Shakira, Wembley Arena, London

Few pop stars can boast Shakira Mebarak's credentials. Not only does she have an opera singer's vocal range and quite possibly a degree in belly-dancing, she also has a former President's son as a boyfriend, can count among her fans the Nobel prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez and has been blessed by the Pope.

It comes as little surprise, then, to find that this singer/ walking whirlwind – at first glance a cross between Jennifer Lopez and David Lee Roth – carries grand ambitions on her tiny, tanned shoulders. She doesn't want just to entertain us; she wants to save the world.

At a time when Bob Geldof has given up his saintly status, and Bono has lost his charm, there's certainly room for a new pop philanthropist, but something tells me that this Latin lovely isn't the person for the job. Midway through her first UK show, Shakira announces: "I know pop stars are not supposed to poke their noses into politics but I think I'm gonna have to break the rules." She goes on to observe how politicians and world leaders are lacking in love. So far, so icky; but when she implores us to "take the hand of the person next to you and tell them you love them, even if you don't know them", you can feel the waves of nausea rippling through the audience. And it gets worse. A screen above her head depicts Saddam Hussein and George Bush battling it out in a game of chess; eventually the camera pans out to reveal the Grim Reaper as their puppeteer. Subtle, non?

As for the music, it can be described only as astonishing. Inside this polished pop princess, it's clear there's a rock vixen struggling to get out. Before her arrival on stage, the auditorium is blasted with Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle". When Shakira eventually emerges from beneath the head of a giant serpent, it's to an excruciating volley of hard-rock riffs.

Over the next hour and a half, our hostess plays guitar, indulges in a spot of drumming and positively murders AC/DC's "Back in Black" and Aerosmith's "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)". Things improve slightly when she plays her own songs – "Objection" bounces along nicely, while her biggest hit, "Whenever, Wherever", is impressive enough, not least because a belly-dancing Shakira emerges from the floor with a lit candelabra on her head.

It's hard not to admire the sheer breadth of her vision, not to say her enthusiasm. Whether singing hard-rock covers or her own soft-rock and Latin-tinged hits, Shakira gives it her all. "What the hell," her expression seems to say. "I'm having the time of my life." If only the same could be said for us.