The Super BowlLX halftime show, officially known as the Apple Music Super BowlLX Halftime Show for sponsorship purposes, was the halftime entertainment of Super BowlLX, which took place on February8, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, United States. It was headlined by Bad Bunny and featured guest appearances from Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and Los Pleneros de la Cresta. The performance marked the first time a Latino solo artist headlined the Super Bowl halftime show and the first halftime set performed almost entirely in Spanish.
The show was broadcast across the US on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Universo, NFL+ and select NBC Sports digital platforms. It drew 128.2million viewers domestically across all platforms—making it the fourth-most-watched halftime show in history—and attracted 4.8million viewers on Telemundo, the network's largest audience for an American football broadcast. It was met with widespread critical acclaim, with critics praising the performance, production, tone, and themes. Analysts highlighted the show's social commentary on Puerto Rico's history, its pan-Latino cultural affirmation, and its recontextualization of the terms America and American to encompass the entire continent.
Synopsis
For the halftime show, part of the stadium was transformed into a sugarcane field. Yellow Studio's Julio Himede, part of the creative team behind the show, said that they divided the stage into various smaller sections to accommodate the "vignettes" that Bad Bunny would walk through as he told the story of "real people in everyday life that are celebrating the Latin community". The show featured more than 300 dancers and multiple moving stages, along with an actual wedding. The set consisted of multiple odes to Puerto Rican and overall Latin American everyday life, with the rapper interacting with old men playing dominoes, a jeweler, and more, as well with food stands of coconut, piraguas, and tacos.
Lady Gaga and Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin were featured as guest singers during the performance. Gaga performed a salsa version of "Die with a Smile" (2024) backed by the salsa band Los Sobrinos, with an arrangement by Big Jay. A couple, who had previously invited Bad Bunny to attend their wedding, was legally married on stage during the performance. Bad Bunny signed the marriage certificate as a legal witness. Meanwhile, Martin made his Super Bowl debut by singing a rendition of "Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii", a song addressing gentrification in Puerto Rico by drawing a comparison to the historical experience of Hawaii. The "Mónaco" orchestral segment was conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, and during "Café Con Ron", Bad Bunny was backed by Los Pleneros de la Cresta, a plena ensemble.
The performance also saw Bad Bunny give a replica of one of his Grammy Award statues to a child, playing the part of a young Benito Antonio, watching his Grammy Award acceptance speech from the week prior on television with his family in a domestic set, with the rapper encouraging his younger self to "always believe in yourself". While there was speculation that the child was Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old boy detained along with his father by ICE officials in January, it was later revealed to be child actor Lincoln Fox.
The casita portion of the stage included special appearances by Cardi B, Karol G, Young Miko, Jessica Alba, Pedro Pascal, Alix Earle, David Grutman, baseball outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., and boxers Xander Zayas and Emiliano Vargas. María Antonia Cay, better known as Toñita, owner of the Caribbean Social Club in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York, who is known for refusing to sell her property despite mass gentrification in the Williamsburg area, also appeared during the performance serving Bad Bunny a drink from a bodega during "Nuevayol", in which she is referenced.
Background On September 9, 2025, it was reported that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hinted that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift could be the headliner for the halftime show. He said when asked if it is possible that Swift could do the show: "We would always love to have [Swift] play. She is a special, special talent, and obviously she would be welcome at any time". When asked by Today co-host Savannah Guthrie if an appearance from Swift was in the works, Goodell said "I can't tell you anything about it."
It was initially reported that Swift had asked for an appearance fee and full copyrights to the show, which the NFL does not provide to performers. However, Swift later said that she had rejected the possibility during early conversations with Roc Nation because she was unwilling to perform in a game in which her then-fiancé Travis Kelce could be a participant, since it would detract from her enjoyment of the game by having to focus on the details of a concert. Swift's concerns no longer applied after Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, were eliminated from postseason contention on December 14, 2025. Billboard also speculated that potential headliners included Lady Gaga (who headlined the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017), Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Drake, BTS, Green Day, Metallica, and Jay-Z.
Announcement
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny was officially announced as the headliner for the halftime show on September 28, 2025, by the NFL in partnership with Apple Music and Jay-Z's Roc Nation. Bad Bunny was the first Latino and Spanish-speaking artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show as a solo act. He previously performed as a special guest at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, alongside headliners Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
In a statement, Bad Bunny highlighted the cultural significance of the event, saying, "This is for my people, my culture, and our history." Earlier in the year, Bad Bunny declined to hold concerts in the mainland US and reserved Puerto Rican shows to archipelago and island residents due to concerns over raids executed by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A day before the announcement, Bad Bunny said, "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 US."
NFL Latino audience strategy
Bad Bunny's selection came amid the NFL's intensified efforts to grow its Latino fanbase, which the league identified as essential to its expansion strategy. In 2024, NFL Senior Vice President of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing Marissa Solis stated that league growth "is mathematically impossible without Latinos", pointing to over 39 million Latino fans in the US—one of the largest Latino fanbases in American sports. The league's "" campaign, launched in 2021, represents an ongoing initiative to cultivate Latino audiences through Spanish-language broadcasts, cultural partnerships, and storytelling featuring Latino players.
The selection also reflected the growing economic influence of Latino consumers in the US. A 2025 McKinsey & Company report projected that Latinos would account for one-third of total US sports market growth by 2035. Super Bowl LX featured the broadest Spanish-language broadcast distribution in Super Bowl history, with both Fox Deportes and Telemundo producing separate Spanish-language coverage of the game.
Reception to selection Reactions to the announcement were mixed, with most opposition coming from conservative commentators. Many positive responses highlighted the selection as a milestone for Latino representation. California governor Gavin Newsom was "excited" to welcome Bad Bunny to the state, and declared February 8, 2026, as Bad Bunny Day to commemorate the performance. Univision highlighted the pride of the Latino community, while celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Mars, Shakira, Jelly Roll, and Jay‑Z expressed their support. Reports emphasized the economic and cultural impact of his concerts in Puerto Rico. NFL officials stated that Bad Bunny's selection was an important way to be relevant to its growing Latino fanbase, and that it was part of a broader effort to engage the community of over 70 million Latinos in the US.
Conservative influencers and political figures questioned the selection, criticizing Bad Bunny for his opposition to President Donald Trump and ICE. Some critical commentators also noted that Bad Bunny performs primarily in Spanish and had avoided including mainland US dates in his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour due to concerns about potential ICE raids. Trump described the announcement as "absolutely ridiculous". US secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem announced that ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson opined that choosing Bad Bunny was a "terrible decision" and claimed he did not have broader appeal, suggesting Lee Greenwood as an alternative. Conservative organization Turning Point USA held its own halftime musical performance as counterprogramming, with conservative musician Kid Rock announced as the headliner on February 4, 2026.
Bad Bunny addressed the response during his October Saturday Night Live appearance, where he jokingly told critics they had "four months to learn" Spanish. Goodell dismissed criticism of the selection as typical for an event of its caliber. He praised Bad Bunny as "one of the greatest artists in the world", and rejected calls to change the performers. Jay-Z dismissed the opposition to the selection as astroturfing.
Development Production The production team included Julio Himide as production designer, Harriet Cuddeford as creative and show director, and Puerto Rican art director Mónica Monserrate. Because NFL regulations prohibit motorized vehicles on the field during the halftime show, approximately 380 performers dressed as plants and foliage carried stage elements during transitions between segments. To accommodate the preparation of his performance, the concerts in Santiago and Lima of his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour were rescheduled from their original dates in February, the same week the Super Bowl took place, to mid-January.
Fashion Bad Bunny's all-cream wardrobe, primarily designed by Zara, consisted of a collared shirt and tie, a team jersey with his maternal family name Ocasio and the number 64 printed on it, a double-breasted blazer, chinos, and a pair of sneakers he created in collaboration with Adidas. It marked the first time the fast fashion retailer outfitted a performer on this large of a scale; they also dressed his backup dancers, band, and orchestra.
The team jersey served as a tribute to Bad Bunny's maternal uncle Cutito Ocasio (1964–2024), a devoted fan of the San Francisco 49ers who introduced him to the NFL. He dreamt of taking Ocasio to a future Super Bowl game, but he unexpectedly died following the 49ers' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LVIII. Among Bad Bunny's accessories were matching cream gloves and a Royal Oak timepiece from Audemars Piguet. Found, a Lahore-based fashion label, designed custom accessories for Bad Bunny that he almost wore for the performance, until Zara won the bid for the complete wardrobe.
Lady Gaga wore a light blue dress adorned with the red flor de maga, the national flower of Puerto Rico, matching the colors of the light blue Puerto Rican flag displayed throughout the performance.
Political themes The halftime show was widely discussed for its political themes, including the show's definitions of the words "America" and "American" as a continental identity rather than being a term solely for citizens of the US, and support for Latino ethnic consciousness and anti-colonialism in Puerto Rico. For example, scholars Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau of Rolling Stone highlighted the many symbols of Puerto Rican history and culture displayed during the performance, as well as gestures to the "broader Latino community, and a strong reframing of U.S. notions of what it means to be American".
Definitions of the terms "America" and "American"