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Bad Bunny’s halftime show ranks fourth biggest in Super Bowl history as star pulls in 128.2million viewers
Music•February 11, 2026 at 9:06 PMNational

Bad Bunny’s halftime show ranks fourth biggest in Super Bowl history as star pulls in 128.2million viewers

By Elizabeth Aubrey•NME Music News

His performance also earned a further four billion views on social media The post Bad Bunny’s halftime show ranks fourth biggest in Super Bowl history as star pulls in 128.2million viewers appeared first on NME.

Bad Bunny’s halftime show has been ranked as the fourth biggest in Super Bowl history as the musician pulled in 128.2million viewers.

The musician’s set was a celebration of a Latin music and saw him perform with dozens of dancers while moving through a complex sequence of staged set pieces.

Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Jessica Alba and Karol G were all spotted among the dancers, while Bad Bunny appeared to deliver one of the three Grammys he won last week to a young boy during the performance.

Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance to deliver a Latin version of her Bruno Mars collaboration ‘Die With A Smile’, and was joined by Bad Bunny’s backing band Los Pleneros de la Cresta. Ricky Martin, meanwhile, was on hand to introduce ‘El apagón’ with an excerpt of ‘LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii’.

Now, data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics (as per Consequence), have revealed that Bad Bunny’s halftime show drew 128.2million views.

Last year’s set from Kendrick Lamar was slightly higher at 133.5million but his viewing statistics still put Bad Bunny as the fourth most-watched halftime show in history. Only ahead are Michael Jackson in 1993, and Usher in 2024.

As per Ripple Analytics (via Variety), The Puerto Rican musician is also said to have received four billion views on social media after just 24 hours.

The performance came just one week after he was confirmed as one of the biggest winners of the night at the 2026 Grammys, and used his time on stage then to deliver a powerful message criticising ICE and pushing for more love and acceptance in the US.

The Super Bowl show for this year was marred in controversy ever since it was first announced in September. When Bad Bunny was confirmed, he came under personal attack from the MAGA movement, and Donald Trump called the decision to have him headline “crazy”, claiming that he had “never heard” of him.

One of the President’s advisors confirmed that ICE would be present at the performance– which carried added poignancy as Bad Bunny previously announced that he would not be touring the US due to fears over ICE agents raiding the concerts – and Turning Point USA held an ‘All American Halftime Show’ at the same time with Kid Rock headlining.

During the show, Bad Bunny delivered a poignant message saying: “God bless America”, before listing the nations of Central, South and North America as dancers carried their flags.

A billboard message also read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”, and he held a football at the end of the segment with the message: “Together, We Are America.”

His message came after Donald Trump hit out at the performance, branding it a “slap in the face” for America.

Ahead of the show, Jennifer Lopez, who Bad Bunny appeared alongside during her halftime performance in 2020, wrote: “Bad Bunny… Sending you all the love, positivity, and the biggest hug in the world!

“We are all behind you tonight. I know that you are going to kill it! I am here with you the way you were there with me.”

Shakira also expressed her well-wishes ahead of the show. She wrote in Spanish alongside a clip of Bad Bunny performing at her Super Bowl: “Remembering our first performance together at Super Bowl 2020 and wishing you, Benito, all the best tonight.”

The post Bad Bunny’s halftime show ranks fourth biggest in Super Bowl history as star pulls in 128.2million viewers appeared first on NME.

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