It's fun, it's joyous, it’s amazing… It's Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show! After three Grammy wins, ‘controversy’ over a Spanish-speaking performer doing the Super Bowl, and political turmoil over ICE in the USA, Bad Bunny gave us a stunning performance.
Bad Bunny delivering a monologue on the power of self-belief over the song MONACO, was inspiring and badass. Lady Gaga performed a Latinoified version of Die With a Smile which was beautiful and I hope we get a full version of it. Her joy is so infectious that you can (almost) forgive her weird salsa hand gestures. I’ve had the song BAILE INoLVIDABLE on repeat lately. It was so phenomenal seeing it performed by Bad Bunny, with a smile on his face, on the set of a Latino wedding; it's so easy to smile at. Ricky Martin is also wonderful. Bad Bunny and his performers walking off triumphantly to DtMF gave me goosebumps.
This show can’t be divorced from its political themes and messages, which you can find multiple articles and videos about online. For example, the most obvious ‘love over hate' message, from featuring a real-life wedding halfway through the show to the billboard as Bad Bunny walked off the field displaying: “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE” in black and white font, his message was loud and clear.
Whilst Charlie Puth's beautiful rendition of the American national anthem was outright military propaganda at times, Bad Bunny’s performance felt like I was getting programmed with love, euphoria and the need to dance.
In an ideal world, I would know Spanish and be more familiar with Bad Bunny’s catalogue, but I enjoyed the show, nonetheless. It was a really mesmerising performance that showcased Puerto Rican and Latino culture and delivered a really incredible vibe and political message. I'm going to go and listen to his 2025 album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and I think you should too.