Bad Bunny brings out Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and the stadium's crowd for Super Bowl LX Half Time Show

Bad Bunny brings out Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and the stadium's crowd for Super Bowl LX Half Time Show

Bad Bunny — whose Debí Tirar Más Fotos just won three Grammys, including Album of the Year — performed tonight at the Super Bowl LX half-time show in California's Levi's Stadium.

Fitting to this year's game, the Puerto Rican superstar's performance was of extra large proportions: bringing the palm trees, sunshine, food, and cultural iconography of his home to the field, he brought out Cardi B, Pedro Pascal, surprise guest performers Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and Super Bowl attendees to the massive dance floor.

The pop star put on a clean show that focused on celebration and community, having everyone dance around a couple's wedding. It was also the first-ever all Spanish Half Time Show. The setlist mostly consisted of tracks from his latest album, but he also played the classics from Un Verano Sin Ti and YHLQMDLG.

Bad Bunny began the show with a pre-recorded clip of the Puerto Rican fields, gradually transitioning to the pop star in the center of a field of tall grass. He cut the silence with, "Hay que lindo es ser Latino" and broke into his 2022 chart-topping hit, "Titi Me Preguntó" (Un Verano Sin Ti). People representing the Puerto Rican community played dominoes, sold local food and drinks, and danced around the singer.

Making his way to the roof of a small house, Bad Bunny — decked out in a tailored suit fashioned to look like a football jersey, by the way — joins a star-studded crowd of party-goers. Eagle eyed viewers might have noticed Cardi B, Karol G, Jessica Alba, and Pedro Pascal dancing on the porch while the pop star sang YHLQMDLG's "Yo Perreo Sola".

Then, after "Safarea" and a brief sample of Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina", Bad Bunny and his ever-growing crew of dancers erupted into the club banger "EoO", which won this year's Grammy for Best Global Musical Performance. One orchestral interlude later, he guided the cameras to a couple getting married, sharing their first kiss on the Levi Stadium field and cutting a massive cake.

Bad Bunny chose not to reveal who he invited to perform with him prior to his show. Lady Gaga, dressed in a sparkling blue gown, filled the first guest slot with a salsa-fied variation of her single "Die With A Smile". The two then danced a bit before the main singer quickly moved onto a euphoric and big brass-accompanied version of "Baile Inolvidable".

The performers, now back on the field grounds, brought Puerto Rican Harlem to Santa Clara, CA with his dembow hit, "NUEVAYoL", which wrestles with his heritage and the threat of Americanization and cultural erasure. The song became a full circle moment for the artist, who confidently riffs off the song's main question, "¿Cómo Bad Bunny va a ser el rey del pop (ey) / Con reggaetón y dembow (ey)?" with a brief flashing of his Grammy acceptance speech and Album of the Year Award.

The camera then panned to second surprise guest (and Puerto Rican legend) Ricky Martin, who sat atop the plastic chairs on the cover of Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Singing "Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii", the Latin American superstar gave a powerful vocal performance, transforming the pensive dance track into an emotional ballad.

In the final minutes, Bad Bunny welcomed even more people on stage as he marches up the horizon holding a giant flag of Puerto Rico before climbing a telephone pole. There, he performed "El Apagón" and "Café Con Ron", two tracks dedicated to the beauty of his homeland.

Bad Bunny's closing message was one of gratitude and love, giving a shoutout to every country in the Americas as a billboard flashed, "The only thing more powerful than hate is love." (This echoes Bad Bunny's thoughts he shared during his Grammy win, where he called for love and peace to resist the state-sponsored violence of ICE.) Then, a sea of Super Bowl attendees ran onto the field, and everyone danced to the joyful, anthemic "Debí Tirar Más Fotos".

Bad Bunny Super Bowl XL Half-Time Show:

  1. "Tití Me Preguntó"
  2. "Yo Perreo Sola"
  3. "Safaera"
  4. "EoO"
  5. "Die with a Smile" with Lady Gaga
  6. "Baile Inolvidable"
  7. "NUEVAYoL"
  8. "Lo que le pasó a Hawaii"
  9. "El Apagón"
  10. "Café Con Ron"
  11. "Debí Tirar Más Fotos”

Victoria Borlando

New York, NY

freelance music journalist and critic

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