Hayya Hayya, Qatar World Cup Official Song: The Synergy Of Music And Football

World Cup trophy illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The World Cup is not only about football and the pride of the participating countries. The massive interrelationships between one thing and another make this four-year football party a driving force for various aspects.

Starting from the economic aspect, infrastructure, culture, to entertainment. And one aspect of entertainment that has always been a routine for organizing the World Cup is the selection of the official song.

At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, a Spanish song titled Los Ramblers was performed by Jorge Rojas Artoga as a warm-up event. However, FIFA has just inaugurated the use of the official anthem for this grand event at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England with the song World Cup Wille sung by legendary singer Lonnie Donegan.

The official World Cup anthem was also used as an accompaniment during the events and advertising campaigns leading up to this quadrennial football event.

Usually, the World Cup anthem is performed in various versions or has a different song as well as a different language. For example, at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico alone, there were three World Cup songs, two in English and one in Spanish. The use of Spanish certainly represents Mexico's national language.

And since the 1998 World Cup, there have been two types of songs used to enliven the planet earth's soccer party; official anthem and official song. Official anthem is a song released by FIFA to accompany every official FIFA event required during the holding of the World Cup. Meanwhile, the official song is the official song issued by FIFA, the host or sponsor that functions more in marketing activities.

For example, at the 2010 World Cup South Africa, the official anthem was a song by R Kelly with the title Sign of A Victory. Meanwhile, the official song is Waka Waka, performed by a singer from Colombia, Shakira. However, the World Cup sponsor and FIFA partner, Coca-Cola, also released an official song with the title Wavin Flag sung by K'Naan.

At the Russia World Cup, various international music scenes collaborated under the umbrella of FIFA and the recording house, Sony Music. Will Smith, Nicky Jam, and Era Istrefi have officially become FIFA artists to perform a song titled Live It Up which is the official song for the 2018 World Cup. Meanwhile, the sponsor, Coca-Cola, has already released a song by famous artist, Jason Derulo with the title Colors.

The tradition of the official song for the World Cup is actually able to process the emotions of football fans so that it can become an important component in increasing the excitement of the World Cup itself.

"FIFA and Sony Music built a good agreement to make an official song, the synergy between music and football has aroused the emotions of fans around the world. This song will accompany the greatest show on earth, bringing joy and unity to people all over the world. world during the 2018 FIFA World Cup," said Philippe Le Floc'h, FIFA's Chief Commercial Officer, quoted from the official FIFA website.

This song will officially be played in front of 80 thousand spectators at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 World Cup.

Meanwhile, the Qatar World Cup will start in a few months, from November 21 to December 18 to be exact. Like previous editions, the official song for this grand soccer event has also been introduced to the public. The title, Hayya Hayya which means "Better Together".

The song, sung by Arizona pop singer Trinidad Cardona, African soloist Davido and local artist Aisha, features a mix of r&b and reggae music. The song was released via Def Jam Recordings and produced by RedOne.

"By bringing together voices from America, Africa and the Middle East, this song symbolizes how music - and football - can bring the world together," said FIFA Chief Commercial Officer Kay Madati.