Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Sparks Hype and Backlash (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Bad Bunny is giving us a sneak peek into his highly anticipated and hotly debated Super Bowl halftime performance. Take a listen.

[00:00:09] Speaker 2: I want to bring to the stage, of course, a lot of my culture. It's going to be fun and it's going to be easy and people only have to worry about dance. I know that I told them that they had four months to learn Spanish. They don't even have to learn Spanish. It's better if they learn to dance.

[00:00:34] Speaker 1: Debe hacer más fotos. The Super Bowl show is coming just days after the Puerto Rican singer made history with his album of the year win at the Grammys. And as he continues his wildly successful global tour, selling out stadiums in Latin America, Europe and Australia. In the words of Benito himself, he is not at his peak, he is now in his prime. Rolling Stone Deputy Music Editor Julissa Lopez is joining us now. Thank you so much for being here. Besides a huge party and the dancing that he says, look, you don't have to learn Spanish, you just have to be able to move your hips. I mean, that's all you need to be able to do. What else can we expect to see on his halftime show?

[00:01:13] Speaker 3: I think this is going to be such a fun Super Bowl performance. I think it's going to be one that is watched by so many people. Everybody wants to see what Benito is going to do. You know, Benito, by now, one of his albums is called Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana. That means I do what I want. And so I think this is going to be a really, really big one with a lot of dancing, as he said. But also a message of unity that he's been talking about, you know, and we heard him say that at the Grammys. He said it again at this press conference that he did. But I think a lot of people are going to be watching.

[00:01:43] Speaker 1: Just tell us how huge his Grammy win was because this music is largely in Spanish. And yet here we are all speaking Spanish, at least when we're singing the music.

[00:01:53] Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, this Grammy win was historic. It's the first album ever entirely in Spanish to win a Grammy. Before that, there was only one other album nominated even. And that was his album, Un Verano Sinti, the year before. And so Bad Bunny just keeps breaking record after record. He keeps making history. He has been the most streamed artist on Spotify four years now in 2020, 2021, 2022, and last year. And it just seems like he can't find a ceiling. So it makes a lot of sense that he would be performing at one of the biggest stages in music.

[00:02:25] Speaker 1: What is it about him? Because what's interesting, now that he's performing at the Super Bowl, is that you have this chasm, this almost political chasm, with some people like, who is this guy? And we're all like, you don't know who Bad Bunny is. There is this chasm. But what is it about him that has sparked such fandom? I mean, I gotta be honest. I tried to get tickets to one of his performances in L.A. Three seconds. It was sold out. I mean, you couldn't get tickets.

[00:02:50] Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, I think people are, first of all, his sound is so unique. Bad Bunny has that signature baritone. You know a Bad Bunny song when you hear it. And then I think he's also just been able to connect with his fans on so many different levels. You know, his music is party music. That you want to dance to. Which is going to make the Super Bowl really fun. He has also music that touches on social and political issues. He's been really outspoken about Puerto Rico. And his last album, Debe Tirar Mas Fotos, is a love letter to where he comes from. And so I think there's an authenticity and a sense of genuineness that people really see in his music. And he's also just a streaming joker nut. You know, he's the most streamed artist. Again, last year beating out everybody.

[00:03:30] Speaker 1: Let's talk about the NFL. Because the NFL has very much stood by Bad Bunny after conservative Republicans, including the Trump administration, blasted the choice to use Bad Bunny for this Super Bowl halftime. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could not be budged from his position. Take a listen to what he said.

[00:03:48] Speaker 4: Bad Bunny was, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world. And that's one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on. And that this platform is to use to unite people. And to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents. And to be able to use this moment to do that. And I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands that.

[00:04:17] Speaker 1: I mean, people try to say politics and sports don't mix. But they do. They have always mixed. There has always been a mix there. And I feel like we just sort of pretend that they don't mix. Because some of the words that are in Bad Bunny's songs are very political.

[00:04:31] Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, Bad Bunny has been political. And I think when the announcement was made, there was a lot of things about his beliefs that he said in the past. You know, he has been outspoken about ICE and not agreeing with the way that the Trump administration has handled a lot of immigrant rhetoric and ICE deportations in this country. He's also been outspoken about the way they handled Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in the past. He's been outspoken about trans issues. One thing you've heard conservatives saying is that this choice is un-American also. Because he's going to be speaking in Spanish. Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico. He is a citizen of the United States. And the Halftime Show has never really been about American performers. You've had Paul McCartney. You've had The Weeknd. So now you have a Puerto Rican artist who is, you know, the biggest on the planet. It makes a lot of sense that the NFL is going to stand by him commercially. He makes a lot of sense. He is a good business decision. We know that Bad Bunny brings in viewers and listeners. And there's a whole lot of people that are going to be watching.

[00:05:30] Speaker 1: It's going to be huge. Julissa Lopez, thank you so much. I do appreciate it. CNN's Isabel Rosales takes a look at the impact his concerts have made on the island.

[00:05:44] Speaker 5: Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny on his way to the Super Bowl. For a one-of-a-kind halftime performance just months after closing out his sold-out 31-show residency. A run unlike anything his home island has ever seen. Lucia Cotto? Maybe his oldest fan. At 101 years old, she was born six decades before reggaeton even existed. She once wanted to be a nun.

[00:06:16] Speaker 6: Today, Lucia has proof reggaeton and Bad Bunny has no age limit.

[00:06:47] Speaker 5: It's clear this wasn't just a concert. It was a cultural moment that continues to grow as Bad Bunny prepares to take one of the biggest stages in sports. Tourism agency Discover Puerto Rico says around 600,000 visitors flocked to the island in just two months. And an estimated 400 to 700 million dollars pumped into the local economy. Lucia, among thousands of other Puerto Ricans, relishing their hometown hero's first residency. On her way to see her favorite artist live for the first time. For fans, it's a cultural homecoming.

[00:07:45] Speaker 7: The NFL's goal for Bad Bunny on Sunday? Unite people. With his Grammy's ice out declaration still on people's minds though, it is fair to wonder what will be his message. Which songs will he choose? Well Spotify shows Where Americans Hopes Are, DTMF topped the most played songs in the country yesterday. And two more Bad Bunny songs make the top ten. There is a faction who plans to turn the channel.

[00:08:13] Speaker 8: I don't know who he is. I don't know why they're doing it. It's like crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter that they hired. It's so shameful that they've decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much.

[00:08:24] Speaker 9: As much as I would love to indulge in that halftime show and see Bad Bunny possibly in a dress. Trashing our federal law enforcement officers in this great country. I think I'm going to sit that one out. I think the president would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny. I must say that.

[00:08:41] Speaker 8: There's a big portion of this country, like it or not, that's underserved entertainment wise. And, you know, we're just going to go play for our base. You know, people who love America, love football, love Jesus.

[00:08:56] Speaker 7: Our smart reporters are back. And Sabrina, you wrote about this for the journal. The headline is Bad Bunny isn't toning it down with MAGA and MAGA is fuming. You quote a conservative influencer, Emily Austin. America gave him such a great opportunity to really amplify his career on another level. Now he took that platform that he's built here and has now completely turned into bashing this country. Just a sort of table set here. He's so he is American. But go ahead.

[00:09:25] Speaker 10: Yes. A very important thing to clarify, because I think a lot of the backlash that is not acknowledged. But I think it's been an interesting evolution in the backlash to Bad Bunny being the Super Bowl headliner. You know, we saw when he was first announced in September, this immediate, you know, MAGA influencers online bashing on him for a variety of reasons. But, you know, the it starts with the fact that he's been open and being, you know, against immigration enforcement in this country, against, you know, Trump's handling of it. You know, his his album last year that came out that we did on most photos. He did this sold out 31 day residency in Puerto Rico. And he specifically opted out of touring on mainland U.S. and said later in an interview that the reason was in part because he was worried that it was going to be, you know, a source and a place for ice raids to take place. Since then, you know, that for died down. You'd have some influencers still complaining about it, given the fact that he sings exclusively in Spanish. He has like some, you know, gender bending norms that he'll like talk about and just focus on openly about. So I think there's been all this backlash around it that died down. But then with the Grammys and him saying ice out, that has been reignited and we've seen a lot of attention on it this week.

[00:10:34] Speaker 11: Bad Bunny is so much bigger than what the White House can make it. I don't think it's a fight they will win. It's not a fight I think they want to pick. I think you're absolutely right. I mean, think about all of the criticisms we've seen the president launch at Taylor Swift and things like that. This isn't at that level. But it's also they think that their base loves this. So they're leaning in. I don't know. I don't know if it's really worth the fight here.