Bad Bunny is set to take the stage on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California, for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show. The 31-year-old rapper-singer is known for his significant contributions to the Latin pop scene — especially for bringing the Spanish language into mainstream charts. Bad Bunny has broken historic streaming records, such as being the first artist to claim Spotify’s Global Top Artist four times.
Aside from his music, Bad Bunny also stands out as a consistent voice for advocacy and protest for marginalized communities, and often incorporates that passion into his lyrics. The artist has even taken a philanthropic approach to his community outreach — in 2019, he founded the Good Bunny Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to address quality of life for Puerto Ricans, particularly focusing on youth programming. Given the huge spotlight he is about to step into — and the increase in celebrities speaking out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement —people are buzzing with excitement to see what Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show has in store.
With additional performances from Green Day and Brandi Carlile, the hype around Bad Bunny being chosen as the Super Bowl halftime show performer has also come with plenty of backlash from those who oppose the advocacy platforms that all of these artists have behind their careers.
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was questioned at a press conference about the controversy surrounding Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, he pointed out what’s at stake when it comes to taking this specific stage. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us, it’s an important element to the entertainment value. It’s carefully thought through.”
“I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback or criticism,” Goodell added. “It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people who are watching. But we’re confident it’s going to be a great show, and he understands the platform he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
With this anticipation in mind, fans and foes of Bad Bunny haven’t hesitated to share their hot takes and predictions for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Here are some of the most popular theories out there about Bad Bunny’s performance.
- 1. Bad Bunny will open with “NUEVAYoL” and add the viral fabricated Donald Trump audio.
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If you’ve been on Bad Bunny TikTok at all in the last few months, or are familiar with the music video for “NUEVAYoL,” you’ve probably heard the fake Donald Trump audio that’s been circulating. In July, Bad Bunny included a scene in the song’s music video where a voice that sounds just like Trump gives a pro-immigrant apology.
“I’ve made a mistake,” the fake Trump voice says. “I want to apologize to the immigrants in America — I mean the United States — I know America is the whole continent. I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans.”
While this audio is not included in the original recording of the song, fans are hoping — especially given the increase in violent ICE raids — that this audio will make its way into his set, and maybe even as his opener.
- Bad Bunny will use his stage and set design to make references to Latin American (and American) motifs.
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Given Bad Bunny’s dedication to representing Latinx culture — and the unwanted intersection of American influences — in his performances, fans think the Puerto Rican star will show up with some props and costumes to keep this vibe going.
A popular example of this is Bad Bunny’s tribute to the infamous 1977 Young Lords Organization protest, where 30 Puerto Rican activists took over the Statue of Liberty for eight hours and displayed a Puerto Rican flag hanging from Lady Liberty’s crown to stand up against the colonial status of Puerto Rico. A recreation of this protest was shown in Bad Bunny’s music video for “NUEVAYoL,” and fans are here for that same energy to take the stage at Levi’s Stadium.
- Guest appearances could include anyone, from opening act Green Day to Celine Dion.
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Fans are discussing the possibility of a reggaeton, Bad Bunny-inspired cover of “American Idiot” if Green Day were to do an encore for Bad Bunny’s set. Other names that have come up as surprise guests include Mark Anthony and Ricky Martin, who have both shared the stage with the headliner before. Celine Dion, however, has yet to officially collaborate with Bad Bunny, but has been vocal about her admiration for his fruitful career and unwavering advocacy, and has even spoken out against the Trump administration for the unauthorized use of music in promotional content supportive of ICE.
- Bad Bunny will shout out LGBTQ+ community in some way.
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Bad Bunny might just be the most iconic, timely choice for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. Aside from being a loud advocate for the Latinx community, the singer has also shown support for the LGBTQ+ community through his rejection of gender norms, such as painting his nails in the “Caro” music video, or times where he’s dressed in full-on drag, like his music video for “Yo Perreo Sola.”
While Bad Bunny identified himself as heterosexual in 2020, he was recognized for his allyship and advocacy with a GLAAD Vanguard Award.
- Bad Bunny’s setlist will line up with the DeBi Tirar Mas Fotos World Tour.
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Historically, halftime performances have been between 12-15 minutes, with past headliners like Rihanna and Usher averaging around 13 minutes. Fans are predicting that Bad Bunny’s setlist will include hits like the tour’s titular track, “DtMF,” as well as “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and “VOY a LLeVARTE PA PR.”
To tease what to expect when Bad Bunny takes the stage, Apple Music posted on TikTok with the caption “On February 8, the world will dance,” and showed Bad Bunny hitting play on “BAILE INoLVIDABLE,” to which he started dancing with people of all ages, genders, and races.
“The message is very clear,” reads a comment from @vivalospanesconpollo that received 53.8k likes. “The world wants to dance; nobody cares about race, age, or social class.”