"Wavin' Flag" is a song by Somali-Canadian artist K'naan from his album Troubadour. The song was originally written for Somalia and aspirations of its people for freedom. The original single was a hit in Canada and reached number two on the Canadian Hot 100 as the second official single from the album, after the single "ABCs", a minor hit. After an earthquake in Haiti in 2010, a remake of the song by an ad hoc supergroup of Canadian artists, credited as Young Artists for Haiti, became a charity single in Canada, reaching number one on the Canadian Hot 100 in its own right.
The song became a global hit when it was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa. This amended international version with additional lyrics reached the top ten in more than twenty different charts around the world. The English version was released as "Wavin' Flag (Celebration Mix)" by K'naan to differentiate it from the original Canadian hit or from the Canadian Haiti charity hit. The Spanish cover featuring David Bisbal became very popular. A version of the song featuring will.i.am and David Guetta was targeted for international markets. Many other bilingual and country-specific versions were released, such as the Brazilian version featuring Skank singing in Portuguese.
In 2012, K'naan published a children's book, When I Get Older: The Story Behind Wavin' Flag, about the song and its history.
Original single
The original single of "Wavin' Flag" appeared originally on his album Troubadour. The single reached number two on the Canadian Hot 100 as the second official single from the album, which was produced by Kerry Brothers Jr. and Bruno Mars. K'naan first performed the song acoustically live on Q TV, where he gave viewers a preview of Troubadour prior to its release. The lyrics of the original version are about the struggle of refugees displaced by war, with references to K'naan's native Somalia, in comparison to the later version used for the World Cup, where the lyrics were rewritten in a more celebratory tone.
Charts
Young Artists for Haiti
In 2010, the song was remade by a supergroup of Canadian artists, credited as Young Artists for Haiti, as a charity single to benefit relief efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The charity single was spearheaded by producer Bob Ezrin, engineered by Mike Fraser and was reworked to include specific lyrics for Haiti, including a rap solo by Drake. It was released on 12 March 2010 with proceeds going to Free the Children, War Child Canada and World Vision Canada. This new version went straight to number one on the Canadian charts.
Participating soloists included K'naan, Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts, Avril Lavigne, Pierre Bouvier, Tyler Connolly, Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, Lights, Deryck Whibley, Serena Ryder, Jacob Hoggard, Emily Haines, Hawksley Workman, Drake, Chin Injeti, Ima, Pierre Lapointe, Elisapie Isaac, Esthero, Corb Lund, Fefe Dobson, Nikki Yanofsky, Matt Mays, Justin Nozuka, and Justin Bieber. Performing the chorus were Arkells, Lamar Ashe, Broken Social Scene, Torquil Campbell, Canadian Tenors, Aion Clarke, City and Colour, Tom Cochrane, Jim Cuddy, Jim Creeggan, Kathleen Edwards, Dave Faber, Jessie Farrell, Colin James, Pat Kordyback, Brandon Lehti, Colin MacDonald, Jay Malinowski, Stacey McKitrick, Suzie McNeil, Stephan Moccio, Kevin Parent, Josh Ramsay, Red 1, Hayley Sales, James Shaw, and Shiloh. Students from Vancouver high schools Lord Byng Secondary and Magee Secondary also voluntarily participated by playing together as an orchestra. A music video was shot for the charity single at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In March 2011, the single won a Juno award for "Single of the Year".
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Coca-Cola Celebration Mix
In 2010, a remix of the song, titled the "Celebration Mix", was recorded for use as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa. This version reached number one in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and number two in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.