Gordon Brown may be suffering in the polls and taking fire from Labour back benchers but when it comes to the sultry Colombian diva vote it appears he has it sewn up.
Pop star Shakira, famous for songs such as Hips Don't Lie, heaped praise on the PM yesterday, saying he is "very smart" and "brave" with "wonderful intentions".
The unlikely pair came together on a conference call to discuss education in the Third World, with the world's media listening in.
In the call, which also featured World Bank president Robert Zoellick, the PM and the singer spoke of their backing for the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) which aims to have every child in the world in school by 2015.
Then Shakira was asked if she feared she was being "used" by politicians like Mr Brown to boost his popularity and she leapt to his defence.
"Absolutely not," she said. "I think he is a man with wonderful intentions and who is also very pro-active and who has been working hard for this issue of education.
"I applaud his work and applaud the fact that he is brave enough to talk to celebrities like me."
"I think we are all on the same boat trying to get to the same shore, and trying to provide education for all children in the world," she added.
During his campaign for the Labour leadership, Mr Brown appeared to distance himself from the world of celebrity.
He said: "I have never believed presentation should be a substitute for policy. I do not believe politics is about celebrity."
But the PM, who in recent weeks has met Hollywood star George Clooney to talk about Darfur and appeared on the US version of Pop Idol to talk about mosquito nets, said yesterday celebrities have a role in galvanising public support for good causes.
He said: "I'll work with everybody who is trying to make a reality of education for every child in the world and Shakira has been a long-standing supporter of the Global Campaign for Education.
"Where others are prepared to help and support whether it be in Darfur or tackling malaria, I am ready to work with them."
Some 72 million children are still missing out on schooling, according to the coalition of charities and teaching unions.
Tomorrow, hundreds of schools around the UK are set to take part in the World's Biggest Lesson in which pupils from 120 countries will be taught the same subject simultaneously.
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