Under the bright lights of MetLife Stadium, one voice stood out alongside Coldplay’s. Emmanuel Kelly’s presence at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 halftime show sparked curiosity and emotion in equal measure.
As the crowd swayed to “A Sky Full of Stars“, few knew the depth of the story unfolding on stage. He wasn’t just a guest performer—his journey to that moment is one of resilience, creativity, and global recognition.
From overcoming immense personal challenges to performing on one of soccer’s biggest stages, his path is as inspiring as his voice is powerful. The halftime spotlight wasn’t his first—and it won’t be his last.
Who is Emmanuel Kelly?
Emmanuel Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter whose life story reads like a feat of resilience and triumph. Born on an Iraq battlefield with underdeveloped limbs due to chemical warfare, he was discovered as an infant, rescued and spent his early years in a Baghdad orphanage.
Chris Martin of Coldplay and Emmanuel Kelly perform during the halftime show during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain. (Source: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
At around age seven, humanitarian Moira Kelly brought him and his brother Ahmed to Australia, where he underwent surgeries and learned to walk with prosthetics, according to the Outlyer official website.
His musical breakout came in 2011 as a contestant on The X Factor Australia, where his rendition of “Imagine” generated over 500 million views online despite being eliminated before the finals. Since then, he has shared stages with notable names—Coldplay, Snoop Dogg, David Foster, Paul Oakenfold—and even performed at the United Nations.
His EP “No Zodiac” (2024) reached critical acclaim and charted in Australia. Beyond music, he is an entrepreneur and inclusion advocate. He co‑founded Outlyer Entertainment in 2022, a venture backed by Chris Martin and Paul Oakenfold, dedicated to empowering artists with disabilities.
