Burna Boy started his World Cup Final day with a police escort and ended it receiving praise from Chris Martin on the field at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. A behind-the-scenes video diary released by Billboard follows the Nigerian artist through every step of his preparation for the inaugural FIFA World Cup Final halftime show on Sunday.
The performance came as the tournament set record viewership numbers. According to The Wrap, the final brought in 22.6 million viewers across Telemundo and Peacock, based on preliminary Nielsen figures. That is up 150% from the 2022 World Cup final, which drew 9 million viewers on those platforms. Linear viewership on Telemundo peaked at 11.2 million at 5:45 p.m. ET. English-language figures from Fox had not yet been included in those totals, meaning the overall viewership will be significantly higher.
Spain beat Argentina in extra time after the match remained 0-0 through 90 minutes. Ferran Torres scored the winning goal for Spain.
The halftime show featured Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, and Burna Boy, along with cameos from Ted Lasso stars Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt. In his video diary, Burna Boy documents several moments leading up to the performance. He poses for photos with Shakira, with whom he recorded the official 2026 FIFA World Cup anthem, "Dai Dai." The song spent a second week at the top of the Billboard Global 200 and a fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.
Burna also met up with internet streamer iShowSpeed, embraced Justin Bieber, and greeted Sudeikis, who made an unannounced cameo to introduce Bieber. Before taking the stage, Burna squeezed in one final practice session.
After the show ended, Burna walked into the players' tunnel to return backstage. There, Chris Martin, who curated the halftime show and co-wrote the closing song "We Dance" with his Coldplay bandmates, offered his congratulations.
The World Cup has driven record numbers throughout the tournament. The semi-finals averaged over 15 million viewers on Fox, making them the most-watched semi-finals in U.S. history. On Telemundo, the semis drew 10.6 million average viewers, also a record for Spanish-language coverage. Sunday's final is on track to be the most-watched FIFA World Cup final in Spanish-language media history.