Benito Bowl: Bad Bunny to Headline 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCF chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

On Sept. 28, the NFL, alongside Roc Nation and Apple Music, revealed that Bad Bunny will perform at the halftime show for the 60^th annual Super Bowl. This announcement, which aired in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, highlighted the importance of Bad Bunny’s ethnic identity as a representation of America. While people of Hispanic or Latin-American descent make up 19% of this country’s population, next year’s Super Bowl halftime show will only be the fifth to be headlined by someone from this community.

Despite the significance of this achievement, the upcoming performance on Feb. 8 will not be Bad Bunny’s first time on an NFL stage. The Puerto Rican musician made a guest appearance in 2020 when Shakira invited him for a duet during her co-headlined show with Jennifer Lopez. This halftime also featured J Balvin and Lopez’s daughter in a celebration of Latin culture and pride. Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, promises to continue this cultural display during his performance.

Language discourse

Bad Bunny’s recent announcement sparked online debate on who should be able to perform at a Super Bowl halftime show. This event is the biggest football game of the year — a particularly American sport — so many people have strong opinions on who should be involved. While some people disapprove of Bad Bunny’s Spanish songs and accented English, he is still an American citizen, having been born in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Martínez Ocasio responded to the backlash he received while hosting Saturday Night Live on Oct. 4 with a Spanish statement during his monologue. He shared that all Latinos will get to partake in his success: “Más que un logro mío es un logro de todos, demostrando que nuestra huella y nuestra aportación a este país nadie nunca la podrá sacar ni borrar,” meaning “It is more than an accomplishment for me, it is an accomplishment for all of us, showing that our footprint and our contribution to this country will never be taken away or erased by anyone.”

Recent and Upcoming concerts

No one is better suited to speak on Latin American accomplishments than Bad Bunny. The Super Bowl LX halftime show announcement is only one of many career highlights that Bad Bunny has experienced over the past year. His sixth studio album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (I Should Have Taken More Photos) was released on Jan. 5 to critical, commercial, and cultural acclaim, with all 17 tracks charting on the Billboard Hot 100. He also recently completed a 31-show residency titled No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí (I Do Not Want to Leave Here) at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan — colloquially referred to as the Choli. These concerts featured numerous surprise guests and attracted celebrities from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Penélope Cruz to Jon Hamm. The final show from Bad Bunny’s residency was live–streamed on Amazon Prime, allowing fans from around the world to join him in celebrating “la isla del encanto” (the island of enchantment).

Earlier this year, Bad Bunny announced he would be touring his album in stadiums across the world. However, when he posted the show dates, fans noticed a missing country: the United States. He later explained the decision was due to attempts from the current administration to deport undocumented immigrants. Latinos are primarily being targeted, and Bad Bunny’s fanbase fits this demographic, so he chose to prevent the risk of raids by not performing in the United States.

As such, headlining the Super Bowl seems hypocritical; he is opting to perform on one of the most-viewed stages in America. However, tickets for the Super Bowl are notoriously expensive, preventing the average person from being able to attend. The Trump administration claimed that ICE agents would be present at the game, but the Super Bowl and the sport of football rarely appeal to Latinos, making it an already unwelcome space for this population. By taking this opportunity, Bad Bunny can flaunt his Latin identity, while the people who are being affected by the recent policy can safely watch from home.

Bad Bunny promises a show that will present his Puerto Rican identity to millions. Through his music, fashion, and dialect, he has been steadily sharing his culture over the past few years. While his albums have progressively amassed more fans, the Super Bowl halftime stage is a unique opportunity to be exposed to a larger audience. It is impossible to know which songs he will perform from his repertoire of hits, but I, for one, am eager to see what he comes up with for Feb. 8.