Shakira has opened up about the making of ‘Dai Dai,’ the official anthem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, revealing that Burna Boy was always her first choice for the collaboration.
The Colombian superstar explained that after completing the song, she felt it needed a strong male voice to match the energy of the World Cup. Since the track blended Afrobeats, Caribbean sounds, and R&B, she believed Burna Boy was the perfect artist to bring the vision to life.
According to Shakira, she had admired Burna Boy’s music for years and had always wanted to work with him. After reaching out, he agreed to be part of the project, but getting his verse took longer than expected.
She revealed that she waited 20 days for Burna Boy to send his contribution and began worrying that the collaboration might not happen. However, when he finally delivered his verse, she described it as “magic” and said it exceeded her expectations.Since its release on May 14, ‘Dai Dai’ has become one of the biggest songs of the year.
The track has amassed hundreds of millions of streams across digital platforms, while its music video has surpassed 500 million views on YouTube.The song gained even more momentum after Shakira and Burna Boy performed it during the inaugural FIFA World Cup halftime show. It later climbed to the No. 1 spot on the Apple Music Global Top 100 chart, making Burna Boy only the second Nigerian artist to achieve the milestone.
Burna Boy also made history by becoming the first African artist to perform at both the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony and halftime show, further cementing his place among the continent’s biggest global music stars.His achievements continue to grow, with recent music sales data recognizing him as Africa’s best-selling artist of all time, driven by billions of streams and millions of equivalent album sales worldwide.
