Music Review: I am In Love By Shakira Shakira Ft David Lutalo

David Lutalo’s latest effort is a collaboration with someone called Shakira, who probably felt like her name was so fine, she just had to say it twice.

By the time of going to press there was no real explanation for why she has that particular stage name – I would put it down to a lack of creativity.

David Lutalo has made a career out of singing about love so this particular title does not come out of nowhere, though the collaboration itself does – Shakira seems to be pretty low profile.

The singers jell well on this track, which is an Afro – pop vehicle of sorts, with that awful marching and beat that Jose Chameleone once made famous (I guess it will never really go away).

What Shakira lacks in vocal ability, she makes up for with tonnes of character, if there is such a thing. She is enthusiastic enough as a singer, but pales badly when lined up next to Lutalo, who has some genuinely decent pipes on him.

The song is somewhat lackluster. It is nothing to write home about, and I have a working theory for this. David Lutalo strikes me as the sort of artiste whose career depends on performances.

If you have a bar and restaurant set up with a hall for entertainment and want to make a bit of cash with corny performances, David Lutalo is your man – he will fill it up.

The folks who turn up do not really care who is performing, or what the quality of music is, as long as someone is performing – the beer, and somewhat inebriated dancing of their dates lends glamour to the night.

This is the sort of atmosphere where a song line “I am In love” would work – where the mediocrity of the hook would go unnoticed, with the crowd swaying to the fact that someone is crooning about love.

Seen this business model work quite well for a number of artistes, and it even probably explains why recording artistes like Irene Namubiru shunned the studios for a career as gig musicians.

The result is music which is not designed to please the ear, but to create an atmosphere.