Ayra Starr is about to do something no Afrobeats star has done before, according to Billboard: headline halftime at an NFL International Game. She takes the field today (Oct. 11) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London, where the Philadelphia Eagles play the Jacksonville Jaguars at 2:30 p.m. BST (9:30 a.m. ET).
“London is one of my favorite places in the world and to bring Starrgirl to the NFL global stage is a dream come true for me,” the Beninese-Nigerian singer said when the league announced the booking in August. Starrgirl, her third album, came out Aug. 14 on Mavin and Republic, with guests including ZAYN, Leon Thomas and Wizkid.
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The league is pitching the show as more than a booking. “London is one of the most influential music cities in the world, and African music has been at the center of that conversation for years now,” said Tim Tubito, the NFL’s senior director of global game presentation, music and entertainment. Starr brings more than seven billion streams, two Grammy nominations for best African music performance and a set on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, per the NFL.
In the U.K., the full performance airs free-to-air on 5 and on Sky Sports. Her newest video, “Heaven Baby” with ZAYN, arrived Oct. 5. Watch it below.
Next stop: Paris
Two weeks later it’s Burna Boy’s turn. He headlines halftime when the New Orleans Saints play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Stade de France on Oct. 25, the first NFL regular-season game ever played in France.
He knows the building. On April 18, 2025, he became the first African artist to headline a solo concert at Stade de France, playing to a sold-out crowd of more than 80,000, and France is his third-biggest streaming market after the U.S. and the U.K., Billboard reports.
“Paris gave me one of the biggest nights of my career, and to walk back into Stade de France for a moment like this means everything,” Burna Boy said in a statement. “The NFL is bringing something to France that has never happened here before, and I get to stand in the middle of it representing African music and I intend to give the people a show they will not forget.”
London and Paris are two of a record seven halftime shows at the NFL’s international games this season, across seven countries on four continents. The Jonas Brothers opened the run in Melbourne on Sept. 10, and Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio played Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 27. After Paris come Manuel Turizo in Madrid (Nov. 8), Cage the Elephant in Munich (Nov. 15) and the Warning in Mexico City (Nov. 22), per the NFL.
Kickoff in Paris is 2:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET) on Oct. 25, with the game airing in France on France Télévisions and beIN Sports.
- London
- Eagles vs. Jaguars, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Oct. 11
- Kickoff
- 2:30 p.m. BST (9:30 a.m. ET)
- U.K. broadcast
- 5 and Sky Sports
- Paris
- Saints vs. Steelers, Stade de France, Oct. 25
