Jessie Reyez will perform “Illuminate” at BMO Field today as part of Toronto’s local World Cup opening ceremonies, singing a duet originally recorded with Palestinian‑Chilean pop star Elyanna and included on this year’s official FIFA World Cup album.
The hometown appearance places Reyez on a stacked roster that also features Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé and Alessia Cara, and comes in a week that is unusually heavy for the Brampton‑raised singer: her fourth album, A Little Vengeance, drops on Friday and she turns 35 the same day.
The scale of that overlap is the story’s heft. A Little Vengeance is a 17‑track set, Reyez’s fourth full album following last year’s Paid in Memories LP and the March EP $till Paid. Reyez described the week bluntly: “It’s a big week. It’s f — ing terrifying... Everything has just fallen into the same day now and in my home city, so I have the logistics of organizing family and cousins and everything else and, well, thank God for concealer ’cause the bags under my eyes are hidden well enough.”
Context matters: the performance is tied to Toronto’s opening ceremonies at BMO Field and the song she will sing, “Illuminate,” is part of the World Cup’s official soundtrack, giving the appearance both local resonance and international exposure. Reyez has been steadily busy—she released the poetry book Words of a Goat Princess in 2023, followed last year by The People’s Purge: Words of a Goat Princess Volume and the acclaimed LP Paid in Memories—and she has said, “I don’t ever really stop.”
That steady pace creates tension. Reyez has insisted the collision of events was not planned: “The synchronicity of an album release, the Toronto opening ceremony and her birthday was completely accidental.” Still, the practical squeeze is real—on Tuesday she was en route through downtown Toronto to a World Cup dress rehearsal, and she told a phone interviewer she felt “combustible” ahead of release week. “On the day after release day I feel like I can exhale. I’ll be OK. With everything right now, I’m just combustible,” she said.
What to expect at BMO Field: Reyez will perform “Illuminate,” the duet with Elyanna, as part of the ceremony’s music sequence. The slot pairs her hometown profile with international tournament visibility and positions the track alongside performances by other major Canadian acts. Reyez has joked to lighten the load—“You know the meme where the dog’s in a burning house going, ‘Everything’s fine’? That’s how I feel.”—and even quipped, “Nah, I’m gonna do ‘Still D.R.E.,’” underscoring the mix of nerves and levity she’s managing.
Practical detail for readers: the appearance is today at BMO Field during Toronto’s opening ceremonies; Reyez has been preparing through rehearsals this week. Her new album A Little Vengeance arrives Friday, the same day she marks her 35th birthday, and will be the immediate yardstick for how the World Cup performance translates into sales and streams.
The next clear marker is Friday: the album release. Reyez has said she expects relief the day after the record drops—“On the day after release day I feel like I can exhale. I’ll be OK.”—which answers the immediate question of what follows the BMO Field spotlight. For anyone watching today, the practical takeaway is simple: this is a hometown moment staged at the start of an international tournament with an album and a milestone birthday waiting on the other side.
