 Laundry Service ( Spanish : Servicio de Lavandería ) is the fifth studio album by Colombian singer @-@ songwriter Shakira , globally released on 13 November 2001 by Epic Records . It is her first album to be primarily recorded in English . After the release of her fourth studio album Dónde Están los Ladrones ? , which became a success in Latin America , Shakira was encouraged by American singer Gloria Estefan to record songs in English as she believed the singer had the potential to crossover into the English @-@ language pop market . Shakira was initially hesitant to undertake the project , but later decided to learn English well enough to be able to write songs in the language herself . The title of the album was chosen to reflect Shakira 's views on love and music . It was also released as Servicio de Lavandería in Hispanic regions in January 2002 . Musically , Laundry Service is primarily a pop rock record but it also experiments with a variety of other musical styles , including Andean music , dance @-@ pop , Middle Eastern music , rock and roll and tango . The lyrical theme of the album is mostly based around love and romance . Every song on the album was written and produced by Shakira . 
