Emmanuel Kelly joins World Cup final half-time lineup
The Iraqi-born Australian singer will perform at FIFA’s first World Cup final half-time show at MetLife Stadium.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Emmanuel Kelly, an Iraqi-born Australian singer whose career was shaped by his childhood in Baghdad and later life in Australia, is set to perform during FIFA’s first World Cup final half-time show. Al Jazeera reported that Kelly is among the billed performers for Sunday’s Spain-Argentina final at MetLife Stadium, alongside Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna.
The performance gives Kelly a global stage at one of football’s most-watched events. Al Jazeera reported that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is curating the show, after also selecting Kelly for last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final half-time performance at the same New Jersey stadium.
Kelly has said he was discovered as an abandoned baby in a box and raised by nuns at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Baghdad, according to Al Jazeera. He had severely underdeveloped limbs and became close there with another boy, Ahmed, who had a similar condition.
In 1998, Australian Catholic humanitarian worker Moira Kelly visited the orphanage and saw the boys’ circumstances, Al Jazeera reported. She worked for two years to bring Emmanuel and Ahmed to Australia so they could receive medical care.
The boys arrived in Australia in 2000, underwent several operations and received prosthetic limbs, according to Al Jazeera. Moira Kelly adopted them that year, and they became Australian citizens in 2009.
In a 2025 interview published by FIFA, Kelly said the medical treatment changed daily life for him and his brother by allowing them to do basic tasks on their own. “We learned all the basic things I think that humans take for granted sometimes, like walking and feeding themselves and things like that,” he said. “Eventually I decided I wanted to pursue entertainment and music.”
Kelly’s public music career began after he appeared on Australia’s version of The X Factor in 2011, when he was 17, Al Jazeera reported. His performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine” drew a strong reaction from the studio audience and later reached millions of viewers online, though he left the competition early after forgetting lyrics during a later performance.
Ahmed Kelly pursued elite sport instead. Al Jazeera reported that he represented Australia as a swimmer and won silver in the men’s 150-metre individual medley at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.
Emmanuel Kelly’s connection with Martin began in 2016, when the Coldplay singer saw footage of him performing before the band’s Australian concerts, according to Al Jazeera. Martin invited Kelly onstage in Melbourne, where they sang “Imagine” together.
The relationship continued. Kelly told FIFA in 2025 that Martin had become like a brother to him and had invited him to join Coldplay on a stadium tour. Al Jazeera reported that Kelly opened for Coldplay during four Australian shows on the band’s Music of the Spheres tour in 2024.
When Martin curated the Club World Cup final half-time show last year, he included Kelly in the lineup. Organisers described Kelly as “the first differently abled artist to headline a FIFA half-time show,” according to Al Jazeera.
Kelly said in an Instagram video before Sunday’s show that the event was a chance to represent global unity. “No matter how different you are, you will still be seen,” he said.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.