Behind one of the most popular songs in the world right now is an uber-popular, 21-year-old influencer named Darren Watkins Jr., better known as “IShowSpeed.” His song, “World Cup (Champions),” has been booming from speakers in arenas across North America as the region hosts the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
But his song wouldn’t be there without an unlikely collaborator: An automotive CEO.
Olivier Francois, the CEO of Fiat and Stellantis’ chief advertising executive, is a credited songwriter of “World Cup (Champions)” — an unlikely honor for an automotive CEO and advertising executive.
Francois is a huge music fan, and his passion bleeds into his work as an advertiser. He has aptly soundtracked some of the Chrysler-parent company’s most iconic advertisements, placing legends such as Bob Dylan or Eminem behind the wheels of Chrysler cars. When not managing Fiat or the advertising campaigns for any of the 14 brands in the Stellantis portfolio, Francois is likely listening to music, he said. In fact, during prior interviews with the Detroit Free Press, Francois has paused the conversation to compare playlists with the reporter.
In an interview about a Jeep advertising campaign, Francois diverted the conversation once again to discuss an entirely separate topic: His musical collaboration with one of the most popular social media influencers alive.
Francois is a songwriter on a global World Cup hit, something no other automotive executive can claim. Here is how the CEO of Fiat and a key player in Stellantis’ corporate operations came to work with one of the most popular influencers in the world.
Wait, who is IShowSpeed?
Francois learned about IShowSpeed through the youth. If you have never heard of Darren Watkins Jr., a survey of the nearest middle school classroom will quickly reveal who “Speed,” as he’s called, is.
Francois learned of Watkins from his children and his own YouTube algorithm.
Francois, a powerful figure in the global automotive and advertising industries, said he has built connections to both the music industry and the FIFA organization during his career. He learned earlier in the year that FIFA was looking for artists to contribute to the official album of the 2026 World Cup after his musician friends asked him to pass along their songs to FIFA executives.
After forwarding a few MP4s from musicians to FIFA officials compiling the soundtrack, Francois asked if he could submit a song himself and was told: “Sure, why not?”
Francois said he learned that most of the artists already on the album were global superstars. With his own song, he wanted to offer something that subverted the mainstream sheen on the rest of the songs.
“I thought FIFA needed to give exposure to someone different,” Francois said. He recalls thinking: “We need a kid. Ideally, an American kid. Maybe not a real singer … but really a YouTuber, an influencer or someone like that.”
Then Francois’ children chimed in.
“My son immediately brought up IShowSpeed,” he said. “I knew IShowSpeed because he’s all over my daily life.”
Francois joked that the recommendations on his personal YouTube account had once consisted of videos about cars, boats and watches but have since been overtaken by Watkins’ antics since his children introduced the popular streamer’s content to him.
“I cannot not know IShowSpeed,” Francois said.
Few people under the age of 25, really, can say they do not know Watkins.
Born in Ohio, Watkins has garnered his millions of followers through livestreaming on YouTube. He began streaming from his home in Cincinnati (and later in Detroit, according to a 2024 profile of the streamer in Dazed Magazine) before rising to fame for his freakish athleticism and energetic demeanor while playing video games or sports. He’s wrestled in a WWE Royal Rumble, leapt over moving cars, raced (and almost beat) U.S. Gold Medalist Noah Lyles, and toured the globe, serving as an unofficial cultural ambassador, having livestreamed his visits to over 60 countries, according to some fan sites.
Of all the sports Watkins plays, though, he is most fond of soccer.
In 2022, Watkins released a different World Cup-themed song independently, outside of the auspices of FIFA. Titled “World Cup,” that song charted in several countries and netted over 200 million views as of July 2026.
Inspired by his kids, Francois said he made a few calls and eventually got in touch with Watkins’ manager (yes, influencers as large as Watkins often have managers).
Initially, Watkins was hesitant to contribute to the FIFA album, Francois said.
“In the beginning, he wasn’t even sure that he needed himself to be in the FIFA album,” Francois said. “He said, ‘I made a big phenomenon four years ago, and I was not recognized by FIFA.’ “
But after some “humble” suggestions from Francois, the two began working with several other well-connected record producers to make “World Cup (Champions).” It is now a viral hit with more than 80 million views on YouTube alone, and Francois has even higher hopes for the song.
The (un)official anthem?
Many World Cup songs, Francois argued, feature internationally famous artists performing broadly inspirational anthems. IShowSpeed’s track, by contrast, was written by someone immersed in soccer culture. Indeed, Watkins has become a prominent face in American soccer culture through a variety of soccer content, including a livestream with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in 2025.
“It really speaks of soccer,” Francois said. “It was written by a soccer fan.”
Francois said the composition was intentionally designed to become a stadium anthem rather than just another pop single.
“It is designed and written to be sung by the crowd,” Francois said, adding that he imagines fans from opposing nations joining together to sing the song inside stadiums before or after matches.
“There will be this moment of everyone singing the same song together,” he said. “The fans of Team A, the fans of Team B … everyone will sing together because it is so easy to sing.”
Indeed, the lyrics to the song are notably simple: “Put your flags up in the air / Put your hands up in the air / Put your flags up ’cause this is the World Cup,” goes the chorus.
That accessibility, Francois argued, is intentional.
“A kid, any kid, a 5-year-old can sing it. An older person who doesn’t even speak English can sing it,” he said.
Looking ahead, Francois said his ambitions for the song stretch well beyond simply appearing on FIFA’s official soundtrack.
Francois’ ultimate goal is to make “World Cup (Champions)” the defining song of the tournament.
“At every edition, there was one song,” Francois said, referencing Shakira’s “Waka Waka,” the official song of the 2010 World Cup. “I think there will be one song. I want that one to be the one.”
During the interview, Francois also expressed hope that IShowSpeed could eventually perform the song during a major World Cup event, though he declined to discuss specific plans publicly because he did not want to jeopardize ongoing conversations.
“I’m pushing hard for him to perform in some significant event,” Francois said before stopping himself from offering additional details.
No matter how popular the song gets — or on which stages it is performed — Francois said his collaboration with Watkins still has yet to garner total approval from his children.
Despite months of working behind the scenes with Watkins, Francois said he has never met him face-to-face because their schedules have not overlapped, even though both of them now live in Florida.
“My dream would be to just hug him and tell him how proud I am,” Francois said.
The fact that they haven’t met yet is personally upsetting, he said, but more so, it is disappointing for his kids.
“They said that Dad is a hero when he wrote that song with their idol,” he said. “But now, Dad is almost sounding like a fraud because he hasn’t been able to make a selfie with IShowSpeed.”
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: A top automotive exec is behind a viral streamer’s World Cup anthem
Reporting by Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
