(WSVN) – Days before the biggest football game in the country, excitement is also building around this year’s halftime show as Bad Bunny is set to make history as the first solo Latino artist to headline the event.
Before reaching the ultimate stage, Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, built a record-setting career, and just this past weekend, he added another historic moment at the Grammy Awards.
The singer rose to fame in 2016 with his song “Diles,” which led to a recording contract and launched him onto the world stage.
From there, the Puerto Rican star continued gaining global recognition with hits such as “I Like It” and “MIA.”
His 2018 debut album, X 100pre, peaked at number 11 on the charts. Two years later, his third solo album, “El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo,” became the first all-Spanish language album to top the Billboard 200.
But this past weekend, he achieved another milestone as his latest album, “Debi Tirar Mas Fotos,” became the first Spanish-language album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.
His rise to the biggest stage in football came last September when he was announced as the headlining star for Super Bowl 60’s Halftime performance.
But as fans know, it isn’t his first time on the Super Bowl stage. In 2020, he performed at Super Bowl 54 alongside Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and J Balvin at Hard Rock Stadium.
However, the decision to make him the headliner has not come without controversy. Bad Bunny is known to be an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
Trump, for his part, has criticized the selection of Bad Bunny and said he won’t attend the game.
Bad Bunny’s disapproval of Trump was evident last year when he held a residency in Puerto Rico and had no appearances elsewhere in the United States.
The artist had previously said he’s purposely avoiding touring domestically in the U.S. out of fear of immigration enforcement raids at his events.
During the Grammy event, Bad Bunny used his big stage to deliver a stern message against recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I’m going to say, ‘ICE out!’ We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We’re humans, we’re Americans,” he said.
Still, despite the backlash, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league stands by its choice and wants the game to serve as a unifying event.
“He understood the platform he was on, and that this was the platform that was used to unite people, and be able to bring people together, with their creativity, with their talent,” said Goodell.
The artist is expected to provide more details on what fans can expect from his Super Bowl performance on Thursday.
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