Ten minutes before kickoff of the 2026 World Cup opening match between the United States and Paraguay on Friday, Katy Perry appeared on the field in a glittering silver dress alongside 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka.
Surrounded by flags from different countries, the duo launched into a rendition of “Wonder” from Perry’s seventh studio album 143. During the heartfelt performance, Lukas sang the opening and closing lines of the song. At then end of their duet, Perry lifted Lukas into an embrace as the crowd at Los Angeles’ SoFi stadium cheered.
Katy Perry performs “WONDER” at the opening ceremony of the 2026 #FIFAWorldCup. pic.twitter.com/wOGM7ySpB9
In a social media clip posted ahead of their performance, Perry shared that Lukas recorded his part of the song in 2021 when he was five years old. “I heard his vocal in 2023 and was inspired to write the verses for ‘Wonder’ and added it to my sixth album,” she wrote. “Tius is 10 now and flew all the way to LA from Norway to sing this song with me.”
Earlier in the day, Future and Tyla kicked off the World Cup ceremony with a high voltage performance of “Game Time,” the seventh single from the official 2026 FIFA World Cup album. They were followed by Lisa of Blackpink, Brazilian icon Anitta, and Nigerian superstar Rema, who delivered “Goals,” another electric World Cup track for fans.
Canada’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina also took place today in Toronto, the opening ceremony featured performances from Michael Buble, Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Eliana, Jessie Reyes, Noah Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream, and William Prince. Friday night’s opening ceremonies in Los Angeles and Toronto were two of three blowouts FIFA organized for the opening matches of the 2026 World Cup. At Thursday’s official opening game in Mexico City, for Mexico versus South Africa, the show featured Shakira and Burna Boy performing their official tournament song, “Dai Dai.”
