15/06/2026

LYFE MONDAY | JUNE 15, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

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World Cup kicks off with superstars

T HE World Cup is not only about soccer: Fifa is drawing on music stars to elevate the competition into a global cultural event, broadening its reach beyond sports fans. From world-famous artistes performing at the opening ceremonies to an unprecedented Super Bowl-style halftime show during the final, here is what to expect. A musical opening The festivities began last week, on the eve of the tournament, with concerts in Mexico City, Toronto and Los Angeles that combined international superstars and major regional figures. Big names included American pop singer Katy Perry, Canadian o Global sports event draws on big name artistes

artiste Alanis Morissette, US rapper Future, Brazilian urban pop figure Anitta, Thai K-pop icon Lisa and Nigerian afrobeats star Rema. They performed alongside artistes with strong home country followings, such as Mexican institution Los Angeles Azules, Bollywood singer Nora Fatehi and French rapper Vegedream. “There’s a concerted effort around the Fifa World Cup and their marketing team to leverage music as a through line to connect different audiences from around the world,” said Clayton Durant, a music industry entrepreneur and New York University professor. This initiative is not new: In 2021, the organisation launched its Fifa Sound programme, describing it as “a strategy to connect with audiences worldwide through shared passions of football and music”. Grand finale The most striking event will be the halftime of the final, on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. For the first time, the show will

South Korean group BTS has a global following, likely to increase audience numbers for the World Cup.

Hit single? For the official World Cup song, Fifa turned to a safe bet: Shakira. She was behind Waka Waka , the 2010 World Cup anthem that became a global sensation. Her new track Dai Dai , performed with Nigerian singer Burna Boy, blends Latin pop and afrobeats. It appears on an official 18-track album that includes the electro group Major Lazer, reggaeton artiste Daddy Yankee and the Rolling Stones – once again heavily mixing genres. Artiste exposure The artistes featured in these globally broadcast concerts stand to gain a great deal in visibility. Durant said those performing will see “fans who have maybe never heard of them and really start to gain a ton of new attention and fandom and consumption on their music and their intellectual property”. The World Cup also creates opportunities for more seasoned musicians such as Madonna, who at

recalled fondly. “The song was playing on repeat in front of I don’t know how many tens of thousands of people” who gathered in Sarajevo to welcome the players after their victory in Zenica, some 70km northwest of the capital. A few days later, the group decided to add a few verses in Bosnian to recall the “national collective trauma” from 2014. Edin Dzeko’s goal in their group game with Nigeria was ruled out due to offside, a decision the referee later admitted was wrong. Nigeria won the match 1-0 and despite Bosnia beating Iran in the final group match, it was the Nigerians, not Bosnia, who progressed to the knockout stages, having finished with one more point. Jakubovic joked: “Psychologists made a lot of money after that offside and the pharmaceutical industry also profited because all Bosnians switched to hard drugs. And we had to somehow offer a way out for that trauma through the song.” Bosnia drew 1-1 with joint hosts Canada in their first Group B match last week in Toronto, and Bosnia will next face Switzerland and then Qatar. feature a concert with three global headliners: American singer Madonna, Colombian star Shakira and South Korean group BTS. That lineup was conceived in the “spirit of trying to unite the whole world”, said Hugh Evans, head of the NGO Global Citizen, which is producing the show. Imagined by Chris Martin, the frontman of Coldplay, the halftime performance is designed to highlight “the best of humanity” and “all the things that unite us”, Evans told AFP. He said the amount spent on producing the event is comparable to the Super Bowl halftime show – the final of the American football championship. That is somewhere between US$10 million (RM41 million) and US$20 million, according to sources. The artistes themselves will be performing for free. The show is intended to support an education fund Fifa – regularly accused of putting financial profits first – has set up with Global Citizen.

French rapper Vegedream is one of the artistes who performed during the opening events of the World Cup. 67 has not had a major success since Confessions on a Dance Floor in 2005. The July 19 concert represents a chance for her to rekindle the spark during the promotion of her new album Confessions II , scheduled for release on July 3.

Madonna is performing at the World Cup final halftime show. – PICS FROM AFP

I am from Bosnia : Hit single sends Balkan country into football frenzy I Am From Bosnia, Take Me to America – with brass instruments, guitars and a video clip featuring grilled meat, Bosnia has already achieved a success with a hit song for the ongoing World Cup, the Balkan nation’s second ever appearance in it. The result was amazing – more than one million views on YouTube, at least as many on Instagram and the clip circulating around the world.

“We are present on social networks. But today, it’s much harder to get a million clicks, likes, views... than it was five or ten years ago. “So when a million people watch a video in seven days and people from all over the world are commenting, you feel happy,” stressed the band’s bassist Vedran Mujagic. The original song USA , released in 2011, talked about how “Bosnians and other people from Eastern Europe migrate to America in search of a better life and the American dream. “At the end of the song, Bosnians return home because they realise the American dream no longer exists,” Jakubovic explained. ‘Total madness’ The chorus “I am from Bosnia, take me to America” took on new momentum in late March when Bosnia’s squad qualified for the World Cup by eliminating Italy in a penalty shootout. “It was total madness,” Jakubovic

With several million views across multiple platforms, the song, a reworked version of local rock band Dubioza Kolektiv’s earlier hits, is emerging as one of the standout anthems of the tournament, which kicked off last week. In the video released in late May, the musicians, dressed in yellow jerseys, are dribbling footballs, playing instruments and singing, while cevapi – the traditional Balkan grilled meat dish – sizzles on the barbecue. “Our video, which must have cost KM6 (RM14.33) was filmed in the neighbourhood, in a way similar to a favela in Colombia or Brazil,” Brano Jakubovic, the band’s keyboardist and lyricist, said. “People recognised that aesthetic that it is what football is actually about, a torn ball and a goal drawn on a wall, and poor (people) playing it,” the 47-year-old told AFP.

Jakubovic (left) and Mujagic pose with a ball in the backyard of an apartment block in Sarajevo. – AFPPIC