The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers will soon play against each other at the 2025 NFL São Paulo game on Sept. 5 — and Luísa Sonza is coming along.
Ahead of the big game set to be broadcast live on YouTube from the Corinthians Arena in Brazil, the Brazilian singer-songwriter — who was honored as a Global Force at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards — teamed up with the Kansas City Chiefs to release a reimagined Portuguese version of Tech N9ne’s “Red Kingdom,” Billboard can exclusively announce today (Aug. 28).
The song, originally released in 2019 by the Kansas City-based rapper, has become an anthem for the team and their loyal fans known as Chiefs Kingdom.
“‘Red Kingdom’ has been such a staple song,” Lara Krug, Kansas City Chiefs executive VP and CMO, tells Billboard. “It was something that the community gravitated to, and therefore, we as an organization too. We’ve used it in our in-game experience, and it’s become a big part of fans’ playlist on the way to the game. To now have this reimagined version with Luísa, provides a fun and fresh angle to it. Just having her female voice adds a different dimension to it.”
The original track fuses rock with hip-hop and its lyrical content is about winning big and having team pride. Sonza’s version stays truthful to the song’s sentiment, but is amped by a hard-hitting Brazilian Funk beat, powered by lyrics in Portuguese.
“Luísa was our first choice when we had this idea,” Krug explains. “To find someone like her and make it true to who the Chiefs are and what the song is, with that authentic Brazilian angle and voice, felt like the perfect marriage. We were starstruck that she was willing to partner with us. Through that quick creative process, we trusted her and her team on creating the best version of ‘Red Kingdom,’ and making it special for the Brazilian fans.”
With the mission of turning the Chiefs into “the world’s team,” Krug says the organization is looking forward to playing in Brazil next month, where Karol G will headline the halftime show during YouTube’s first exclusive NFL live broadcast.
“We know how passionate fans are over there. We’re excited to build campaigns that hopefully speak to the Brazilian fans and welcome them to the [Chiefs] Kingdom,” she notes.
Watch the music video exclusively on Billboard, below.
Luisa Sonza
Pam Martins