The FIFA tournament will kick off on June 11 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, with Mexico taking on South Africa.
NEW YORK — As the song demands: “Let’s go!”
It’s a fusion of their musical landscape: Afrobeats and Latin beats, undeniably global, multilingual pop. In one poem, they name some of the world’s most famous footballers and countries participating in this year’s World Cup: “Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia,” Shakira cheered. “Mexico, Japan, Korea, Netherlands.”
After the first chorus, Shakira and Burna Boy took turns working on their own lyrics, singing back and forth before joining in for a duet.
The song has been featured on Shakira, Madonna and Korean pop music group BTS will jointly headline the FIFA Championship First ever finals halftime show July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. The lineup is curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
The show will support the FIFA Global Citizenship Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children access education and play football.
Shakira first Last week, I made fun of “Dedei”, shared a one-minute trailer of her dancing in the middle of Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium. She includes a fragment of the opening poem: “In this place/you belong,” which she sings in English, a male voice that harmonizes with the voice she now identifies as Burna Boy. “What used to break you/make you strong.”
She is no stranger to World Cup anthems. Her song “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” was the official song of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and is widely regarded as one of the best songs.
It’s also not uncommon for FIFA World Cup sponsors to release their own singles for the event. In March, Coca-Cola shared Has its own official national anthem Van Halen’s “Jump” was reimagined during the World Cup, featuring Colombian singer J Balvindrummer Travis Barker, Pop/R&B singer Amber Mark and guitarist Steve Vai.
It’s also multilingual: Balvin wrote a new verse for the anthem in Spanish, bringing Brazilian funk and hip-hop to the classic rock staple. “‘Jump’ is not a football song,” he told The Associated Press of the original song, which uses the Spanish word for “football.” “That’s why I had to incorporate Latin’s love and passion for football (in the lyrics).”
The World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be held in June and July.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
