As sixteen cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada prepare to host the highly anticipated 2026 FIFA World Cup, the event globally recognized as the most prestigious football competition and most viewed sporting event in the world, FIFA released the first song in its 2026 World Cup album: “Lighter” by Tennessee singer Jelly Roll and Mexican singer Carín León. Containing both English and Spanish vocals, the song was intended to be FIFA’s first step to creating “one global rhythm” that encompasses many diverse musical styles. However, a quick skim of the comments section on the official YouTube video of “Lighter” reveals that FIFA failed to appease the “global” audience even before the song reached the global stage.
Miles Johnson ’27 categorized approaches of previous World Cup songs, stating that past songs either “pertained more to the culture of the country that they are trying to represent” or “focused on being catchy for anybody.” “Lighter” failed to encapsulate American culture, as according to Johnson, the song “focuses too much on one genre, country, that doesn’t resemble us as a country.” Even though “Lighter” is branded as primarily a pop and rock song with only some country influence, the song leans aggressively towards the country genre. Felix Stuart ’27 pointed out that many elements in the lyrics, such as reference to “trucks, chains, and the Lord,” are classic themes in country songs. Stuart also noticed that the “strong beat and pulse” of the instrumentals—composed of guitar and drums—were “a hallmark of country music.”
However, genre choice is not the sole reason “Lighter” has failed to gain popularity; the song did not succeed in music quality either. Johnson said that “it’s not even that catchy to a lot of people,” comparing it to Shakira’s 2010 World Cup song, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” Stuart, who claims to have listened to “Lighter” with an entirely unbiased attitude, said “the quality of the music is not very good.” He explained, “I’m not a big country guy, but I do think this is one of the worst ones.” Stuart also referenced the 2010 World Cup song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” as a song that would be considered “catchy.”
People often forget the initial controversy that surrounded “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the song now widely considered the most popular FIFA World Cup theme song in history. There were similar debates about how well the song balanced representation of its native country, South Africa, and appealing to the worldwide public. In 2010, South Africans complained that FIFA chose Shakira, a Columbian singer, over a South-African singer. A Guardian article even described the song as “a cheesy piece of generic Africana whose melody is cribbed from an old Cameroonian song.” These discussions of the “genericness” of the 16-year-old song mirror that of the current criticism against “Lighter.” However, in the case of “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the “genericness” eventually translated into accessibility.
Both of these conflicts reveal that people care a lot about the World Cup Song. Milton Boys’ Varsity Soccer Player Leif Angelini ’27 believes that music plays an important role in the culture of the sport. He agreed that music helps people get excited for tournaments and playing out on the field. Angelini also noted his expectation that the World Cup song should reflect this culture, as he recalled that “the songs from previous years have reflected that [culture].”
Despite current public opinion, Angelini expressed hope for change. Indeed, it has only been three weeks since the release of “Lighter.” Moreover, since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA has transitioned from singular official songs to official albums containing many tracks. There were six total songs in the 2022 Qatar World Cup soundtrack, and while some songs such as "Tukoh Taka" were faced with controversy, at least two of the six songs were met with acclaim. From the perspective of past experience, hope still remains for FIFA 2026’s musical redemption.