MIES (Switzerland) - Global multi-platinum recording artist Jason Derulo releases the official FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 anthem “Champion” featuring China’s soul queen Tia Ray.

The International Basketball Federation, FIBA, first teamed up with Jason Derulo and global sporting icon Kobe Bryant earlier in the year at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Draw, presented by Wanda.
 
The star-studded show took place on Saturday, March 16, in the Chinese city of Shenzhen which marked an important milestone in FIBA’s Road to China 2019, as it set out the path for the participating teams in their journey to win the Naismith Trophy.
 
This is the 18th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, hosted for the first time in China. The world's top players from the 32 best national teams will battle it out in eight Chinese cities from August 31 - September 15 to be crowned FIBA Basketball World Cup Champions. To celebrate this unique occasion, FIBA brought together two world class artists to create the first official anthem.

Listen to the song here or view on YouTube.  

 
Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Secretary General, said: "As the count down to the FIBA Basketball World Cup gets even closer, we're excited to have two world famous artists be part of this historic event. Thanks to this song, fans from all over the world will be united in celebration for the World Cup from now until the final in Beijing.”

Jason Derulo grew up playing basketball and making music from a young age. His connection to basketball and his worldwide presence in pop culture made him an easy choice as the first global superstar in history to represent FIBA in creating their first official anthem. “Basketball is a huge part of my life, so it’s been a great honor to team up with FIBA to create this song”, Derulo said.

Tia Ray, also known as Yuan Yawei, has amassed over 4 billion streams globally with her songs. She’s known in China for pioneering new genres of music. Her versatile voice represents a new generation of Chinese artists who can crossover from traditional to contemporary international, and from Chinese pop to fusion soul.

The powerhouse duo proves to be a perfect match with their melodic vocals and inspiring lyrics. Derulo, also sings in impressively proper Mandarin for parts of the song.

The collaboration represents a true convergence of East meets West. It is a celebration of champions across the world, representing unity amongst basketball players and fans alike across cultures and continents. 

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About FIBA

FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 213 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
 
The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 18^th FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan from 31 August 2019 to 15 September 2019, which will have 32 teams participating for the first time.

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About Jason Derulo:
With 130 million records sold worldwide, Jason Derulo is a multi-platinum powerhouse singer, songwriter, and entertainer whose most recent hit “Goodbye" with David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj and Willy William has over 173 million streams on Spotify alone. His breakout single "Whatcha Say" has now earned 5x platinum status while "Talk Dirty," "Want To Want Me" and "Ridin' Solo" [feat. 2 Chainz] have reached quadruple-platinum status. "Wiggle" [feat. Snoop Dogg] went triple-platinum, and "Trumpets" and "In My Head" earned double-platinum certifications. Platinum singles include "Marry Me," "The Other Side," "It Girl," "Get Ugly," and "Don't Wanna Go Home." 

Cumulative streams continue to soar, exceeding 15 billion overall and more than 5.7 billion YouTube views. At radio, his music has impacted a total audience of 22 billion-plus listeners with a staggering 4.4 billion spins. Jason was a featured performer for the Monday Night Football theme, is an investor in many enterprises, including Catch L.A. and Rumble Boxing with Sylvester Stallone and Ashton Kutcher, and he has a partnership with Warner Chappell Music with his publishing company, Future History.

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About Tia Ray:
Tia Ray’s music has been inspired by the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, India Arie and Ray Charles(hence her name Tia Ray). Her vocals have touched the hearts of many, particularly “Be Apart”, (theme song for Chinese box office hit “The Ex-file: The Return Of The Exes”) which topped all charts and set a record of 1.8 billion clicks, making her a household name. This song is one of the best-selling digital singles globally of 2018, awarded by IFPI, the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Tia is the only Asian singer on the list. Her songs have been streamed globally over 4 billion times.

She released her second album “TIARA” in April 2018 which re-defined next generation of C-pop and sealed her position as the Queen of Soul-Pop in China.

Her soulful rendition of the classic Chinese favorite tune ”The Curvy Moon” on The Voice Of China brought public attention to this young talent with a big voice from a small town. She then released her debut album <T.I.A.> in November 2014. She represents a new generation of Chinese artists who can crossover from traditional to the contemporary, from Chinese pop to international fusion to soul.