Amid all the drama and controversy surrounding this year's Copa America, our rounds have seen a different kind of news emerge: how the world's oldest international soccer tournament is bringing niche Latin American music genres to new audiences in North America.
Soccer is becoming increasingly ingrained in American culture, and its growing popularity was reflected in viewership figures for this year's tournament. According to The Hollywood Reporter, both Fox and Univision saw record-breaking viewership for the Euro 2024 and Copa America finals. The Spain vs. England match drew a combined 9.43 million viewers on Sunday afternoon, while Argentina vs. Colombia's primetime win averaged a combined 11.63 million viewers across both networks. Fox drew more than 6 million viewers for both matches, making them the network's most-watched soccer coverage in its history outside of the World Cup.
The Copa America's record viewership was also reflected on TikTok, where the hashtag #CopaAmerica2024 garnered 71.5 million views. According to data compiled by Round Technology, which is able to collect unique data from social media platforms, the United States accounted for 13% of content production on TikTok about the tournament, second only to Mexico's 15%. While conversations on the social platform initially revolved around what was happening on the pitch, they then saw spectators interact with Latin music more than ever before, showing how central music has become to the tournament.
This year, Shakira's halftime performance at the Copa America final infused the event with Latin culture, despite Colombia national team coach Néstor Lorenzo's initial reservations about extending the halftime break (soccer tournaments don't typically have halftime shows, and if they do, they never last more than 15 minutes), while Colombia's musical elite converged on the tournament's final, featuring artists like Fayed, Ryan Castro, Karol G, Maluma, Blessed, Camilo, Fonseca and Juanes, who collectively have more than 250 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
On TikTok, three songs stood out as being firmly popular among the platform's users: “Punteria” by Shakira (the official song of the Televisa Univision broadcast of the tournament), the reggaeton “El Ritmo Que Nos Une” by Ryan Castro (the official song of the Colombian team) and the Brazilian funk tune “Vem Quebrando” by MC Danon. Together, these songs have been used in around 550,000 TikTok videos since the tournament began on June 21. By comparison, across the pond in Europe, the official Euros song, “FIRE” by Meduza, OneRepublic and Leonie, inspired just 70,000 video creations, while England's unofficial national anthem, “Three Lions (It's Coming Home)”, attracted 64,000 video creations during the tournament.
The Copa America's surprising success on TikTok, coupled with its growing connection to music, has been a game-changer for artists by bringing attention to new genres, such as “Vem Quebrando,” a Brazilian funk song made popular by Colombian midfielder Richard Rios, who performs a TikTok dance related to the song every time he scores.
MC Danone's first recording, “Vem Quebrando,” skyrocketed in popularity, garnering over 85 million plays and highlighting the potential for a niche genre to reach a wider audience. With 1.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, MC Danone is demonstrating how local Latin American sounds can reach American audiences through soccer, and ultimately, TikTok has the potential to make or break the event's impact.
Copa America 2024 shows that football is more than just a game, bringing the sport further into North American homes and introducing the rich fabric of Latin American music to new audiences.
Once the dust settles from Copa America 2024, attention will shift to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With soccer expected to continue to grow in popularity in the United States, the tournament will be a great opportunity for local Latin American sounds to reach American audiences. TikTok and other UGC platforms will undoubtedly be a key driver of these hyper-local sounds, providing a pathway for a new wave of genres to succeed in the North American market.
Ray Uskata is Managing Director, North and South America at Round, a tech-enabled digital agency that harnesses content, creators and community to put the world's leading brands and artists at the heart of culture.