Colombian superstar, Shakira has opened up on the tense weeks she spent waiting for Nigerian singer Burna Boy to deliver his verse on their hit collaboration Dai Dai, the official anthem of the recently concluded 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking in a recent interview, the global pop icon revealed that she had always dreamed of working with the Grammy winning Afro fusion star and was determined to get him on the track from the very beginning, describing herself as thoroughly obsessed with the idea from the outset.

According to Shakira, the song carried strong Afrobeats influences layered with Caribbean rhythms and touches of R&B, which convinced her early on that it needed a powerful male voice to match the energy the World Cup demands.

She explained that she found herself searching for an artist who could bring that distinctly masculine tone within an authentic Afrobeats setting, a search that led her straight to Burna Boy, whom she had admired for years before finally reaching out to him personally.

Once she made the call, however, the wait proved nerve wracking. Shakira admitted that nearly three weeks passed, roughly 20 days by her count, before Burna Boy sent back anything at all, leaving her increasingly convinced that he might not follow through on the collaboration. She said the silence had her second guessing whether the feature would ever materialise, until he finally delivered his verse, which she described as arriving like magic and turning out to be absolutely perfect for the record.

Reflecting further on the collaboration, Shakira said she had previously called Burna Boy’s contribution the cherry on top of the entire project, crediting his vocals with elevating the song to another level entirely. She added that beyond serving as the soundtrack to football’s biggest tournament, Dai Dai was crafted with a deeper purpose in mind, intended to inspire children around the world and reinforce the idea that no dream is too far out of reach, while also drawing attention to the importance of expanding access to quality education for young people globally.

Since its release, the track has racked up billions of streams and topped charts worldwide.

Photo Credit: Getty Images