Written by Brody Baker / co-sports editor
The World Cup halftime show at MetLife Stadium had a ton of potential. This being the first ever halftime show the World Cup has ever done, There was a lot of hype and it didn’t live up to it at all. The show included Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy, Coldplay, The Muppets, and PS22 Chorus. With many huge artists performing, I expected the show to be one of the best parts of the World Cup Final. Instead, I thought it was pretty disappointing.
My biggest problem was the song choices. Madonna started with “Music”, and BTS performed “Dynamite,” which were both decent choices. I also liked the performance of “Seven Nation Army” with The Muppets and Gustavo Dudamel. The orchestra made it feel different, and “Seven Nation Army” is already a song that fits perfectly with sports.
After that, the show lost a lot of its energy. Justin Bieber performed “Everything Hallelujah,” which was way too slow in my opinion. He has so many popular and upbeat songs that would’ve fit the show’s tempo a lot better. Shakira and Burna Boy brought some of the energy back with “Dai Dai,” but it still felt like the show never really got going. A halftime show should make the stadium feel more exciting, especially during the biggest soccer game in the world. Instead parts of this performance felt more like a concert with random songs put together more than one actual complete show.
Another weird decision was having Colplay close the show with “We Dance (Believe in Love),” an unreleased song. I understand wanting to introduce new music, but the World Cup Final doesn’t seem like the best place and time for it. I think the final song could’ve been something almost every one in the stadium knew, like their hit songs. “Viva La Vida” or “Paradise”. I think they should have focused more on songs that people immediately recognize and can sing along to. With fans from all over the world watching, familiar songs would have made the performance feel much bigger. The artists available had plenty of popular songs to choose from, which made some of the song choices even more confusing.
The show definitely had some good moments, especially the orchestra, choir, and “Seven Nation Army.” However with the artists they had performing, it could have been so much better.
A lot of people online seemed disappointed as well. For the biggest soccer match in the world, I expected the first ever halftime show to have a lot more energy and better known songs.
