When Emmanuel Kelly was 11 years previous, he put a notice on his mirror that he checked out on daily basis manifesting his dream of sharing a stage with Coldplay. And now, after checking that bucket-list merchandise off after opening for the band in his native Australia final yr on their Music of the Spheres Tour, the singer who first rose to prominence with a panoramic cowl of John Lennon’s “Think about” on The X Issue Australia in 2011 has ticked off one other main lifetime purpose.
“It’s fairly extraordinary,” Kelly advised Billboard just a few days earlier than performing with Coldplay at Sunday’s (July 13) 2025 FIFA Membership World Cup closing halftime present. Kelly, who was present in a field in a park in the course of the top of the Iraq Battle as a child, severely injured by chemical warfare, is the primary in a different way abled pop artist to carry out at a halftime present, and he’s very happy to take credit score for blazing that path.
“It’s a market that has by no means been represented on this scale and somebody all the time must be the primary and for me to be that may be a signal of the instances,” he mentioned of singing alongside fellow pop icons Tems, J Balvin and Doja Cat and duetting on”Sky Filled with Stars” with Coldplay from the roof of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in the course of the match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain.
Billboard chatted with Kelly concerning the halftime present curated by Coldplay singer Chris Martin — co-produced by World Citizen, in partnership with Dwell Nation, Completed+Dusted and DPS — and the way he turned his childhood dream right into a globetrotting actuality.
That is the primary time an individual with a incapacity will headline a world occasion or halftime present of this magnitude. How does that really feel to listen to that?
Extraordinary… the wall and boundaries are breaking down and we’re residing in a society that acknowledges that expertise is expertise and a present is a present. It’s an honor and a privilege and I really feel just like the luckiest individual on this planet. I’m an enormous fan of FIFA and an enormous fan of individuals being seen for who they’re and I get to indicate that to 2.5 billion individuals on Sunday.
Must ask, what’s your group?
I’m a Chelsea fan usually, however for a very long time I used to be a Actual Madrid CF fan, however I felt they acquired too wealthy and acquired too many gamers. However I’m additionally a fan of gamers and I gravitate in the direction of people who’re superior human beings in no matter type, as a result of all people have the potential to be nice.
Discuss performing with Tems, J Balvin, Doja Cat and Coldplay on the Membership World Cup closing. That’s a reasonably epic stage to be on for what is going to seemingly be a lot of the world’s first publicity to you.
It’s not dangerous. I wish to say they’re all taking the lineup with me. [Laughs] I’ve been an enormous fan of J Balvin since he globally popped on the scene 10 years in the past and I’m a giant Latin music fan usually. Reggaeton was going to be a begin for me at one level. … I’ve accomplished just a few Latin excursions. Doja, she’s a category act and has this unassuming nature however is so cool and vibey. After which Tems, I’ll be sincere, I used to be new to her music till Chris launched me to her. I’m in love, she has a extremely cool vibe. I’m in nice firm with Chris, although I’m not even positive why he’s singing with me. [Laughs] He ought to be grateful he’s allowed to sing with me.
How did you find yourself on this invoice? What’s your relationship with Chris?
He’s a brother to me. It began in 2016 once we first met.
What was the connection?
Vitality, positivity, love. I’m a believer that the whole lot on this universe has its approach and there are random acts, however these acts result in trigger and response. The place Chris was at in his life and his profession and the place I used to be at in my life and profession created a random act and the reason for that was Chris studying about me and the response was Chris taking motion to wish to meet me and turn out to be my mentor. I advised him he’s been an inspiration to me since I used to be just a little child. One of many first songs I discovered once I got here to Australia [at 8-years-old Kelly and his brother were brought to Australia by humanitarian Moira Kelly and underwent life-saving surgeries] and will barely converse English was [Coldplay’s breakthrough 2000 hit] “Yellow.” I can solely shine so brilliant, however everyone’s brightness shines as a result of they’ve electrical energy round them that fires these bulbs and lights them up.
What was the spark from Chris?
Chris has an electrical energy that enables me to shine as brilliant as I will be and he has individuals round him who do this for him and now we type of do this for one another. After I was 11-years-old I put an indication on my mirror and checked out it on daily basis and it mentioned I’d tour with Coldplay sooner or later. Throughout a darkish time once I was homeless in L.A. and misplaced hope and love for myself, I discovered a approach out by remembering all the great in my life. I let go of ego and satisfaction and requested for assist and I took that signal from once I was a child and put it on the wall once more and mentioned, “this dream can not finish.” [Coldplay’s] “Yellow” was the primary track I ever discovered, earlier than “Think about,” and I sang it to my mother, who had no thought who they had been. Chris is a rare particular person who has an electrical energy that fires lots of people up. I used to be going round Hollywood asking everybody — from Snoop Dogg and the Quincy Jones camp to random Joe Blows — in the event that they knew Chris Martin. I requested 1,500 individuals within the span of six months and the 1,499th individual related me with Dr. Habib Sadeghi [co-founder with Martin of the Love Button Global Movement]. He mentioned “it would occur when it’s alleged to occur.”
You opened 4 reveals in Sydney with Coldplay final yr and now you’re leaping as much as the most important stage there may be, so describe the plans for the FIFA gig.
Chris might be popping out as my particular visitor, despite the fact that it was all deliberate by him! [Laughs] We are going to come collectively to sing “Sky Filled with Stars,” which is a fantastic sentiment for anybody who needs to succeed in out to the celebrities and seize them. I imagine that this might be one of many biggest halftime reveals from a spectacle standpoint we’ve ever seen. The best way the MetLife stage is ready up we’re on the third ground up on the roof and singing within the sky.
You’ve achieved a lot towards such main odds. If you happen to had a message for different aspiring singers, of no matter means, what would you inform them?
Be your model of an outlier. Be an outlier and don’t be afraid to be completely different. Being completely different is cool. I’ve had labels and execs and reveals flip me down as a result of I’m an outlier, and that’s by no means stopped me. Don’t complain concerning the state of affairs; repair it your self. If you happen to don’t like how issues are rolling, do one thing about it. Be the change. You be the change and be the perfect model of your self and don’t be afraid to be completely different.
