“We Are The World (Rep Your Country)” Najjah Calibur achieves milestone by hosting FIFA World Cup

BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

The 2022 FIFA World Cup has achieved many milestones. The first was Qatar becoming the first Middle Eastern country to host the FIFA World Cup games. Some of the other milestones involved Canadian contributions to the games.

After a 36-year hiatus, the Canadian soccer team made its return to the FIFA World Cup. And on top of that, Canadian R&B/Pop artist and songwriter, Najjah Calibur hosted the soccer tournament.

Calibur also achieved another milestone during the event when his newly released single, We Are The World (Rep Your Country), became an anthem for this year’s FIFA World Cup. The single would receive praise from crowds, as it would play at each World Cup stadium for this year’s FIFA events.

For Calibur, having his song be one of many songs to be played at stadiums during the FIFA World Cup is a mind-blowing experience.

When finding out he was given the offer to perform at the finals, Calibur said the news was unbelievable.

“It’s going from the song playing in the stadium, which is amazing to see, to performing the song in the stadium in the finals,” said Calibur.

The performance featured Will. I. Am as the headliner and Calibur doing his performance before the pre-match.

The inspiration for the song, We Are The World (Rep Your Country), came from Calibur’s love and pure joy for soccer. Calibur grew up playing soccer and went to Cleveland State University where he played in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Soccer League.

“I get the best of both worlds. I get to entertain, watch, and be involved with my favourite sport,” said Calibur.

The song, We Are The World (Rep Your Country), is all about connecting with people and representing their country at the World Cup through joy and celebration. The song is also about the beauty of everyone uniting together from every country to enjoy the most popular sport around the world as one.

Calibur also touched on how some people take this game very seriously, like a religion. People have sold their houses so they can take part in the FIFA World Cup celebration, which happens every four years.

Coming from a Grenadian family, music has always been part of Calibur’s life. Every weekend his: parents, uncles, and aunts would have get-togethers filled with music. These get-togethers would be filled with positive energy, vibrations, and a euphoric feel as the family would have a good time with one another.

 “It was just contagious to us,” said Calibur.

This led to Calibur and his little cousins creating dance routines they would perform in front of their parents when they were kids. From there, Calibur went on to create a rap group and joined a band that created music that was infused with: rock, reggae, blues, and funk before becoming a solo artist. “It all stemmed from the joy of music bringing my family together,” said Calibur.

Being part of the World Cup celebrations for Calibur is a great gateway for opportunities. Calibur is now looking into management and booking agencies so he can move forward more strategically.

“You will see me on TV one day, and you will hear me on the radio one day,” said Calibur, who is putting in the work to see his career continue to flourish even further in 2023.