Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" found Shakira's "smart or ambitious" image to be uncharacteristic of a sex symbol. He praised the versatility of her multilingual lyrics and her experimentation in a number of genres, citing the "multiplicity" in "the arrangements, in the mixed emotions of the lyrics, in Shakira's mercurial voice". Writing for "Paste", Mark Kemp complimented Shakira for dispelling notions she is "the Latin Britney, the female Ricky Martin [and the pretty pop tart who sings in Spanish and sounds like Alanis"; he compared the mix of musical elements in "Fijación Oral, Vol. 1" to a Pop-Tart with a "rich and nutritious filling". Tom Townsend of Yahoo! Music called her "the greatest pop star we have", comparing her "consuming artistry" to that of Madonna and Prince. He credited the album for inspiring a revival of pop music, saying that the release proved that the genre "wasn't dead, just sleeping".