"Magic in the Air" is a 2014 single by Ivorian musical group Magic System, featuring Moroccan singer Chawki and produced by Moroccan producer RedOne. The track also appears on Magic System's album Africainement vôtre, released on 19 May 2014.

"Magic in the Air"
Single by Magic System featuring Chawki
from the album Africainement vôtre
LanguageFrench, English
ReleasedMarch 17, 2014
Recorded2014
GenrePop
Length3:53
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)RedOne
Magic System singles chronology
"Mamadou"
(2013)
"Magic in the Air"
(2014)
Ahmed Chawki singles chronology
"Habibi I Love You"
(2013)
"Magic in the Air"
(2014)
"Time of Our Lives"
(2014)
Music video
"Magic in the Air" on YouTube

Content

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The association football themed song focusing on African football was produced by American-Moroccan producer RedOne with the catchy refrain saying

On t'invite à la magie, y a pas de raccourci,
Oublie tes soucis, viens faire la folie
Feel the magic in the air, allez allez allez,
Levez les mains en l'air, allez allez allez.

which translates as "We invite you to the magic, and there are no shortcuts / Forget your worries, and come and join the madness / Feel the magic in the air, go on, go on, go on / Raise your hands in the air, go on, go on, go on".

The song was released in March 2014 to coincide with preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup scheduled for 12 June to 13 July of the same year. Despite the English title of the song, its lyrics are almost entirely in French.

The single became a commercial hit in France and Belgium, earning significant airplay in stadiums during football matches.[1]

It was played every time France scored a goal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which saw them win the whole tournament.

The song was sampled from Khaled's song C'est La Vie.

Music video

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A music video was also shot and released online on Magic System official YouTube account on 17 March 2014.

UNESCO literacy initiative

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As part of its literacy initiative, UNESCO launched a campaign for celebrity signing of FIFA-sanctioned footballs to be used in the 2014 World Cup. Many celebrities from the sports world, artists and politicians signed various balls to be sold in public auction between 4 and 14 June 2014, with all the proceeds from selling of these signed balls going to the alphabetization programme of the organization.

A promotional music video was also made in promoting the charity initiative with various participants signing the balls or playing football or symbolically "passing the ball" to other participants who would sign in their turn. Magic System official website posted direct links to individual signed balls to help in bidding for them.

The celebrities taking part included:

"Asalfo" (Salif Traoré) of Magic System is an Ambassador of Goodwill for UNESCO's literacy programme.

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[17] Gold 15,000*
France (SNEP)[18] Diamond 333,333

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Charts in France: Clip de "Magic in the Air" : Magic System nous réunit pour lever les mains en l'air (in French)
  2. ^ a b "Magic System Feat. Chawki – Magic In The Air" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  3. ^ "Magic System Feat. Chawki – Magic In The Air" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  4. ^ "Magic System Feat. Chawki – Magic In The Air" (in French). Ultratop Dance.
  5. ^ "Club 40". Make sure the chart date is "13/06/14". Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Magic System Feat. Chawki – Magic In The Air" (in French). Les classement single.
  7. ^ "Magic System Feat. Chawki – Magic In The Air" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  8. ^ "The Official Lebanese Top 20 - Magic System". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "June 6, 2014 – Luxembourg Digital Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  10. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100.
  11. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Dance Top 50.
  12. ^ "Top 5 Airplay TV". Polish Video Chart. ZPAV. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  13. ^ "Magic System Feat. Chawki – Magic In The Air". Swiss Singles Chart.
  14. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2014" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2014". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  18. ^ "French single certifications – Magic System feat. Ahmed Chawki – Magic in the Air" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 23 January 2024.