The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off with more than football. On Wednesday, the day before the tournament started, FIFA held countdown concerts in Mexico City, Toronto, and Los Angeles. The lineup included Nigerian afrobeats star Rema, American pop singer Katy Perry, Canadian artist Alanis Morissette, US rapper Future, Brazilian urban pop figure Anitta, Thai K-pop icon Lisa, Mexican institution Los Angeles Azules, Bollywood singer Nora Fatehi, and French rapper Vegedream.

The concerts are part of FIFA Sound, a program launched in 2021 that uses music to connect with global audiences. Clayton Durant, a music industry entrepreneur and New York University professor, said the marketing team is "leveraging music as a through line to connect different audiences from around the world."

But the biggest event is yet to come. On July 19, at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the World Cup final will include the first-ever Super Bowl-style halftime show. Three global headliners will perform: American singer Madonna, Colombian star Shakira, and South Korean group BTS. The show is being produced by Global Citizen, an NGO, and was dreamed up by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Hugh Evans, Global Citizen's head, said the lineup was conceived in the "spirit of trying to unite the whole world" and that the performance would highlight "the best of humanity" and "all the things that unite us."

The production cost is comparable to the Super Bowl halftime show — between $10 and $20 million. The artists are performing for free. The show supports an education fund set up by FIFA and Global Citizen.

For the official World Cup song, FIFA turned to a safe bet: Shakira. It appears on an 18-track official album that also includes Major Lazer, Daddy Yankee, and the Rolling Stones.

"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."

Durant said the artists performing in these globally broadcast concerts stand to gain huge visibility. "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," he said.

The World Cup also offers a comeback opportunity for seasoned musicians like Madonna. At 67, she hasn't had a major success since "Confessions on a Dance Floor" in 2005. The July 19 concert comes just after the release of her new album "Confessions II" on July 3.

For Nigerian artists, the exposure is massive. Davido performed at the Los Angeles countdown concert alongside Major Lazer and Diplo. Rema and Burna Boy are also featured on the official album. The global platform could introduce their music to millions of new listeners worldwide.