Business Description
By Joy Bhattacharjya
In 1984, Jean Paul Ze Bella, Dooh Belley, Luc Eyebe and Emile Kojidie, all members of Cameroon’s elite Presidential Guard decided that they had more to offer to the world than just their day jobs. They got together to form a musical group called Golden Sounds, which featured comical videos of them in military uniforms, stuffing their clothes with pillows to appear that they had fat stomachs and huge bottoms.
Golden Sounds would have faded into history if it wasn’t for a song they released in 1986 called Zangalewa that was a monster hit in Cameroon and made waves in the rest of Africa. It was also picked up across the Atlantic in Colombia where it was called ‘The Military’. 13 years later, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was inspired by her childhood favourite and adapted Zangalewa to make the most popular official song ever for a FIFA World Cup, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).
A smash hit across the world, with more than 10 million single sales, and more than a billion views on Youtube, Waka Waka gave the 2010 World Cup in Africa tremendous visibility around the world, and underlined the value of Official Songs in the promotion of World Cups. Waka Waka was the most successful in a series of World Cup songs, which really began with the 1962 World Cup in Chile. El Rock del Mundial by Los Ramblers was the first official song, but had limited playtime outside the country.
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Demonstration Videos
