Bad Bunny brought boundless energy, elaborate staging and guest spots from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin in his Super Bowl halftime show.
The Puerto Rican superstar became the first Latin male artist and the first artist performing primarily in Spanish ever to take the prestigious headline slot, having previously delivered a guest appearance during Jennifer Lopez’s halftime show in 2020.
In a set that was a celebration of a variety of Latin music styles, he performed with dozens of dancers, while moving through a complex sequence of staged setpieces, from swirling salsa ballrooms to perilous telephone pylons.
Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Jessica Alba and Karol G were all spotted among the dancers, while Bad Bunny appeared to deliver one of the three Grammys he won last week to a young boy. Variety also reported that a wedding ceremony that popped up during the set was legitimate.
Tití Me Preguntó” @sanbenito #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/zRHodY6AQh
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
💪 @sanbenito #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/QjUxwBWUUA
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance to deliver a Latin version of her Bruno Mars collaboration ‘Die With A Smile’, and she was joined by Bad Bunny’s backing band Los Pleneros de la Cresta. Ricky Martin, meanwhile, was on hand to introduce ‘El apagón’ with an excerpt of ‘LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii’.
Singing and speaking mostly in Spanish throughout, Bad Bunny had many of his lyrics projected on the giant Levi’s Stadium screen. Towards the end of the set, he declared, “God bless America”, before listing off a number of Latin American countries, honouring the people and music that he had brought to one of America’s showpiece events of the year.
As he left the field, he held up a football to the camera, with the words, “Together we are America” printed on it, while the big screen behind him read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”.
LADY GAGA IS HERE @ladygaga #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/321WuxqIni
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
RICKY MARTIN IN THE HOUSE #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/awIdEV0f7c
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
Bad Bunny played:
‘Tití me preguntó’
‘Yo perreo sola’
‘Safaera’
‘Party’
‘Voy a Llevarte Pa PR’
‘EeO’
‘Monaco / Die With A Smile’ (with Lady Gaga)
‘BAILE INoLVIDABLE’
‘NUEVAYoL’
‘LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii / El apagón’ (with Ricky Martin)
‘CAFe CON RON’
‘DtMF’
The set has been shrouded in controversy ever since it was first announced in September, with the rapper coming under personal attack from the MAGA movement. Donald Trump called the decision to have him headline “crazy”, claiming that he had “never heard” of him.
One of the President’s advisors confirmed that ICE would be present at the performance, which carried added poignancy as Bad Bunny had previously announced that he would not be touring the US during his current world tour due to fears over ICE agents raiding the concerts.
Last week (February 1), Bad Bunny picked up Album of the Year at the Grammys and delivered a fiery speech directed at ICE. “We are not savage, we are not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans,” he said.
“Also, I want to say to people, I know it’s tough to know not to hate these days, and I was thinking, sometimes we get [contaminated]. The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing more powerful than hate is love. So, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them, we love our people, we love our family. That’s the way to do it. We love.”
He had promised that “the world will dance” during his halftime show, while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended his selection as being “carefully thought through”.
Turning Point USA – which was founded by the late Charlie Kirk – held an ‘All American Halftime Show’ at the same time as Bad Bunny’s performance, with Kid Rock headlining.
America, the beautiful.
THANK YOU, BAD BUNNY.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 9, 2026
Earlier in the day, California governor Gavin Newsom had declared Sunday to be ‘Bad Bunny Day’ in the state, and shortly after his set concluded, Newsom posted: “America, the beautiful. THANK YOU, BAD BUNNY.”
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