Laundry Service (Spanish: Servicio de Lavandería) is the fifth studio album by Colombian singer and 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 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 music. The lyrical theme of the album is mostly based around love and romance. Every song on the album was written and produced by Shakira under the guidance of Emilio Estefan