Jelly Roll’s World Cup song torn apart as trolls slam ‘worst song I’ve heard in a while’

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The first official song of the 2026 World Cup has been released, but it hasn’t exactly scored for fans.

The World Cup is just months away, with the USA, Canada, and Mexico hosting this summer’s competition. It will be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, up from 32 in the previous tournament.

Ahead of the tournament getting underway in North America on July 11, FIFA finally released the first official song of the World Cup, with Jelly Roll collaborating with Carin Leon. The two artists have linked up for a new track titled Lighter.

The collaboration sees Jelly’s country and Southern-influenced style tie in with Carin’s Mexican sound, symbolising a global and multicultural vibe that the tournament aims to deliver. It also features production from Canada’s Cirkut, who won the 2026 Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.

This never-before-done album was first teased by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who promised a “magical” project to celebrate the game.

However, it appears the magical element was completely missed, according to fans.

Under a preview of the song shared on X, one user blasted, “This song sounds bad does not fit the world cup vibe at all,” as a second agreed, “What in the American country crap is this, I want a real World Cup song.”

“Ohhh my god bro, what the hell is this?” a third fumed, prompting someone else to go as far as to say, “Yeah, let’s cancel this year’s World Cup, shall we?”d fumed, prompting someone else to go as far as to say, “Yeah lets cancel this years world cup shall we?”

A firth chimed in, pointed out, “Worst song I’ve heard in a while, this ain’t a Texas rodeo, it’s the World Cup,” followed by three sad face emojis.

Carin Leon is also featured on the track (Image: Getty)

Many were quick to compare the song to Shakira’s Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), which was the Official 2010 FIFA World Cup song that is still popular to this day.

Not everyone was up in arms over the new track, one user argued, “Jelly Roll and Carín León actually feels like a fresh crossover country grit meeting Mexican regional vibes could hit different during those late knockout nights. Curious to hear how they blend the energy.

This backlash over Jelly’s contribution comes after even more uproar after he was accused of being pro-MAGA after he refused to speak out on the controversial ICE protests at the Grammys earlier this month.

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