Timor

In this disco-influenced protest song, Shakira addresses the violent US-backed Indonesian occupation of East Timor that led to the deaths of more than 200,000 civilians from 1975-1999. The Colombian singer accuses the media of turning a blind eye to the atrocities and others like it, singing: It's alright, it's alright If the planet splits in three 'Cause I'll keep on selling records And you've got your MTV

Shakira nearly left the song off the album. "For a second I thought, people are not going to understand this," she told The New York Times. "They are going to think I'm trying to talk about world peace, and to find ways to fix problems that are so complex, not even critics or politicians can find the solutions. And then a 28-year-old girl from Barranquilla is going to find solutions? I just wrote this song because it was an impulse."