How Bad Bunny pulled off a historic Super Bowl halftime show

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During Sunday’s Super Bowl, Bad Bunny ‘scored’ first – not with points on the scoreboard, but with a show-stopping performance during halftime! He playfully ran down the field and finished by spiking a football in the end zone, getting the crowd energized before the game continued.

The performance ended with a symbolic ‘touchdown’ moment after a vibrant 13-minute set inspired by Latin music, and it was a tribute to the many artists who paved the way, explained Harriet Cuddeford, the show’s creative director.

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican singer, recently made history as the first Latin artist to headline Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara by himself. This performance happened just one week after he won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Bad Bunny designed his performance to celebrate those who paved the way for his success and to inspire future generations. According to Cuddeford, this concept was visually represented by a journey from one side of the stage to the other.

According to Cuddeford, the team—including lead designer Julio Himede of Yellow Studio—had just two months to create the show before rehearsals started in early January. It was a quick and hectic process.

Cuddeford described the performance as the strongest of all their rehearsals. He felt a sense of effortless success, saying, ‘It was like everything just clicked.’ He struggled to put the feeling into words, explaining that the physical sensation was incredible.

While Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance received some backlash, the conservative group Turning Point USA, created by Charlie Kirk, put on a separate halftime show with Kid Rock as a response.

After Bad Bunny’s performance, which President Trump had previously predicted would create division, Trump called the show “one of the worst ever” in a social media post.

According to Cuddeford and Himede, the team working on Bad Bunny’s project was so focused on realizing his unique style and ideas that they didn’t pay attention to any outside opinions or concerns.

I recently heard Cuddeford say something that really resonated with me. Basically, he acknowledged all the hype and chatter surrounding whatever they were working on, but confidently stated they had a clear vision and knew exactly what they were doing. It felt like a cool, understated way of saying, ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got this!’

Music

The Puerto Rican superstar headlined music’s biggest stage Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The making of Benito Bowl

The Super Bowl halftime show began shortly after 5 p.m. Pacific Time while it was still daylight in California. This presented a significant hurdle for the show’s creators, according to Cuddeford.

Cuddeford explained that the sunlight on the West Coast could make it difficult to create the typical atmosphere of a halftime show. Last year, when Kendrick Lamar performed in New Orleans, it was already nighttime.

So the team got creative.

Cuddeford collaborated with Bad Bunny on several televised appearances in 2025, such as the Latin Grammys and “Saturday Night Live.” Recognizing Bad Bunny’s talent as a performer, she used his dramatic flair to create a Super Bowl halftime show that resembled a film more than a typical concert.

According to Cuddeford, the Super Bowl has a lot of established traditions, and the organizers are accustomed to doing things a particular way. They wanted to challenge that by reimagining the experience, creating something truly immersive and taking viewers on a journey.

Voices

Essay: Decoding Bad Bunny’s triumphantly Puerto Rican Super Bowl halftime show

As a huge Bad Bunny fan, I was completely captivated by his Super Bowl performance! Journalist Tatiana Tenreyro really helped me understand all the little nods to Puerto Rican culture woven throughout the show. It wasn’t just entertainment; she pointed out how he used the platform to call for solidarity across the Americas, especially for those facing hardship. It made the whole thing even more meaningful to me.

To create the setting for Bad Bunny’s storytelling, the stage was divided into different areas representing scenes of everyday life and celebrating the Latin community, explained Himede.

The show started with Bad Bunny wandering through a sugarcane field, and it was so cool seeing him pop into places like a favorite L.A. taco stand, a jeweler, and even a nail salon. He chatted with a group of guys playing dominoes too! He slowly walked down the stage, stopping by La Casita – that little spot everyone remembers from his recent tour – and get this, he actually watched a couple get married right there! It was a really special moment.

The artist behind “DTMF” had a clear idea of what they wanted for the show, and the creative team worked to make that vision a reality, according to Cuddeford and Himede. For example, the singer personally selected the show’s guest stars, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.

Bad Bunny really wanted Ricky Martin to sing “Lo Que Le Paso a Hawaii” during his shows in Puerto Rico, but it wasn’t possible. So, he worked to ensure Martin could perform at the Super Bowl instead, according to Cuddeford.

Near the conclusion of his concert, Bad Bunny gave one of his Grammy Awards to a fan – a young boy. According to his publicist, Cuddeford, this wasn’t a spontaneous act; it was planned in advance, even before Bad Bunny won three Grammys last week.

Growing up, the singer used to watch his favorite artists receive awards on TV, and later, those same artists were presenting the awards to him. This memorable moment, which has since gone viral, was Bad Bunny’s way of encouraging a new generation to believe in their own potential.

Bringing a vision to life

As a huge fan of live performances, I was completely blown away by Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show! It wasn’t just a concert, it was a spectacle – over 300 dancers, incredible moving stages, and the most unexpected thing – a genuine wedding happened right there on the field! It was truly unforgettable.

From the start, the team and I knew we wanted a wedding scene. It just felt like the most beautiful way to show everything the performance was about – you know, love, happiness, the bonds we share, and the importance of family. And honestly, those themes are universal, they resonate with everyone, no matter where you come from. That’s what we were really aiming for.

Bad Bunny often gets fan mail, and it turns out a lot of it is wedding invitations! She actually went through many of them before choosing a couple to help celebrate their big day – she was a witness at their wedding.

Himede described weddings as deeply rooted in Latin culture, a chance to connect with a large extended family – he has hundreds of cousins and uncles! But he also noted that the emotions felt at a wedding are universal and something everyone can understand, no matter where they’re from.

Music

Just before the Super Bowl, activists secretly handed out 15,000 flyers to fans as they entered Levi’s Stadium. They were trying to show support for a musician who recently used their Grammy Awards speech to advocate for Latinos and immigrants.

I was so excited by the stage design! Apparently, the creators, Himede, were inspired by a beautiful plaza in San Juan, Puerto Rico – a place famous for weddings. They actually visited it multiple times while getting ready for the show, and you could really see that influence in the details. It felt so authentic and special knowing they drew inspiration from a real place.

As Bad Bunny finished his performance, he shouted “God bless America” while standing in the end zone. He then acknowledged all the countries of North and South America as dancers proudly waved their flags.

Bad Bunny then showed the message written on the football he was holding to the camera: “Together, we are America.”

“We have the same world. We’re all one. We’re all humans. Let us be the same,” Cuddeford said.

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2026-02-10 04:32