5 Questions With Sony Latin’s Esteban Geller
Sony Music U.S. Latin GM Esteban Geller (Alessandro Martino)
This summer the FIFA World Cup shattered viewership records and united football fans across the globe. The tournament also gave Shakira, who’s provided several World Cup anthems, the biggest platform possible for her collaboration with Burna Boy, “Dai Dai” (Sony Latin).
The song became an international sensation during the tournament, reaching #1 on Spotify on June 30. It’s now the longest-running global #1 of 2026, with 37 days atop the Spot. Shakira and Burna performed the track during the halftime show of the final on July 19; it reached its peak the following day, 6.7m streams.
“Dai Dai” has stuck with fans well beyond the Cup. It’s remained in the Top 3 of the global chart for most of August and continues to rack up massive plays on YouTube, approaching 1b views in four months.
Naturally, we had to hear what Sony Music Latin U.S. GM Esteban Geller has to say about this planetary smash.
How did you determine the timing for “Dai Dai?”
Timing was absolutely critical. We released "Dai Dai" on May 14, one month before kickoff, giving the song enough time to build anticipation and connect with audiences before the tournament while ensuring it could continue to grow throughout the competition.
Every milestone leading up to the release was aligned with the FIFA World Cup calendar, from the announcement filmed at Maracanã Stadium to the official unveiling of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in New York with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans. Those moments helped build excitement among both football and music fans and created a strong foundation before the song was even released.
This was a true collaboration of Shakira and her team, FIFA, Global Citizen and Sony Music around the world. Everyone was aligned behind the same objective: creating a song that could unite fans, become part of the tournament's story and create meaningful impact beyond the game itself.
Wolfpack: Sony’s Gaby Martinez, Bernarda Malaveda, Francesca Trullas and Andres Wolff, Shakira, Sony Music U.S. Latin President Alex Gallardo, and Sony’s Nerea Igualador, Karina Puente, Kary-An Diaz and Geller. (Nicolas Gerardin)
Shakira has become a symbol for the World Cup. What were the expectations leading up to the tournament?
The expectations were naturally very high. We wanted to build on the opportunity to capture the excitement, unity and emotion that make the World Cup such a unique event. That's an incredible moment but also a tremendous responsibility, and everyone involved, from Shakira and her team to our global teams and partners, shared that vision from the very beginning.
What difference did it make that the song was in English?
Launching the first version in English gave us an immediate global starting point. It allowed the song to reach audiences throughout FIFA's worldwide ecosystem simultaneously and created one unified version that fans around the world could experience together.
From the outset, we envisioned "Dai Dai" as a multilingual project. Releasing Spanish and Portuguese versions was an important part of connecting more deeply with many of football's most passionate audiences. So the English version established the song globally, while the additional versions created opportunities to deepen that connection in key markets. Together, they helped extend the song's reach and its cultural resonance around the world.
The song was #1 globally for nearly a month after the World Cup wrapped. What's happened since the final?
We never viewed the final as the finish line. It was just another major milestone in the campaign.
From the very beginning, the approach was to create a campaign that could evolve throughout the tournament and continue connecting with audiences long after the trophy was lifted. Every phase introduced new creative moments that kept fans engaged while expanding the song's reach beyond the World Cup itself.
The official video became one of the campaign's defining creative moments. Bringing together some of the biggest names in football, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Vinícius Júnior, Rodri, Luis Díaz and Shakira reflected the unique place she holds in both music and football culture while reinforcing the global scale of the campaign. At the same time, featuring the Ghetto Kids in the video and the final performance helped us connect with younger audiences and added another layer of energy, authenticity and cultural relevance that resonated with fans around the world.
Seeing the song continue to resonate after the tournament has been incredibly rewarding. It's become part of people's memories of this World Cup, and that's exactly what you hope for when you're creating music for a global moment like this.
The World Cup introduced the song to the world; fans around the world gave it a life of its own.
SML’s Claudia Peñas, Nerea Igualador, Karina Puente, Andres Wolff, Rebeca Luna, Nicolás Verrengia, Alejandra García, Marcela Ramírez, Geller and Kary-An Díaz. (Alessandro Martino)
What other projects have stood out this year for you and the team?
It's been an exciting year because we've seen incredible progress for both established global artists and the next generation of talent. Our focus continues to be long-term artist development and expanding the global reach and influence of Latin music.
One of our biggest priorities has been continuing to diversify our roster while creating opportunities for artists to grow in music, live experiences, film and the culture. That's where we believe long-term value is created for our artists, our partners and, most importantly, for fans.
With Shakira, we're continuing to build on the success of "Dai Dai" and looking ahead to the next chapter of her career. Her upcoming residency in Madrid, which has already sold more than 600,000 tickets, is another example of the extraordinary connection she has with audiences around the world.
On the emerging-artist side, Milo J has had an exceptional year. At just 19, he became the most-decorated artist in a single night in the history of Premios Gardel, earning 13 awards, including the Gardel de Oro.
We've also continued investing in música Mexicana through artists like Luis R. Conriquez, Natanael Cano, Oscar Maydon, Oscar Ortiz, Esau Ortiz, Tombochio and Mariangela, who we believe has tremendous potential to become one of the genre's leading female voices.
Beyond music, we're also expanding into premium storytelling. Through our collaboration with Rancho Humilde, we recently released Clika, our first feature film, which was distributed by Sony Pictures. It's a great example of how música Mexicana continues to evolve into a broader cultural movement that extends well beyond music.
The common thread is long-term artist development. We're not chasing one big moment at a time; we're building artists, careers and genres for the long run. The opportunities ahead for Latin music have never been greater, and we're excited to help shape that future together with our artists and partners.