Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance
Bad Bunny made history by headlining the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime show on February 8th, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California – being the first artist ever to perform almost entirely in Spanish on this global stage.
His set blended music with rich cultural imagery: he began with “Titi Me Pregunto” and marched through a staged sugar cane field and included nods to Puerto Rican life and culture with food carts, domino games and traditional “La Casita” setups.
Excitement was only intensified by the major surprises including Lady Gaga joining him for a salsa influenced duet and Ricky Martin performing with him on stage working only to perpetuate the massive audience's enjoyment.
What Bad Bunny did on stage was not just entertainment. It was a bold statement, which became wrapped up in complex national conversations about identity and belonging. His performance was a celebration of Latino culture and representation in mainstream U.S entertainment, many reactions (specifically left wing watchers) we’re thrilled with Bad Bunnys unifying performance.
At the end of his set, he listed countries from across all of America — not just the U.S — and held up a football reading “Together We Are America”, pushing a message of inclusion beyond boarders.
However, Bad Bunny’s performance of unity and inclusion received backlash from conservative politicians reacting strongly. The U.S president, Donald Trump, publicly criticised the performance, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “an affront to the Greatness of America” complaining that many viewers could not understand the Spanish lyrics.
One right wing organisation, Turning Point USA (famously Charlie Kirk was involved with this organisation and lead far right wing debates and was a key figure during the 2024 election in supporting Donald Trump) staged an alternative, pre-recorded halftime broadcast called the All-American Halftime Show, with different artists and a more traditionally “patriotic” theme, making the public divide between the political left and right a part of Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show, approximately 6.5 million people tuned into watch this.
Bad Bunny’s performance ultimately showed how powerful pop culture can be in shaping national conversations. What was meant to be a high energy musical performance celebrating his culture quickly became a reflection of deeper debates surrounding the political climate of America, especially with heightened tensions due to the enforcement of ICE across America. Supporters viewed the show as a milestone that honoured Latino identity on one of the world’s biggest stages, while critics questioned whether such cultural messaging belonged in an event that is traditionally for entertainment. Regardless of where people stood, the intensity of the reaction proved that major cultural moments rarely exist in mainstream media in America. Bad Bunny delivered a halftime spectacle but also sparked dialogue about inclusion, identity, and the evolving definition of America culture.
Sources: usplash
Beth Daly
