From Iraqi battlefield to World Cup stage: Emmanuel Kelly prepares to make halftime history
Australian pop star Emmanuel Kelly will make history Sunday as the first differently-abled artist to headline a FIFA World Cup Final halftime show, performing alongside Justin Bieber, Madonna and BTS.
"At the end of the day, it's not about me. It's not about Justin Bieber or Shakira or Coldplay or BTS. ... it's about uniting an insanely divided world," Kelly told ABC News.
"The halftime show and what Chris [Martin] has created is about showing the world that we are all one," Kelly added, referring to the lead singer of Coldplay, who curated the show. "It's reminding the world that we are one."
The performance will mark a historical shift for soccer's biggest event, co-organized by FIFA and Global Citizen. Previous World Cup finals didn't feature halftime shows; major musical acts historically performed only during the opening ceremony or as part of the closing ceremony before kickoff.
Backstage, the high-stakes environment is defined by genuine community and humor, Kelly said. During recent rehearsals, for example, Bieber playfully told Kelly that he was sitting in his designated chair.
"I said, 'Brother, I've lost arms. Let's make it happen. Let's go at it,'" Kelly recalled. "And he just laughed his head off, man. It's just love."
Kelly's path to the historic World Cup stage began under harrowing circumstances. Born with underdeveloped limbs after his biological mother was exposed to chemical warfare, he was abandoned as an infant on a battlefield in Iraq. Nuns at a Baghdad orphanage rescued him before Australian humanitarian and his future adoptive mother, Moira Kelly, discovered him in 1998.
Kelly moved to Australia two years later, underwent life-changing surgeries to allow him to use prosthetic limbs, and became an Australian citizen in 2009.
Embracing music allowed the 32-year-old singer to shatter industry expectations.
"Some people told me that the industry, especially in film and television, were just going to pigeonhole me and put me back in this box," Kelly said. "And I was found in a box, so I didn't want to go back in the box. I decided to pursue music instead, because music was a tool for me to tell the world that it doesn't matter what you look like."
Outside of entertainment, Kelly channels his experiences into corporate and political advocacy. He co-founded 0UTLYER, a production company explicitly designed to secure long-term employment for disabled and neurodivergent individuals, and recently spoke at the Palace of Westminster in London to launch a parliamentary group on disability employment.
As he prepared to show billions of viewers that disability doesn't mean inability, Kelly urged people to foster simple, human connections.
"The message I have for every person reading this article is to just say hello to somebody and tell them that they're awesome," Kelly said. "Because what that does is it allows them to feel seen. ... So say hello to one another, love yourself, and just say g'day."
Yonathan Daniel, M.D., is an internal medicine resident physician at NYU Langone Health and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit
