When Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance during Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl LX halftime show, some viewers were puzzled by the unexpected pairing.
However, Bad Bunny (real name Benito Martínez Ocasio) has been a fan of Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) for years — and they sparked a friendship long before their performance during the NFL championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, February 8.
Bad Bunny, 31, first publicly spoke about Gaga, 39, in his June 2020 Rolling Stone cover story while sharing an anecdote about working on music for his cousin’s drag shows. (Bad Bunny himself memorably dressed in drag in his “Yo Perreo Sola” video released that March.)
“He would come to my house so I could make his mixes,” Bad Bunny said. “He explained the choreography to me. They were all Lady Gaga songs.”
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Bad Bunny proved that he, too, was a Little Monster in November 2020 when he was spotted wearing a T-shirt adorned with Gaga’s Chromatica cover art while voting in the gubernatorial election in his native Puerto Rico. He later shared that the album, which included the singles “Stupid Love” and “Rain on Me,” raised his spirits whenever he felt “sad.”
“That album makes me feel more happy,” Bad Bunny told E! News in December 2020. “When she dropped that album, I was in a really good moment, enjoying my life. I love that album.”
Gaga, for her part, first publicly showed love to Bad Bunny in October 2023 when she made a surprise cameo on Saturday Night Live to introduce his performance of “Un Preview.” The following year, the “Abracadabra” singer revealed that she would “absolutely” collaborate with the rapper.
“I’m actually a very big Bad Bunny fan,” she told Despierta América in September 2024. “Yes, I love Bad Bunny. If he wants to [work together], of course. I would love to.”
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After nearly six years of expressing their respect for each other, fans finally got to see Bad Bunny and Gaga interact at the Grammy Awards in February 2026. In one clip that went viral on social media, the A Star Is Born actress was seen walking up behind the “Nuevayol” singer and placing her hand on his shoulder to greet him in the audience. Gaga apparently startled Bad Bunny, as he immediately jumped in his seat before throwing his head back in relief upon realizing it was just Mother Monster.
Later that month, Bad Bunny and Gaga took the stage together for the first time as she debuted a salsa rendition of her and Bruno Mars‘ duet, “Die With a Smile,” during the Super Bowl headliner’s halftime set. The “Bad Romance” singer sang the song solo while wearing a blue pleated dress with a brooch featuring Puerto Rico’s national flower, the flor de maga, before dancing with the Latin superstar.
“It was my absolute honor to be a part of Benito’s halftime show,” Gaga, who performed her own halftime show in February 2017, later wrote on Instagram. “Thank you Benito for inviting me and thank you to the entire cast for welcoming me onto your stage. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
