Live It Up (Nicky Jam song)


"Live It Up" is a song by American singer Nicky Jam featuring American rapper Will Smith and Kosovar 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.

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.

Critical reception

The song received mixed to negative reviews. Roisin O'Connor of The Independent criticised the track's "generic message" and called it "the 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 Independent 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." The song was met with mixed reviews from the fans.

Credits and personnel

Certifications

Release history