Recommendations of the Editorial team
Ten minutes before kickoff of the opening game of the 2026 World Cup between the United States and Paraguay, Katy Perry stepped onto the pitch in a glittering silver dress on Friday – At her side is the ten-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka.
Surrounded by flags from all over the world, the two sang a version of “Wonder,” the song from Perry’s seventh studio album “143.” The heartwarming performance saw Tius handle the opening and closing lines of the song. At the end of their duet, Perry lifted Tius into his arms as the crowd at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles cheered.
In a pre-posted clip on social media, Perry revealed that Tius recorded his part of the song back in 2021 – when he was five years old. “I heard his voice in 2023 and was inspired to write the verses for ‘Wonder’ and include the song on my sixth album,” she wrote. “Tius is ten now and flew to LA from Norway specifically to sing this song with me.”
World Cup opening in Los Angeles
Earlier in the day, Future and Tyla opened the World Cup ceremony with a powerful performance of “Game Time” – the seventh single from the official “2026 FIFA World Cup” album. They were followed by Lisa from Blackpink, Brazilian icon Anitta and Nigerian superstar Rema, who performed another rousing World Cup track for fans with “Goals”.
Katy Perry performs “WONDER” at the opening ceremony of the 2026 #FIFAWorldCup. pic.twitter.com/wOGM7ySpB9
— Katy Perry Activity (@KatyActivity) June 13, 2026
Canada’s opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina also took place in Toronto that day. The opening ceremony there featured performances by Michael Bublé, Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Eliana, Jessie Reyes, Noah Fatehi, Sanjoy, Vegedream and William Prince. The opening ceremonies on Friday evening in Los Angeles and Toronto were two of three major events that FIFA had organized for the opening games of the 2026 World Cup. At the official opening match on Thursday in Mexico City – Mexico against South Africa – Shakira and Burna Boy took the stage and performed their official tournament song “Dai Dai”.