Music Monday: 2014 FIFA World Cup – “We Are One”

What is it with FIFA and using Latin American artists for the official song for the World Cup? One would think the official song of the world cup would come from the host country, or at the very least vary in ethnic origin. 3 of the last 5 World Cups have had an official song from a Latin artist.

1998 saw Ricky Martin with “The Cup Of Life” (which I think might be the best World Cup song yet) and 2010 saw “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” by Shakira. In between there were forgettable tunes by Vangelis and some German musician for the 2002 Korea/Japan and 2006 Germany World Cups, respectively. The last time a host country actually contributed the official song was 1994 with Daryl Hall’s “Gloryland” for the 1994 World Cup held here in the United States.

Alright, so this year the official song Claudia Leitte, a Brazillian singer. I will counter, however, that she only gets a verse at the end of the song, Jennifer Lopez gets a verse and Pitbull is the main singer for the whole of the song. Why not have Claudia Leitte be the main singer? It’s her country that’s hosting the World Cup.