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Live It Up (Nicky Jam song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Live It Up
| cover = Live It Up" (2018 FIFA WC - Official Song).jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Nicky Jam featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi
| album =
| released =
| language =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length =
| label = Sony Latin
| writer =
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| chronology = Nicky Jam
| prev_title = Get Lit
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title = Icon (Remix)
| next_year = 2018
| misc =
}}
"'Live It Up'" is a song by American singer Nicky Jam featuring American rapper Will Smith and Kosovo Albanian singer Era Istrefi. 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. 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.
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, criticiszed 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." Ed Malyon of the same outlet criticized its "synthetic joy" and called it "the epitome of a try-hard creation that lacks much of what makes music greatinspiration andraw emotionand lays on thick the things that we couldn't care less aboutmeaningless, directionless lyrics and a tiresomewailing from Istrefi, whose songwriting talent has clearly not been drawn on for this tragic effort." 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. 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."
The song was met with mixed reviews from the fans. '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. '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'."
Credits and personnel
* Will Smith composition, vocals
* Nicky Jam composition, vocals
* Era Istrefi composition, vocals
* Diplo production
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end chart performance for "Live It Up"
! scope="col" | Chart (2018)
! scope="col" | Position
|-
! scope="row" | Hungary (Single Top 40)
|}
Certifications
Release history
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release dates and formats for "Live It Up"
! scope="col" | Region
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Format(s)
! scope="col" | Label
! scope="col" |
|-
! scope="row" | Various
| 25 May 2018
|
| Sony
| {{center|Citations regarding the release of "Live It Up" by Nicky Jam featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi in various selected countries:
*
*
*
*}}
|}
References
Category:2018 singles
Category:2018 songs
Category:2018 FIFA World Cup
Category:FIFA World Cup songs
Category:Nicky Jam songs
Category:Will Smith songs
Category:Era Istrefi songs
Category:Songs written by Nicky Jam
Category:Songs written by Will Smith
Category:Spanglish songs
Category:Songs written by Diplo
Category:Songs written by Quavo
Category:Songs written by Jean-Baptiste (songwriter)
Category:Song recordings produced by Diplo
Category:Sony Music Latin singles
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