The first Official Song to become famous was "World Cup Willie", a song about the Official Mascot (a lion) of the 1966 FIFA World Cup™ held in England. Since then, together with the Official Mascots, the Official Music Programme has become more and more a significant component and an integral part of the FIFA World Cup™, providing an excellent opportunity for more than just the deep-rooted football fans to identify with the event. For the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™, FIFA has decided to add a few elements and build an Official Music Programme instead of just issuing a song.
The international Official Album "Fever Pitch" featured tracks from artists representing numerous countries that qualified for the final stages of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. The international Official Song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™, "boom" was written especially for the occasion by Anastacia and Glen Ballard. The Official Anthem was composed by world-renowned Greek artist Vangelis and contains traditional Korean music from Kim Duk Soo's SamulNori, and traditional Japanese drumming from Kodo.
Also, a Special Charity Project featuring 45 renowned football players of the world such as Zidane, Totti and M'Boma with the song title 'Live For Love United' by Love United is released on the International Official album. The song was written by of the acclaimed French songwriter Pascal Obispo. Behind this project lies Pascal Obispo's love of football and his commitment to the battle against AIDS. Profits from 'Live For Love United' will go to the "Ensemble Contre le Sida" (Together Against AIDS) charity. In addition, other artists from the 32 participating countries/regions can be found on the International Official Album, such as Jennifer Lopez (U.S.), G.O.D (Korea), Mondo Grosso (Japan), Lara Fabian (Belgium), a1 (England), Nelly Furtado (Portugal), Die Toten Hosen (Germany), OV7 (Mexico), Monica Naranjo (Spain) and Bongo Maffin (South Africa).
Besides the International Official Album, the Official Korea / Japan Album of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ was released, presenting artists from the two host countries. The Local Official Song, "let's get together now" is an example of modern Asian music at its finest and a collaboration between four bands - two from Korea and two from Japan. The song by the bands Brown Eyes and Lena Park (Korea) and CHEMISTRY and Sowelu (Japan) reflects the new era beginning in both host nations of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ and allows Korea and Japan to showcase the modern aspects of their rich cultures. The joint Korean/Japanese production served as a symbol of mutual goodwill and the passion both countries share for football.
All artists of the Official Music Programme were artists of Sony Music, with which FIFA entered a licensing agreement, and were selected by FIFA together with Sony Music. Sony Music produced and released the Official Music of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ and distributed the albums on a global basis through its network of worldwide affiliates.
In addition, two concerts with live performances of the artists of the Official Albums were organised. They were held on 27 June 2002 (Official International Album performances) and 28 June 2002 (Official Korea/Japan Album performances) in the Tokyo stadium in Tokyo/Japan.