EDITOR’S NOTE: In the lead as much as Bad Bunny making historical past as the first Latino male to headline the Super Bowl halftime present, the NCS FlashDocs unit breaks down the surrounding cultural discourse in “Bad Bunny and the Halftime Show: Rhythms of Resistance” now streaming on demand for subscribers of NCS’s streaming providing. The hour will premiere Saturday, February 7 at 10pm ET on NCS.
When Bad Bunny takes the Super Bowl stage on Sunday, he might be making historical past as the first Spanish-language artist to headline the halftime present.
That has Puerto Ricans bursting with anticipation — and satisfaction.
“I think it is a pride – a huge pride – that it will be that way, in our language, with our slang, with music that will represent us, with an artist that represents us,” RaiNao, a recording artist who has collaborated with Bad Bunny, informed NCS.
While conservatives, together with President Donald Trump, have been whipping up outrage towards Bad Bunny’s efficiency, the roar of help from Puerto Ricans and others who love the artist’s music and what he represents has been equally loud, if not louder.
That only grew after Bad Bunny swept the Grammys final weekend, successful finest international music efficiency, finest música urbana album and changing into the first Spanish-language artist to win album of the 12 months for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
He was additionally lauded by his followers for speaking out towards the Trump administration’s anti-immigration actions, making heartfelt feedback launched by the phrases, “ICE out.”
Bad Bunny way back dedicated to singing only in Spanish. He told Vanity Fair in 2023 that he would “never” sing in English “just because someone says I need to do it to reach a certain audience.”
“I think in Spanish, I feel in Spanish, I eat in Spanish, I sing in Spanish,” he informed the journal.
He has now put out seven studio albums, with no single full tune in English.
“He didn’t move toward the world; he made the world move toward us,” Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) stated in an interview featured in NCS’s “Bad Bunny and the Halftime Show: Rhythms of Resistance,” streaming now.
Bad Bunny has already made a cameo at the Super Bowl halftime present — again in 2020, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira co-headlined.
The present had searing visuals, together with a section throughout their efficiency of “Let’s Get Loud” that includes youngsters singing from cage-like constructions on the subject — a press release on US immigration coverage.
Shakira and JLo, each of whom sing in each English and Spanish, had touted their efficiency as one that will search to unify and one that will, Shakira stated at the time, present “what a relevant force the Latin community is in this country.”
It was met with combined evaluations and over 1,000 FCC complaints, some claiming the present was not household pleasant.
Ahead of the Super Bowl this Sunday, Turning Point USA introduced it will deploy its personal counterprogramming, in the type of an “All American Halftime Show” that includes performers Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
Trump has already said he’s “anti-them,” referring to Bad Bunny, in addition to present openers Green Day, who are additionally critics of his administration. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said the selection of Bad Bunny is “a terrible decision.”
“It sounds like he’s not someone who appeals to a broader audience,” he stated in October.
Bad Bunny has taken all of it in stride. In October, he stood on the “Saturday Night Live” stage and cheekily informed viewers who didn’t know Spanish that that they had 4 months to be taught the language.
On TikTok, many have taken up the problem, with numerous movies of non-Spanish language audio system attempting to good their pronunciation to allow them to sing alongside as soon as he takes the stage.
Vanessa Díaz, professor and co-author of “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance” disputes that language is a barrier to having fun with music, a case she says is made by the undeniable fact that Bad Bunny has many English-speaking followers.
“They still like his music even if they don’t understand it all. His lyrics are important, obviously, but his music is more than just lyrics,” she informed NCS. “The musicality, the messaging in his videos, and in his performances. The many components of his artistry have created many fans who don’t speak Spanish.”
Bad Bunny’s halftime present will mark his first main efficiency in entrance of a giant viewers on the US mainland since his 2022 tour. He did not carry his 2025-2026 live performance tour to the US mainland, he said, for worry that ICE would raid the live performance venues.
“Bad Bunny is an artist of resistance and refusal,” stated Dr. Petra Rivera-Rideau, who co-wrote the guide with Díaz. And that does not seem like altering any time quickly.