K'Naan at World Cup

WAVIN’ A&M/OCTONE FLAG: Looks like label ruler James Diener has another long-term artist development success story on his hands. Somalian rapper/poet K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag,” which he performed last week in South Africa at the FIFA World Cup Kickoff Concert for a global telecast audience of 700 million viewers in 32 countries, is officially a worldwide phenomenon. The song, available in 20 different versions and 17 different languages, has hit #1 at iTunes in 14 countries, including U.K. The new U.S. version, featuring will.i.am and David Guetta in their first collaboration since “I Gotta Feeling,” is about to go to radio here. K’Naan was recently named Artist and Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Juno Awards. “Wavin’ Flag” was adopted by Coca-Cola as the official song of the World Cup, building “the single largest sports marketing initiative in the history of the company.” The artist’s A&M/Octone album Troubadour, which now features the new version of the song, has been out since Feb. 2009. Here’s the clip on Vevo. (6/18p)