Will Smith teams up with Nicky Jam for the official theme song of this year's FIFA World Cup "Live It Up."
Sony Music and FIFA chose "Live It Up" while Diplo produced the track which became available on various streaming platforms on Friday. Other than Will Smith and Nicky Jam, "Live It Up" also featured the voice of Era Istrefi, a rising pop star. The official music video for the theme song will be out on June 7.
The three artist's collaboration will be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is estimated to draw in approximately 1 billion people.
In 2014, the World Cup used the theme song "We Are One" during the opening ceremony.
Will Smith's Statement
Following the release of "Live It Up," Smith released a statement expressing his excitement over his recent recording.
"It's an honor to be asked to perform at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This global event brings people from all over the world together to cheer, laugh, and experience magic. Collaborating with Nicky, Diplo, and Era on this track represents harmony, electric flavors, and genres coming together. At the end of the day, we just want to see the world dance!" said Smith.
Reactions To 'Live It Up'
In related news, "Live It Up" is being criticized by some people even before it is performed live at the FIFA World Cup. Some critics questioned the connection between the tune's Latin American feel and Russia, where the massive event will take place.
Other critics also likened "Live It Up" to Shakira's 2010 song "Waka Waka." On Twitter, some people also wondered why Smith was chosen to sing the song with Nicky Jam and Istrefi. The three artists are not part of any of the participating countries at the tournament.
"The World Cup song doesn't have any football into it. Blegh. How is Messi gonna dance to 'Live It Up?'" wrote one critic.
On the contrary, there were also some fans that said they liked the song. Even though it did not feature direct references to football, at least one Twitter user said "Live It Up" had the World Cup vibe to it.
Will Smith Focuses On His Music Career
Other than his upcoming performance at the FIFA World Cup, Smith also announced his plan to focus more on his music career.
We just dropped the official song for the 2018 @FIFAWorldCup! Fly your flag in the comments, I wanna see! . @NickyJamPR @Diplo @strefie . Link in bio for full videoA post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) on May 25, 2018 at 7:20am PDT
On his Instagram account, he shared a video of himself rapping inside a recording booth.
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