"After months of premature right-wing panic about a performance full of anti-American messaging, the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show went off without a hitch, making its critics seem desperate for a divisive news cycle that wasn't really in the cards. Anticipatory backlash against the show made it as far as the president, who said it was "absolutely ridiculous" that an artist "nobody heard of" had gotten the gig. A set list packed with international chart hits begged to differ."
"Surrounding the singer, rapper, actor, and wrestler making history as the first Latin trap and reggaeton star to headline a Super Bowl halftime show, sets bore a resemblance to his 2025 San Juan concert residency No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí. Bodegas, weddings, barbershops, field work, prize fights, and perreos offered a window into joy and pain in the unincorporated U.S. territory Bad Bunny was raised in, while guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin came through for crowd-pleasing duets."
"Dancing in stately white across the Levi's Stadium field, which was dressed up to look like a Puerto Rican sugar plantation, Bad Bunny tore through career highlights like "Yo perreo sola" from 2020's YHLQMDLG; "Tití Me Preguntó" and "El Apagón" off 2022's Un Verano Sin Ti; and "EoO" and "DtMF" from last year's now two-time Grammy-winning DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS."
Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl halftime show with a high-energy performance that defied pre-show right-wing backlash and presidential criticism. The set featured international hits across his catalog, including singles from YHLQMDLG, Un Verano Sin Ti, and his recent Grammy-winning work. Staging recreated Puerto Rican life through scenes of bodegas, weddings, barbershops, field work, prize fights, and perreos, and the Levi's Stadium field was dressed to evoke a Puerto Rican sugar plantation. Guest appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin added crowd-pleasing duets. The show foregrounded Puerto Rican identity and broad Latin representation on a global stage.
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