This year’s long-awaited halftime show at the Super Bowl will be performed by the top 11th-most-streamed artist on Spotify, Bad Bunny, at Levi’s Stadium in California. Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican artist, originally gaining fame in 2016. His streams on Apple Music have increased by 26 percent following the announcement that he will be the performer at the Super Bowl this year. In the midst of the Super Bowl announcement, Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative non-profit that works mostly with students, has announced it will be creating an event called the “All-American Halftime Show,” meant to run at the same time as the Super Bowl LX halftime, just on a different channel.
This new ‘All American’ show is meant to be an alternative halftime show for the TPUSA supporters who disagree with the announcement of Bad Bunny’s performance. The main drive for a new halftime show is that Bad Bunny’s songs are mostly sung in Spanish.
Immaculee Deschaine ’26 is a longtime fan of the NFL, looking forward to cheering on her favorite team, destined to make the Super Bowl this year. Her favorite part of the Super Bowl is the halftime show, looking to appreciate different artists performing each year. Deschaine expresses her flexible views on the controversy surrounding this year’s performance.
“I think this drama is unnecessary, and the need for a new halftime show is ridiculous. We have had past Spanish performances; I don’t see how it’s a problem now,” Deschaine said. “I think it’s important to embrace other cultures, and it’s a perfect opportunity for that at the Super Bowl.”
On average, 127.7 million people tune in to watch the Super Bowl every year. With a growing audience, the halftime show is what mostly drags new viewers in each year. It’s a key factor that the halftime show has to be captivating to viewers; the more viewers, the more money made. This means that statistically, you would want a top artist to be performing to bring in all of the performer’s fans.
Bad Bunny gets around 79-81 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Henry Lamb ’28 is one of his proud fans. Lamb was as excited as anyone could be when they heard their favorite artist was performing at the Super Bowl. After hearing the backlash, he doesn’t completely disagree.
“Bad Bunny isn’t for everyone, that’s why his fan base is mainly Puerto Rican,” Lamb said. “I think that the new halftime show can be a good alternative for those who don’t want to listen to Spanish music.”
For those who are not familiar with Bad Bunny, the idea of a Spanish-speaking artist performing alone at the Super Bowl can be a bit unsettling. Not wanting to listen to a different artist for 15 minutes, having an alternative can be a great idea.
Tinley Gram ’27 is a very proud American, and she was a bit uncomfortable after the announcement of a Spanish-speaking artist performing this year.
“I like the idea of a different halftime show, it makes it easier for me to actually understand what’s going on,” Gram said. “I don’t know who Bad Bunny really is, but the idea of having to listen to songs I don’t understand for 15 minutes doesn’t sound too appealing to me.”
The performers for the TPUSA halftime show have not been announced yet, but it has been strongly voiced by the leader of the program, Erika Kirk, that it will be an American artist(s). This much debate already being shown shows that the halftime performance is more than just entertainment; it’s a chance to show different cultures and what they mean to fans.
“I’m sure that both the alternative halftime show and Bad Bunny’s performance will be great, and it will be entertaining to watch and compare both,” Deschaine said.
