Oh Africa
Encyclopedia
"Oh Africa" is a song performed by the artist Akon featuring Keri Hilson
. The song is a charity single and was released to raise funds for Akon's charity 'Konfidence' to aid underprivileged children in Africa. The song was released as a digital download on 52nd Grammy Awards
night, January 31, 2010, along with the video. The Soweto Gospel Choir
and young singers from many countries are also featured on the single. The footballers Thierry Henry
, Didier Drogba
, Kaká
, Fernando Torres
, Lionel Messi
, Frank Lampard
, Michael Ballack
and Andrei Arshavin make cameo appearances in the music video.
debut album In a Perfect World...
, and the non-album track "Mic Check", the latter of which was produced by Timbaland
. Pepsi
has announced this as one of the official 2010 World Cup
Theme Songs.
then starts singing as more scenes of the drum players is shown. Keri starts singing as the screen is shown being decorated with moving paint in front of her. Akon
shows up again with a young african choir, singing with a sunset background. Other various people are also shown. Then scene skips to the body paint room were different people are shown with their face painted, a different country for each as they sing along. Akon
is also shown dancing with Keri in the room with the moving paint between scenes. More Keri shows as she sings as the choir scene comes up variously. A scene also shows Keri with the choir. The Footballers Thierry Henry
, Didier Drogba
, Kaká
, Fernando Torres
, Lionel Messi
, Frank Lampard
, Michael Ballack
and Andrei Arshavin then are shown kicking water ballon like footballs hitting the wall as images appear of them, with similar body paint found on the single cover. Images of other scenes are also shown e.g. The african choir and Keri lying on a Zebra pattern like cover. The end shows a wall with the footballers cheering. VFX for "Oh Africa" were created by Baked FX
.
Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
. The song is a charity single and was released to raise funds for Akon's charity 'Konfidence' to aid underprivileged children in Africa. The song was released as a digital download on 52nd Grammy Awards
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
night, January 31, 2010, along with the video. The Soweto Gospel Choir
Soweto Gospel Choir
-History:The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30+ member ensemble blends elements of African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae, and American popular music...
and young singers from many countries are also featured on the single. The footballers Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
, Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...
, Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...
, Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....
, Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
, Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern...
and Andrei Arshavin make cameo appearances in the music video.
Release
The song is the third song performed by these two artists, the first being "Change Me" featured on Keri'sKeri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
debut album In a Perfect World...
In a Perfect World...
In a Perfect World... is the debut studio album of American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson, released March 24, 2009 on Zone 4. Originally planned for a 2007 release, it was pushed back numerous times into 2009, amid her label's budget issues and minor single releases...
, and the non-album track "Mic Check", the latter of which was produced by Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
. Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
has announced this as one of the official 2010 World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
Theme Songs.
Music video
A music video has been filmed and was released on Grammy Awards night on 31 January 2010. Directed by Gil Green, it starts off by showing a colourful room with a map of Africa, which then shows 4 people appearing playing drums with dust shooting up from them. They also appear wearing body paint with the same pattern as the wall. AkonAkon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
then starts singing as more scenes of the drum players is shown. Keri starts singing as the screen is shown being decorated with moving paint in front of her. Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
shows up again with a young african choir, singing with a sunset background. Other various people are also shown. Then scene skips to the body paint room were different people are shown with their face painted, a different country for each as they sing along. Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
is also shown dancing with Keri in the room with the moving paint between scenes. More Keri shows as she sings as the choir scene comes up variously. A scene also shows Keri with the choir. The Footballers Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
, Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...
, Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...
, Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....
, Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
, Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
, Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern...
and Andrei Arshavin then are shown kicking water ballon like footballs hitting the wall as images appear of them, with similar body paint found on the single cover. Images of other scenes are also shown e.g. The african choir and Keri lying on a Zebra pattern like cover. The end shows a wall with the footballers cheering. VFX for "Oh Africa" were created by Baked FX
Baked FX
BAKED FX, formerly Baked Goods, is a boutique visual effects / post-production facility located in Culver City, CA. The company provides VFX and editorial services for the industry’s top directors, producers, production companies and ad agencies....
.
Tracklisting
- "Oh Africa"
- "Oh Africa" (Instrumental)
- "Oh Africa" (Video)
- "Oh Africa" (Making Of The Commercial)
- "Oh Africa" (Making Of The Song)
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | January 31, 2010 | Digital Download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... , CD Single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |