After attaining international success with her fifth studio effort, Laundry Service (2001), Shakira decided to create a two-part follow-up record.

As co-producer, Shakira enlisted producers including previous collaborators Gustavo Cerati, Lester Mendez, Luis Fernando Ochoa and Rick Rubin to work alongside newer partners Jerry Duplessis, Wyclef Jean, Tim Mitchell and The Matrix.

The album was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 1.7 million units in the country.

Due to its underperformance, the album was reissued in 2006 with a revised tracklist and two added tracks: "Hips Don't Lie" and an alternate version of "La Tortura".

The third and final single, "Illegal", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs component chart.

After attaining international success with her third studio effort, Laundry Service, in 2001, Shakira opted to create a two-part follow-up record.

Having co-written nearly sixty tracks for Laundry Service, she put herself "on the mission of selecting [her] favorite ones" to record for Oral Fixation, Vol.

[2] While recording the project, Shakira worked with previous collaborators Gustavo Cerati, Lester Mendez, Luis Fernando Ochoa and Rick Rubin, and newer partners Jerry Duplessis, Wyclef Jean, Tim Mitchell and The Matrix.

The baby girl she held in her arms on the cover of the first volume is sitting in the tree, alluding to psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's theory that infants begin discovering the world through their mouths during the oral stage of psychosexual development.

[5] For Jon Pareles of The New York Times, "For obvious reasons, it's eye-catching, as was the cover of the Spanish-language companion album, Fijación Oral, Vol.

[5] On Middle East versions of the album, Shakira was covered up with leaves which left her standing behind a bush, which surprised the singer.

"[8] At AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted the album included "[the] expected Latin rhythms", "glitzy Euro disco", "trashy American rock & roll", and "stomping Britpop".

[1] Songwriting Universe compared the opening track "How Do You Do" to Sarah McLachlan's "Dear God", calling it "bold" and noting its "eerie reciting" of the Lord's Prayer.

[4] The first single, "Don't Bother", presents the final chapter of a relationship and the confusion that faces anyone in a break-up.

Yes, it is a way of exorcising all of these feelings, a form of catharsis, getting rid of all of those emotions that torture us women at some point in our lives.

[1] "I'd like to be the owner of the zipper on your jeans," she sings on the racy "Hey You," which was compared to the works of American rock band No Doubt, by Slant Magazine.

[9] Mariachi horns bump up against surf guitars in "Animal City", a don't-go-there warning against fame and fake friends, while bossa nova accents wind through "Something", one of only two tracks reprised from Fijación Oral, being called En Tus Pupilas on the first edition.

[18] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that "Oral Fixation is the sound of an utterly unique voice in a uniform world.

"[16] Agustin Gurza of the Los Angeles Times wrote the album "is a stronger work as a whole, with sharper edges and darker undertones," praising its music, writing that "this work stands on its own, squarely within the mainstream of U.S. pop and rock with a lot less Latin flavor.

"[17] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B- rating, writing that, "Although Oral Fixation is hardly the first time a Latina act has aimed straight for the middle of the North American road and nearly lost control of the wheel in the process, it's among the most disappointing.

"[10] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the weakest part in some songs on the album are "the main(stream) hook, an attempt at radio-accessibility that white-washes the personality that sets Shakira apart from her competition.

"[9] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone acknowledged that, "Occasionally clumsy but most often clever, Shakira's English lyrics and performances still lack the confidence of her Spanish tracks, yet Oral Fixation manages to maintain the musical credibility that Fijacion Oral won back.

It spent 65 weeks in the chart and was certified platinum by Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique (SNEP) for sales over 200,000 copies.

2 spent a total of 30 weeks on the chart and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies.

[22] With the assistance of the Creative Artists Agency, she visited ninety-four cities and performed forty-one shows across five continents.

[25] The set list primarily consisted of Spanish-language tracks, and additionally included earlier singles from Shakira's albums Pies Descalzos (1996), Dónde Están los Ladrones?

[26] In November 2007, Epic Records released the Oral Fixation Tour live album, filmed during a show in Miami, Florida in December 2006.

Robert Silva from About.com provided a positive review, describing the recording as a "very entertaining and lively performance"; he expressed an additional interest in the bonus behind-the-scenes footage.

[27] William Ruhlmann from Allmusic shared a similar sentiment, complimenting her vocals and dancing abilities.