SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The World Cup is back this summer, and even if you don't care about the sport, you may care about the official 2026 World Cup song.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It's "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Nigerian artist Burna Boy.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAI DAI")
SHAKIRA AND BURNA BOY: (Vocalizing).
PFEIFFER: FIFA announced today that for the first time, there will be a World Cup halftime show during the final match.
CHANG: That's right. It's going to feature Madonna, BTS and, of course, the queen of World Cup music, Shakira.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAI DAI")
SHAKIRA AND BURNA BOY: (Singing) You belong. You've been this brave all along.
PFEIFFER: We've come to expect hits from the World Cup. It's a trend that basically began in 1998 with Ricky Martin's smash hit "La Copa De La Vida."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA COPA DE LA VIDA")
RICKY MARTIN: (Singing) Here we go. Allez, allez, allez. Go, go, go. Allez, allez, allez.
CHANG: Oh, yeah. There have been many hits since then, including songs that were not the official FIFA song for the tournament, like "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan in 2010.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WAVIN' FLAG")
K'NAAN: (Singing) When I get older, I will be stronger. They'll call me freedom just like a wavin' flag.
PFEIFFER: And there's the Shakira song sitting at more than 4.5 billion views on YouTube, "Waka Waka."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WAKA WAKA")
SHAKIRA: (Singing) Zamina-mina, he-he. Waka, waka, he-he. Zamina-mina, Zangalewa. This time for Africa.
CHANG: Love that song. OK. But sometimes a World Cup song is a big miss, like a penalty kick that goes way over the net, if you will.
PFEIFFER: In March, FIFA released "Lighter" by Jelly Roll and Carin Leon.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIGHTER")
JELLY ROLL: (Singing) Never felt this free before. I'm high and I'm getting higher. Chains don't rattle no more. Good Lord, I'm feeling lighter.
CHANG: Well, there were a lot of people who were kind of disappointed with that one. The YouTube comments were filled with messages like, the best part of this song is when it ends, and other messages like, Shakira, save us.
BRENT KEOGH: Over time, there's kind of a built-up expectation about what a World Cup song is going to be. The context is a football stadium full of people shouting, singing songs, you know, going nuts. And Jelly Roll's just felt, like, super flat.
PFEIFFER: That's Brent Keogh. He's a musician who teaches music and sound design at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
KEOGH: From a sort of pulse perspective, it's just that it's (ph) slow. There wasn't that sense of, like, the world flavors all coming together.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIGHTER")
JELLY ROLL: (Singing) The same old boots, but they're off the ground. Devil, try to catch me now.
CHANG: So what is the recipe for a great World Cup song? And what makes Shakira so good at it?
KEOGH: A lot of them are kind of based on that - it's a rhythm that's found in all sorts of different places. In the Arab world, it's called al-hub (ph). In Jamaican, I think it's called the dembow rhythm. But it's that (imitating rhythmic sounds).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WAKA WAKA")
SHAKIRA: (Singing) Django, he-he. Django, he-he.
KEOGH: She's also good at kind of incorporating elements or gestures towards other cultures. So she can kind of pull on these things and bring it into this global pop package.
PFEIFFER: So the queen of the World Cup heard the call of the people.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAI DAI")
SHAKIRA AND BURNA BOY: (Singing) Dai, dai, ikou, dale, allez, let's go.
CHANG: The official World Cup song, "Dai Dai," is out tonight.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAI DAI")
SHAKIRA AND BURNA BOY: (Singing) Dai, dai, ikou, dale, allez, let's go. Dai, dai, ikou, dale, allez, let's go. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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