Bad Bunny assures us that the rhythm of his Super Bowl performance will captivate you.
The global music titan delivered on his promise during a 13-minute halftime spectacle on Sunday, February 8th at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, commanding the stage with aplomb and uncompromising integrity.
But Bad Bunny also pulled a few other tricks out of his metaphorical hat for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
Lady Gaga’s salsa-inspired version of “Die With a Smile” was perhaps the most surprising guest Bad Bunny has ever had, as they danced wildly and injected a sense of familial fun into their performance.
Following an energetic fusion of reggaeton, bomba, hip-hop and pop music, Bad Bunny showed off her liveliness as she sang “Titty Me Pregant” against a backdrop of sugar cane, taco and jewelry stands.
The party continued with the raunchy verses of “Yo Pereo Solo” and “Safaela.” Standing atop a pink house (fans may remember “La Casita” from an earlier concert) wearing a cream-colored suit emblazoned with “Ocasio 64,” Bad Bunny danced across the roof before crashing through the ceiling, kicking open a door, and joining the dancers to pay homage to his mentor, Daddy Yankee, on “Gasolina.”
His other notable singing guest, fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin, sang a line from “Lo Que Le Paso a Hawaii,” and Cardi B (his singing buddy from the hit song “I Like It,” who appeared but didn’t contribute, which was a little strange) and actor Pedro Pascal joined the throng of dancers.
Bad Bunny’s exhilarating performance was, as expected, entirely in Spanish, and included cultural references, plenty of moving parts, and even one of the new Grammys handed out to a little boy.
He juggled power lines, set pieces, and dancers’ phalanges as he packed 14 songs into his set, including fan favorites “Nuevayol” and “EoO.”
“God bless America!” Bad Bunny yelled, followed by flags from all over the world following him through the field, confirming the names of the other countries during the final “Devi Tilal Mas Fotos.”
Bad Bunny wanted Super Bowl viewers to ‘just worry about the dancing’
Ahead of his energetic performance, Puerto Rican-born superstar Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio had a message for critics who are quick to dismiss his music, which is primarily performed in his native language.
“People just need to worry about dancing. They don’t even have to learn Spanish,” he said at last week’s Super Bowl 60 press conference. “You should learn to dance. There’s no better dance than the one that comes from the heart.”
The choice of 31-year-old Bad Bunny to headline halftime, one of the most enviable stages for career advancement, sparked intense controversy as he became a symbol of the country’s culture wars.
Since announcing his appointment in September, everything has been dissected, from his music, which won three more Grammy Awards last week, including the historic Album of the Year win for “Debi Tilal Mas Fotos,” to his bold fashion choices.
Much of the criticism leveled at Bad Bunny has come from President Donald Trump and his supporters, who have taken exception to the “king of Latin trap” who sings almost exclusively in Spanish.
Bad Bunny, an ardent defender of Puerto Rican heritage, has been a vocal critic of Trump, starting with the administration’s slow relief efforts after Hurricane Maria in 2017, which devastated parts of the U.S. territory.
Bad Bunny also took exception to a comedian who called the country a “floating island of trash” at a Trump 2024 campaign rally, leading to the musician’s support for Kamala Harris.
Who is Bad Bunny?
But Bad Bunny, whose nickname comes from a childhood photo of him wearing a bunny costume, achieved mega-stardom by remaining artistic and always keeping the spotlight on his roots. It’s a career path that has landed him 113 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, both solo and with artists like Drake, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, and earned him accolades like four years of Spotify’s Global Top Artists, six Grammy Awards, and 17 Latin Grammy Awards this decade.
Even with the release of Debí Tirar Más Fotos in January 2025, Bad Bunny’s career continued on a stratospheric trajectory. According to Billboard, the album sold nearly 48,000 vinyl copies in its first week, making it the single-biggest vinyl sales week for a Latin album since 1991. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, which focuses on traditional Puerto Rican music styles such as plena and bomba, remained at number one for four weeks, and the singles “DTMF” and “Baile Inolvidable” entered the top five of the Billboard Hot 100.
Given his continued success, there’s no reason for Bad Bunny to change his approach to music production.
As he told Spin in 2021, “I’m glad that we’re in an era where we don’t have to change anything about ourselves to go far. Not our musical style, not our language, not our culture. That doesn’t mean I’ll never sing in English. I’ve already sung in Japanese, so maybe someday I’ll sing in English. It feels great to do things my own way.”
