When Era Istrefi performed in the grand final of the world football championship in 2018, her performance was then accompanied by some controversies, which the singer spoke about in "Let me speak" on Top Channel.

Era, a singer from Kosovo, sang the official #worldcup2018 song "Live it up" with Will Smith the Nicky Jam, in Russia - a country that does not recognize Kosovo as a country.

"My job is to go on stage and sing, no matter if the audience is big or small. Therefore, the feeling is not that it was very special, it doesn't matter if there are many people or less. But what ignited my feelings was the support of the Albanians, their pride, the way they were excited for me. So at one point I made the eagle [with my hands] because I felt it. It was a very nice moment, but they told me to remove it from Instagram." - said Era about the Veshaj twins.

The singer added that the organizers told her that "it was a political movement".

"To tell the truth, I was endlessly hurt because I felt discriminated against. I cried and said: 'Why, bro? Why can't I be proud of where I'm from? What's wrong?'.”

Era added that the emotions she had experienced were worth more than a photo, so she deleted it (although she returned it to Instagram a year later).

In 2018, Era Istrefi became the first and only Albanian to sing in the World Cup final.