Super Bowl halftime 2026 review: Bad Bunny delivers show for the ages with guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin
Bad Bunny staged a charged Super Bowl halftime show that never stopped moving, but it’s clear this is what he wanted to do.
That was a Super Bowl halftime show for the ages.
Bad Bunny didn’t just bring the party, he brought the PAR-TAY. He brought several parties, actually, with an uproariously vibrant performance that defiantly declared his Puerto Rican heritage at a time of intense division in the US.
Bad Bunny staged a charged show that never stopped moving, surrounded by large groups of dancers and performers from Latin communities, as the tableau moved from streetscapes of nail salons, jewellery counters, neighbourhood markets and old men gathered around tables to a big family wedding, and then the biggest street party.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.He had special guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, while Pedro Pascal and Cardi B were spotted on the pitch, but even they were outshined by Bad Bunny’s irrepressible charisma and his mission to celebrate all American cultures up and down the two continents separated only by the man-made Panama Canal.
The mood was jubilant and the electricity was crackling as he bopped, sashayed and, dare we say it, migrated his way across the elaborate sets built for the pitch.
There was no mistaking what Bad Bunny was here to do, trying to connect communities with a dominant US culture that has become increasingly hostile to migrants since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Bad Bunny held aloft the Puerto Rican flag and was then joined by a throng of performers each waving a flag from each country in South, Central and North America, while the artist yelled out a roll call of nations, ending with the United States and Canada.
As the fireworks sparked around Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Bad Bunny worked up to his crescendo, flashed up on the big screens around the venue were the words “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”.
Bad Bunny sang his entire set in Spanish, as did Martin, but it didn’t matter if you didn’t understand the language. You understood the meaning. You understood the emotions.
Love is the watchword. Love your neighbour, wherever they come from.
Bad Bunny was an exciting but controversial, for some, choice as Super Bowl halftime performer as political disunity tears apart social cohesion in the US.
Bad Bunny, legal name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, is from Puerto Rico, a protectorate of the US. But Mr Trump has had an uneasy relationship with the American territory and, in his first term, was widely seen to be have withheld adequate disaster relief after the destruction of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Mr Trump and the Federal authorities under his direction, most notably the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, has been criticised for a violent crackdown on immigration, targeting those of Latin heritage and appearance.
People with Latin backgrounds account for 68 million people in the US, and accounts for a large portion of population growth in the country.
Last year, Bad Bunny left the US off his tour because he said he was concerned that ICE could target his fans outside of those venues.
Conservative critics slammed the Bad Bunny pick because he was “not American enough” for them, even though, again, Puerto Rico is a US territory, and previous Super Bowl headliners have included Brits Coldplay, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, Canadian Shania Twain, Barbadian Rihanna, and famously Irish band U2.
When Bad Bunny was announced as this year’s pick, Mr Trump claimed he had never heard of the singer, and, “this guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer and a lot of folks don’t even know who he is”.
Right-wing politician Majorie Taylor Green said of booking Bad Bunny that she was worried about “demonic sexual performances” at the game.
Conservative organisation Turning Point hosted their own version of a Super Bowl halftime show, headlined by Kid Rock, as a counter to Bad Bunny’s performance. Kid Rock said his show was for people “who love America, love football, love Jesus”.
Bad Bunny last week became the first person to win the Grammys Album of the Year for a Spanish-language record. In accepting one of his three gongs, he said, “Before I say thanks to god, I’m going to say ICE out. We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we’re humans and we’re Americans.”
The day after the Grammys, Bad Bunny’s catalogue saw 36 million streams, adding to his billions of downloads. He has sold more 123 million albums, and will be touring Australia later this month.
