Shawn Mendes
has officially joined the VIP list of 2018 World Cup songs. The superstar dropped a revamped version of “In
My Blood” as the official song for Portugal’s team on Wednesday, and it’ll make
you swoon upon just one listen.
Mendes released “In My Blood” featuring lyrics in Portuguese
exclusively to support the soccer team and to inspire the players, as well as
their fans.
It’s also the first time that Mendes sings in Portuguese,
thereby honoring his cultural heritage. Born in Canada, Shawn Mendes is a son
of a Portuguese immigrant, from the Algarve town of Lagos.
As for who the
popstar is rooting for? “I follow Portugal and England because of my parents,
who are from the two countries. In the World Cup I’m always cheering for
Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is my favorite player and probably one of
my biggest inspirations,” says Mendes, who also played soccer during his
childhood.
The defiant anthem,
which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year, was
commissioned by Portugal’s Football Federation and now has additional lyrics in
their native tongue. “I will believe! That we are going to make it, that we are
going to conquer,” he sings according to the translation . “We are Portugal. A
single voice and heart!”
Judging by the
Twitter response, Portuguese soccer fans are thrilled by Mendes’ World Cup
anthem.
Not
everyone was happy about Mendes’ anthem, primarily fans of Team Brazil, who
took to Twitter en masse to troll the singer with all manner of memes
supporting their team. – Agencies
