Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and international best-selling artist Bad Bunny has been announced as the halftime performer for Super Bowl LX in California this upcoming February.
Speculation over who would be performing at the halftime show was ramping up after no one had been announced in Week 1 which, in recent years, has been when the NFL has revealed the musician given the honor of taking the stage.
But now, the NFL and Apple has announced that the ‘Nuevayol’ rapper will be given the honor of performing at the show – despite the 31-year-old recently saying he didn’t schedule any mainland US tour dates due to the increasing presence of ICE agents across the nation.
However, moments before he announced his performance, he tweeted in Spanish, ‘I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.’
This will technically be the second time that the rapper, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, will take the stage at the Super Bowl.
He previously appeared as a guest in Miami during the halftime show at Super Bowl LIV – which was headlined by Latin performers Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny has been revealed as the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer
Bad Bunny is one of the most popular artists in the world with over 77million monthly listeners on Spotify and is credited with bringing Spanish-language rap music into the mainstream
His 2025 release, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – his fourth No. 1 album in the United States.
But the tour for that album does not include any stops in the mainland United States. He did, however, hold a 31 show residency at the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Speaking to Variety, he cited the lengthy residency in Puerto Rico – a US territory – and the Trump Administration’s increasing use of ICE agents as reasons why he wouldn’t perform in the Continental US.
‘Man, honestly, yes,’ he replied. ‘There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate —I’ve performed there many times.
‘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 U.S.’
‘But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the US… People from the US could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world.
‘But there was the issue of — like, f—— ICE could be outside (my concert). And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.’
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had long teased pop superstar Taylor Swift to perform at the show, especially after she announced her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
This follows weeks of speculation on who might be performing on one of the biggest stages in music. The league appeared to tease that pop superstar Taylor Swift could be the one.
‘We would always love to have Taylor play. She is a special, special talent, and obviously she would be welcome at any time,’ Goodell said on the TODAY Show earlier this month.
When pressed by host Savannah Guthrie for more details, Goodell replied, ‘I can’t tell you anything about it’ before adding that it was a ‘maybe’.
This marks the third time in the last five Super Bowls where the artist performing was a rapper.
At Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, a cast of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Anderson .Paak, and Kendrick Lamar performed. Three years later, at Super Bowl LIX, Lamar was the main headliner alongside R&B artist SZA.
According to the Spotify Weekly Top Artists Global chart for the week of September 19, Bad Bunny is the second-most streamed artist behind Swift.
He has over 77million monthly listeners on the platform and over 101million followers on Spotify.
Bad Bunny has been credited with popularizing the sound of Spanish-language rap and trap music worldwide.
He has won three Grammy Awards, eleven Latin Grammy Awards, and has two albums which have gone Platinum in the United States (YHLQMDLG and El Último Tour Del Mundo, both of which were released in 2020).
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