1. About the Song & Video
A stadium anthem has to work for a crowd of tens of thousands and for one listener on a phone, often at the same moment. "DNA (More Than a Game)" was released on June 10, 2026, as the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a day before the tournament began, according to Wikipedia. The tournament ran from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
The recording brings together EJAE, Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta and Megan Thee Stallion. EJAE, born Kim Eun-jae and known by the stage name 이재 in Korean, is a South Korean and American singer-songwriter. Bocelli is an Italian tenor, Guetta a French DJ and producer, and Megan Thee Stallion an American rapper. On paper, those names come from very different musical worlds, and that contrast gives the collaboration its sense of scale.
This Short reimagines the song with an AI-generated character lipsync that keeps the character close to the camera and lets her presence suggest the larger stage beyond the frame. The vertical format keeps her face, posture and controlled performance easy to read. The sections below cover how the anthem came together, what its words and sound are doing, and how it fared after its debut. The box above works as a quick guide.
2. AI Character Visual & Style Concept
The concept started with one decision: keep the face completely unobstructed. That is why the deep-black hair is pulled into a sleek high bun with a precise center part, a clean silhouette with just enough natural shine to respond to stage lighting without becoming a second focal point. The makeup follows a refined K-pop performance look. Defined brows, softly extended eyeliner and curled lashes give the eyes a confident focus, warm contouring adds shape without heaviness, and peach blush with satin-finish skin keeps everything fresh, while the rose-pink lips stay understated with a touch of gloss. The detail I kept returning to was the royal-blue sleeveless halter-neck top. Its crossed neckline and fitted silhouette suit the song's athletic, stadium-sized energy, so I left out accessories and let the shape do the work. A small white floral applique on the chest softens the strong blue. Royal blue also nods to a night-time sporting event, and the white adds a lighter note of hope and celebration.
3. Four Voices for a Tournament Opener
FIFA presented the song as the moment when the noise softens and the crowd unites, according to a press release quoted by iHeartRadio Canada. The same release framed it as the anthem of the first World Cup staged across three countries and 16 host cities, with 48 teams competing.
The credits are long. Wikipedia lists 13 songwriters, including Bocelli, Guetta, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE) and Megan Thee Stallion, and names Guetta, Timofey Reznikov, Giovanni Damiani, Conor Ross, Fast Boy and Giorgio Tuinfort as producers. Billboard describes Guetta as helming the dance-heavy production and calls the group an unlikely collaboration between an Italian tenor, a rapper and a singer who wrote lyrics in Korean.
Bocelli said in a statement that the title of the song says everything. Football, he said, has been part of his life for as long as he can remember, and he described being invited to sing the anthem and take part in the opening ceremony as an honor that moves him deeply, along with a chance to return to Mexico City. He dedicated the song to every fan gathering in stadiums, living rooms and village squares around the world.
EJAE said writing the Korean lyrics made the project especially meaningful, because it meant representing South Korea on that stage. She also described being in Seoul during the 2002 World Cup as one of her favorite childhood memories, including the sight of strangers on the street hugging and celebrating together, and said that feeling of togetherness is what the World Cup means to her.
The invitation followed a breakthrough run. Wikipedia reports that she provided the singing voice for Rumi in KPop Demon Hunters (2025) and that "Golden," a song she co-wrote and co-performed for the film, won the 2026 Academy Award for Best Original Song, the first K-pop song to win numerous major North American industry awards.
The single arrived on digital and streaming platforms on June 10, 2026, through Universal, What a DJ and FIFA Sound, followed by an Italian radio release on June 16. It runs 2:56 and appears on the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album (Opening Ceremony Edition).
4. Falling, Rising and Three Languages: Reading "DNA"
The published lyrics on Amazon Music move between English, Italian and Korean, and the Italian and Korean lines carry the same idea in different words: falling down isn't the end, because getting back up is part of who the singer is. The English hook then ties that idea to the title, calling the whole thing more than a game and describing it as DNA.
To me, the DNA image is the interesting choice. It treats resilience as something inherited, closer to a trait than a decision, which turns a sports slogan into a statement about identity. A team, a fan base or a country can carry the same trait without having to express it the same way.
Reading the DNA lyrics meaning through the title, "more than a game" widens the frame beyond football. The match matters, but so do the athletes who prepared for years, the supporters carrying their own memories, families watching together and communities that find a reason to celebrate at the same moment. The song seems to treat setbacks less as signs that something has gone wrong and more as moments that reveal determination.
The three-language arrangement supports that reading. Wikipedia confirms English, Korean and Italian, and EJAE has said she wrote the Korean lyrics herself. Each language lands in the same emotional place without being translated into the others, which suggests that togetherness doesn't require everyone to sound identical.
Musically, Wikipedia describes an EDM, power pop and hip hop song with arena rock elements, and its infobox lists the genres as EDM, pop rap and hip-house. Bocelli supplies the classical tenor, Guetta the dance production, EJAE the pop vocals and Megan Thee Stallion the rap. At 2:56, the track is short enough to land like a stadium chant instead of an epic, and to my ear that compact length helps each voice stay in its own lane without crowding the others.
The live version shifted the balance. Wikipedia says Bocelli and EJAE performed the song at the opening ceremony on June 11, 2026, while Guetta appeared by prerecorded video, which put the two vocal lines at the center and left the electronic drive on the screen. A song built from four different musical vocabularies has to decide who leads, and this one never quite does, which may be the point.
5. A Stadium Debut and a Chart Footprint
The song's biggest moment came before the first match. The iHeartRadio Canada release said Bocelli and EJAE would perform it for the first time at the opening ceremony at Mexico City Stadium, also known as Estadio Azteca, on Thursday, June 11, and Wikipedia confirms they did, on a program that also featured Shakira, according to coverage it cites.
The chart results were scattered. Wikipedia's tables show a No. 3 peak on the Dutch Single Tip chart, No. 9 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, No. 12 on New Zealand's Hot Singles chart and No. 17 on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart, with an 18th-place finish on the UK Singles Sales chart. On airplay lists it reached No. 12 in Lithuania, No. 13 on Chile's Anglo chart and No. 35 in Poland, and it peaked at No. 138 on Billboard's Global Excl. US chart.
For EJAE, the anthem extends a run that Wikipedia traces from KPop Demon Hunters to the Academy Awards, and Billboard framed the project as a full-circle moment for the "Golden" singer, who remembers the 2002 World Cup in Seoul. Placing a K-pop-rooted songwriter on the biggest stage in sport says something about how far that sound has traveled.
An anthem usually outlives its tournament only if listeners attach their own memories to it. The tournament ended on July 19, 2026, and whether this song carries forward will depend on which moments people hear it in.
6. Why Togetherness Sounds Better in Three Languages
What I love about this song is that it never lets one voice win. The tenor, the beat, the rap and the Korean lines each get room, and the result feels less like a crowded stage than a crowd singing in several languages at once.
That is the feeling I tried to bring to the performance. Instead of building a stadium, I let the character stay close, composed and ready, so her expression carries the sense of a big moment about to begin. The sleek bun and the royal-blue top give her a focused, athletic elegance, and the small white floral detail keeps the look warm.
If I'm honest, I hope the video leaves viewers with the feeling the song itself aims for: ready to step forward, and glad to share the moment with strangers. That feeling seems to me worth more than any single result on the pitch.
7. About This Lipsync Video
This posting features an AI-assisted lyric video, with the song added via YouTube Shorts' licensed sound feature. Not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by the artist or their label.
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