{"id":199975,"date":"2026-02-11T02:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/bad-bunnys-super-bowl-halftime-show-brings-powerful-message-celebrities-to-world-stage-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T02:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:50:08","slug":"bad-bunnys-super-bowl-halftime-show-brings-powerful-message-celebrities-to-world-stage-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/bad-bunnys-super-bowl-halftime-show-brings-powerful-message-celebrities-to-world-stage-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show brings powerful message, celebrities to world stage – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bad Bunny<\/a> guaranteed one thing about his Super Bowl performance: the rhythm is gonna get you.
The global music titan<\/a> delivered on his promise during his 13-minute halftime spectacle Sunday, Feb. 8, at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, commanding the stage with swagger and unapologetic authenticity.
But Bad Bunny also pulled a few other tricks out of his metaphorical hat for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
Welcoming Lady Gaga<\/a> for a salsa-fied version of \u201cDie with a Smile\u201d was perhaps the most surprising guest Bad Bunny could have enlisted as they danced feverishly and injected the performance with a feeling of family and fun.
Her lively appearance followed an energetic musical me\u0301lange \u2013 reggaeton, bomba, hip-hop and pop \u2013 as Bad Bunny worked his way through a backdrop of a field of sugar cane, taco and jewelry stands and boxers Xander Zayas and Emiliano Vargas with \u201cTiti\u0301 Me Pregunto\u0301.\u201d
The party continued with \u201cYo Perreo Solo\u201d and a ribald verse from \u201cSafaera.\u201d Standing atop a pink house (fans will recognize “La Casita” from his previous concerts) in his cream suit emblazoned with “Ocasio 64,” Bad Bunny danced across the roof before crashing down through the ceiling, kicking the door open and joining his dancers for a nod to his mentor Daddy Yankee with \u201cGasolina.\u201d
His other high-profile singing guest, fellow Puerto Rican Ricky Martin, sang a verse of “Lo Que Le Paso\u0301 a Hawaii,” while Cardi B\u00a0\u2013 a singing friend on their hit “I Like It,” which made her appearance but not contribution a bit odd \u2013 and actor\u00a0Pedro Pascal<\/a>\u00a0joined a swarm of dancers.<\/a>
Bad Bunny\u2019s invigorating performance, which, as expected, was performed entirely in Spanish, was filled with cultural references, numerous moving parts, a real wedding<\/a> and even one of his new Grammys handed to a little boy<\/a>.
He packed 14 songs into his set, including fan favorites “Nuevayol” and “EoO,” while navigating power lines<\/a> , set pieces and phalanxes of dancers.
\u201cGod Bless America!\u201d Bad Bunny yelled, followed by his namechecking countries from the Americas \u2012 including Chile, Brazil, Peru and Canada \u2012 as a parade of their\u00a0flags followed him through the field for the closing \u201cDebi Tirar Mas Fotos.\u201d
Prior to his vigorous performance<\/a>, the Puerto Rican superstar born Benito Antonio Marti\u0301nez Ocasio had a message for critics quick to dismiss his music performed primarily in his native language.
\u201cPeople only have to worry about dancing. They don\u2019t even have to learn Spanish,\u201d he said at a Super Bowl 60 press conference<\/a> last week. \u201cBetter they learn to dance. There is no better dance than the one that comes from the heart.\u201d
The selection of Bad Bunny, 31, as the halftime headliner \u2013 one of the most enviable platforms for a career boost \u2013 ignited a firestorm of controversy<\/a> as he became a symbol of the nation\u2019s culture wars.
Everything from his music \u2013 which landed him three more Grammy Awards last week, including a history-making album of the year<\/a> win for \u201cDebi\u0301 Tirar Ma\u0301s Fotos\u201d \u2013 to his bold fashion choices<\/a> have been dissected since his appointment was announced in September.
Much of the criticism lobbed at Bad Bunny stemmed from President Donald Trump<\/a> and his followers, who took exception to the \u201cKing of Latin Trap\u201d singing almost exclusively in Spanish.
Bad Bunny, a fierce protector of his Puerto Rican heritage, has been vocal with\u00a0criticism about Trump<\/a>, starting with the administration\u2019s delayed relief efforts following Hurricane Maria in 2017, which devastated parts of the U.S. territory.
Bad Bunny also took exception to a comedian at a Trump election rally referring to his homeland as \u201ca floating island of garbage\u201d in 2024, leading the musician to endorse Kamala Harris.
But Bad Bunny, his nickname borne of a childhood photo wearing a bunny costume, achieved his massive stardom by retaining his artistry and always spotlighting his roots. It\u2019s a career path that has netted him 113 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 \u2013 both with artists such as Drake, Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez and solo \u2013 as well as accolades including Spotify\u2019s Global Top Artist<\/a> for four years this decade, six Grammys<\/a> and 17 Latin Grammys.\u00a0
Bad Bunny\u2019s career continued its stratospheric trajectory when \u201cDebi\u0301 Tirar Ma\u0301s Fotos\u201d was released in January 2025. The album sold nearly 48,000 copies on vinyl its first week, making it the single-largest vinyl sales week for a Latin album since 1991,\u00a0according to Billboard.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cDebi\u0301 Tirar Ma\u0301s Fotos,\u201d which focuses on traditional Puerto Rican music styles including plena and bomba, stayed at No. 1 for four weeks while singles \u201cDTMF\u201d and \u201cBaile Inolvidable\u201d launched into the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Given his sustained success, Bad Bunny has no reason to shift his approach to creating music.
As he\u00a0told Spin in 2021<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019m pleased that we are in a time where I don\u2019t need to change anything about myself \u2013 not my musical style, not my language, not my culture \u2013 to go far. That doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll never sing in English. I already sang in Japanese, so maybe one day I\u2019ll sing in English. It feels great to do things my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bad Bunny guaranteed one thing about his Super Bowl performance: the rhythm is gonna get you.The global music titan delivered on his promise during his 13-minute halftime spectacle Sunday, Feb. 8, at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, commanding the stage with swagger and unapologetic authenticity.But Bad Bunny also pulled a few other tricks out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-199975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}