Jennifer Lopez kicks off the World Cup and Neymar fires Brazil to comeback victory!

Jennifer Lopez kicked off the FIFA World Cup 2014 in style on Thursday, as she performed at the Opening Ceremony in Brazil.

The 44-year-old singer showed off her incredible figure in a sparkling leotard she sang the official FIFA song We Are One (Ole Ola) alongside rapper Pitbull and singer Claudia Leitte.

There had been initial reports that Jennifer was due to drop out, but by the looks of her energetic performance there was nothing that could have kept her away from the stage.

Dressed by the Lebanese Designer Charbel Zoe Khoury.

The song is the lead single from the World Cup album, and follows on from Shakira’s 2010 anthem Waka Waka.

The trio put on a spirited show as they jumped up and down on stage, swaying their arms and encouraging the screaming crowds to join in.

As they finished the song and walked around the stadium, Jennifer looked overcome with emotion and almost tearful as she mouthed ‘thank you’ to the crowds and touched her chest with her hand.

Neymar fires Brazil to comeback victory!

Neymar was the star of the show as Brazil came from behind to secure a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Croatia in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup™. The hosts’ star No10 equalised after Marcelo’s own-goal, and converted a second-half penalty after Fred had been fouled by Dejan Lovren.

Croatia had the ball in the net before the end of the game, but Ivica Olic was adjudged to have fouled Julio Cesar in the build-up, and Oscar made sure of the victory late on.

The opening goal of the 2014 World Cup was remarkable in itself, the first own-goal scored by a Brazilian in the history of the tournament. Ivica Olic received the ball on the Croatia left and ran unopposed into the Brazilian half. His low cross fizzed across goal and was turned in by Marcelo, who failed to readjust his feet in time. Ivan Perisic was ready to pounce if the Real Madrid man had not made the final touch.

The crowd were stunned, but they rallied behind their side, who were level before the half-hour mark. Oscar worked hard to regain possession for Brazil in the middle of the park, before passing the ball to Neymar. The Barça man skipped free of a Perisic challenge, steadied himself, and fired hard and low with his left foot across Pletikosa. The ball rebounded off the post, nestled into the back of the Croatia net and the Arena de Sao Paulo erupted.

The remainder of the first half saw Brazil dominate possession, with Croatia looking dangerous on the counter-attack.

After more Seleção pressure in the second-half, the hosts went ahead. The ball was played into the box towards Fred, who tried to swivel to hit it towards goal. He was impeded by Lovren and the referee pointed to the spot. Neymar stepped up, delayed his run-up, and hit hard to Pletikosa’s right-hand side. Croatia’s No1 got a hand to it, but could not stop it putting Brazil ahead.

Despite a valiant effort by Croatia, including their disallowed goal, Brazil wrapped up the three points when Oscar fired home from the edge of the box.

Shakira & Rihanna Release ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ Video! Watch it Here!

When a Latin blonde bombshell pairs up with a Barbadian brunette, it just screams sexy! So it’s no surprise that when Shakira and Rihanna’s ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ video came out on Jan. 30, it was the definition of sensual. Watch it right here!

Rihanna and Shakira look absolutely stunning in the official music video for “Can’t Remember To Forget You”! They’re draped all over each other, showing off their amazing bodies, and their equally unique voices and looks compliment each other perfectly!

Shakira & Rihanna Release ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’ Video

WOW. That’s pretty much all we can say about the new video for Shakira and RiRi’s new song. They singers absolutely stun in the video — from Shakira throwing herself into a wall in a lace bikini top, to cozying up to Rihanna while both of them are TOPLESS — it was definitely one of the sexiest videos yet.

In the video, Shakira romps around on a bed in a couple of very revealing outfits as she sings about making the same mistakes over and over again with Mr. Wrong. Shakira looks more gorgeous than ever!

And just when we thought this video couldn’t get any hotter, Rihanna showed up! After twerking against the walls, the two sexy singers hop into bed together, where they smoke cigars and rub each other legs while seductively staring into the camera.

It doesn’t get much sexier than this!

Shakira: Rihanna Is ‘The Sexiest Woman On The Planet’

“Working with [Rihanna] was utopia,” Shakira said in Glamour, as she was the cover of their February 2014 issue. ”She’s the sexiest woman on the planet. And at the end of the day, we’re both just basically Caribbean girls. The chemistry was so good and so real. She taught me dance moves. She was a sweet teacher.”

Well it looks like they both can dance — this is the sexiest video we’ve seen in a long time! Shakira posted a behind-the-scenes video the day before the release, too that shows just how much fun they have together.

Watch it below, then tell us — do you think they look sexy in the new video?

WATCH: Shakira & Rihanna – ’Can’t Remember To Forget You’

Shakira ft Rihanna Premiere ‘Can’t Remember To Forget You’: Hear It Here!

Bad boy alert! Shakira and Rihanna have fallen hard for the wrong guy on their duet, “Can’t Remember To Forget You,” which debuted on Monday (January 13).

The up-tempo single has Latin and Island flourishes that slightly recall Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out Of Heaven”. Thematically, it pays homage to Shakira’s 2007 duet with Beyoncé “Beautiful Liar.”

The trade lines about a guy they just can’t let go. “Oh oh oh oh/ I can’t remember to forget you/ I keep forgetting I should let you go/ But when you look at me, the only memory, is us kissing in the moonlight/ Oh oh oh oh/ I can’t remember to forget you,” they each sing on the chorus.

So, how deep do Shakira and Rihanna’s feelings for this guy run? They break it down later on in the song, singing, “I rob and I kill to keep him with me/ I do anything for that boy/ I’d give my last dime to hold him tonight/ I do anything for that boy.”

The song will be featured on Shakira’s upcoming album, the follow-up to 2010’s Sale el Sol. The Colombian-born pop star also announced Monday that the album will drop March 25.

Shakira explained the duet after debuting the track on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show.

“You know, we’re both from the Caribbean so I always thought we had that common ground, but this song is pretty reggae,” noting it has a rock sound that she feels Rihanna also embodied. “I honestly thought it would never happen… She heard the record and she loved it and she said she was onboard and I was the happiest girl alive,” she said. “To shoot the video with her has been a blast.”

So, what inspired the track? Well, not Shakira’s relationship with her baby daddy, Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique. “I’m going through a completely different experience right in relation to the song. The song is about that guy that just gets under your skin and you can’t leave alone. I think every woman has been through that. This song is not exactly a reflection of my personal life right now,” she said, calling from Barcelona where she putting the finishing touches on the album.

In addition to new music, she will return to “The Voice” on February 24 with guest mentor Miranda Lambert joining her team. “I don’t know [how Blake Shelton feels]. I don’t care much,” she teased. “I’m excited to come back. I have this strategy designed only to take him down.”

Shakira & Rihanna’s ‘Can’t Remember To Forget’ Single Out Next Monday!

One of the more anticipated single releases of our young year, Shakira’s first single from her upcoming spring album, now has a launch date. “Can’t Remember To Forget,” featuring Rihanna, will be unveiled next Monday (Jan. 13).

The new single was previously confirmed to be dropping January, but Rihanna revealed the release date on Twitter on Monday morning (Jan. 6). Last month, Shakira and Rihanna were reportedly in Los Angeles filming the new song’s music video with director Joseph Kahn.

Shakira’s forthcoming studio album — her first English-language effort since 2009’s “She Wolf” — is due out this spring on RCA/Sony Latin Iberia. The Colombian singer-songwriter will also be returning to NBC’s “The Voice” as a coach this spring.

“Can’t Remember To Forget” will follow another high-profile feature for Rihanna — Eminem’s “The Monster,” which spent a fourth frame atop the Hot 100 chart last week.

Elie Chahine’s Blog 2013 in review!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for Elie Chahine’s blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 120,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 5 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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