Justin Bieber’s return to the stage during the FIFA World Cup Final halftime show wasn’t what many fans expected.
Instead of launching into one of his upbeat biggest hits, the singer decided to take things acoustic and performed his stripped-back song “EVERYTHING HALLELUJAH” off his album SWAG II. Placed between energetic performances from BTS and Shakira, the emotional ballad immediately stood out, and not everyone understood the choice.
“I’m starting to believe Justin Bieber just has a hard time reading a room,” one Threads user quipped.
“Justin Bieber just changed the whole energy of the half time show! Boo!” another wrote.
A third said, “Justin Bieber singing “it’s my World Cup hallelujah” was the moment I turned inside out from embarrassment.”
“Man, Bieber just killed all the momentum this halftime show had,” replied a fourth.
Some were here for the performance, though.
“The fact that Justin Bieber has the range to do a full pop performance but he can also just come out with a guitar and mic and kill it,” someone said.
“Also Bieber has a beautiful voice and I thought his performance was actually really lovely,” another agreed.
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Bieber’s appearance was part of the first-ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show, which took place Sunday, July 19, at New York New Jersey Stadium during the final match between Spain and Argentina.
The historic 11-minute performance brought together a lineup of global stars, including Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy, internationally acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and New York’s PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay’s Chris Martin. The halftime show also supported the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and football opportunities for children around the world. Martin helped curate the performance.
