"Beautiful Liar" is Beyonce's new single; she joined shakira in an attempt to raise the sales of her not-so-successful album B-Day. The song is playing in radios all around the world.

Thanks to this single, Beyonce reached the third place of Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Beautiful Liar has also increased the sales of B-Day, which were not as good as expected for her second solo album.

The duet is a strategic collaboration that shows the importance Shakira has acquired in the English market; it also is opening the doors of the Latin market for Beyonce.

Shakira previously recorded a duet with Alejandro Sanz (Spanish singer). Both collaborations turned out to be big, profitable hits for the Colombian star.

Shakira knows how to deal with big hits in high positions in the charts. In a recent article in The Washington Post, she said:

"Once you reach the top positions in the radio chart, you want to stay there," she admitted. But she's also aware that in order to fulfill such desire, an artist can't be fooled by his (or her) own success:

"That risk is there," she says. "We let ourselves be tempted with fame and the glitters of popularity. . . . The risk becomes greater when you start repeating formulas, when you stop competing against yourself. When you lose authenticity. When you don't rely on your own feelings. When you let yourself be absorbed with the outer world, and you lose contact with your inner world."

The entire article is delicious; check it out to get to know the real Shakira.

Shakira's Sense and Sensuality