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Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS and Shakira each brought a bit of one of their hits to the World Cup’s first halftime show in a whirlwind performance Sunday that also squeezed in Burna Boy, Ted Lasso and many Muppets.
The show at what’s otherwise known as MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey, was an attempt to bring Super Bowl vibes to the World Cup, but the 11-minute performance was considerably more packed than the usual one-headliner, 13-minute American football counterpart.
Each headliner here spent about two minutes performing. Madonna opened the 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’ anthem Seven Nation Army, while the Muppets house band — including drummer Animal — provided furry shakes in the background.
K-pop sensations BTS took to the field in variations of red and black moments later singing Dynamite following a nod to Norway’s Viking row.
Promoting the upcoming season of Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, in character, pumped up Justin Bieber, who changed the tempo with Everything Hallelujah, performed with an acoustic guitar and a casual feel.
“Alright young man, let’s go! It’s your big shot!” Sudeikis said to Bieber. “Go out there, don’t be nervous, nobody’s watching.”
Shakira and Burna Boy followed with their official World Cup anthem Dai Dai, heard before all 104 kickoffs during this tournament. The Colombian superstar was barefoot, wearing a dress of yellow and pink feathers and surrounded by similarly clad dancers — including a group of children — before the Afrobeats icon joined her in the song whose refrain is an Italian version of “Let’s go!”
Shakira has virtually made a genre out of World Cup songs, including 2010’s Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).
The show wrapped with the PS22 Chorus of elementary school students from Staten Island, N.Y., backed by Dudamel and joined by Chris Martin — the Coldplay singer who curated the performance — along with Shakira and many more Muppets and Sesame Street characters, including Kermit, Miss Piggy, Count von Count and Cookie Monster.
Dudamel and about 40 musicians — about half from the New York Philharmonic and half from Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra — were on the field, though their music was pre-recorded Wednesday at the Manhattan Center.
Post Malone, Jennifer Hudson perform closing ceremony
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 speech in the pre-match closing ceremony.
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.
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.
Cruise, who was also part of the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremony, followed them with a speech delivered in polo shirt and jeans.
“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.
