A few months after bringing together Afrobeats and Latin pop for one of football’s biggest stages, Burna Boy and Shakira have reached another remarkable milestone. Their 2026 FIFA World Cup collaboration, “Dai Dai,” has surpassed one billion views on YouTube, making the song one of the biggest music releases of the year. The official music video crossed the milestone on Shakira’s official YouTube channel, according to the latest view count. The achievement also makes “Dai Dai” the first music video released in 2026 to reach the billion-view mark, according to reports on the milestone. For Burna Boy, the achievement adds another major international moment to a career that has increasingly placed Nigerian Afrobeats in front of global audiences. For Shakira, it extends a long association with football and major international tournaments, following her global success with “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A World Cup song with a global audience
“Dai Dai” was released in May as the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, bringing together two artistes from different musical backgrounds. FIFA described the collaboration as a meeting of the global sounds and energy of Shakira and Burna Boy, with the song designed around the themes of football, culture and unity. The song was also created to support a cause beyond the tournament itself. According to FIFA, royalties from “Dai Dai” will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative aimed at expanding access to education and football opportunities for children around the world. That gave the collaboration a purpose beyond its role as a World Cup soundtrack, while also placing Burna Boy’s Afrobeats sound alongside Shakira’s established Latin-pop appeal on one of the world’s biggest sporting platforms.
From May release to billion views
The official music video was released on YouTube in May and quickly became one of the year’s most-watched music videos. By September 8, the video had moved beyond the extraordinary 1 billion-view threshold. Current figures on the official video show it continuing to attract millions of views and likes. The speed of the achievement is particularly notable. The song was released only months ago, yet its connection to the FIFA World Cup gave it access to an enormous worldwide audience during one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. That exposure helped turn “Dai Dai” from a collaboration between two major artistes into a soundtrack heard by football and music audiences across different markets.
Why Burna Boy’s involvement matters
For Burna Boy, the milestone is another indication of how far Nigerian music has travelled internationally. Afrobeats has steadily moved from being primarily associated with West African audiences to becoming a major force in global popular music. Burna Boy has been one of the Nigerian artistes at the centre of that international expansion. “Dai Dai” provided another opportunity to introduce his sound to audiences who may have encountered him through the World Cup rather than through the conventional music industry.
The collaboration also placed Nigerian music inside a cultural moment that extended well beyond Africa. Rather than being a standalone Afrobeats release, the song was tied to football’s global audience and Shakira’s established international following.
Shakira returns to familiar territory
The collaboration also carries significance for Shakira. The Colombian singer has a long history with FIFA World Cup music. Her 2010 song “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” became one of the most recognisable football songs of its generation. Her return to the World Cup stage with “Dai Dai” therefore gave the new release an immediate connection to an earlier chapter of her career. This time, however, she shared the spotlight with Burna Boy, creating a musical combination that brought Latin pop and Afrobeats together. The result has now produced a billion-view milestone. The collaboration that almost did not happen quickly. There was also an interesting story behind Burna Boy’s contribution to the song.
In a July interview reported by Premium Times, Shakira said she had waited nearly three weeks for Burna Boy to deliver his verse for “Dai Dai.” She explained that she specifically wanted his contribution because of the way his sound fitted the musical direction of the track. The eventual collaboration has clearly resonated with audiences. What began as an international pairing built around the World Cup has now become one of the most viewed music videos of 2026.
More than a view count
A billion YouTube views is, on its own, a major digital milestone. But for “Dai Dai,” the figure also reflects the unusual combination of three enormous global interests: music, football and international pop culture. The World Cup gave the song a worldwide platform. Shakira brought an established international audience, while Burna Boy contributed the sound and reach of one of Africa’s biggest contemporary music stars. The billion-view figure suggests that the song continued to attract attention beyond the initial World Cup moment. It also adds another chapter to the growing list of global achievements associated with Nigerian Afrobeats.
As Burna Boy continues to collaborate with major international artistes and appear on increasingly global platforms, “Dai Dai” provides another example of Nigerian music occupying space at the centre of worldwide entertainment.
For Shakira, meanwhile, the achievement reinforces her enduring relationship with football culture and adds another billion-view video to her catalogue. And for “Dai Dai,” the journey from World Cup song to billion-view phenomenon has happened remarkably quickly. What remains particularly striking is that a song built around a global sporting event has managed to become a major digital success in its own right — with Burna Boy and Shakira at the centre of it.