This may yet be K-Pop’s year! With South Korean bands gaining recognition and breaking records around the world, K-pop will also be taking over the World Cup final.
On July 4, FIFA World Cup opened a voting poll on social media, allowing users to choose the song they want heard inside the World Cup stadium.
After a fierce 24-hour voting battle, it was officially confirmed that BTS’ Fake Love and EXO’s Power will both be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15.
As soon as the poll went live on Twitter, #FIFAxEXOPower and #BTSxFIFAWorldCup were trending worldwide and EXO was initially announced the winner, beating BTS as well as strong contenders like J Balvin’s Mi Gente and Zedd’s The Middle feat. Marren Morris and Grey.
“After 3,233,207 votes in 24 hours (bonkers) & repeat global #1 trending hashtags, the vote has concluded. Think we owe fans of both BTS & EXO a big thank you,” tweeted Alex Stone, FIFA’s social media manager.
Although both K-Pop bands took the lead with 48 per cent votes each on Twitter, BTS’s song which won a separate poll on Instagram over Avicii’s Hey Brother and K’Naan’s Waving Flag, also qualified to be played at the World Cup final.
“Great news. We also ran a poll on Instagram. Fans of both groups are winners! Enjoy the rest of the day/evening,” he added.
