By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — When Bad Bunny takes the Super Bowl stage on Sunday, he will be making history as the first Spanish-language artist to headline the halftime show.
That has Puerto Ricans bursting with anticipation — and pride.
“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, told CNN.
While conservatives, including President Donald Trump, have been whipping up outrage against Bad Bunny’s performance, the roar of support 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 last weekend, winning best global music performance, best música urbana album and becoming the first Spanish-language artist to win album of the year for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
He was also lauded by his fans for speaking out against the Trump administration’s anti-immigration actions, making heartfelt comments launched by the words, “ICE out.”
Bad Bunny long ago committed 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 told the magazine.
He has now put out seven studio albums, without a single full song in English.
“He didn’t move toward the world; he made the world move toward us,” Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) said in an interview featured in CNN’s “Bad Bunny and the Halftime Show: Rhythms of Resistance,” streaming now.
Breaking the mold
Bad Bunny has already made a cameo at the Super Bowl halftime show — back in 2020, when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira co-headlined.
The show had searing visuals, including a segment during their performance of “Let’s Get Loud” featuring children singing from cage-like structures on the field — a statement on US immigration policy.
Shakira and JLo, both of whom sing in both English and Spanish, had touted their performance as one that would seek to unify and one that would, Shakira said at the time, show “what a relevant force the Latin community is in this country.”
It was met with mixed reviews and over 1,000 FCC complaints, some claiming the show was not family friendly.
Ahead of the Super Bowl this Sunday, Turning Point USA announced it would deploy its own counterprogramming, in the form of an “All American Halftime Show” featuring performers Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
Trump has already Read more