Bad Bunny will headline the 2026 Super Bowl next year, it has been announced.
After much speculation, with rumoured performers ranging from pop titan Taylor Swift to Adele, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced on Sunday (28 September) that the Puerto Rican megastar will headline one of the world’s biggest entertainment events.
The next Super Bowl will be held at the Levi’s Stadium on 8 February in Santa Clara, California.
The 31-year-old’s selection is the latest moment in a career-defining run: he is fresh off a historic Puerto Rico residency, which drew more than half a million fans, and leads the nominees at the Latin Grammys taking place in November. He’s also an actor, appearing in films Bullet Train and Happy Gilmore 2.
With albums such as the Spanish-language Un Verano Sin Ti and his 2025 album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, he has asserted himself as one of the world’s most-streamed artists. He will return to host Saturday Night Live for a second time on 4 October.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
The announcement comes weeks after Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said he excluded the US from his forthcoming world tour in part due to his fear that fans could be subjected to immigration raids.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate – I’ve performed there many times,” he told i-D magazine. “All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the US.
He continued: “But there was the issue of – like, f***ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Roc Nation founder Jay-Z said in a statement that what Bad Bunny has “done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honoured to have him on the world’s biggest stage.”
Bad Bunny is the winner of three Grammys and 12 Latin Grammy Awards. He has collaborated with a number of the world’s top fashion houses, and led the huge surge in popularity for Latin music through the 2020s, at the same time drawing attention to important issues in Puerto Rico.
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Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show, while Hamish Hamilton will direct.
Last year’s halftime show was headlined by Kendrick Lamar with guest SZA in New Orleans, an event that broke Michael Jackson’s 1993 record to become the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show of all time, with 133.5 million viewers.
