Shakira credits ‘Waka Waka’ for meeting Gerard Piqué, pledges ‘Dai, Dai’ royalties to education | OneFootball

Shakira says ‘Waka Waka’ changed her life, crediting it with meeting Gerard Piqué. The singer is also pledging all ‘Dai, Dai’ royalties to education as she returns to FIFA’s showpiece stage.

“It has been my destiny as an artist and my destiny as a person. And to think that, if it had not been for ‘Waka Waka’, I would not have met the father of my children and perhaps I would not have these two beautiful children who have given me life... They are my ‘wakabebés’,” she told Noticias Caracol.

She and her former partner, the ex-footballer Gerard Piqué, met in 2010, months before the South Africa World Cup, for which she wrote ‘Waka Waka’. They made the relationship official on Twitter months later, and ahead of Brazil 2014 she released ‘Dare (La La La)’, featuring Piqué and their first son, Milan. They announced their separation in June 2022.

A central figure in FIFA’s biggest musical moments, Shakira fronted the ‘Bamboo’ version of ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ for Germany 2006 and now leads with ‘Dai, Dai’, the official song of 2026. Since ‘La La La’, she missed Russia 2018 for health reasons and declined Qatar 2022, joining artists opposed to human rights abuses there. She is the most awarded Latin artist in history, with Grammys, Latin Grammys and Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Her 2026 return has been widely welcomed, with the single hitting number one on Billboard and topping Spotify’s Top Global. “I am donating 100% of my royalties to FIFA’s education fund and every time people watch the video or listen to the song they will be doing the same, a joint effort to create opportunities for education around the world.”

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”