Paul GlynnCulture reporter
Puerto Rican pop star Bad Bunny will headline next year’s Super Bowl half-time show in California.
The singer and rapper, who has topped Spotify’s most-streamed artist list in three of the past five years, will squeeze his hits into less than 15 minutes on US TV’s most-watched night in February.
In a football-themed statement, he said: “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.”
It comes after the star recently said in an interview with i-D magazine he is avoiding the US on his current world tour out of concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents might conduct raids on fans at his concerts.
He will now make a trip to the US for Super Bowl night in Santa Clara on 8 February.
He will follow in the footsteps of other recent half-time performers including Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Rihanna and The Weeknd.
Lamar was the musical attraction at this year’s Super Bowl, which was watched by a record 127 million viewers in the US.
Switching into his native Spanish, Bad Bunny – whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio – added in his statement: “Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el halftime show del Super Bowl” – which roughly translates as: “Go tell your grandma we’re going to be the Super Bowl half-time show.”
Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation company chooses the half-time performer and produces their show, said what Bad Bunny has “done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring”.
“We are honoured to have him on the world’s biggest stage,” he added.
In 2022, Bad Bunny Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You), became the first all-Spanish language album to reach number one in the US.
The 31-year-old was the third most-streamed artist in the world last year, behind Taylor Swift and The Weeknd.
He released his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos), earlier this year.
He has won three Grammy Awards, and earlier this month was revealed as the leading nominee at this year’s Latin Grammy Awards.
Earlier this month, he concluded a residency in his native Puerto Rico, which drew more than 500,000 fans. Puerto Rico is a US territory but which exercises substantial internal self-govenance.
His tour is due to start in the Dominican Republic in November, before travelling across Central and South America, then to Australia, Japan and Europe, including two nights at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London next summer.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate – I’ve performed there many times,” the star explained to i-D about the absence of US dates.
“All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the US.”
He continued: “But there was the issue of… ICE could be outside [my concerts]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
His Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performance will take place at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bad Bunny is also an actor, appearing in films like Bullet Train and the recent Happy Gilmore 2.
And he will return to host Saturday Night Live for a second time next month.
