Featured Image Credit: Catherine Ivill - AMA / Contributor via Getty
IShowSpeed became the first live streamer to take part in a World Cup performance, yet the monumental achievement was dampened for many viewers who have slammed his appearance, pointing out the 'embarrassing' nature of his 'out of control' performance.
After becoming one of football's most prominent social media figures in recent years after falling in love with the sport, IShowSpeed, real name Darren Watkins Jr., received the call of a lifetime from FIFA who asked if he wanted to perform his World Cup song at the tournament's closing ceremony.
He joined huge names like Nicole Scherzinger, Post Malone, and Tom Cruise on the stage before the final kicked off, and it was certainly a major moment for the streamer who just a few years ago was broadcasting live on YouTube from his humble bedroom.
While some were left amazed by the creator's rapid ascent, many others were less than pleased with the quality of the performance, lamenting it as 'embarrassing' in the grand scheme of things.
It's not exactly a surprise that Speed's performance of his song, 'World Cup (Champions)', wasn't to everyone's taste, yet the use of a heavy playback track on the broadcast paired with accusations of lip syncing didn't do him any favors.
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One post on the r/worldcup subreddit proclaimed that Speed – alongside other performers during the closing ceremony – was 'out of control, shocking, and embarassing', branding the pre-show "the most lipsynced event of all time."
They compared it to a '2026 Milli Vanilli concert', calling on FIFA to 'do better' in the future. Others noted that while they respected Speed for his branding – and you certainly can't blame him for taking the opportunity to be on stage – "but he shouldn't be performing at a World Cup in my opinion. Takes away from all the artists that focus on that."
One commenter who was actually in attendance at the MetLife Stadium noted that fans "can hear his real voice but I guess on TV it's just playback," while another argued that backing tracks are necessary as "the sound would be horrible if it wasn't pre-taped. It is not easy to do a live broadcast of a musical performance that sounds good in person and on the TV."
Others were simply in awe that Speed managed to be among those selected for the closing ceremony, with one pointing out that "this is one of the biggest television events ever and he is one of the two humans performing the opening ceremony."
Another even joked that Speed now has more World Cup final appearances that his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, although neither will likely revel in that tidbit.
While you can understand IShowSpeed's appearance to be a little underwhelming, the general apathy towards the final's half time show is a little more surprising considering the scale of the names in appearance.
Almost every act got little more than a single song's worth of screen time, but Justin Bieber's acoustic showing appears to have drawn the biggest reaction from viewers across the world.
"Justin Bieber picking the 86th most famous song in his catalogue with a negative temp for the half time show was... a choice," wrote one disappointed watcher on X, with another joking that he "picked the songs that Spotify plays when you forget to skip."
A third questioned why he would "do that sleepy ass song for the World Cup," with many expecting something a little more uptempo — especially considering the vibe that all of the other performers opted for.
