MUMBAI: Waka fever explodes worldwide and takes over YouTube and iTunes with Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)...

Waka Fever has caught on around the globe. Immediately following Shakira's headline performance of the official FIFA World Cup song Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)... at the kick-off concert of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the song has exploded onto the scene with the music video quickly becoming one of the most-viewed clips on YouTube and the song anchoring the #1 spot on charts in over 15 countries.

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)... has gone #1 in over 15 countries, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland. In Mexico, it has held the #1 spot for 5 weeks in a row  The song—which will also be performed by Shakira at the closing ceremonies of the World Cup finals—is the top selling single on digital and mobile platforms in nearly all countries in which it is available for purchase.

The official music video has become an Internet sensation, with over 15 million views on YouTube (averaging 2 million visits per day)  The video captures the multicultural spirit of the World Cup, featuring dancers and musicians from countries around the globe as well as key players from several countries:  Leo Messi (Argentina), Dani Alves (Brazil), Gerard Pique (Spain), Rafa Marquez (Mexico) and Carlos Kameni (Cameroon).The players wear Shakira's Waka Waka T-shirts sold during the World Cup period by Mango, with proceeds going to supply aid to primary schools in South Africa. The video introduces the Waka Waka... dance, which has been imitated by over 83 fan-organized flash mobs in 55 countries, as a show of support for 1GOAL, for which Shakira is an official ambassador.

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)... is featured on the official World Cup album Listen Up!,... whose proceeds will go to 20 Centers for 2010,... an initiative to achieve social change via the construction of twenty Football for Hope... community centers throughout Africa  The song is inspired by the 1986 global hit Zangalewa... by the group Golden Sounds of Cameroon. The song features Zolani Mahola of the South African group Freshlyground, singing in Xhosa, one of the official languages of South Africa.

Shakira remembered hearing Zangalewa... during her childhood in Colombia and thought of it immediately upon being asked by Sony to record a song for the World Cup. She adds, The music of my country is linked to the music of Africa through an umbilical cord. That's why I decided to use this song as a symbol of the integration of cultures coming together, which is what both South Africa and the World Cup represent to me....