FIFA World Cup Music - Shakira

Shakira has been musically involved in four FIFA World Cups: 2006 (“Hips Don’t Lie” closing), 2010 (“Waka Waka” official anthem), 2014 (“La La La” closing), and 2026 (“Dai Dai” anthem and Final halftime co-headline). “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” from 2010 is her most successful World Cup song and the most successful World Cup song in history. It has sold over 15 million downloads, holds a Guinness World Record, and is the most-streamed World Cup song on Spotify. Shakira was not musically involved in either the 2018 Russia or 2022 Qatar tournaments. Russia 2018 used Nicky Jam, Will Smith, and Era Istrefi; Qatar 2022 used Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and Aisha among others. Shakira is co-headlining the World Cup Final halftime show on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium, alongside Madonna and BTS. The show is curated by Chris Martin. Shakira is collaborating with Nigerian Afrobeats artist Burna Boy on the 2026 official anthem “Dai Dai”, released on May 15, 2026.

Nobody in the history of recorded music has the World Cup track record Shakira has. Five years into writing about football music, and I have run the numbers across every official World Cup anthem dating back to 1962 – there is no other artist who has anchored four separate tournament moments. From the 2006 Germany closing ceremony to the 2026 USA-Mexico-Canada anthem “Dai Dai”, Shakira’s World Cup music run spans 20 years and four tournaments. Add the 2026 Final halftime show co-headline and she becomes the most musically decorated World Cup artist of all time.

Shakira’s Four World Cup Music Moments – The full timeline of her involvement, the cultural impact of each song, and why she has been FIFA’s default musical choice for two decades.

2006 Germany – “Hips Don’t Lie” Closing Ceremony

Shakira’s entry into the World Cup music conversation was technically as a closing-ceremony performer rather than the official anthem artist (which that year was Il Divo and Toni Braxton’s “The Time of Our Lives”). Her performance of “Hips Don’t Lie” at the closing was nonetheless the musical moment most people remember from Germany 2006. The song was already a global No. 1 by that point; the World Cup stage cemented it as the song of that summer.

Note: “Hips Don’t Lie” was originally a collaboration with Wyclef Jean, but the 2006 World Cup closing version was performed by Shakira alone (with the orchestral arrangement built around her). She closed the show; that performance is what cemented her FIFA association.

2010 South Africa – “Waka Waka” Anthem – The Tipping Point

If 2006 was the introduction, 2010 was the coronation. “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” – collaborated with South African Afro-fusion band Freshlyground – was the official anthem of the South Africa World Cup, and it became the best-selling World Cup song in history. As of 2019, “Waka Waka” had sold over 15 million digital downloads worldwide, earning it a Guinness World Record. It is also the most-streamed FIFA World Cup song on Spotify ever. “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” is the song that, more than any other in the modern era, defined what a World Cup anthem could be commercially.

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0 ]

2014 Brazil – “La La La (Brazil 2014)” Closing

For Brazil 2014, the official anthem position went to Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Cláudia Leitte (“We Are One”). Shakira returned as the closing-ceremony performer with “La La La (Brazil 2014)”, collaborating with Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown. The song did not match Waka Waka’s commercial run, but its production – samba percussion meets Latin pop chorus structure – is the template a lot of subsequent FIFA closing-ceremony songs have used. For Shakira herself, the 2014 booking confirmed her status as FIFA’s most-reliable music partner.

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-7knsP2n5w ]

2018 & 2022 – The Two Tournaments She Skipped

Shakira was notably absent from the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar tournaments – the only two World Cups since 2006 where she was not musically involved. Russia 2018 used Nicky Jam, Will Smith, and Era Istrefi (“Live It Up”); Qatar 2022 used a multi-song album anchored by “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” with Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and Aisha. Both tournaments’ soundtracks underperformed Waka Waka by a wide margin.

2026 USA-Mexico-Canada – “Dai Dai” + The Final Halftime Show

Shakira’s 2026 return is the most ambitious of all four moments. She is performing the official anthem “Dai Dai” with Burna Boy AND co-headlining the World Cup Final halftime show alongside Madonna and BTS on July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium. No previous artist has anchored both the opening anthem and the closing-match halftime show of the same tournament. This is, functionally, the most consequential World Cup music run Shakira has had. Sixteen years after Waka Waka, the same artist is now FIFA’s primary musical face again, this time bookending a tournament rather than just opening it.

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by7dgQSaFTw ]

Why Shakira?

Genuine multilingual delivery – Shakira is one of very few global pop stars who is convincingly bilingual in performance. World Cup audiences are linguistically split; she carries both halves of the room.

Stadium-tested chorus writing – The choruses of “Waka Waka”, “La La La”, and “Dai Dai” are all structured around two-bar repeatable phrases that work as crowd chants.

Cultural-collaboration instinct – She has always paired with regional artists tied to the host country: Freshlyground (South Africa 2010), Carlinhos Brown (Brazil 2014), Burna Boy (closer in spirit to the 2026 hosts).

Reliability – She delivers a finished, charting, marketable song every time. From a FIFA programming perspective, that is unbeatable.

Credits: May 16, 2026, Tanuja A2Z SoundtrackA2Z Soundtrack is an independent music journalism site covering film, television, anime, K-drama, and video game soundtracks. Founded in 2023, they publish detailed, source-checked guides to original scores and licensed songs from the world's biggest releases - and the ones you might otherwise miss. If you have ever walked out of a movie, finished an episode, or beat a boss fight wondering "what was that song?" - this site exists for you. Across more than 1400 published guides, A2Z Soundtrack|➔|