While receiving positive reviews from critics, initially the song received some negative reactions from Brazilians over its lack of Brazilian feeling. To change that, another version was also released and the music changed slightly to fit Afro Brazilian group Olodum's style of drumming – that version being the one that was used in the music video for the song. "We Are One" has experienced commercial success, reaching the top 20 in countries including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and World Cup's host country, Brazil. The song peaked at number one in three countries.
Background and releaseedit
According to one of the co-writers of "We Are One (Ole Ola), Thomas Troelsen, he pitched a demo version "that had a sort of whistle thing in it" to Pitbull.[2] On January 22, 2014, FIFA and Sony Music Entertainment announced that "We Are One (Ole Ola)" would serve as the official song of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[3] At the occasion, Pitbull said, "I'm honored to join Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte at the FIFA World Cup to bring the world together. I truly believe that this great game and the power of music will help unify us because we are best when we are one."[4] Lopez said Pitbull asked her to join the song: "I can't take credit for this. This was one of Pitbull's call-ins. He had this record, and he's like, 'I think this record could be great for the World Cup. He's like, 'Will you do it with me?' And I go, 'Yeah, of course.'"[5] A solo version of the song featuring only Pitbull leaked online on February 2.[6] On April 8, Pitbull tweeted an iTunes Store link to the track, debuting the song.[7]
Critical responseedit
The song received generally lukewarm reviews. Carl Williott of Idolator opined that there is too much of Pitbull in the song, and not enough Lopez or Leitte. He, however, stated that the song is an upgrade from Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[8]Fuse.tv wrote that, similarly to "Waka Waka", the song "blends the feel of the tournament's hosting country with an accessible, exciting pop sound that has instant repeat appeal".[9] Judy Cantor-Navas of Billboard described the song as "surprisingly breezy",[10] with Spin noting it to contain the "rah-rah international unity you'd expect for a Cup song".[11] Luís Antônio Giron of Época criticized the album saying "maybe I'm wrong and Brazil only crave to be the same as what FIFA wants it to be. Brazil is fifalized". And praised music produced in Miami, "bomb on any track."[12]
The song received some criticism from Brazilian and football fans over its tone and lyrics, particularly with the lyrics and video being labeled as a "big pile of clichés" and its failure to pay homage to Brazil's own rich musical heritage.[13][14] Such criticism has pointed out the small amount of actual Portuguese lyrics involved,[15] and critics stating their confusion to why "were Cuban-American rapper Pitbull and Bronx-born Puerto Rican singer Jennifer Lopez were chosen for the song, when there are so many other great musicians in the land of bossa nova", as well as its "reinforcement of stereotypes with smiling, barefoot children and semi-naked, samba-dancing women".[16][17][18]
Music videoedit
In February 2014, Pitbull, Leitte and Lopez shot the music video for "We Are One (Ole Ola)" with Olodum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. Its concept was to simulate Carnival in its home country Brazil with the Olodum mix of the song being used as the soundtrack. It was released on May 16, 2014.[7] As of October 2022, the video has received over 848 million views.
In 2023 Pitbull, Lopez and Leitte performed "We Are One (Ole Ola)" at the Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador during the opening number of the contestants with the floral Swimsuits on November 18, 2023 and Miss Earth 2023 for the opening number of the contestants with the Swimsuits on December 22, 2023 in Vietnam performances Bamboo Mañalac (instead Pitbull), Jimenez (instead Lopez) and Anahi (instead Leitte).
Engineered at Al Burna's Extreme Mobile Recording Studio; eightysevenfourteen Studios, Los Angeles, California; Luke's in the Boo, Malibu, California; Miami Lights Studio, Miami, Florida; and Delta Lab Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
Pitbull vocals recorded at Al Burna's Extreme Mobile Recording Studio, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^"We Are One (Ole, Ola) – Jennifer Lopez & Cláudia Leitte" (in Danish). DR. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
^Greeves, David (August 2014). "Thomas Troelsen". SOS Publications Group. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
^Cantor-Navas, Judy (January 23, 2014). "Pitbull's 'We Are One (Ole, Ola)' Featuring Jennifer Lopez, Claudia Leitte Named FIFA'S Official World Cup Song". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
^Grow, Kory (January 23, 2014). "Pitbull's 'We Are One (Ole Ola)' Selected as Official World Cup Song". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
^Fekadu, Mesfin (June 10, 2014). "From Bronx to Brazil: J.Lo to sing at World Cup". Newsday. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
^Rigby, Sam (February 2, 2014). "Pitbull's World Cup anthem 'We Are One (Ole Ola) surfaces". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
^ abcMoreno, Carolina (April 8, 2014). "Pitbull Debuts 'We Are One (Ole Ola)' Ft. J.Lo For Brazil World Cup (AUDIO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
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^'We are one', canción del mundial no gusta a Brasil ::
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^World Cup: Official Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez Anthem Fails To Strike A Chord In Brazil | Fox News Latino
^Brazil World Cup Song Fails To Score With Fans | TheLedger.com
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External linksedit
Brazilian star Claudia Leitte to perform with Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez on the official song for the 2014 FIFA World Cup at FIFA.com