According to international media, after a series of songs with little impact in the last 3 World Cups, FIFA (World Football Federation) has returned to collaborate with Colombian singer Shakira for this year's tournament, after her song "Waka Waka (This time for Africa)" at the 2010 World Cup became a global phenomenon.
However, Shakira's live performance of the song "Dai Dai" with Nigerian star Burna Boy at the FIFA World Cup 2026 opening ceremony became the focus, when audiences compared "Dai Dai" to Jungkook of BTS's "Dreamers".
An American newspaper commented that with her inherent professionalism, Shakira is still explosive, still doing her best in her performance period, exuding the aura of a true star.
However, "Dai Dai" could not become a "Waka Waka second" - a song that once fully captured the joy and exciting atmosphere of the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony in South Africa.
Waka Waka" has become a classic with the festive atmosphere and opened up the passionate atmosphere of the biggest football festival on the planet.
Overcoming the success of "Waka waka" is too difficult a problem for Shakira herself.
Meanwhile, a part of the audience is nostalgic for the performance of Korean singer Jungkook (BTS) at the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony, and believes that after "Waka Waka", Jungkook's song "Dreamers" is still one of the most successful official theme songs in the streaming era, as its influence is reflected through global online platforms and social networks.
The melody of "Waka Waka" or "Dreamers" not only makes the audience explode but also preserves memories, and retains the beautiful sound of that festival.
The 2022 World Cup is the first time FIFA has switched to the model of many official songs in the same list, instead of focusing on a single song.
Among songs like "Hayya Hayya", "Arhbo" and "Light the sky" gathering many artists, Jungkook's "Dreamers" featuring Qatari male singer Fahad Al Kubaisi became the most infectious song.
The US newspaper commented that "Dreamers" is a song that carries a message of solidarity, in line with the World Cup spirit. They believe that Jungkook has left the familiar Kpop color to blend with Middle Eastern music, creating a song "born for stadiums".
In particular, the digital music achievements of "Dreamers" to this day are still milestones that many new World Cup theme songs in recent years have struggled to overcome.
At the time of its release in 2022, "Dreamers" grossed over 6.3 million streams on Spotify in just 1 day, setting the highest first-day stream record for a FIFA World Cup song.
At the same time, "Dreamers" broke the record for the official World Cup song to reach Top 1 on the US iTunes charts fastest, and topped iTunes in more than 100 regions just a few hours after release.
By 2026, when FIFA announced the new World Cup theme song series, many fans still compared it to "Dreamers" and recalled Jungkook's performance as one of the unforgettable stages.
