungary,^[23] Ireland^[24] and Netherlands.^[25] In other countries, the song experienced commercial success, reaching number two in France,^[26] Germany,^[27] New Zealand,^[28] Norway^[29] and Switzerland.^[30]

In other countries, it became a top five^[17] or a top-ten hit. In the United States, "Underneath Your Clothes" entered the charts at number 70 in March 2002.^[31] In its fourth week, the song entered the top-forty at number 33,^[32] while cracking the top-twenty two weeks later.^[33] The song eventually peaked at number 9, on the issue dated 18 May 2002.^[34] In the United Kingdom, it reached number three, becoming her second consecutive top-three single.^[35] It entered "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles of 2002" at number 5, while her other single "Whenever Wherever" was placed at number 2.^[36]

Music video

Background and storyline

Shakira and former boyfriend Antonio de la Rúa in the music video. His appearance in the music video caused controversy in Argentina.

The music video for "Underneath Your Clothes" was directed by American photographer Herb Ritts and it was the second to last he directed before his death.^[37] It starts with a black-and-white scene of a reporter asking Shakira how she feels about crossing over into the English-speaking music market, and the singer, ironically, answers him in Spanish. Shakira claimed in her "MTV Making the Video" of the song that the "Crossover" claims had been her daily bread, and that she heavily wished for this to be included into the video. The video illustrates her loneliness as a music artist when she goes on tour. Then, scenes of the singer performing the song live with her band and passionately hugging her boyfriend (played by her real-life then boyfriend Antonio de la Rúa) are shown.^[6]

Reception

"Underneath Your Clothes" was the second video by Shakira to retire on MTV's TRL on May 14, 2002, when it was at #3 on the countdown. The appearance of de la Rua in the video led to music retailer Tower Records Argentina banning sales of her albums in the country.^[38] The reason behind the ban was that Antonio de la Rua's father Fernando de la Rúa, who was the President of Argentina at that time, had resigned "in the midst of profound economic and political turmoil in the country," and the decision to ban sales of Shakira's albums was a "direct protest against Antonio De la Rua -- not Shakira."^[38]

Live performances

To promote the single, Shakira went on to a number of places. She performed the track on the television programs CD:UK (ITV1), Domingo Legal (SBT), Late Show with David Letterman (CBS), TRL (MTV), Party in the Park 2002 (ITV1), among others. The limited edition of the album, entitled Laundry Service: Washed & Dried (2002) presented an acoustic version of the song as a bonus track.^[39] She performed an acoustic version of the song on VH1 Divas Live in Las Vegas (2002).^[40] The singer's second live album, Live & Off the Record (2004),^[41] presented a live version of the song performed during an April 22, 2003 concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands, which was part of the singer's Tour of the Mongoose (2002–2003). Shakira performed the song live at the concerts for her Oral Fixation Tour (2006–2007) and The Sun Comes Out World Tour (2010-2011), however the song was not in the set-list of the Spanish and Latin American concerts. The performances were included on the Oral Fixation Tour and the Live from Paris CD/DVD, respectively.^[42][43] Shakira presented a piano mix of the song at the "Ein Herz für Kinder" and "Clinton Global Initiative", with only vocals and piano, and excluded the complete second half of the song.^[44][45]

Cover versions

• Irish singer Kieran Goss covered "Underneath Your Clothes" for the charity album Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 1.
• Swedish singer Amy Diamond covered it on the Super Troupers compilation album.
• Brazilian girl group Rouge performed a Portuguese version called "Você Me Roubou" (You stole me, or better, You stole).
• Diana in Series 7 of Spanish talent show Operación Triunfo (Operation Triumph) covered the song.
• Shakira performed the song with German band Big Soul on the season 1 finale of the German version of X Factor.

Formats and track listings

The following are the major formats of the release of "Underneath Your Clothes".

CD maxi

1. "Underneath Your Clothes" (album version) — 3:44
2. "Underneath Your Clothes" (acoustic version) — 3:55
3. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Mendez club radio edit) — 3:24
4. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderpuss club mix) — 6:52
5. "Underneath Your Clothes" (video)

CD single

1. "Underneath Your Clothes" (album version) — 3:44
2. "Underneath Your Clothes" (acoustic version) — 3:55

Official remixes

1. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Acoustic Live Vox Version)
2. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Bastone & Burnz Mix)
3. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Fairlite Remix)
4. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Lester Mendez Club Mix)
5. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Lester Mendez Club Mix Radio Edit)
6. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Lester Mendez Dub Mix)
7. "Underneath Your Clothes" (The Xquizit Dj X D&D Dub Mix)
8. "Underneath Your Clothes" (The Xquizit Dj X D&D Vocal Remixes)
9. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderpuss Club Mix)
10. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderpuss Club Radio Edit)
11. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderpuss Club Video Edit Mix)
12. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderpuss Radio Edit)
13. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderdub)
14. "Underneath Your Clothes" (Thunderpuss Tribe-A-Pella)

Personnel

• Producer by Shakira
• Co-produced by Lester Mendez for Living Stereo
• Arranged by Shakira and Lester Mendez
• Keyboards: Lester Mendez
• Guitars: Tim Pierce and Brian Ray
• Bass: Paul Bushnell
• Percussion: Richard Bravo
• Drums: Abraham Laboriel, Jr.
• Horn arrangements: Lester Mendez
• Horn charts and direction: Camilo Valencia
• Trumpet: Tony Concepción
• Trumpet and piccolo trumpet: Jim Hacker
• Baritone and tenor sax: Ed Calle
• Bass trombone and tuba: Joe Barati
• Trombone and bass trombone: Dane Teboe
• Background vocals: Shakira and Rita Quintero
• Recording engineers: Terry Manning, Javier Garza and Gustavo Celis
• Mixing engineer: Eric Schilling
• Additional engineers: Carlos Paucar, Mike Couzzi, Jorge González and Alfred Figueroa
• Assistant engineers: Jorge González, Tony Mardini, Ken Theis, Ed Williams, Chris Carroll, Christine Tramontano, Nicholas Marshall, Oswald Bowe and Alex Dixon

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[46] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[47] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[48] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[49] 7 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[50] 11 Denmark (Tracklisten)[51] 4 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[52] 8 France (SNEP)[26] 2 Germany (Official German Charts)[27] 2 Greece (IFPI)[53] 6 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[54] 9 Hungary (Single Top 40)[23] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[24] 1 Italy (FIMI)[55] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[29] 2 Poland (Polish Singles Chart)[56] 2 Portugal (Portuguese Singles Chart)[57] 1 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[58] 8 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[59] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 2 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[60] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[61] 9 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[62] 5 US Latin Pop Songs (Billboard)[63] 40 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[64] 4 ^1 Remixes

Year-end charts Chart (2002) Position Australian Singles Chart[65] 12 Austrian Singles Chart[66] 7 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[67] 5 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[68] 18 Dutch Top 40[69] 15 French Singles Chart[70] 29 Irish Singles Chart[71] 13 New Zealand Singles Chart[72] 14 Swiss Singles Chart[73] 4 UK Singles Chart[74] 41 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[75] 66 Decade-end chart (2000–2009) Position Austrian Singles Chart[76] 44 Dutch Top 40[77] 72 German Singles Chart[78] 88 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Australia[79] 2× Platinum 2002 140,000 Austria[80] Platinum February 14, 2003 30,000 Belgium[81] Platinum September 21, 2002 50,000 France[82] Gold November 6, 2002 263,000[83] Germany[84] Gold 2002 150,000 Switzerland[85] Platinum 2002 40,000 United Kingdom[86] Slver 2002 200,000

Chart successions

References

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6. Jang, Esther (6 March 2014). "Top Hot Shakira Songs: Check Out Colombian Hitmaker's Top 10 Countdown! [WATCH]". Latin Post. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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53. Greek peak at the Wayback Machine (archived August 8, 2002)
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85. Swiss certifications Swisscharts.com (Retrieved January 24, 2009)
86. Swiss certifications

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics