BTS, Madonna and Shakira headline the first World Cup halftime show

In an exclusive interview with the Telemundo program La Mesa Caliente, the Cuban actress and host Aylín Mujica broke the silence about the death of her first-born, Mauro Menéndez, which occurred on July 17. Mujica explained that she decided to speak out earlier than planned to stop the rumors and send a message of strength to other mothers facing a similar situation.

“I was not ready to give an interview but, if it is with you (Verónica Bastos), she is not going to do an interview, she is going to tell, clarify, narrate, give strength to all the mothers who have gone through this.”

The events prior to death

Mujica said that while recording the new season of Top Chef VIP in Colombia, his son Mauro traveled to Miami to visit his grandmother and his younger brothers. There he developed a bad cold that he did not want to treat. His uncle took him to the emergency room, but Mauro refused to go in and opted to take his flight to Barbados, where he had a DJ commitment.

The actress tried to dissuade him over the phone. He told her that he was already at the airport, in a wheelchair, but that he had to leave. The next day, Mauro contacted her to inform her that he had gone to the hospital in Barbados, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics. He felt good, in his own words: “they already gave me antibiotics, I feel 100%.” That was 24 hours before his death.

Critical hours

In the afternoon, Mujica tried to communicate with his son without success. At 10 p.m., a friend of Mauro responded: he had suffered three seizures while playing soccer. The ambulance arrived late and he was intubated. The doctors revived him seven times, but his heart couldn’t resist.

“The doctor told me that they found a clot in his lung, a clot in his heart.”

Mujica clarified that he did not speak with his son while he was being transferred, as was reported in other media. He could only say a few words to him when he was already unconscious. After receiving the news, he immediately traveled to Barbados.

The actress asked for respect and asked people to stop spreading false information about what happened.

The group Grupo Frontera demonstrated its roots in South Texas by selling out two dates at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg. The concerts, held on July 16 and 17, are part of their “Triste Pero Bien C*bron Tour.”

The musicians—Adelaido Solís III, Juan Javier Cantú, Julián Peña Jr., Alberto Acosta and Carlos Guerrero—were excited to bring their international tour to their region of origin. The audience responded with enthusiasm for more than two hours of continuous music.

The repertoire included hits such as “La del Proceso”, “Por qué sera”, “De Monday a Monday”, “Bebe Dame”, “No Capea”, “En Altavoz”, “No Se Va”, “Un x100to”, “Que Vuelvas”, “ALV” and “El Amor de Su Vida”. Also playing were “Amor propio”, “Le va a pain”, “Triste Pero Bien C*bron”, “911” and “Ojitos Rojos”. The attendees chanted each song in unison.

The first night featured the special participation of Pepe Aguilar, who shared the stage with the band.

This pair of presentations reaffirms the consolidation of Grupo Frontera as one of the most important acts in current regional Mexican music.

The first World Cup halftime show, broadcast from the outskirts of New York, not only captured global attention for eleven minutes. He also left clear figures on streaming platforms. Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS and Shakira were part of a performance that generated notable increases in digital views.

How much did the views grow?

Luminate, a firm specializing in music industry data, compared the views of each song performed two days before the final (Friday and Saturday) with those on the following Sunday and Monday. The results:

• Justin Bieber – “Everything Hallelujah” rose 110%, going from 592,000 to 1.25 million global views.
• Madonna – “Music” increased 66%, from 193,000 to 321,000.
• BTS – “Dynamite” grew 43%, from 2.14 million to 3.05 million.
• Shakira and Burna Boy – “Dai Dai”, the official anthem of the 2026 World Cup, registered a 24% rebound globally (from 14.78 to 18.27 million). In the United States, the increase was 52% (from 1.68 to 2.55 million).

Impact limited to the show’s repertoire

Luminate noted that the increases were concentrated on songs played in the field, not artists’ entire catalogs. This phenomenon is similar to what happens after the Super Bowl halftime show. For example, Bad Bunny, after his record-breaking performance this year, saw a 175% increase in streaming of his catalog in the United States the day after the event.

The data confirms that a high-profile performance remains an effective platform for reactivating musical interest, even if the effect is limited to the pieces performed.