Bad Bunny’s much-discussed Super Bowl halftime show has been named as the most-watched of all time.
The Puerto Rican superstar became the first Latin male artist and the first artist performing primarily in Spanish to take the prestigious headline slot last month, playing a set that celebrated the history and diversity of Latin music styles.
The set saw guest appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, while Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Jessica Alba and Karol G were all spotted among the dancers.
In terms of pure US television audience, it was recently revealed that the set drew 128.2million views, putting it in fourth place in the all-time rankings – behind Michael Jackson in 1993, Usher in 2024 and Kendrick Lamar last year.
Now, Roc Nation, who co-produce the Super Bowl halftime shows, have said that it has taken the all-time global viewership record, clocking up a total of 4.157billion worldwide views in the first 24 hours. The figure includes US and international broadcasts, YouTube streams and other digital platforms.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl set had been marred in controversy since it was first announced in September. When the rapper 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.”
A poll after the show found that more Americans believed Bad Bunny “better represents” the country than Trump, while the president hit out at Bad Bunny again, writing on Truth Social that the halftime show felt like a “slap in the face” for America.
Among those sharing huge praise for Bad Bunny after the show were Rosalía, Doechii, Jennifer Lopez, and more, as well as Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves who also made swipes at the Turning Point gig.
A number of Republican congressmen called for an investigation into the set, but it was soon confirmed that Bad Bunny did not violate any broadcast decency standards.
The set has also sparked a wave of travel searches to Puerto Rico, with Expedia revealing that flight searches for the nation increased by a staggering 245 per cent in the days after the halftime performance.
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