5 iconic moments from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance

Bad Bunny’s Apple Music Super Bowl Half Time show was a landmark celebration of Latin American culture of the past, present and future.

The 31-year-old musician, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, made history before he’d even stepped out onto the Super Bowl pitch. In simply signing up as the Half Time performer, he became the first Latin American artist to headline a Super Bowl Half Time show, and he did so almost exclusively in Spanish. 

Add to that historic feat a surprise guest performance from Lady Gaga, an appearance from Latin music trailblazer Ricky Martin, an abundance of Puerto Rican pride and an actual, real-life wedding, and Bad Bunny managed to craft a Super Bowl Half Time performance for the ages. Considering previous performers have included Rihanna, Shakira, Madonna and Beyoncé, that’s no easy task.

Bad Bunny’s performance came amid a flurry of manufactured Republican backlash, which boiled down to being purely about his Puerto Rican heritage. President Donald Trump had stated that he would skip the Half Time show, dubbing Bad Bunny a “terrible” choice (reader, he did not skip the Half Time show). The Charlie Kirk-founded Turning Point USA pledged to host an alternative, “All American” Half Time performance, featuring the, erm, pride of America, Kid Rock. In October, after Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner, Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, said that ICE agents would be “all over” the show.

That Bad Bunny responded only by putting on a loudly inclusive, genuinely “All American” and undeniably brilliant spectacle is proof that good art trumps artificial outrage every time. Here are five iconic moments from Bad Bunny’s Half Time performance.

Pedro Pascal gets down at Bad Bunny’s La Casita

Bad Bunny brought out the big guns just two minutes into his Super Bowl show, heading over to his La Casita, a pink, signature Puerto Rican house that has featured previously in his live shows. On the roof dressed in all white, Bad Bunny performed his 2020 single “Yo Perreo Sola” plus snippets and interpolations of “Safaera”, “Party” and, from his Grammy award-winnind 2025 record Debí Tirar Más Fotos, “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR”.

As he performed, a clan of his celebrity friends partied out on the front deck of the tiny house, including The Last of Us actor Pedro Pascal who could be seen in a white, long-sleeve shirt, throwing his arms in the air and jiving along to Bad Bunny’s feverish display. Alongside Pascal were fellow stars including musicians Cardi B and Karol G, actress Jessica Alba, and rapper Young Miko.

Lady Gaga’s sizzling salsa guest spot

After bounding about on top of a white pick-up truck and getting up close and personal with the camera for a message of empowerment, Bad Bunny took a break from the spotlight, leaving the camera to focus on a couple getting married on the field, in a fully authentic wedding. Then, as the bride, groom, officiant and celebrators parted, it was revealed that none other than Lady Gaga had been standing amongst them.

In a ruffled, baby blue gown and her signature blonde locks, Gaga performed her chart-topping, record-smashing hit “Die With A Smile”, though this rendition was without Bruno Mars, and switched up with the help of Bad Bunny’s band to give it some salsa flair.

Bad Bunny then reemerged, taking Gaga by the hand for a dance, and jiving among the wedding guests.

Ricky Martin makes his Super Bowl debut

After a frenetic performance of “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and “NUEVAYoL”, Bad Bunny delivered the most emotional moment of his set, by handing over one of his recent Grammy awards to a young boy who was watching him on TV.  He then passed over to one of his heroes and musical pioneer Ricky Martin, who became the first Latin male musician to reach number one in the US with his 1999 self-titled album.

The queer musician, also decked out in all white, sang the intro of Bad Bunny’s 2022 song “El apagón” before a thunder clap rang out and sparklers were set off from telephone pylons behind him.

Bad Bunny emerged from the grass holding the Puerto Rican flag, as people scaled down the pylons. Flashes appearing to symbolise lightning strikes lit up the performance, in what appeared to be an powerful nod to Hurricane Maria which devastated the island in 2017.

After last week’s Grammy Awards, Martin penned an open letter to Bad Bunny, saying he had been “touched deeply” by seeing the performer take home three accolades, including Album of the Year.

“Benito, brother, seeing you win three Grammy Awards, one of them for album of the year with a production entirely in Spanish, touched me deeply,” he wrote.

“Not only as an artist, but as a Puerto Rican who has walked stages around the world carrying his language, his accent, and his story.”

“I know what it means to succeed without letting go of where you come from,” he continued. 

“You won without changing the colour of your voice. You won without erasing your roots. You won by staying true to Puerto Rico.”

Bad Bunny’s shoutout to Latin America

Though Bad Bunny’s entire Super Bowl performance was a nod to his Latin American roots, his grand finale performance, of his 2025 song “DtMF”, was the cherry on top. As the performer clutched a soccer ball, dancers ran into view holding the flags of Latin American countries, before Bad Bunny recited them by name. 

“God bless America,” he yelled to the crowd. “Be it Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Tilla, Antilles, United States, Canada, my homeland, Puerto Rico. We are still here.”

The soccer ball in Bad Bunny’s hand was imprinted with the words “Together we are America,” while a sign behind him read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

It was a moving message of unity and a quiet, but no less galvanising, response to the MAGA-sparked furore over his performance.

Donald Trump, of course, hated it

In the least surprising news of the day, Donald Trump was not a fan of Bad Bunny’s performance. 

Taking to his social media platform Truth Social towards the end of the Super Bowl, Trump bemoaned Bad Bunny’s “disgusting” performance, slamming it as “one of the worst” Half Time shows “ever”.

“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” he wrote.

Trump went on to take aim at Bad Bunny for performing almost entirely in Spanish, writing: “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying.

“The dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”

He continued by dubbing the show “a slap in the face” to America, writing that there was “nothing inspirational” about the “mess” of a performance.

Conversely, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half time has been widely praised by critics, fellow musicians and social media users, with The Guardian awarding it a full five stars. 

Singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that his performance had made her feel “proudly American”, while other social media users dubbed the show “beautiful” and “top tier”. Sorry Trump, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show was a triumph.

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