Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny will perform at the United States' most-watched concert this weekend — the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show — fresh off Grammy Awards success for his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
The album, described as a "love letter to Puerto Rico", became the first Spanish-language work to win the Grammy's top prize, Album of the Year, as well as Best Música Urbana Album. The album's fifth single, EoO, won Best Global Music Performance.
In his acceptance speech for Album of the Year, mostly delivered in Spanish, the rapper born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio dedicated the award to migrants.
"I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams," he said.
The 31-year-old artist, who was born and lives in Puerto Rico, has been outspoken on issues of colonisation, identity, and immigration.
In Debí Tirar Más Fotos — which translates to "I should have taken more photos" — Bad Bunny addresses Puerto Rican identity, the ongoing effects of colonisation, and the displacement of residents on the island, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
He used his Grammy acceptance speech for Best Música Urbana Album — awarded for Latin performers showcasing Latin urban styles — to criticise the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
"Before I say thanks to God, I'm gonna say ICE out," he said, to fervent applause.
"We are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans."
His protest at the event mirrored the pro-immigration and anti-ICE sentiment of other winners, including Olivia Dean and Billie Eilish.
ICE agents have been deployed in several cities since President Donald Trump took office last year to carry out the administration's mass deportation of suspected illegal immigrants.
Two civilians were shot and killed by ICE agents in Minnesota last month, triggering mass protests in cities across the country.
History-making concert
The Super Bowl is America’s most-viewed television broadcast. A record 127.7 million Americans tuned in to watch the 2025 game, eclipsing the estimated 123 million viewership a year earlier.
On Sunday, Bad Bunny will make history as the first Latino and Spanish-speaking solo headliner at the Super Bowl. The halftime concert, now in its 60th iteration, has previously featured artists including Beyoncé, Prince, Rhianna and The Rolling Stones.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Bad Bunny remained tight-lipped about his plans for the 13-minute performance, but said he wanted people to have fun.
"I want to bring to the stage, of course, a lot of my culture," he said.
"I really want people to have fun. It’s gonna be a huge party."
Bad Bunny began releasing music on SoundCloud in 2016 and has since risen to become one of the world's most-streamed artists.
Singing in Puerto Rican Spanish about Latino and Puerto Rican pride, his music is often categorised as Latin trap, with influences of reggaeton — a popular Caribbean genre with roots in Jamaican dancehall — American hip-hop, and southern US trap music.
When a verse on Cardi B’s 2018 hit I Like It pushed him into the mainstream, Bad Bunny already had more than a dozen top-40 hits on the US Latin charts.
His third album, 2020's El Último Tour del Mundo — meaning The Last World Tour — became the first Billboard number one recorded entirely in Spanish.
He was the most-played artist on Spotify from 2020 to 2022 and again in 2025, with nearly 20 billion streams.
He will tour Australia later this month, with two shows at Sydney's ENGIE Stadium on 28 February and 1 March.
Bad Bunny said he was excited for the Super Bowl performance.
"I grew up watching sport, playing sport, very bad," he laughed.
"But I do love sport. It's actually one of my favourite combinations, sport with music."
Trump not attending
Trump said he will not attend the game, telling the New York Post in January that the venue location in Santa Clara, California, was "too far away".
Asked about the lineup, with American punk band Green Day opening the event, Trump said he was "anti-them".
"I think it's a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible," he said.
During his world tour last year, Bad Bunny did not play on the US mainland, saying he feared his fans would be targeted by ICE.
"There was the issue of, like, f—k ICE could be outside [the concert]," he told i-D Magazine in September. "And it's something that we were talking about and very concerned about."
He instead opted for a three-month residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which was estimated to generate $200 million for the local economy. Tickets were reserved nearly exclusively for locals over the 31-show run.
Who is playing at the Super Bowl?
The New England Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks.
The two teams competed at the 2015 Super Bowl, which the Patriots won.
The Patriots have won six Super Bowl titles, in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019. The Seahawks won in 2014 against the Denver Broncos.
When is the game?
The Super Bowl will screen in the US on Sunday at 3:30pm local time which is Monday morning in Australia.
The game will be at 10:30am on Monday in NSW, the ACT, Victoria, and Tasmania, 10am in South Australia, 9.30am in Queensland and 7.30am in Western Australia.
The Super Bowl will be available to watch free-to-air on Channel 7, and online at 7plus.
It will be broadcast on Disney+, Foxtel's ESPN channel, or KAYO.
The halftime show, which usually runs for 12 to 15 minutes, is during the halftime break.
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