Bad Bunny is a bad choice for the Super Bowl halftime performance.
Not simply because the Puerto Rican rapper’s politically driven touring choices are incompatible with someone being awarded one of the most prestigious perches of American culture. Nor because his songs aren’t in English.
But have you heard his autotune racket masquerading as music? Why can’t anyone sing or rap without the assistance of computers these days?
I can already see the mute button in my future.
Beyond the offensive tunes, the performer, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is taking flack for his hypocrisy. He’s proudly accepting the splashy high-profile gig at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., after explicitly declining to play on the United States mainland for this current tour in protest of Trump’s immigration policies and ICE enforcement.
“Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel [to Puerto Rico], or to any part of the world,” he told i-D magazine. “There was the issue of, like, f–king ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
But the choice certainly feels like a watershed moment for the National Football League — and perhaps a middle finger from Jay-Z to traditional fans. The Roc Nation mogul was given the keys to produce the iconic Super Bowl halftime show in 2019, to appease those in the growing social justice movement that was consuming sports whole during the great awokening.
Most of his choices — which have been a mix of hiphop and R&B — achieved the goal of appealing to a broad swathe of Americans, especially non football fans, who see the music, not the pigskin, as the main event.
Last year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, however, he tapped rapper Kendrick Lamar, who was most definitely a subversive and niche selection.
And this year, would it have killed them to pick a Zach Bryan or Taylor Swift this go around?
Maybe Jay-Z has his agenda, but for the league, the dominant reason to cast Bad Bunny is their appetite for global expansion, which they’ve taken on with the aggression and speed of a cocaine fueled Lawrence Taylor in his prime.
What started years ago as a handful of games being played in London has mushroomed into an international project rivaling the reach of the United Nations. This year, there are international match ups in Germany, UK, Ireland, Brazil and Madrid, with more distant lands on tap for next season.
That expansion includes a massive play for the Spanish speaking market. Every Sunday, the NFL runs commercials for their “Por La Cultura” initiative, which highlights Hispanic players in the league.
“It’s mathematically impossible for the league to grow without Latinos,” Marissa Solis, SVP of global brand and consumer marketing at the NFL told CNBC last year. “This audience is critical for our growth.”
Bad Bunny, despite his bad music, has major crossover appeal.
On Spotify, the rapper has been the most streamed artist globally for the first three years of this decade. He joined Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s show at the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami, has performed at WWE events and even stepped into the ring in 2023.
He had a major role in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore 2” ably playing Oscar Mejias, a busboy turned caddy. And now, he’s been given the Holy Grail of stages.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. 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,” he said.
Hopefully, he’ll use it as a showcase for his performing chops, not his personal political grievances.
Regardless, the league knows that old school die hard fans, people who associate the sounds of the NFL with the voice of John Facenda will be tuning in to the game regardless. They’d even watch if they put up a hologram of Milli Vanilli at the break.
In this new era, the loyal fans are taken for granted while the league whistles at the pretty new thing in town.