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| Pitbull, J-Lo and Claudia Leitte |
Last January, at the famous Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, some big names from the FIFA World Cup and Brazil’s sports ministry announced what would be this year’s official song of the games, We Are One (Ole Ola). Present also were Cuban American rapper Pitbull, who co-wrote and co-produced the song, and Brazilian pop and axé singer Claudia Leitte.
Anyone who was waiting for a song with an inherently Brazilian feel and lyrics, however, probably felt disappointed when the official version of the track was released on April 8. It´s an up-tempo piece of carefully crafted pop with clichéd pleasantries about how sports can unite the people of the world. It has a nice dance beat with plenty of batucada and some welcome whistling, but it has too much Pitbull and not enough Leitte, along with some inconsequential Jennifer López.
That, at least, has been the assessment of many fans around the world who have voiced their displeasure on social media about Mr. 305’s foray into the world of “Rah-rah! Boom-boom! Let’s all kick the ball and feel good” soccer music.
But there is an unmistakable Brazilian tinge to the song. Leitte sings in Portuguese with her seductive siren-like voice, and the rhythm actually makes you want to stand up and maybe get emotional about the games.
They are games that may or may not generate much excitement in one of the most important markets of the world, the United States, which does not devour soccer the way many other countries do. So it makes economic sense to try to appeal to this segment of the world (and to be fair, fútbol’s popularity here has been on the upswing in recent years) in any way possible.
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| Pitbull and Claudia Leitte at the Maracanã Stadium |
and on-air personality Darren DeVivo, 30-year veteran of’ Fordham University’s radio station.
“American audiences have already embraced artists like Santana and Ricky Martin. They have both enjoyed significant exposure and mainstream commercial success in the United States,” continues DeVivo. “As a result, it’s easy to appeal to the American ear because both Santana and Martin are artists who have already made inroads into American culture.”
It is still early to tell whether We Are One (Ole Ola) will make much of a cultural dent anywhere, and it has been exempt from the controversy that engulfed (but ultimately helped) the official song of the previous games, 2010’s Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).
Check out the official video of "We are one (Ole Ola)"
Back then, it was Colombian pop superstar Shakira who performed the song, along with South African group Freshlyground. The criticism came fast and furious: too much Shakira, not enough South African music or performers (the games were held in Johannesburg and in other cities of that African nation). Then there was a scandal of plagiarism tainting the song.
In the end, though, this is a business, so out the window go the notions of idealism, world unity, sportsmanship and music as art. Money rules, and thus it made more sense to have Shakira swaying her hips and mumbling some African words – Zangalewa, based on a Cameroonian military chant, was the original song – than an actual African artist who would not have been recognized the world over.
The track became the biggest-selling World Cup-song of all time; it bolstered Shakira’s international recognition even more and helped push sales of her Sale el sol album, while its video, as of April 2014, became the 8th most watched video on YouTube, with over 650 millions views.
With "Dare (La La La)" Shakira returns with another hit-in-the-making
With We Are One (Ole Ola), there’s a whiff of déjà vu about past complaints (too much of the American pop stars! Manufactured infectious rhythms! Where are the native sounds?) The question is, however, can it, or will it, repeat the success of Waka Waka? Will it score a goal, or receive a penalty?
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| Shakira at the 2010 World Cup |
The album features the World Cup’s official anthem, Dar Um Jeito (We Will Find a Way), a collaboration between Mexican American guitarist and rock icon Carlos Santana (in the midst of yet another comeback) with Haitian singer Wyclef Jean, and includes hot Swedish DJ/remixer/producer Avicii and Brazilian singer Alexandre Pires.
Shakira returns with another hit-in-the-making, La La La, along with fellow World Cup-song performer Ricky Martin, who sings Vida, and whose 1998 The Cup of Life was one of the most memorable official songs, contributing to “Rickymania” in 1999.
The official video of "Vida", filmed in Rio de Janeiro
Mercifully, this album has a lot of vida, a feijoada of musical styles and a strong emphasis on club-ready dance pleasers that may make it much more interesting than the official song that will be getting all the exposure.
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| Ricky Martin shooting "Vida" in Rio de Janeiro |
There are also head-scratching misfires, like Night & Day by Baha Men (of Who Let the Dogs Out fame) and Adelén’s Olé.
Even Coca-Cola has jumped on the bandwagon, as it did back in the 2010 games, with a big, international promotional campaign that features its own World Cup anthem, The World is Ours.
The song, performed by X Factor finalist David Correy and by Aloe Blacc, is included in the official FIFA and Sony album.
There is also a different version in Spanish, La Copa de Todos, sung by Colombian vallenato icon Carlos Vives and Brazilian tecnobrega star Gaby Amarantos.
In all, this year’s music may just do what all World Cup music is supposed to do: win the fans’ hearts and feet, and get the world excited about fútbol.
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