Another year of the National Football League is upon us. The 2025-26 season kicks off Thursday, September 4, as the Dallas Cowboys visit defending Super Bowl champs Philadelphia. The next day — Friday, September 5 — marks a historic moment for the league when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the Los Angeles Chargers at the Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. For the first time, YouTube will exclusively broadcast the matchup live. And as if that all weren’t exciting enough, Columbian reggaeton sensation Karol G will take the stage during halftime of the watershed NFL game.
Karol G Is “So Excited” For Landmark NFL Halftime Performance
After appearing on the Columbian version of The X Factor at age 14, Karol G began uploading covers of songs by Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys to YouTube. In doing so, she hoped that “Drake would discover me like he did Justin Bieber.”
However, her moment wouldn’t come until 2017, when she released the Bad Bunny collab “Ahora Me Llama.” Garnering more than 1 billion streams on YouTube, the song served as the lead single for her debut album, Unstoppable. Six years later, the Grammy winner’s fourth record, Mañana Será Bonito, became the first-ever Spanish-language album by a female artist to debut atop the Billboard 200.
LA BICHOTA 🔥
— duda (@jamietatrt) August 14, 2025
With YouTube helping shape her early career, headlining the halftime show for the streaming platform’s live NFL broadcasting debut feels serendipitous for Karol G, born Carolina Giraldo Navarro.
“I’m so excited to be part of YouTube’s first-ever NFL live broadcast. It’s truly an honor and a moment I’m so proud to be part of,” the “Mi Ex Tenía Razón” singer, 34, said in a statement. “I’ve watched many NFL halftime shows over the years and now having this opportunity to bring my music to this global stage means the world to me. I can’t wait to celebrate with everyone in São Paulo and fans all around the world.”
Fans can likely expect to hear hits from her newly-released fifth album Tropicoqueta, which broke her own streaming record when it debuted in June 2025.
[RELATED: Karol G Opens 2023 Billboard Music Awards with a Big Splash]
YouTube’s first-ever NFL broadcast is “about more than just a game,” said Angela Courtin, the platform’s vice president of sports and entertainment marketing.
“It’s a statement that the future of live sports and entertainment is global and connected,” she said.
Featured image by Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images