HAUSER Releases "Waka Waka," a Cello Take on Shakira's World Cup Hit

Croatian cellist HAUSER released his version of "Waka Waka," Shakira's official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, on September 16, 2022, together with an official music video. The track is the grand finale of his solo dance album The Player on Sony Music Masterworks, and GROOVE Media handled social media content creation and promotion for both the single and the video.

About the Song

Shakira's original, "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" featuring South African group Freshlyground, was named the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and performed at the tournament's closing ceremony. HAUSER keeps the celebratory spirit of the Afropop anthem and rebuilds the arrangement around his cello, surrounding it with bold brass, bright strings and driving rhythms. The recording also features the Bongi Duma choir, the same choir heard in Disney's The Lion King, whose harmonies give the cover its joyful lift.

HAUSER explained the idea in simple terms: "With 'Waka Waka' I wanted to take cultures from all around the world and bring them together." He has described the session with the choir as a moment of love, unity and pure joy.

About the Album The Player

The Player is HAUSER's full-length solo dance album, released the same day as the "Waka Waka" video. Its 12 tracks explore Latin pop, jazz and dance favorites, from "Sway" and "Livin' la Vida Loca" to "Bésame Mucho" and "Let's Get Loud," before closing with "Waka Waka." Producer Steven Mercurio, whose credits include Luciano Pavarotti, Chick Corea, Andrea Bocelli and Sting, shaped the lush, brass-heavy arrangements, and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra performs on every track.

The record marked a bold change of direction after Classic, HAUSER's 2020 album that topped Billboard's Traditional Classical Albums chart. HAUSER has said he wanted to spotlight real musicians at a time when so much music is made artificially.

The Music Video

The official "Waka Waka" music video is a colorful, dance-driven celebration that mirrors the song's blend of global sounds and its message of unity. Watch it above or on HAUSER's official YouTube channel, stream the single on Spotify, or listen to the full album through HAUSER's official The Player link.

GROOVE Media and HAUSER

"Waka Waka" was one of the releases GROOVE Media supported during its work with HAUSER. From 2022 to 2025, GROOVE Media founder Afsheen Khosraviani ran social media for HAUSER, managing the official HAUSER accounts on every platform as well as the HAUSER Music Foundation accounts. In 2022 Khosraviani also launched the HAUSER Shorts YouTube channel from zero; it has since reached 148,000 subscribers and 16.3 million lifetime views. During that period HAUSER's TikTok grew from zero to 1.4 million followers and his Instagram climbed from 1.8 million to 4.1 million followers in under two years.

Read the full story in the HAUSER social media case study, or see how the partnership continued with HAUSER's album Classic II.