San Francisco (United States) (AFP) – Bad Bunny on Thursday pledged to bring Puerto Rican culture to his historic and highly anticipated Super Bowl half-time show that has triggered fury among right-wing US critics. The Latino singer — one of the world’s most popular artists — is expected to perform the first-ever Super Bowl set entirely in Spanish this Sunday. He has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, who is pointedly not attending this year’s NFL flagship event, and used the Grammys stage last weekend to condemn the White House’s immigration crackdown.
At a press conference Thursday, Bad Bunny steered clear of politics, instead promising “a huge party.” “I want to bring to the stage of course a lot of my culture,” he said. “But I don’t want to give any spoilers. It’s gonna be fun and it’s gonna be a party.” It’s going to be easy. People only have to worry about dance… they don’t even have to learn Spanish,” he joked.
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The 31-year-old — real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio — is wildly popular both stateside and abroad, and highly critically acclaimed. He has been Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world four separate times, including last year, and won Album of the Year at last weekend’s Grammys with “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos” — the first Spanish-language work to win music’s highest accolade.
Yet the selection of Bad Bunny to perform at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, has drawn harsh criticism from the Trump administration. Corey Lewandowski, a Department of Homeland Security advisor, said the choice of the Puerto Rican superstar — a US citizen — was “shameful” because he “seems to hate America so much.” Trump, who attended the Super Bowl last year but is staying away this time, recently called this year’s entertainment lineup “a terrible choice” that will “sow hatred.” Also featuring in the opening ceremony of Super Bowl LX — in which the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks — will be rock band Green Day, who have likewise been vociferous critics of Trump for years. Right-wing political organization Turning Point USA has organized an alternative “All-American Halftime Show” featuring artists including Kid Rock.
With anger soaring over the killing of two US citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month, speculation has risen that Bad Bunny could use the Super Bowl platform to further rebuke Trump’s policies. Online betting website Polymarket has taken tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of bets on whether Bad Bunny will directly call out ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the federal agency responsible for the immigration crackdown.
But marketing experts say the commercial opportunity to bring in more Latino fans represented by Bad Bunny’s appearance at the NFL’s flagship event justifies any controversy. “The NFL, are not idiots. They’ve crunched the numbers,” said Patrick Bennett, Global Chief Creative Officer at marketing firm Jack Morton. “They know where they’re saturated in the marketplace. Getting a 55-year-old white guy from Texas to buy another cowboy shirt is only going to get them so far.” NFL chief Roger Goodell this week said he was confident Bad Bunny will use the Super Bowl space to “bring people together.” Bad Bunny was chosen in part because “he understood the platform he was on and that this platform is used to unite people,” said the NFL commissioner. An official trailer for the half-time show features Bad Bunny dancing with men and women of different ethnicities, including a white male in a cowboy hat.
“The world is gonna be happy this Sunday,” said Bad Bunny.
© 2024 AFP
