A rap song from his teenage years, a bet with Kygo, and a brace against Brazil: how Erling Haaland landed at number one on Norway's Spotify charts in the middle of the World Cup.
Kygo had made a promise: if Erling Haaland scored in the round of 16 against Brazil, he would release his remix of “Kygo jo”, the rap song Haaland recorded in 2016 as a 15-year-old.
Haaland scored twice, Norway knocked Brazil out 2-1, and two days later Kygo delivered: “As promised,” the DJ wrote about the release.
The backstory begins ten years ago in Bryne. Haaland, then a youth player at his hometown club, recorded a song with his friends Erik Botheim and Erik Tobias Sandberg under the name Flow Kingz, using a free beat produced in the style of Kygo, at the time Norway's biggest musical export.
The title “Kygo jo” was a tongue-in-cheek nod to the DJ. Haaland took the chorus and later explained the musical detour dryly: “We were a bit bored, so we decided to make a rap song.” The video now counts 21 million views on YouTube.
Haaland and Kygo: a teenage joke becomes a World Cup anthem
The song sat online for ten years, then Kygo made something of it again: he wrapped his promise in an Instagram reel, posted shortly before kickoff against Brazil, and Haaland needed only a few hours to respond: “Release it ASAP.”
The striker held up his end of the deal on the pitch, and Kygo followed through, officially releasing the track as “Kygo jo (feat. Lyng) [Kygo Remix].” Lyng is Haaland's rap alias from back then.
The remix climbed to number one on Norway's Spotify charts, and the man behind the mic checked in on X: “Does this mean I'm officially an artist now?” His old bandmates have also become professional footballers: Botheim plays for Malmö FF, Sandberg for Icelandic side ÍA.
Norway in the quarter-finals: England on Saturday
The remix has become the soundtrack to a historic World Cup 2026 tournament, with Norway in the quarter-finals at their first World Cup since 1998.
On Saturday, they face England in Miami, and there's a second song riding high in Norway too: “Never Going Home” by Kungs, recently used by Haaland in an Instagram post, is finding new love five years after its release. No wonder: right now, nobody in Norway really wants to go home.
