Bad Bunny, tens of millions of listeners. Super Bowl, tens of millions of watchers. Seems like a pretty strong combo.
The 2026 Super Bowl halftime show will feature one of the world’s top artists on one of the world’s biggest stages, where millions tune in for the spectacle.
As the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks prepare for the game in Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, many viewers will be tuning in just for Bad Bunny, who’s known for his versatile Spanish-language genre selections.
Live from New York, it’s Bad Bunny! The Puerto Rican rapper kicked off Season 51 of “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 4 alongside musical guest Doja Cat. During his monologue, the singer reacted to being selected as the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer and addressed his critics. “I’m very happy. I’m very happy, and I think everyone is happy about it – even Fox News,” he joked, before an edited clip of spliced-together footage from the network played, which stated: “Bad Bunny is my favorite musician. He should be the next president.” Afterwards, the Grammy winner delivered an empowering message to the Latino community in Spanish, highlighting their contribution to the U.S., and ended by saying in English, “And if you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.” Plus, actor Jon Hamm also made a surprise cameo during the rapper’s monologue. You can watch Super Bowl LX Feb. 8 on NBC and Peacock.
With the aforementioned context and the intensifying U.S. political climate, could Bad Bunny’s show mean more than just music? Jorell Melendez-Badillo, an associate professor of history at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes so.
“In this political climate, I think that speaking Spanish can be seen as dangerous, as too political,” Melendez-Badillo said.
But Bad Bunny (who took home three Grammys for his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”) has made it clear plenty of times before — he doesn’t care.
“It is a Bad Bunny show, all in Spanish, at a moment which Benito has publicly said that he did not include the United States on his global tour precisely because of the situation with ICE and the demographic of his fanbase,” Melendez-Badillo added. “…I think there’s something there also about the biggest artist in the world not catering to the biggest pop market in the world and still making numbers and being No. 1.”
The NFL is also continuing its mission to expand internationally, with recent games being played in Spain and Brazil. The 2026 schedule will also include the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams going to Australia. Bad Bunny’s international fame is a logical choice from that standpoint.
Still, though, it’ll mean even more to those at home in the U.S.
“This is a milestone, it’s a moment of standing up for our diversity, standing up for equality,” Steve Swerdlow, associate professor of the practice of political science and international relations at USC, said. “I think it’s very important given the changing demographics, given the fact we are a country of immigrants, to have a Super Bowl in Spanish.”
The Super Bowl game and halftime show will be available to watch on NBC and Peacock, with kick-off time around 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
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