Louder: Bad Bunny’s big moment

February 7, 2026

	By Caryn Ganz

Ben Sisario said it best: “The Super Bowl has never had a halftime performer — or a controversy — quite like Bad Bunny.”

The Puerto Rican superstar just became the first album of the year winner at the Grammys for a Spanish-language LP, and on Sunday he will make history again on the Super Bowl stage. But that’s only part of the story: His appearance has been condemned by the White House and right-wing media, and he firmly stated his opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at the Grammys. (There will be an alternate halftime streaming online, starring Kid Rock, via the conservative group Turning Point USA.)

Ben explored the stakes of this unique moment in our Arts & Leisure cover story this week. We’ll be covering halftime in real time on Sunday, and Popcast’s Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli will react right after the show live on YouTube.

If you want to briefly escape the Grammy/Super Bowl gauntlet, I recommend David Peisner’s story about the making of Talk Talk’s experiment “Spirit of Eden" and its legacy as an if-you-know-you-know favorite.

A photo of the singer Bad Bunny holding a microphone sits atop a gridiron backdrop with a scrum of photographers bathed in blue light.

Amy Lombard for The New York Times; Erika Santelices/Reuters; Emily Kask for The New York Times;

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Jeff Haynes/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Vincent Alban/The New York Times

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A man with long hair and sunglasses wearing a black fedora and wearing a tuxedo.

Conservative Group to Stage Alternate Halftime Show With Kid Rock

Turning Point USA, the advocacy group founded by Charlie Kirk, will present a streamed concert that will go up against Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl.

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Bad Bunny singing onstage with fans and other musicians behind him.

Bad Bunny Means a Breakthrough for Puerto Rican Athletes, Too

Puerto Rican football players are thrilled that Spanish will resound at the Super Bowl. “The stage is bigger than the N.F.L. itself,” one lineman said.

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Illustration by Dante Zaballa

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A woman in a strapless black dress with a metallic skirt sings into a microphone onstage with her head tossed back and one hand stretched to the side.

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for the Recording Academy

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Ejae and Sombr chased the Grammys with new releases, and Peter Gabriel began unfurling his next album.

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A man in dark clothes stands beside a man in a jean jacket and tie, who stands beside a man in an orange shirt.

Talk Talk’s Experiment ‘Spirit of Eden’ Was a Flop. And a Cult Favorite.

The English band recorded a year of improvised sessions, then cut-and-pasted them into six songs. The result alienated its label, but enchanted fans for decades.

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Charlie XCX, in a large puffer coat and sunglasses, walks down a hallway with a person holding a cellphone behind her.

A24

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GRAMMYS

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Cher, in a black, lacy gown, waves while standing on a stage.

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