Madonna opened the World Cup halftime show with her 2000 dance-pop hit “Music,” joined by star Brazilian soccer players of yesteryear, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. It started with an apparently pre-recorded piece in a roller rink before she rode into the stadium on a dune buggy, singing “Music, makes the people come together.”
Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel led an orchestra through the White Stripes’ sports anthem “Seven Nation Army,” while Animal and other Muppets bopped and shook.
K-pop sensations BTS took to the field in red and black moments later singing “Dynamite.”
Promoting the upcoming season of “Ted Lasso,” Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, in character, pumped up Justin Bieber, who changed the tempo with the slower “Everything Hallelujah.” Then Shakira and Burna Boy performed their anthem “Dai Dai,” heard before all 104 kickoffs in this tournament.
The show wrapped with a chorus of elementary-school students from Staten Island.
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Jennifer Hudson, Robbie Williams and others performed a slew of anthems, Post Malone brought an old hit and a new tune and Tom Cruise gave an earnest hype-’em-up speech in the closing ceremony before Sunday’s World Cup final.
British singer and former Take That member Williams performed his FIFA anthem “Desire,” wearing a blue bedazzled track suit. He was joined by Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger and Italian singer Laura Pausini in blue spangled gowns. Williams had released the song a year ago but dropped a new version with the two women earlier in the week.
The streamer IShowSpeed took the field first to perform his World Cup-themed song “Champions,” atop an image of the Empire State Building. Next was Post Malone, who walked on to the New York/New Jersey Stadium pitch covered with a tarp showing the New York skyline. He sung a brand new song, “Chrome Heartbreaker,” and was joined by Swae Lee to perform their 2018 duet “Sunflower” on a hexagon-heavy stage in the center of the field.
Tom Cruise, who was also part of the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremony, followed them with a speech delivered in polo shirt and jeans.
“Today only two teams remain: España!” Cruise said, pausing for cheers before adding, “y Argentina!”
“Let us celebrate a tournament that brought the world together,” he said.
Most of the national anthems were piped in during the tournament, but they were performed live on Sunday. EGOT winner and talk show host Jennifer Hudson sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Wearing a white suit with red, white and blue trim, she stood in front of a bank of flags of the world, singing a cappella before being joined by a brass band.
Spanish Brass played Spain’s instrumental “La Marcha Real,” followed by Argentina’s “Himno Nacional Argentino,” sung by pop star María Becerra, clad in a flowing dress reminiscent of the Argentine flag.
The World Cup will bring Super Bowl vibes to its first halftime show. Along with headliners Shakira, Madonna, BTS and Justin Bieber, also slated to perform are characters from “The Muppets,” Afrobeats star Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the elementary-school PS22 Chorus — the last joined by Coldplay, whose leader Chris Martin curated the 11-minute halftime performance.
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