Shakira returns with World Cup 2026 opening song
World Cup 2026 officially kicks off, the highlight of the opening ceremony is not only the ball rolling on the pitch but also the reappearance of Colombian singer Shakira - an artist affectionately called "World Cup Music Queen" by global football fans.
At the legendary Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico, Shakira and Afrobeats star Burna Boy performed the official theme song of the 2026 World Cup called "Dai Dai". This is the fourth time Shakira has been associated with the biggest football festival on the planet, continuing to extend the special predestined relationship between the female singer and the World Cup for the past two decades.
Dai Dai" was released in May 2026 and quickly attracted the attention of fans around the world.
The song is a combination of Shakira's familiar Latin Pop style with Burna Boy's signature Afrobeats.
The song's title comes from an exclamation in Italian, meaning "Go Forward" or "Strive Forward", consistent with the spirit of solidarity and the desire for victory of football.
Not only bringing vibrant musical colors, "Dai Dai" is also built as a multicultural symphony when using many different languages such as English, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese.
Only after a short time of release, the MV "Dai Dai" has attracted more than 118 million views on YouTube.
Shakira and her fate with the World Cup
The predestined relationship between Shakira and the World Cup began in the summer of 2006 in Germany, FIFA invited Shakira and Wyclef Jean to perform a special version of "Hips Don't Lie" at the 2006 World Cup closing ceremony. The explosive performance of the Colombian singer quickly conquered global audiences.
Four years later, the World Cup was held in Africa for the first time. FIFA and Sony Music faced a difficult problem: creating a song that was both imbued with African identity but still strong enough to spread around the world.
In collaboration with producer John Hill and South African band Freshlyground, the female singer created "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" - a song considered a symbol of the modern World Cup with millions of views on the YouTube platform to date.
Inspired by Cameroon's famous military song "Zangalewa", "Waka Waka" cleverly blends Dance Pop, Makossa and Soukous – typical African music genres. The chorus "Tsamina mina, eh eh, Waka Waka, eh eh" quickly became a familiar melody to billions of football fans around the world.
The MV of the song gathers many top football stars such as Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Rafael Marquez and especially Gerard Pique. No one expected that the "Waka Waka" filming set would become the starting point of the famous love story between Shakira and the Spanish center-back.
However, the huge success of "Waka Waka" also created no small pressure for "Dai Dai". On many music and football forums, fans continuously put the two songs on the scale for comparison. Many opinions say that since 2010, no World Cup song has been strong enough to overcome the too big shadow left by "Waka Waka".
To date, Shakira is one of the few artists who has appeared many times at different World Cups.
The return with "Dai Dai" is not only a performance at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup but also a testament to Shakira's special position in the history of world football music.
