Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny on Sunday turned the Super Bowl into a giant street party, delivering his hits on one of the world\u2019s biggest stages, and becoming the first-ever halftime show headliner to sing only in Spanish.<\/p>\n
Anticipation was high for the 31-year-old\u2019s set, amid rampant speculation about whether he would use his platform to renew his criticism of President Donald Trump\u2019s administration in front of tens of millions of viewers.<\/p>\n
Just a week ago at the Grammys, where he won the coveted Album of the Year prize, Bad Bunny made a searing statement about Trump\u2019s sweeping immigration crackdown, earning cheers for saying \u201cICE out\u201d from the stage.<\/p>\n
But the wildly popular musician, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, made good on his pre-game promise to joyously share his culture, while focusing on the importance of unity over calling out specific divisions in American society, or naming names.<\/p>\n
In a set featuring a sugar cane plantation, a traditional \u201cpiragua\u201d cart selling treats, and even a wedding, he opened with \u201cTiti Me Pregunto\u201d and feminist anthem \u201cYo Perreo Sola,\u201d with a cast of dancers fueling the party atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Actors Pedro Pascal and Jessica Alba, and rapper Cardi B were among the guest stars vibing in his familiar \u201cLa Casita\u201d backdrop, representing a home in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
Bad Bunny wore an all-white ensemble, with a football jersey featuring the number \u201c64\u201d and \u201cOcasio,\u201d before donning a classy suit jacket.<\/p>\n
He delved into more political territory with \u201cEl Apagon\u201d (Blackout), which touches on the displacement of Puerto Ricans on their own island, and the constant problems caused by the unreliable power grid. He carried a Puerto Rican flag at one point.<\/p>\n
Surprise musical guests included Lady Gaga, who sang a Latin-inflected version of her hit \u201cDie with a Smile\u201d, the only English lyrics in the show, and Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin.<\/p>\n
At the end of the set, after listing Latin American countries, Puerto Rico and the United States, Bad Bunny spiked a football that said \u201cTogether, we are America.\u201d<\/p>\n
A giant screen in the stadium read: \u201cThe only thing more powerful than hate is love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early backlash<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Bad Bunny has been Spotify\u2019s most-streamed artist in the world four separate times, including last year, and won Album of the Year at the Grammys with \u201cDebi Tirar Mas Fotos\u201d, the first Spanish-language work to win music\u2019s highest accolade.<\/p>\n But the decision to showcase his work at the Super Bowl in California met with conservative outrage, specifically about the idea that he would not sing in English.<\/p>\n NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended the choice, calling Bad Bunny \u201cone of the great artists of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The National Football League is also seeking to bolster its international fan base, so booking a global superstar for the primetime musical interlude made perfect sense.<\/p>\n The NFL entered into an agreement in 2019 with Jay-Z\u2019s entertainment company Roc Nation, which leads the league\u2019s entertainment strategy and helps choose the halftime show artist.<\/p>\n Since that time, the list of Super Bowl headliners includes: Jennifer Lopez and Shakira (with a guest spot for Bad Bunny); The Weeknd; hip-hop legends Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Eminem; Rihanna; Usher; and Kendrick Lamar.<\/p>\n But JLo and Shakira did not perform exclusively in Spanish, leaving Bad Bunny to set that benchmark.<\/p>\n From Vega Baja to Super Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n The son of a truck driver and a teacher, Bad Bunny was born on March 10, 1994 and grew up in Vega Baja, a small municipality near Puerto Rico\u2019s capital San Juan.<\/p>\n He was working at a supermarket bagging groceries when he got a call from a label over his viral plays on the DIY platform SoundCloud.<\/p>\n Thus began the reggaeton star\u2019s rapid explosion to the top of global music.<\/p>\n Late last year, Bad Bunny released \u201cDebi Tirar Mas Fotos,\u201d a history lesson in Puerto Rican music that he promoted with a hometown concert residency in San Juan and a world tour.<\/p>\n In Puerto Rico, a US territory since 1898, there was nothing but pride for the island\u2019s native son on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cFor someone from here to be at one of the most important events in the United States is a source of pride for every Puerto Rican,\u201d Olvin Reyes, 39, told AFP.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an event to share with family, something very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Bad Bunny celebrates Puerto Rico in joyous Super Bowl halftime show<\/a> appeared first on KBC Digital<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny on Sunday turned the Super Bowl into a giant street party, delivering his hits on one of the world\u2019s biggest stages, and becoming the first-ever halftime show headliner to sing only in Spanish. Anticipation was high for the 31-year-old\u2019s set, amid rampant speculation about whether he would use his platform […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}