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Australian singer and songwriter, Emmanuel Kelly has made history as the first differently abled musician to perform at the FIFA Club World Cup halftime show and the first person with disability to headline a halftime show. The Iraq born singer joined popular star artists like Coldplay, Tems, J Balvin, and Doja Cat to perform at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 13, 2025.
Emmanuel Kelly described the experience as “pretty extraordinary.” In a talk with Billboard, Emmanuel revealed he was humbled to be the first differently abled musician to perform at the show, describing it as “a sign of the times.”
“It’s a market that has never been represented on this scale, and someone always has to be the first, and for me to be that is a sign of the times.”
More details on Emmanuel Kelly’s FIFA Club World Cup halftime show performance
In addition to watching the thrilling final match between Chelsea and PSG, football fans were excited to get a star studded performance featuring Tems, Coldplay, J Balvin, and Doja Cat at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
In an exclusive question and answer with Billboard, Emmanuel Kelly spoke about how honoured he felt to be the first person with a disability to headline a halftime show. He described it as extraordinary, adding that society has begun to recognise “that talent is talent and a gift is a gift.”
“It’s an honor and a privilege and I feel like the luckiest person in the world. I’m a huge fan of FIFA and a huge fan of people being seen for who they are, and I get to show that to 2.5 billion people on Sunday.”
He also spoke about performing with other big names in the music industry. He revealed that he had been a huge fan of J Balvin since he debuted globally 10 years ago. Emmanuel described Doja Cat as a “cool and vibey” performer and global sensation Tems as someone with a “really cool vibe.”
“Doja, she’s a class act and has this unassuming nature, but is so cool and vibey. And then Tems, I’ll be honest, I was new to her music until Chris introduced me to her. I’m in love, she has a really cool vibe.”
While laughing, he revealed how comfortable he was performing with Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Emmanuel and Chris have known each other for years. Last year, the Australian singer and songwriter opened four shows for the Coldplay lead singer. For his FIFA performance, Emmanuel Kelly brought out Coldplay as his special guest and performed a duet of Sky Full of Stars from the third floor up on the roof of the MetLife stage.
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The halftime show for the FIFA Club World Cup was created by Chris Martin of Coldplay in collaboration with FIFA officials. It was introduced to support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise a total of one hundred million dollars for education funding.
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