By The Super Bowl is about more than just football. For 60 years, thousands of people have looked forward to commercials, celebrity moments, and the halftime performance.
Super Bowl LX followed this tradition again, but also created controversy, nationwide.
This year’s halftime performance featured famous artist Bad Bunny, who honored the Latino culture, which also led to cultural and political discussions.
The 2026 Super Bowl LX was held on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Bad Bunny headlined the Apple Music halftime show and was joined by many other famous performers, like Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and Los Pleneros de la Cresta.
This was such a significant performance because Bad Bunny made history in becoming the first Latino solo artist to lead a Super Bowl halftime show.
Super Bowl LX halftime show placed a strong emphasis on Puerto Rican heritage and identity.
I think that was an important way to include the different cultures in the US, plus having different types of music is a fun way to change up the halftime performance.
Bad Bunny used not only traditional music, but also visual storytelling throughout his performance.
There were more than 135.8 million viewers who watched the show, making it the most-watched halftime performance in Super Bowl history.
After an ABC interview, Bad Bunny said he hoped to bring Puerto Rican culture to one of the biggest stages in the world.
Of course, with every performance, there are positive and negative reviews, and this performance sparked quite a few criticisms.
There were political commentators and conservative voices that said the show focused too much on cultural and political messages.
The criticisms argued that the Super Bowl needs to focus more on entertainment instead of controversial themes.
Going the other way, many people defended the performance and praised its cultural importance.
Supporters said the show reflected the diversity of American culture and recognized the growing influence of Latino communities.
“I didn’t understand a single word, but the vibes were high,” Jasmine Barela said. “Did you see Alix Earle!?” Barela is a junior from Beaverton, Oregon, studying business management and marketing, and playing softball.
I found that CBS News reported that cultural analysts viewed the performance as an important moment that expanded representation. Fans of Bad Bunny also expressed support through social media, calling the performance inspiring and meaningful.
This halftime show extended beyond the official performance. Turning Point USA created and streamed a whole different halftime program featuring Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, and Gabby Barrett.
The Turning Point show created many disagreements among viewers, and this created more online debates.
I think that this year’s halftime show can influence public conversations. Neither side is wrong, and personally, I think that’s what’s so great about the US: people can have their own opinions.
Where I think it gets skewed is when people start judging people for their views, but honestly, I think a big part of what Bad Bunny was trying to do was to show that everyone can be apart and think what they want to think, no matter what race.
