Updated on: February 5, 2026 / 8:28 PM EST / AP
Bad Bunny says he’s approaching his highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance with excitement, gratitude and perspective. Speaking in English at an Apple Music press event, he walked out to his 2017 single “Chambea” and described mixed feelings: “To be honest, I don’t know how I’m feeling. There’s a lot. I’m still in the middle of my tour. I was just at the Grammys last week. All of that.”
He said he feels more excited for the people — his family, friends and fans — than for himself. “This moment, the culture — that’s what makes these shows special,” he added.
The Puerto Rican superstar, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is one of the most-streamed artists worldwide and will take the Super Bowl stage one week after winning album of the year at the 2026 Grammys for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, the first all Spanish-language album to earn that honor. He joked that fans don’t need to learn Spanish to enjoy his set, but they should be prepared to dance, referencing his “Saturday Night Live” monologue.
Apple Music hosts Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden led the conversation, which began with pregame performer interviews. Credentialed media, including many Spanish-language and Latin American outlets, filled the room well before the event — a contrast to Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 news conference, which only filled about 15 minutes before it began.
Bad Bunny offered few specifics about the halftime show. “It’s going to be a huge party,” he said. “What people can expect from me … I want to bring to the stage, of course, a lot of my culture. But I really don’t, I don’t want to give any spoilers. It’s going to be fun.”
He said Debí Tirar Más Fotos was driven by reconnecting with identity, history and culture, not by chasing awards or recognition. “I wasn’t looking for album of the year. I wasn’t looking to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show,” he said. “I was just trying to connect with my roots, connect with my people, connect with myself.” That authenticity, he said, opened the door to bringing a personal expression of culture to a global stage.
Bad Bunny previously appeared in the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020 alongside Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. When asked about surprise guests this time, he remained coy: “That’s something I’m not going to tell you.” He noted that many guests will be watching — friends, family, the Latino community and fans around the world.
In a Q&A with student journalists, he named his mother as an early supporter. “Before everything, she believed in me as a person, as a human. She believed in me, in my decisions, in my opinions,” he said. “I think that’s what got me here, you know? Not because she believed that I was a great artist but that she believed that I am a great person.”
The Super Bowl will be held Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Seattle Seahawks facing the New England Patriots. Pregame performers include Charlie Puth singing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile performing “America the Beautiful” and Coco Jones singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Puth said he hopes to inspire viewers, while Jones called the moment “the bee’s knees.”
The national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be presented in American Sign Language by deaf performing artist Fred Beam; Julian Ortiz will sign “America the Beautiful.” Green Day will perform a pregame set to celebrate the Super Bowl’s 60th anniversary.
For the halftime show, organizers are including a multilingual signing program with Puerto Rican Sign Language led by interpreter Celimar Rivera Cosme, who also interpreted Bad Bunny’s recent Puerto Rico residency that drew more than half a million fans. All signed performances for the pregame and halftime shows are presented in collaboration with Alexis Kashar of LOVE SIGN and Deaf Equality’s Howard Rosenblum.