Jennifer Lopez will not be performing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
According to FIFA officials, J. Lo will not be with Pitbull and Claudia Leitte as the big soccer tournament launches on June 12, 2014. Although no definite reason was given from Lopez's side, FIFA officials said that her absence is due to unspecified production issues. The representatives of the pop singer did not give more details about her backing out but only confirmed via email. The representatives stated, "We can confirm to the accuracy of FIFA's statement. Regretfully Jennifer Lopez will not be attending this year's World Cup opening ceremonies."
Prior to the withdrawal, Lopez was set to sing the official song of Brazil 2014, "We Are One (Ola Ola)" together with Cuban rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte. It would have been a memorable performance to see all Latin stars perform in the South American country. Their performance was scheduled before Croatia faces Brazil for the first game. In a report by E! Online, before the news of her absence at the World Cup, Lopez was at the listening party of her upcoming album "A.K.A.". She said, "The countdown is one!!! 10 days until #JLoAKA album release".
A lot of artists have been involved in the World Cup, particularly in the performance of the official song. In 2010, Shakira, a South American star, featured the song "WakaWaka" for the South African tournament. Pitbull has also worked with Enrique Iglesias and Christina Aguilera before to help in the project.
CNN reports that Pitbull said, "I'm honored to join Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte at the FIFA World Cup to bring the world together. I truly believe that this great game and the power of music will help unify us, because we are best when we are one."
According to Yahoo! Sports, the song "We Are One (Ola Ola)" seemed to have disappointed several Brazilians. According to the locals, the sound is too generic compared to the Bossa Nova tunes that they are used to. The song also involved too many foreign artists singing Spanish and English. Brazilians hoped that Leitte had more lines in the song singing in native Portuguese but she was limited only to a few seconds at the end.
It was not clear, however, whether the reason that Jennifer Lopez backed out at the last minute, was because Brazilians protested her appearance or wanted to see more of Leitte instead. Other speculations for her withdrawal included her preparations for the new album or her recent breakup with her boyfriend of two years, Casper Smart.