The U.S. will not be playing at the FIFA world cup in Russia starting in few weeks but its presence will loom large at the football showpiece even though politically both countries are miles apart on a number of global issues and the allegation that Russia meddled in the last U.S. general elections as it has been disclosed the that Americans- Will Smith Nicky Jam will be combining with Era Istrefi, an Albanian for the official anthem of the event.
The track is being produced by Diplo.
The news was first reported by Vibe and Colombian radio station W Radio on Monday and confirmed independently by Billboard with sources close to the project.
Although there are multiple songs associated with the World Cup, the official anthem is usually the most high-profile and is performed at the finale of the World Cup, which will be watched by an estimated 2 billion people. Past anthems include Shakira’s “Waka Waka” and Ricky Martin’s “The Cup of Life.”
According to an interview with Nicky Jam manager Juan Diego Medina that aired on W Radio, Nicky Jam and Smith were in Budapest putting final touches to the song, which is slated to be released Friday.
Before news of the World Cup song leaked out, Smith and Nicky Jam were already talking about each other on social media. Back in March, Nicky Jam sat with Billboard and did some karaoke in honor of Smith, who the previous week had posted a video singing “X,” the hit by Nicky Jam and J Balvin. Nicky Jam also told Billboard that when he called Smith to thank him for the plug, Smith asked him to remix Jaden Smith’s song “Icon.”
