BTS and Coldplay — especially Chris Martin — have shared a close friendship for years, one that fans absolutely adore. The two artists previously collaborated on the нιт song “My Universe,” while Chris Martin has also publicly praised BTS many times, showing a deep understanding of and special affection for the кσяєαn group. Not only that, Chris also collaborated individually with Jin on the solo song “The Astronaut,” and Jin even appeared on Coldplay’s concert stage in Seoul last year.
Continuing this beautiful friendship, BTS and Chris Martin recently revealed another collaboration for the very first FIFA World Cup Halftime Show in the tournament’s 100-year history. In this project, Chris Martin serves as the show’s creative director, while BTS will be one of the three main performers alongside the queens Madonna and Shakira.
In a promotional video for the event, Chris Martin appeared alongside famous Muppet characters such as Elmo, Miss Piggy, and Kermit the Frog to announce the lineup of performers. BTS then made a surprise appearance through a fun FaceTime call, where Chris personally called each member by name and invited them to participate in the show. In response, RM confidently confirmed, "We'll be there Chris for sure". The moment quickly went viral across social media thanks to the natural chemistry between them and how it further deepened the longtime friendship between both sides.
However, few people knew that behind this conversation was another backstage story that recently led RM to publicly apologize to Chris Martin during a post-concert livestream in Stanford!
During the livestream with j-hope and Jimin, RM suddenly brought up the World Cup Halftime Show after reading a fan comment and admitted that he himself was very surprised. He shared: “Ah, there is talk about a World Cup Halftime Show. I was surprised too.”
The BTS leader then revealed the story behind Chris Martin’s invitation. RM explained: “Chris—Chris Martin sent me a text message out of nowhere after a long time. So… but I missed the timing. The timing to reply back.” The rapper shared that he usually communicates through KakaoTalk, so he rarely checks regular text messages. Because of that, it took him about a full day before he finally noticed Chris Martin’s message. RM then continued shyly: “I should have called him or soмєтнing, but I couldn’t. Anyway, sorry, Chris. Yeah.”
When RM revealed this, fans were surprised by how directly the Halftime Show invitation reached BTS. One fan wrote: “So Chris directly message joon without telling the agency and joon agree on that? Wow, they really close.” On the other hand, fans also laughed at RM feeling guilty over forgetting to reply to his “best friend’s” message, though ARMYs were convinced it was obviously not an issue for their friendship.
They also leave many hilarous comments: "Imagine getting ghosted by Kim Namjoon and then still giving BTS the halftime show", "Chris inviting BTS to the WORLD CUP and Joon was like ‘sorry bro I only check KakaoTalk’", "RM really exposed himself. Chris Martin probably wasn’t even mad because he knew him", "Kim Namjoon: leader of BTS, global superstar, still ignoring friends' message like us", "Namjoon ghosted Chris about the world cup performance? ",....
Meanwhile, as the Halftime Show topic came up, the BTS members also shared their direct reactions to this special opportunity for the first time. j-hope expressed his excitement: “It’s such an honor. Because a Halftime Show is a first for us this time.” RM was more cautious, saying: “Actually, it might not even happen. The Halftime Show is soмєтнing done in North αмєяι¢α, so it’s soмєтнing that could happen...” Meanwhile, Jimin softly reflected: “I think… after living for a while, I end up experiencing a lot of things that I never thought I’d experience.”
In fact, this will mark the first time in history that a FIFA World Cup Final will feature a halftime show similar to the Super Bowl, and BTS will also become the first K-pop group to headline such a mαѕѕive global event. Previously, when the news was announced, BTS shared their thoughts through BigHit Music: "It is a great honor to stand on such a meaningful stage where the whole world comes together. We believe that music is a universal language that conveys hope and harmony. It is even more meaningful to be able to share that message with global viewers through this World Cup and contribute to expanding educational opportunities for children."
It is known that the program will raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund — a project aiming to raise 100 million USD to expand access to education and football for children around the world. Over the years, BTS has maintained a close relationship with Global Citizen and has consistently participated in global social campaigns, while also delivering iconic speeches at the United Nations on topics such as education, youth, and equality — values that closely align with the mission of Global Citizen and this event.
BTS’s appearance at the World Cup Halftime Show is not only a historic milestone for K-pop, but also a natural continuation of their journey of using music to spread positive messages to the world!
