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Abandoned as a crippled baby and raised by nuns in Baghdad, Kelly will compete in the World Cup finals alongside some of the world’s greatest champions.
One of those who played in the first title FIFA World Cup halftime show along with Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna is a man with an amazing biography – the singer born in Iraq Emmanuel Kelly.
Kelly is said to have been found abandoned in a coffin as a child, and was raised by nuns at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Baghdad. Some of his organs were very immature, and at the orphanage he befriended a boy named Ahmed, who had the same problem.
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In 1998, when Emmanuel was four years old, Australian Catholic aid worker, Moira Kelly, visited the orphanage and witnessed the plight of Emmanuel and Ahmed.
He was eager to bring the boys to Australia for medical treatment, and after two years, he succeeded.
Emmanuel and Ahmed arrived in Australia in 2000, and both underwent several surgeries to be able to wear prosthetic limbs. They were adopted by Moira that same year, and in 2009 they became Australian citizens.
In an interview published on FIFA’s website in 2025, Emmanuel said surgery and prostheses helped him and his brother gain confidence for the first time.
He said: “We learned all the important things that I think people sometimes take for granted, like walking and feeding themselves and things like that. “Eventually I decided to start doing entertainment and music.”
In 2011, at the age of 17, Emmanuel was a contestant on the Australian television talent show The X Factor. His rendition of John Lennon’s song Imagine won over audiences and received millions of views online. Although he was eliminated at the beginning of the series after forgetting the lyrics of the song he was singing, this was the beginning of his singing career.
His brother Ahmed, meanwhile, became a competitive swimmer, representing Australia several times and winning a silver medal in the 150m individual medley at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
In 2016, Coldplay was preparing for a concert in Australia, lead singer Chris Martin saw a video of Emmanuel Kelly performing and decided to meet him. Kelly was invited on stage at a Coldplay concert in Melbourne and sang Imagine in a duet with Martin.
The two became friends, and in 2024 Kelly was invited to headline Coldplay on their four concerts in Australia on their Music of the Spheres tour.
“Chris has been my brother, Chris Martin, for eight years or so, and he said to me, ‘Yeah, let’s go on a stadium tour with me. I did it, and it was a lot of fun,'” Kelly said in an interview with FIFA.
Last year, Martin was asked by FIFA to officiate the Club World Cup half-time show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Kelly was one of the musicians Martin asked to take part in the show. He was described by the organizers as “the first different artist to host the FIFA half-time show”.
Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina takes place in the same stadium. Once again, Martin will direct the music, and Kelly will be one of those on stage for what FIFA hopes will be the half-time show in history.
“What an exciting opportunity to represent true global unity,” Kelly said in an Instagram video ahead of the show. “No matter how different you are, you will still be seen.”
