From stage show to street party, Bad Bunny was spectacular

From the moment Bad Bunny sailed out of the pre-filmed opening segment to the Super Bowl LX half-time show and transitioned onto the artfully recreated stage on Levi’s Stadium, it was clear he’d stolen the show. This was more than a sideshow to a game of footy. It was a spectacular, rhythmic explosion of Latin dance and song.

His song Titi Me Pregunto is a dazzling diary note about a young man’s complicated love life, the story of a youthful Romeo caught between his many girlfriends and the inquiring questions of his aunt, who is pressing him to settle down. The title translates literally as Auntie Asked Me.

But like Bad Bunny himself, who looked like he was floating on air as he sailed through the elaborate choreography, and the complex politics of the weeks which preceded game day, this was a performance which elevated at each turn, compelled with each note and, finally, sprouted wings and took artful flight, from stage show to street party.

With fireworks exploding in the sky – a very American nod to the national anthem’s lyrics “the rockets’ red glare, the bomb bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there” – the street party, loaded with flags, looked as much like a revolution as a celebration. It was not quite Les Miserables, but we were barricades adjacent.

And to double down on how great it was, we even got three for the price of one: Bad Bunny was joined, at different times, by two other superstars, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

Significantly, in an era where major corporations and establishment institutions are grasping for ways to reach through the noise and speak to younger audiences, Bad Bunny’s smooth style, meshed with a dance and song spectacular, made it all look so easy.

The genre – reggaeton – is also a step through the looking glass into the Wonderland of the world’s young and cool. Reggaeton originated in Panama and Puerto Rico during the late ’80s and early ’90s, blending Jamaican dancehall, Spanish reggae and American hip-hop. Whatever it is, it’s addictive and fun.

The half-time show’s breathtaking stage design is the handwork – according to music industry sources – of Australian creative director Julio Himede, a New York-based design superstar who has emerged as one of the most influential live event designers working in music production.

Born in El Salvador, raised in Australia, and a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Himede has been involved in events including the VMAs, the BRIT Awards, the BAFTAs, the Eurovision Song Contest, Bad Bunny’s performance at the 2025 Latin Grammys, and last week’s 2026 Grammys. (Busy week, dude.)

In the end, Bad Bunny’s half-time performance did not contain the political hit critics expected it to. In the run-up to the Super Bowl, the White House singled out the NFL’s decision to book Bad Bunny for criticism, unhappy that, as a Puerto Rican, he intended to perform in Spanish. The most powerful riposte in the show was the fact that one of the few English lines was “God bless America.”

The absurdity of the controversy itself is that Puerto Rico is an American territory, and its population of 3.2 million – including Bad Bunny, who was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – are American citizens. That the largely white, right-wing media commentariat (and associated social media hangers-on) seemed unaware of that is revealing in itself.

It also followed a damning Grammys album of the year acceptance speech last week, in which Bad Bunny took aim at the thin-skinned US administration: “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans.”

To ICE that cake – pun intended – California’s Trump-trolling governor, Gavin Newsom, also took a pre-Super Bowl shot at the White House, with a social media post saying he was a “huge fan of Puerrrrrrrto Rico”, and announcing that he had officially gazetted February 8 as Bad Bunny Day. “Happy Bad Bunny Day, America,” Newsom wrote.

A little more awkward was Apple boss Tim Cook’s attempt to hitch a ride on the Bad Bunny train. Despite donating $US1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee and gifting the US president with a glass and 24-karat gold plaque, Cook posted a photo on his social account with Bad Bunny. Apple is also the sponsor of the Super Bowl half-time show.

Conservative audiences were offered an “alternate” half-time show – The All-American Halftime Show – sponsored by the conservative organisation Turning Point USA and streamed online. It was headlined by 55-year-old music artist Kid Rock. It looked less like Les Miserables and more plain old miserable.

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