This year’s Super Bowl halftime show was a highly anticipated event, headlined by rapper Bad Bunny performing solely in Spanish. Fans were taken by surprise with a special guest appearance that left them amazed.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a six-time Grammy winner. He faced high expectations for his performance, following in the footsteps of previous artists like Kendrick Lamar, Shakira, and Rihanna who have captivated audiences in recent years.
Ocasio’s halftime performance, delivered entirely in Spanish, was a celebration of his Puerto Rican heritage. Dressed in all white, he performed on a stage that shifted between the themes of a carnival and a formal wedding, embodying his cultural roots.
As his approximately 15-minute set reached its climax, a group of wedding dancers parted to reveal a surprise guest: the iconic Lady Gaga, dressed in blue.
The performance concluded with Bad Bunny switching to English to say, “God bless America,” followed by a blessing for all the countries in Latin America, marking the end of a historic halftime show.
He has made history as the first solo Spanish-language performer to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. However, the decision to feature him was not without controversy, as it was one of the reasons cited by President Trump for not attending.
In a statement to the New York Post, President Trump expressed his disapproval, saying, “I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
Despite the criticism, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the choice, stating, “He’s one of the most popular entertainers in the world. That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important element to the entertainment value. It’s carefully thought through. I would say I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism.”
Bad Bunny mentioned to the media on Thursday that if he wasn’t performing at the halftime show, he would be “watching the Super Bowl at home.”