 In 2002 , the singer was interviewed by Nobel Literature Prize @-@ winning Colombian novelist and journalist Gabriel García Márquez , who was " astonished by her fantastical work @-@ rate " and said that " Shakira 's music has a personal stamp that doesn 't look like anyone else 's and no one can sing or dance like her , at whatever age , with such an innocent sensuality , one that seems to be of her own invention . " In the United States and the United Kingdom , Shakira drew comparisons to American pop singer Britney Spears as they looked similar in appearance and sported " bleached blonde curls and butter @-@ wouldn 't @-@ melt smiles for the kids down the front . " However , critics argued that the Shakira 's vocal style was very different from Spears ' , with Ted Kessler from The Observer calling the former an " operatic diva " and writing that " as soon as she opens her mouth , she slips into gear and motors powerfully past Britney 's breathy bump <unk> . " In 2009 , Julia Llewellyn Smith from The Daily Telegraph commented that " Shakira makes comparable Spanish @-@ English ' crossover ’ acts such as Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias seem like minnows . " In an interview with Latina magazine in 2011 , Gloria Estefan was asked whether she felt another crossover artist like Shakira could emerge in her lifetime , to which she responded , " I 'm always hopeful that somebody , any Latino , is going to succeed in what they do . And of course in music , undoubtedly . " Shakira 's crossover success also inspired other Latin artists to foray into the English language market and many compared Mexican singer Paulina Rubio 's attempt to crossover with her English @-@ language debut album Border Girl to that by Shakira . 
