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Bad Bunny should take notes from Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance and use the platform to make a political statement. It would justify his decision to perform; despite previously saying he wouldn’t tour the mainland U.S., and it would transform the event into a celebration of Latino identity and contribution.
He already hinted at this in his SNL monologue where he suggested he would do the show primarily in Spanish after speaking the language briefly. He quipped, “If you don’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.” By performing primarily in Spanish at the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny would make a statement about representing his language and culture.
In a post on X, he mentioned he would only do one tour date in the U.S., and that same day, he tweeted the announcement about performing at Superbowl LX. Many may think he’s only doing it to gain massive exposure or boost album sales; if he wants to justify his decision, the halftime show should be a moment of both celebration and protest.
Last year, Kendrick Lamar proved artists can use the Super Bowl stage to make political statements without being too overt or calling anyone out. His performance symbolically pierced the patriotic veil cast over the Super Bowl spectacle.
He enlisted the help of actor Samuel L. Jackson, who played Uncle Sam, not as a paragon of American values, but rather as a gatekeeper who policed Lamar’s Black identity and called it “too ghetto.” This changed the patriotic symbol into one of coercion, highlighting the cultural domination of whiteness over Black expression in the American mainstream.
The PlayStation controller-like stage signified a subversion of the “American Game,” and Lamar’s statement about picking the “right time but the wrong guy” implied his unwillingness to surrender to cultural assimilation. This indirect message made the performance politically charged but avoided being preachy.
Eyerí Morales, an IU junior, said he’s not expecting Bad Bunny to make a political statement, because it’s not his responsibility as an artist. He believes Bad Bunny’s selection is still impactful because he was chosen as an artist who mainly sings in Spanish.
“It’s a sign that music is a universal language,” he said.
But, regardless of duties, politics and artistry are not mutually exclusive, and Bad Bunny is no stranger to blending them. In his music, he’s spoken about Puerto Rico’s struggles, including government corruption, economic inequalities, and gender violence.
The music video he released for his song “El Apagón” “(The Outage)” was itself a documentary on displacement and colonial neglect. The video for “Nuevayol,” which is the colloquial Spanish pronunciation of “New York,” was a celebration of Puerto Rican culture and a statement against anti-immigrant rhetoric.
As one of the most-watched events in America, the Super Bowl is an ideal platform for Bad Bunny to address the current problems faced by Puerto Ricans and the larger Latino diaspora. The performance could act as a moment of pride and visibility for Latinos, at a time when U.S. political discourse frequently sidelines them.
Already, his confirmed performance has faced backlash from the Trump administration and even led to the organization of an “alternative halftime show” organized by Turning Point USA.
Nina Rivera, an IU junior, said the Super Bowl gives Bad Bunny an opportunity to gain more exposure toward a larger, non-Spanish-speaking audience. She also mentioned it makes sense for him to make a political statement, considering his cultural value for Latinos, a prominent demographic in California.
“It would be very out of character for him to not say anything,” she said.
Rivera also noted how Kendrick’s performance in New Orleans leaned more toward celebrating Black culture.
In his performance, Bad Bunny could continue his unapologetic use of the Spanish language on national television, as he did in his SNL monologue.
Taking notes from Kendrick Lamar’s performance means matching his intentionality, not his politics. Kendrick used the platform to connect art with identity, community, and resistance. Bad Bunny could do something similar and continue the work he’s done in speaking about Caribbean, diasporic, and colonial themes.
Bad Bunny is the first to headline as a solo artist performing solely in Spanish. The Super Bowl halftime show doesn’t just provide him with a big, national platform; it puts him at center stage amidst paradigms of American mainstream culture.
If he turns his performance into a moment of Latino self-definition, he can make history.
Joaquin Baerga (he/him) is a junior studying journalism.
