Rio

Album: 3 (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • Belgian musician Nestsky originally recorded this for his 3 album, inspired by a trip he took to the Brazilian city. Released as the record's lead single on June 5, 2015, it peaked at #4 on the Belgian singles chart.
  • Inspired by the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Netsky reworked the track with help from American rapper Macklemore and retitled it 'Rio Remix.' "It started off with the Belgian Olympic Committee looking for a song for their TV advert, but it's turned into something much bigger," he explained to NME. "They opened an Olympic House in Belgium, where they streamed all the games and where I DJ'd at a few parties. I also spent four days at the training camp in Lanzarote doing swimming, judo, table-tennis, badminton, mountain-biking and sprinting with the best from Belgium."

    Netsky added: "When you spend time with athletes who haven't drunk alcohol for six years, when you see the level of dedication they have for their sport, and when you think that some of them will be going back to a normal nine-to-five job once these games are over... it kind of embarrasses you as a human being."
  • The BBC used this to soundtrack their daily Olympics highlights roundup.

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