Coca-Cola made Jump the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, brought in Steve Vai to record a new guitar solo over it, and added Travis Barker on drums, Colombian vocalist J Balvin, and singer-songwriter Amber Mark. That sentence shouldn't end with "and it's pretty good," but here we are.
Vai put it plainly: "I never know what might come across my desk as an inquiry, but this was a taker." Which is a tactful way of saying yes, he absolutely wanted to play over one of the most famous keyboard-driven rock songs ever recorded. The irony is not lost: Vai played for David Lee Roth after Roth split from Van Halen, and now he's soloing over Van Halen's biggest hit. The guitar world is a small, beautifully weird place.
"Jump" was released in December 1983, debuted on Van Halen's 1984 album, and became the band's first and only Billboard Hot 100 number one. Eddie Van Halen had to fight to get it on the record — Dave Roth initially argued that a guitar hero shouldn't be playing keyboards. EVH's response, per a 2014 Guitar World interview: "If I want to play a tuba or Bavarian cheese whistle, I will do it." He was right. He was almost always right about tone.
The full track features Barker's unmistakably punchy drum work alongside the re-soloed original backing. It's part of Coca-Cola's long-running tradition of reworking a classic for each World Cup tournament — they've been an official sponsor since 1978, which means someone has been paid to have these ideas for longer than most guitar players have been alive.
The video is on YouTube. Watch Vai's hands. Even on a pop-world anthem commission that exists primarily to sell soft drinks at a soccer tournament, the control is there. There's a short list of guitarists who make virtuosity sound effortless instead of exhausting — Vai is on it, has always been on it, and apparently will remain on it regardless of the brief. And if you've ever wondered how much of that comes down to the gear chain — the pick included — it starts earlier in the signal chain than most people think.
Source: Guitar World, March 9, 2026