Bad Bunny didn’t just headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show; he redefined what the biggest stage in American sports can look and sound like.
Performing entirely in Spanish at Levi’s Stadium in California, Bad Bunny turned the halftime show into a cultural statement. No translation. No compromise. Just global music, Puerto Rican pride, and storytelling that hit millions at once.
What makes this moment even bigger? Like every halftime performer before him, Bad Bunny wasn’t paid by the NFL. The league covers production costs, which can reach $10 million, but the artists receive zero performance fees. In fact, performers often invest their own money. The Weeknd and Dr. Dre reportedly each spent around $7 million to elevate their shows.
So why do it?
Because the exposure changes careers.
Kendrick Lamar saw a 430% streaming boost after his 2025 halftime appearance. Rihanna experienced massive sales and streaming jumps after 2023. Lady Gaga’s catalog surged by 1000% after her 2017 performance. Jennifer Lopez gained 2.3 million Instagram followers after hitting the stage in 2020.
Bad Bunny understood the assignment.
He opened with “Tití Me Preguntó,” wearing an all-white football-style jersey with “Ocasio” across the back. The set looked like a Puerto Rican neighborhood — a barber shop, a market, men playing Dominos. He crashed through a roof mid-performance, climbed an electrical pole during “El Apagón” to reference Puerto Rico’s power failures, and let the Jumbotron speak loudly:
“THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.”
There were surprise guests, a couple got married on stage, and he handed a Grammy to a young boy, a full-circle moment from an artist who just became the first to win Album of the Year with a fully Spanish-language project at the Grammys on February 1.
Musicians, actors, and political leaders took notice. Praise poured in from Rauw Alejandro, Kerry Washington, Doechii, John Mellencamp, Ben Stiller, Kacey Musgraves, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdanni; all recognizing the cultural weight of what happened.
The NFL didn’t pay Bad Bunny.
But history did.
And once again, the halftime show proved that the real currency is impact.
