Video shows some Beyonce influence, but Shakira, as always, puts her unique spin on things.By James Montgomery

Shakira in "Give It Up To Me"Photo: Sony

The hips don't lie! Shakira's gone "Single Ladies" in her brand-new "Give It Up to Me" video (from her recent She Wolf LP),which finds everyone's favorite practitioner of midsection manipulation showing more than a few Beyoncéisms.

While the video doesn't mimic Beyoncés work, the influence is evident: From the dangly earrings and high-cut leotard to an aerodynamic 'do (which has since been replaced by a mane of dreadlocks) and a spate of dance moves that would make even the stoutest of chiropractors cringe, "Give It Up To Me" takes those elements, throws them into a blender, spins them around the globe and sees them brought home by Lil Wayne.

In fact, "Give It Up to Me" manages to carve out its own little niche, thanks mainly to Shakira's seemingly boundless spirit (which is a nice way of saying "she's a little crazy.") While not as nutty as her "She Wolf" video, "Give It Up to Me" is far from straightforward, either. There's the fact that she opens the video dressed like Jennifer Lopez from her days as a Fly Girl ... the inexplicable hieroglyphics on her left arm ... the part where she and her backup dancers turn into human caterpillars ... the part where she transforms into a super-shiny Shiva floating above Manhattan.

So yeah, it's pretty out there! And it shows Shakira and Beyoncé to be kindred spirits: both mine similar territories, both tend to skew delightfully odd, both shake their lower extremities at dangerous velocities (the video for their duet, "Beautiful Liar," is enough to give you whiplash). And they're both great, too, the kind of pop acts we don't see often enough these days

"Give It Up" — like much of Shakira's She Wolf album — is her take on straightforward club pop, with a straightforward video to match ... but, given that Shakira's involved, it's anything but straightforward, which, of course, means I love it. Shakira really is a true original — as she says, the hips don't lie.

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