Have you heard the official anthem for the FIFA World Cup 2022? There isn’t just one; there are numerous.
Instead of the traditional official anthem that has traditionally sounded the opening notes of the quadrennial football series’ worldwide event, the current FIFA World Cup has an official soundtrack. The soundtrack includes musicians such as BTS’s Jung Kook, Nicki Minaj, Trinidad Cardona, and Nora Fatehi, among others. So far, four tracks from the album have been published, including “Light the Sky,” which includes a portion in Hindi performed by Fatehi.
The official soundtrack for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
According to media sources, Jung Kook’s “Dreamers,” which he performed in collaboration with Fahad Al Kubaisi, became the fastest official FIFA World Cup song to reach No. 1 on the US iTunes Charts. The song topped the iTunes charts just 2 hours and 11 minutes after it was released on Sunday. Furthermore, in just 13 hours, the single reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs charts in at least 102 different countries, including the world’s eight largest music markets, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Italy.
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In the “Dreamers” video, Kook and Al Kubaisi explore Qatar, mingle with locals, and immerse themselves in the local culture. The video is a dream-like combination of blue and gold, sea and beach. But the spotlight is fully on Jung Kook. 2018 is consistent with Qatar’s apparent subliminal message and ethos for this World Cup. The hosts have so far provided a spectacular demonstration of Asian soft power and culture, from the domination of Asian firms on its billboards and sponsorship cards to the participation of musicians from around Asia and Africa in the soundtrack, promotional films, and opening ceremony.
“Dreamers” is not the first football world cup anthem to become viral. The official song, whether it’s Shakira’s “Waka Waka,” K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flags,” or Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de la Vida,” has continuously added to the iconicity of FIFA World Cups, whether it’s Shakira’s “Waka Waka,” K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flags,” or Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de la Vida.”
FIFA World Cup in Qatar
Shakira’s “Waka Waka” is undoubtedly the most well-known of them. The official FIFA 2010 song, which combines an African Colombian rhythm with a Soca-influenced beat, proved to be extremely infectious and shattered records all around the world almost immediately after its release. The song, however, struck a discordant note among South Africans, who hosted the 2010 version. Many people believed Shakira was not the ideal person to represent Africa, and that FIFA should have chosen African musicians for the position.
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According to various South African media sites, the song, which compares football players to warriors on a battlefield and pushes them to strive for their goals, did not represent the country’s feelings of joy, liberation, and camaraderie surrounding the game. South African artists were also dissatisfied with the absence of indigenous performances during the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert on June 10, 2010.
Players to be Watched Last Time in their World Cup
This might explain why Coca-official Cola’s hymn for the 2010 World Cup, a remix of Somalian-Canadian musician K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag,” acquired traction among African soccer fans.
The song, which was composed for Somalia and its people’s desire for independence, was enlarged to include lines such as “let’s celebrate in the lovely game” and “watch the champions enter the field.” The “Joy mix” also included a new upbeat and ascending pre-chorus, which contributed to the overall feeling of celebration and camaraderie. This version peaked at number one in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, as well as number two in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
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Among the older songs, Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de la Vida” from the 1998 France edition has preserved its iconic symbolism with the beautiful game, with cries of “Alè Alè Alè” resounding around the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow after France defeated Croatia in the World Cup finals in 2018. It belongs to the samba-rooted Latin pop genre and was perhaps the first to develop a genre of “football” lyrics with lines like “The cup of life, this is the one / Now is the moment, don’t ever stop” and “Nothing can hold you back if you truly want it.”
Despite its numerous pop-culture references (Marvel’s Iron Man 3, Goal, Robot Chicken, and so on), the song’s lasting effect is likely most obvious in yet another world cup song, “We Are One (Ole Ola),” sung by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte. The 2014 World Cup song, which has a very similar-sounding chorus hook (Ole Ola versus Alè Alè), frequently mimics Martin’s popular lyrics and uses the same arrangement of basic melodies.
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While most World Cups had many songs that added to the overall chorus of fanfare — “sponsor’s themes,” “fan celebration anthems,” and “official chants” — they usually used one song as the official anthem. This appears to be missing from the current Qatar edition. The official “walk-out song” for players is “The Business” by Dutch DJ Tiesto. The FIFA Fan Festival’s official song is “Tukoh Taka” by Nicki Minaj and Maluma. According to the official website, Fifa will release even more singles as the tournament progresses, promising to include more diverse voices from Asia and Africa.