"Latin pop queen" Shakira (Shakira) will headline both the start and the finish of the 2026 FIFA North, Central American and Caribbean World Cup.
Shakira's official 2026 FIFA World Cup theme song, "Dai Dai," is sweeping global charts and creating a sensation, and she is responsible for both the tournament's opening ceremony and the final's halftime show, capturing the attention of football and music fans worldwide.
Shakira took the stage at the World Cup opening ceremony at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium on June 12 (Korea time), delivering an overwhelming performance before about 87,000 spectators and heralding the tournament's spectacular start. She will appear as a co-headliner of the halftime show at the final, which takes place at MetLife Stadium in New York, U.S., at 4 a.m. on the 20th, marking the finale of the tournament.
With this, Shakira has participated in official FIFA World Cup projects four times, beginning with the 2006 Germany World Cup, then the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the 2014 Brazil World Cup and the 2026 North, Central American and Caribbean World Cup. This is the most appearances by any artist, once again proving why Shakira has long been loved as the "voice of the World Cup."
Dai Dai, which features Nigerian global star Burna Boy and was co-written by British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, has continued its worldwide popularity, hitting No. 1 on both the Spotify global songs chart and Billboard's "Global (Excluding U.S.)" chart shortly after its release.
In particular, this is the first time a World Cup official theme song has reached the top of the Billboard Global (Excluding U.S.) chart since the chart's inception. The achievement is even more meaningful as it surpasses BTS Jungkook's "Dreamers," which reached No. 4 and was widely loved during the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The success of "Dai Dai" continues. Spotify cumulative streams have surpassed 100 million, and views of the official YouTube audio and music video have exceeded 370 million. It also reached No. 1 on iTunes digital song charts in 56 countries and regions, maintaining its global long-running popularity. Thanks to these achievements, Shakira surpassed 100 million monthly Spotify listeners, setting a new record as the first Latin female artist to do so.
In addition, Shakira has pledged to donate all of her music royalty revenue from "Dai Dai" to the "FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund," jointly operated by FIFA and Global Citizen. Also, on the "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" world tour — recorded as Billboard's highest-grossing Hispanic tour ever, which has drawn more than 3.3 million fans worldwide — she donates an additional $1 from each ticket sold to the fund, putting charity into practice.
The donated funds will be used to improve the educational environment and provide sports opportunities for disadvantaged children around the world. The historic final halftime show performance by the true maestro Shakira, who brings together the passion of sports and the power of popular music to deliver dreams to the global village, will be broadcast live around the world at 4 a.m. on July 20 (Korea time).
[Photo] Sony Music
[OSEN]