The World Cup always has a song. This one had a soundtrack, a halftime show and a stadium that started singing Journey. Spain beat defending champion Argentina in the final on July 19, but the tournament's most durable story might be how much of it was heard rather than seen. Here is what the music side of the month looked like, from the opening night in June to the numbers still coming in.
Opening ceremonies: Mexico City, then Los Angeles
The tournament began in Mexico City, where Shakira and Burna Boy performed their official song, “Dai Dai,” at the opener, Rolling Stone says. The U.S. ceremony at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on June 12 followed with Future and Tyla performing “Game Time,” a song from the official 2026 World Cup album, with Future in a red-and-white glittery varsity jacket, Complex reports. LISA of Blackpink, Anitta and Rema came next with “Goals,” and Katy Perry sang “Wonder” with 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka before the U.S.-Paraguay opener. Future would release his own album a month later.
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FIFA also released an original soundtrack for the month-long event, Billboard notes, with “Dai Dai” as its biggest hit and tracks from 21 Savage, Latto, the Rolling Stones, Jelly Roll, Future, Tyla and others.
Seattle sings: the crowd chart
The most charming chart story of the summer came from a crowd. On June 19, 67,000 fans at Lumen Field in Seattle sang along to “Don't Stop Believin'” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads” during the U.S. win over Australia, and the clips kept going. The result, Billboard reported on July 14, was that Journey returned to the Hot 100 for the first time since 1997, at No. 35, and John Denver came back at No. 41.
It was special. So special.
U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, on the crowd in Seattle, Billboard
Add the Fourth of July and nine classics reentered the chart that week. Toby Keith's “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” led at No. 11 on 15.3 million U.S. streams, giving the late country star his highest Hot 100 rank. Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Sweet Home Alabama” returned at No. 31, its first appearance since 1978, and Creedence Clearwater Revival's “Fortunate Son” came back at No. 44.
England, Miami and Ellie Goulding
Sometimes the match supplied the setlist. Before England beat Norway in the quarterfinal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on July 11, Ellie Goulding sang “Outside” pregame and then “Lights” at halftime from a stage built in the stands, Rolling Stone reports.
Goulding announced the gig the day before in an Instagram post, writing that she already knew the boys would make England proud: “it’s coming home.” Rolling Stone says her star power may have played a part in England's win. Their next match, July 15 in Atlanta, was against Argentina, who went on to the final.
The final: the world's biggest 11 minutes
FIFA's first-ever halftime show was a Global Citizen production curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin and billed at 11 minutes, according to Rolling Stone. Madonna kicked off with “Music” as Ronaldo and Ronaldinho escorted her out, then Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem covered “Seven Nation Army,” BTS did “Dynamite,” and Justin Bieber, introduced by Ted Lasso and Coach Beard, sang “Everything Hallelujah” on acoustic guitar and changed the words to “World Cup hallelujah,” per Pitchfork. Shakira and Burna Boy closed with “Dai Dai,” and Martin, Shakira and the Muppets finished with “We Believe” alongside a children's chorus.
Not everyone clapped. Robert Smith of the Cure posted a salty reaction before kickoff that included the hashtag “#Breadandcircuses,” Pitchfork notes. Here's the full halftime story, and how the lineup was announced.
Shakira's best streaming era
Rolling Stone's July 27 look at the numbers makes the case that the real winner was Shakira. “Dai Dai,” released in May, hit No. 1 on both Spotify's Global chart and Apple Music's, and in July it set the record for the longest-running No. 1 of 2026 by a female artist on Spotify Global, 17 days. Its dance-focused video is also the first to top Spotify's new Global Music Videos chart.
Rolling Stone says she's now the first artist with a No. 1 song on Spotify in both Spanish and English and the fifth most-listened-to artist globally, the highest position a Latina artist has reached. Even “Hips Don't Lie,” from 2006, entered the Global top 40 for the first time, at No. 25, with its biggest streaming day ever: 2.4 million. Burna Boy, the song's other half, shared the ride.
She’s not just flexing her legacy.
will.i.am, on Shakira, in a 2024 Rolling Stone cover story, Rolling Stone
Dai Dai (official video)Shakira, Burna BoyWatch on YouTube
What's next: Goulding's sixth album, I Know Too Much, arrives Sept. 4, per Rolling Stone. And Post Malone, who debuted a song allegedly titled “Chrome Heartbreak” at the final's pregame ceremony, per Pitchfork, now has a new song to follow up on.
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Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
