<\/p>\n
As blue, red and white fireworks filled the sky at the end of Bad Bunny<\/a>\u2019s Super Bowl<\/a> half-time show, a message filled the screen in all capitals: \u201cThe only thing more powerful than hate is love.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the enduring statement from a 13-minute spectacle<\/a> that invited an estimated 135.4 million viewers into Bad Bunny\u2019s world, with richly textured references to politics, history and Puerto Rican culture. The artist born Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio transformed the pitch of the Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, into his own love letter to the island, with cinematic set pieces including sugarcane fields, a house party, and a lively wedding ceremony<\/a> featuring a surprise performance by Lady Gaga<\/a>.<\/p>\n By contrast, the rightwing Turning Point USA\u2019s All-American Halftime Show drew just 5.2 million viewers. The event promised to offer an alternative by celebrating \u201cAmerican culture, freedom and faith\u201d and featured the country singer Kid Rock performing in a fedora and jean shorts against a stars and stripes backdrop, in a performance that appeared to be partly lip-synced.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bad Bunny tapped into just how broad a definition of \u201cAmerica\u201d could be, shouting \u201cGod bless America\u201d before reeling off a list of countries and territories including the US and \u201cmi madre\u201d, Puerto Rico<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Truth Social, Donald Trump<\/a> called<\/a> Bad Bunny\u2019s show \u201cabsolutely terrible, one of the worst\u201d, and a \u201cslap in the face to our country\u201d. Piers Morgan later hit back at Trump, writing<\/a>: \u201cCouldn\u2019t disagree more, Mr President. I absolutely loved Bad Bunny\u2019s halftime show \u2026 Oh, and Spanish is 1st language for 50m+ Americans!\u201d<\/p>\n Meghan McCain also showed her support, writing<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m sorry but I just genuinely question your taste level if you didn\u2019t enjoy the Bad Bunny halftime show.\u201d<\/p>\n Celebrities supporting Bad Bunny\u2019s performance included the Grammy-award winning artist Kacey Musgraves, who wrote on X<\/a>: \u201cThat made me feel more proudly American than anything Kid Rock has ever done.\u201d Rapper Doechii also wrote<\/a>: \u201cBad Bunny WOW ! Fucking, WOW . History.\u201d<\/p>\n Country star Zach Bryan also mocked the alternative show, sharing a video of someone blocking Bad Bunny\u2019s set with a hand and watching the Turning Point performance. \u201cWhat kid rock actually thinks is happening across America,\u201d he wrote in an Instagram story.<\/p>\n <\/span>Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga during half-time show.<\/span> Photograph: John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n The Brazilian director Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho<\/a>, whose film The Secret Agent is up for Oscars next month, also wrote<\/a>: \u201cWhat a beautiful and extraordinary thing, Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl reminding the US who they are and where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n California\u2019s governor, Gavin Newsom, wrote<\/a>: \u201cAmerica, the beautiful. THANK YOU, BAD BUNNY.\u201d Previously, Newsom had declared Sunday \u201cnational Bad Bunny day\u201d in California. Tom Brady summed up the overall response, writing \u201cAmazing!!!!!!!!!\u201d on an Instagram story.<\/p>\n In a five-star review<\/a>, the Guardian\u2019s Stefanie Fern\u00e1ndez called it a celebration of \u201cthe love, the community and the absolute joy that we create together every day in spite of everything else\u201d.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Bad Bunny took home<\/a> the album of the year Grammy for his 2025 release Deb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos, which blends traditional Puerto Rican genres with hip-hop and reggaeton. During one his speeches that night, he said: \u201cWe are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans \u2026 The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year he was Spotify\u2019s most-streamed global artist with more than 19.8bn streams, dethroning Taylor Swift, who had held that title for the previous two years.<\/p>\n The half-time show\u2019s references to politics were subtle but frequent. On stage Bad Bunny carried the Puerto Rican flag of independence, the original flag of the territory that was outlawed until 1952 and is distinguished by its sky blue triangle. While performing a salsa version of her 2024 Bruno Mars duet Die With a Smile, Lady Gaga wore a dress in the same shade.<\/p>\n Ricky Martin<\/a> guested and performed Lo Que le Pas\u00f3 a Hawaii, a plea against gentrification and white tourism in Puerto Rico with a Spanish-language hook translating to \u201cI don\u2019t want them to do to you what they did to Hawaii.\u201d He later wrote<\/a> on social media: \u201cI need several hours to process the tsunami of emotions I\u2019m feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n While performing El Apag\u00f3n, Bad Bunny referenced the territory\u2019s frequent power outages alongside dancers who climbed fizzling electricity pylons.<\/p>\n As well as showing the artist\u2019s humble side, it also proved his pulling power with a house party segment, which featured stars including<\/a> the rapper Cardi B, actor Pedro Pascal and the Colombian singer Karol G.<\/p>\n Ahead of the performance, Bad Bunny said<\/a>: \u201cI really want people to have fun. It\u2019s gonna be a huge party. I want to bring what people can always expect from me, and a lot of my culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n