What’s this year’s World Cup anthem? Canadian producer Cirkut sees unity in many voices

“People’s listening habits are changing for sure, but I don’t know, people still love a great song.”

And the official World Cup 2026 album is full of them — an 18-track project that leans less on a single defining anthem and more on a wide-ranging panorama of global sounds.

Walter, who executive produced the album, was tasked with building a soundtrack for a tournament that will unfold across three host nations — Canada, the United States and Mexico — while reflecting the diversity of the countries involved.

“We wanted to represent each country and region and city and bring a different flavour to each song and with each artist,” he says.

The result is what FIFA bills as its largest musical initiative to date, featuring a stacked roster including Lisa, Future, Jessie Reyez, Nelly Furtado, Alejandro Fernández, Shakira and more.

“We’ve got hip-hop bangers, we’ve got uptempos, we’ve got dance songs. It’s kind of a mix of everything. It felt good to represent all those genres and cultures all together.”

But the irony here is hard to miss.

The album comes as political tensions and trade disputes have strained relationships among the three host countries, a reality that’s coloured discussions surrounding the 2026 tournament. Walter believes music can offer a different perspective.

“There is quite a bit of division in the world right now, but I mean, it all depends on who you’re with,” he says.

“I can be a Canadian, hanging out with Americans and someone from Mexico, and we all get along and we’re good and we say to ourselves, ‘Why would you hate?’”

He hopes the album can serve as a reminder that “people can come together no matter where you’re from” — and that what divides leaders doesn’t necessarily divide listeners.

“There might be problems between certain people who are in power and different things at play, but music can transcend all that,” he says.

“(The album) can kind of be symbolic of like, ‘Hey, look at all these people from different places coming together, and we’re not fighting. We’re good. Like, we’re cool with each other.’”

The idea is reflected in the album’s unlikely pairings.

On the trap-tinged “Game Time,” Atlanta rap superstar Future shares space with South African amapiano star Tyla. Elsewhere, American country-rap singer Jelly Roll teams with Mexican regional music star Carín León on the brooding “Lighter.”

The latter drew mixed reactions earlier this year when it dropped as the album’s lead single, with some critics arguing the twangy tune skewed too heavily American for a song meant to reflect a global event. Walter says the track’s unexpected sound was the point.

“We wanted to come out with something different. Like, this isn’t what you would think of as a World Cup song,” explains Walter, who co-produced Pitbull’s ‘We Are One (Ole Ola),’” an official track for the 2014 tournament.

“One of the ideas of this project was mashing up different things and blending it together. Showing that all these different things can coexist in one place.”

The Afropop-flavoured “No Place Like Home,” for instance, unites Victoria-born pop star Furtado with Los Angeles electronic group Major Lazer and Nigerian-American singer-songwriter Davido.

Walter was tapped for the project by The Weeknd’s manager, Wassim Slaiby, whose SALXCO Recordings released the album alongside Def Jam Recordings.

The project’s eclectic approach also reflects the producer’s own Canadian upbringing. Born in Ottawa and raised in Montreal and Halifax before settling in Toronto, Walter credits Canada’s cultural diversity with shaping his musical sensibilities.

“I was really exposed to everything,” says the producer, now based in L.A.

Over the years, Walter has floated between pop, hip-hop, electronic music and R&B, crafting countless hits along the way — including Lady Gaga’s 2025 smash “Abracadabra.”

Earlier this year, he became only the second Canadian after David Foster to win both a Grammy and a Juno Award for producer of the year in the same period.

Yet despite the accolades, he says he’s still chasing the same feeling that was first sparked as a teenager making beats in his bedroom.

“I don’t want to lose that feeling — that’s where it all started,” he says.

“You’ve got to maintain some kind of childlike wonder.”

That mindset helped shape the World Cup project.

Whether one track emerges as the tournament’s defining anthem remains to be seen, though “Dai Dai” featuring Shakira and Burna Boy is currently the most streamed on Spotify.

But for Walter, the broader message may matter more.

“All these people from different places and different backgrounds can come together and it’s all good, you know?” he says.

“If everyone can just enjoy music for a second, that’s not a bad thing.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2026.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

What’s this year’s World Cup anthem? Canadian producer Cirkut sees unity in many voices

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