'The Song Holan Sang' Tops Streaming Charts! "Football Is Now a Side Hustle; My Main Job Is Singing"... Even He Was Surprised by the 'Reverse Popularity'

*This content was translated by AI.

The "monster striker" Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway), who has been wildly scoring goals at the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup, has also taken over music streaming charts.

Music specialty outlet DJ Mag reported on the 10th (Korean time) that "Haaland's rap track reached number one on Spotify's Norway Top 50 chart after a remix by world-famous DJ Kygo."

According to reports, Haaland recorded the rap song 'Kygo Jo' in 2016 with his former Norway U-17 national team teammates Erik Botheim and Erik Tobias Sandberg. They jokingly formed a rap trio called 'Flow Kings' and even filmed a music video. At the time, Haaland also appeared in the music video, showing off a cheerful side by riding a children's toy car and performing slow-motion dance moves.

The reason this song, which had remained as an old memory, gained renewed attention was the North America World Cup. DJ Kygo promised to release a remix version of 'Kygo Jo' if Haaland scored against Brazil in the Round of 16. Haaland successfully scored against Brazil, the "eternal favorites," and Norway pulled off a major upset by defeating Brazil 2-1. With this victory, Norway advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals. This is their best-ever performance, surpassing the Round of 16 finish at the 1998 France World Cup.

Kygo kept his promise. He released a remix version featuring Haaland's original voice. The track received immense attention after its release and climbed to number one on Spotify's Norway Top 50 chart. It is also reported to be garnering strong interest on YouTube.

Haaland himself seemed surprised by the unexpected popularity. He wrote on his social media, "I did it. Thank you, Kygo. So now am I officially an artist?" Kygo wittily retorted, "Part-time is football player, full-time is artist." The outlet reported that this comment received about 150,000 'likes.'

In fact, Haaland's love for music is not new. In a social media Q&A in 2020, he revealed that if he hadn't become a footballer, he would have wanted to be a rapper or a farmer. He has previously shown his affection for music on several occasions. His visit to a concert by world-famous rapper Drake was captured, and after matches in this tournament, he also met American hip-hop star Travis Scott.

Having achieved his dream of becoming a singer, Haaland's next goal is the World Cup title and the top scorer award. Haaland has scored seven goals at the North America World Cup, placing him third in the scoring standings. He is closely chasing joint leaders Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina) and Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, France), who both have eight goals.

Norway has also emerged as the biggest dark horse of this tournament. Just by defeating Brazil in the Round of 16, one can sense their momentum. Led by Haaland, Norway will now face England in the quarterfinals.

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*This content was translated by AI.