Bad Bunny took center stage during the Super Bowl 2026 halftime show and won the hearts of hundreds of millions of viewers across the country (and world) while doing it.
According to a Tuesday, February 10, press release from NBC Sports, total social media consumption of the performance — which is inclusive of fans, owned platforms, broadcast partners, influencers and more — set a record of four billion views after the first 24 hours, which is a 137 percent increase YoY.
As for overall views in the United States, Bad Bunny, 31, averaged 128.2 million viewers from 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET — only slightly less than Kendrick Lamar’s record-breaking viewership numbers of 133.5 million in 2025. Per the outlet, which cited Ripple Analytics, global viewership numbers will be available early next week.
During the Sunday, February 8, performance, Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) took the opportunity to honor his Puerto Rican heritage and began the show in a sugarcane field set.
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The rapper then transitioned to a front porch, where he was joined by several celebrities including Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba and Alix Earle.
Bad Bunny also surprised viewers when Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga appeared as surprise guests, before concluding his set with the message, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
The words, which appeared on the stadium scoreboard, were a nod to Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards. (Bad Bunny took home the trophy for Album of the Year award for his Debí Tirar Más Fotos album at the time.)
Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner for the game — where the Seattle Seahawks ultimately beat the New England Patriots by a 29-13 final score — in September 2025.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” he said in a statement at the time. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
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The announcement was met with some criticism from fans, NFL players and political figures — but was supported by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who defended the choice in October 2025.
“He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell, 66, told reporters during a news conference at the time. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us. It’s an important element to the entertainment value, and it’s carefully thought through.”
Goodell explained that the league has faced backlash in the past for some of their decisions for performers.
“I’m not sure we’ve ever selected an artist where we didn’t have some blowback and criticism,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to do when you have literally hundreds of millions of people that are watching.”
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Goodell stated that the NFL was “confident” Bad Bunny would put on a “great” show, adding, “He understands the platform that he’s on, and I think it’s going to be exciting and a united moment.”
Bad Bunny, meanwhile, insisted that English-speakers would enjoy his performance despite previously joking that they had “four months” to learn Spanish.
“They don’t even have to learn Spanish,” he said Thursday, February 5, during the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference. “It’s better they learn to dance. There’s no better dance than the one that comes from the heart. That’s the only thing that they need to worry about.”
He added, “I just want people to have fun.”
