NEWS
Coldplay, Doja Cat, J Balvin, and Tems headlined the FIFA Club World Cup final halftime show last night (July 13) – watch footage of the performance below.
Sunday’s final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain saw a surprise performance from Coldplay on the MetLife Stadium’s upper stands, on a stage crafted by frontman Chris Martin and Global Citizen.
Placing the stage in the stands was done to avoid damaging the freshly planted grass on the field, and also had the benefit of avoiding the timing changeover issues that made Shakira’s 2024 performance at the Copa America final so divisive.
The 15-minute set opened with J Balvin’s ‘Mi Gente’, which saw him joined by dancers and drummers, and was followed by Tems’ ‘Love Me JeJe’ before Balvin returned to deliver ‘Reggaeton’.
Doja Cat then performed 2021 track ‘Woman’, with Coldplay closing out the set with a surprise appearance. Martin, joined by singer-songwriter Emmanuel Kelly, performed “A Sky Full of Stars’ joined by all the performers of the evening in a rousing finale.
Organisers have shared aims that this July’s crowning of the first official FIFA club world champion will reach the largest global audience ever for a club football competition, with the show supporting the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund.
The initiative looks to raise $100million to provide children around the world with access to quality education as well as football, with one dollar from every ticket sold for FIFA Club World Cup matches in the US this summer to be donated to the fund.
“This show will be unforgettable,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously. “Not just for its spectacle on a landmark night, but also for the lasting impact it will make.”
As for Coldplay’s own charity efforts, their upcoming UK stadium shows – which include a record-breaking 10-night run at Wembley – will see 10 per cent of the band’s profits going to the Music Venue Trust.
The charity have been campaigning for a mandatory levy for £1 of every ticket sold to a gig at arena level and above to go back into the grassroots, at a time when the scene faces “disaster” with around two venues closing per week in the UK. “The band’s support really will stop venues closing, make tours happen and bring the joy of live music to thousands of people,” said MVT CEO Mark Davyd.
When sitting down with NME last year ahead of the release of ‘Moon Music‘, Martin discussed the importance of live venues and how they helped shape the band. “Playing live is an important connection,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me that there might not be another Coldplay, but it does bother me that there might not be acts that are free to start on the bottom rung and work all the way up – so that by the time they get to stadiums, they are really good.”
Not for the first time, Moby is speaking out against Donald Trump’s administration with clear frustration.
“The U.S. is collapsing under a deeply corrupt and shockingly ineffective administration,” the longtime electronic musician shared on social media. “These are unbelievably dark times.”
Moby went deeper into his thoughts through a video message, where he explained that people outside the United States keep asking Americans what is actually happening in the country.
“So many of my friends outside the United States keep asking me, ‘what the hell is happening over there?’ And honestly, we don’t even know,” he said. “The country is being controlled by one of the most corrupt, dangerous and incompetent administrations imaginable. Nobody fully understands what’s happening right now. These are very dark times in America.”
Moby joins a growing list of artists publicly criticizing Trump and MAGA politics, including Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Eminem and Billie Eilish.
Earlier this year, Moby uploaded another statement to social media where he addressed how people should respond following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. “The real question isn’t whether people should feel horrified or outraged by what’s happening in the United States,” Moby explained in the Jan. 26 clip. “The question is what are we actually going to do about it?”
The musician and activist also encouraged people to protest, saying demonstrations are a constitutional right and something he believes Trump’s administration is attempting to weaken.
In the end, he urged people to vote regularly, “not only during the upcoming midterms, even though those matter, but also in every special election throughout the year.” He also encouraged supporters to “stop giving money to the scumbag corporations backing Trump and ICE. We all know who they are. Boycott them.”
His newest remarks arrive as the U.S. Justice Department unveils a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who claim they were unfairly investigated. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut down following military action launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February without approval from Congress, leading to rising gas prices across the globe.
Throughout his independent music career, Moby has earned 10 entries on the Billboard 200 along with two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and an enormous catalog of sync placements. Overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, he is viewed as one of the defining artists of his era. He scored two No. 1 albums there with Play from 1999 and 18 from 2002, alongside 18 top 40 singles and two nominations for Best International Male at the BRIT Awards.
Check out Moby’s newest social media post below.
