Bad Bunny Previews Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ignores Trump:

SAN FRANCISCO – Bad Bunny took the stage three days before his highly anticipated halftime show at Super Bowl LX and talked about the party he intends to throw through his music at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

No mention of ICE. No mention of President Donald Trump.

In a conference room full of international media who waited two hours to hear from the global superstar, Bad Bunny answered questions from only two Apple Music representatives and a trio of junior reporters. And the focus remained solely on Bad Bunny’s music, his family and how he’s balanced an ongoing tour while preparing for the halftime show.

Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images

“To be honest, there’s a lot,” he said Thursday. “I’m still in the middle of my tour. I was at the Grammys last week. All of that, I mean, I’ve been working on this show, what we’re doing next Sunday, so it’s been a lot.

“But of course there’s a lot of thankfulness and gratitude. That’s how I’ve felt this whole year with the album. The biggest feeling is being grateful.”

“I’m happy, but I’m just processing and taking one day at a time and just living, you know what I mean? So I’m excited about this performance.”

Bad Bunny, whose name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was named the Super Bowl LX halftime performer in September. That drew criticism from people like President Trump, who called the choice “absolutely ridiculous” in an interview with the conservative news network Newsmax.

However, the NFL stood by its decision, with Commissioner Roger Goodell saying during his annual Super Bowl press conference on Monday that Bad Bunny is “one of the greatest artists in the world.” That came a day after Bad Bunny won three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

The Puerto Rico native has been outspoken in his stance against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He chose to keep his tour outside the United States and declared “ICE out” before accepting Album of the Year on Sunday.

That raised intrigue over whether Bad Bunny would make any political statements during Sunday’s performance. That remains to be seen, but he kept Thursday’s comments focused on the show itself.

He declined to say whether special guests will join him during the performance, but told the crowd to prepare for a party.

“I just want people to have fun,” he said. “There is going to be a huge party, it will be what people can always expect from me.

“Of course, a lot of it is my culture, but I don’t really want to give any spoilers. It’s going to be fun and it’s not going to be difficult. It’s going to be easy and people will only have to worry about the dancing.”

And for those who don’t understand Bad Bunny’s lyrics, which are mainly in Spanish?

“I know I told you that you had four months to learn Spanish. You don’t even have to learn Spanish,” he said. “It’s better that they learn to dance, but I think (there is) no better dance than the one that comes from the heart. The dance of the heartbeat, that’s the only thing you have to worry about and have fun and enjoy.”

via News

Sunday will be the second time that Bad Bunny appears on the halftime stage. The first occurred six years ago during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show that featured Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. At that time, he was a special guest. On Sunday he will be the headline act as one of the biggest music stars in the world.

Since 2019, Bad Bunny has been among the top five most streamed artists on music platform Spotify each year, including the most streams in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Bad Bunny said that while he’s been trying to “take it easy,” he also acknowledged that he regularly woke up in the middle of the night thinking about the halftime show.

“I want to think that it’s just… 13 minutes of doing something that I love, that I like. And that’s how it is. I’m trying to enjoy it and I know I’m going to have fun,” he said. “Just enjoy the moment, enjoy… what’s happening, what I’m doing.”

One of the young reporters asked him what he would be doing if it weren’t for his music career. Bad Bunny smiled before offering: “Watching the Super Bowl at home?”