Billboard reports Shakira and Burna Boy’s World Cup anthem “Dai Dai” leads as No. 1 song worldwide, as streaming dominates the rollout

Shakira and Burna Boy’s World Cup anthem “Dai Dai” has claimed the No. 1 spot as the top song in the world, according to a new analysis by Billboard published July 16. The article frames its central question around not just global performance, but geography, using streaming data to compare where the track is gaining the fastest momentum and largest audiences.

The Billboard piece emphasizes that “Dai Dai” is being driven by streaming rather than only traditional radio or single-market charting. It portrays the song’s reach as international from the outset, then narrows to a country-by-country look at where listeners are engaging most, including where the song’s impact appears strongest relative to other markets.

Billboard’s approach is described as a “deep dive” into the way “Dai Dai” travels across territories, treating the track as a case study in how major global acts can convert a high-profile tournament moment into durable listening behavior. Rather than limiting the story to a single chart headline, the analysis tries to identify the specific places where the anthem is most dominant in streaming consumption.

The story also situates the release within the wider pattern of World Cup songs functioning as cross-border cultural events, where global fan bases and international media coverage can translate into immediate spikes in streams. In that framework, Billboard’s findings position “Dai Dai” not only as a headline No. 1, but as an anthem whose audience growth can be measured by how streaming behavior differs by country.

As with most streaming-focused rankings, Billboard’s claim of a No. 1 song in the world is tied to the methodology described in its reporting and chart system rather than a single sales metric or an informal audience tally. Readers are left with a practical takeaway: tournament-era releases can be evaluated more precisely by streaming where they perform best, which can influence downstream marketing and catalog planning.

For the artists and their teams, the analysis highlights the commercial stakes of global visibility during major sports events, when attention from outside core genre or language audiences can be captured quickly. For the industry, it also underscores how streaming data provides near-real-time evidence of where songs are resonating, even when official promotional activity is centralized.

Billboard’s report does not reduce the anthem’s success to a single explanation, but instead points to streaming reach and uneven market strength as part of how “Dai Dai” has reached its top-line standing worldwide. The central follow-through is that listeners and industry watchers can look beyond one global ranking to understand which countries are driving that dominance.