‘Shakira’s team was told we were AIDS orphans’ – Singer demands payment for Waka Waka

Singer Aux Alaio has sparked mixed reactions on Twitter after he revealed that he is still owed money for the 2010 FIFA World Cup hit song Waka Waka.

The single achieved massive global success and is currently sitting on over 3.5 billion views on YouTube.

On the song, Shakira features Mzansi’s popular music group, Freshlyground. The 26-year-old singer said he was one of the backup singers on the song. He said he was 13 at the time of the recording.

“I still haven’t received my royalties for singing backup on this song,” Aux wrote, responding to Pop Base after the social media blog tweeted that it has been 13 years since the song was released.

‘Shakira’s team was told that we were AIDS orphans’

Aux furthermore revealed that Shakira’s team was told that they were AIDS orphans. He said they were then given the best treatment and stayed with the multi-award-winning Colombian singer for weeks.

“The part that cracks me up is that Shakira’s team was told that we were AIDS orphans, and they pounced on us! Booked us the finest hotels, and we literally lived with Shakira for 2 weeks 😭😭.”

He also admitted that he did not read the contract as he was only 13 at the time.

He added: “But still, I want my coin. It would’ve been great to have been personally credited and paid for the work put in. It was multiple recording sessions, plus two tv performances, and a visual recording (that didn’t air). I’m certain our director (Ralph Schmidt) was paid for the gig”.

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Fans poke holes in Aux’s story

Many netizens sympathised with Aux, while others said they failed to understand why he is demanding royalties when he was just a backup singer on the song.

@Javars commented: “We live and we learn. Also, get yourself familiar with the works of @SAMROMusic and @CapassoHub next time you’ll know exactly what types of royalties are available and who’s entitled to them. All the best with your future endeavors”.

@thandomipa said: “So you never received a once-off payment for your participation? Or there is more due to you, but you never received it? Because backup singers don’t get royalties”.

However, Shakira and her team have not responded to Aux’s claims.

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