Live It Up (Nicky Jam song)

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"Live It Up"
Live It Up" (2018 FIFA WC - Official Song).jpg
Single by Nicky Jam featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
ReleasedMay 25, 2018 (2018-05-25)
Genre
Length3:28
LabelSony Latin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Diplo
  • The Picard Brothers
  • Free School
Nicky Jam singles chronology
"Get Lit"
(2018) 		"Live It Up"
(2018) 		"Icon (Remix)"
(2018)
Will Smith singles chronology
"Get Lit"
(2017) 		"Live It Up"
(2018) 		"Está Rico"
(2018)
Era Istrefi singles chronology
"Origami"
(2018) 		"Live It Up"
(2018) 		"Prisoner"
(2018)
Music video
"Live It Up" on YouTube

"Live It Up" is a song by American singer Nicky Jam featuring American rapper Will Smith and Kosovo Albanian singer Era Istrefi.[1] It was chosen as the official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The track is produced by Diplo, The Picard Brothers, and Free School, and was released on May 25, 2018.[2][3] The song reached number one in Panama, as well as the top 10 in Hungary, Poland, Bolivia and Argentina. The song was met with negative reviews, with many criticizing its generic, synthetic sound and detachment between the song's genre and the tournament's host country, Russia.

Live performance[]

Jam, Smith and Istrefi performed the song at the closing ceremony on 15 July 2018 at the Luzhniki Stadium before the final between France and Croatia.[4]

Music video[]

The music video for the song was released on June 8, 2018. It features Nicky Jam, Will Smith, Era Istrefi, and Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho, among images from previous tournament. The music video was directed by Yasha Malekzad, produced by Kasra Pezeshki and was filmed mainly in Moscow, Russia and Budapest, Hungary. As of May 2021, the video has amassed over 218 million views on YouTube.

Critical reception[]

The song received mixed to negative reviews. Roisin O'Connor of The Independent rated it with one out of five stars, criticised the track's "generic message" and called it a "blatant attempt to cash in on the music industry's current obsession with Latin American music, but the entire song makes zero sense when you remember the World Cup is being held in Russia this year."[5] Ed Malyon of the same outlet criticised its "synthetic joy" and called it "the epitome of a try-hard creation that lacks much of what makes music great–inspiration and raw emotion–and lays on thick the things that we couldn't care less about–meaningless, directionless lyrics and a tiresome wailing from Istrefi, whose songwriting talent has clearly not been drawn on for this tragic effort."[6] Dave Fawbert of ShortList named it the ninth worst World Cup song of all time, criticizing its lyrics: "The words in the chorus just don't fit. 'One life live it up cos you don't get it twice' [sic] is just unbelieveably clunky", and expressing confusion as to "why a World Cup in Russia should have a reggaeton anthem, while the shoehorning in of different artists in order to satisfy all global demographics is just patently cynical."[7]

The song was met with mixed reviews from the fans.[8] Business Standard reports that "'Live It Up' has failed in getting a welcome reception from the fans. People on Twitter are requesting Shakira for a new song. Some have even asked FIFA to change the song." They further highlight the fans' statements that they would stick to K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" and Shakira's "Waka Waka" and the detachment between the song's genre and the tournament's host country.[4] Scroll observes that the fans "critiqued the fast pace of what they called was primarily a dance tune, noting the Diplo-produced track lacked a 'football rhythm' to it" and were "nostalgic for popular World Cup anthems in the past such as Shakira's 'Waka Waka' ... and Ricky Martin's 'The Cup of Life'."[9]

Credits and personnel[]

  • Will Smith – composition, vocals
  • Nicky Jam – composition, vocals
  • Era Istrefi – composition, vocals
  • Diplo – production

Charts[]

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Argentina (Monitor Latino)[10] 7
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 17
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 23
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[13] 2
Bolivia (Monitor Latino)[14] 7
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[15] 52
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[16] 67
Dominican Republic (SODINPRO)[17] 40
France (SNEP)[18] 42
Germany (Official German Charts)[19] 21
Hungary (Single Top 40)[20] 2
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[21] 17
Italy (FIMI)[22] 68
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[23] 71
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 25
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 78
Panama (Monitor Latino)[26] 1
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[27] 6
Poland (Dance Top 50)[28] 1
Slovenia (SloTop50)[29] 35
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30] 59
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 24
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 32

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[33] Gold 10,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Format Label
United States May 25, 2018 Digital download Sony Latin

References[]

  1. ^ "Live It Up (Official Song 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia) [feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi] – Single by Nicky Jam on iTunes". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "Official World Cup song to feature Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi". May 22, 2018.
  3. ^ "Will Smith & Nicky Jam Will Perform Official FIFA World Cup Song With Era Istrefi". May 21, 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "World Cup official anthem: Will Smith's 'Live It Up' fails to enthuse fans". Business Standard. May 27, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  5. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (May 25, 2018). "Official World Cup song review: 'Live It Up' with Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi is almost unlistenable". The Independent. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Malyon, Ed (May 25, 2018). "Official World Cup song 'Live It Up' is every bit the hyper-corporate nightmare you expected". The Independent. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Fawbert, Dave (June 11, 2018). "The 10 worst World Cup songs". ShortList. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Reuters (May 27, 2018). "World Cup divides fans with Live It Up anthem by Will Smith". The National. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Watch: Did the new FIFA World Cup anthem 'live it up' to people's expectations? Most disagree". Scroll. June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "Top 20 Argentina – Del 18 al 24 de Junio, 2018" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "Bolivia General" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  15. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201826 into search. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  16. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201829 into search. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  17. ^ "Top Semanal: 04/08/2018 - 11/08/2018" (in Spanish). SODINPRO. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  18. ^ "Lescharts.com – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up" (in French). Les classement single.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  20. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  21. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  22. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 27" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  23. ^ "Era Istrefi". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  24. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 26, 2018" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  26. ^ "Panamá Top 20 - Del 11 al 17 de Junio, 2018". Monitor Latino. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  27. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  28. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Dance Top 50. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  29. ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Canciones – Semana 25: del 15.06.2018 al 21.06.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  31. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi – Live It Up". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  33. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Nicky Jam feat. Will Smith & Era Istrefi; 'Live It Up')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
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