The Super Bowl is set to be a spectacle of sports and entertainment, but it's also a stage for cultural battles. As the highly anticipated game approaches, all eyes are on Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who will be performing at the halftime show. But what will he do with this opportunity? Will he use it to unite people or to spark controversy?
Bad Bunny, the most streamed artist in the world, has been under fire for his outspoken opposition to US immigration policy. Some have even called for his deportation, despite him being a US citizen. This isn't the first time a halftime performance has sparked controversy; from Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction to Beyoncé's Black Lives Matter anthem, these shows have always been a platform for making bold statements.
But this year's show ignited debates before Bad Bunny even took the stage. Republicans balked at his politics, with an Alabama senator dubbing it the 'woke bowl'. US President Donald Trump called Bad Bunny's selection 'absolutely ridiculous', and the Speaker of the House summed it up as a 'terrible decision'. The pushback even sparked a competing half-time event from conservative organization Turning Point USA, which will air an 'All American' counter-programme during Bad Bunny's set that will be headlined by Trump ally Kid Rock.
With tens of millions expected to tune into the performance, what Bad Bunny will do in front of the crowd is anyone's guess. At a press conference on Thursday, the 31-year-old hinted that his performance would be more about unity and healing than spreading division. 'I know that the world is gonna be happy at this Sunday, and they're gonna have fun, and they're gonna dance and they're gonna have a good time,' he said.
Bad Bunny has a history of using his platform to make bold statements. At the Grammy Awards last week, where he walked away with the ceremony's biggest prize, he was more direct. Before thanking his producers and label, he took the mic and declared 'ICE out' - a reference to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have led large operations detaining immigrants in cities across the US.
Bad Bunny's presence on the half-time stage is 'profoundly political', said Vanessa Díaz, professor at Loyola Marymount in Chicano and Latino studies and co-author of P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance. While pop-punk band Green Day will join the performance, he will be the first artist ever to perform the half-time show entirely in Spanish.
Whether at a quinceañera - a sweet-16 birthday party - or a club, the moment the first Bad Bunny beat drops, the energy in the room comes alive. That's why, Miranda believes, the NFL chose him 'to be that pioneer'. 'With the hard times we're dealing with, when it comes to ICE and deportation, he'll be a leader for the whole Latino community,' he said. 'He will speak on those matters somehow, either through symbolism or him saying something directly'.
Bad Bunny has said he feels a responsibility, as someone with influence, to highlight important issues. He has consistently used his platform and music to not only showcase his culture, but support the LGBTQ community and advocate for Puerto Rico's self-determination, which has remained an overseas US territory since 1898. 'What makes Bad Bunny so exciting, is that we really never know what we're going to get with him. He has kind of always done the unexpected,' Díaz said.
Simply performing those songs during his set will be highly polarizing, experts say. 'Bad Bunny is offering another vision of what American-ness is - a vision that is not in line with what Trump and the Trump administration is selling,' said Albert Laguna, associate professor in American Studies at Yale University, who taught a course on Bad Bunny's musical aesthetics and politics.
Bad Bunny's growing cultural significance is why Laguna and Díaz think the NFL needs Bad Bunny more than Bad Bunny needs the NFL, citing the league's push in recent years to attract more Latinos to American football and further extend the brand's global reach with expo games in London and Mexico. For the NFL, platforming artists such as Bad Bunny signals a shift from its more conservative past.
After Bad Bunny denounced ICE at the Grammy Awards, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised the superstar and reaffirmed the league's decision to spotlight him: 'He understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people'. Fans who attended Bad Bunny's residency in Puerto Rico told the BBC that they hope the halftime show will harness the same energy and spirit. Many anticipate the appearance of La Casita, a salmon-colored structure featured on his world tour designed to resemble a traditional Puerto Rican home.
'I hope he doesn't let critics determine what kind of songs he plays,' said Victor Almeda, a Puerto Rican living in Orlando, Florida. 'It's important to stick to his roots and represent Puerto Rico the most he can'.
