Why Talk About Bad Bunny on a Metal Blog?
I bet you never would have thought that I would ever write about Bad Bunny, but music is music, and when something important happens, it is worth mentioning. Every so often, a moment is so massive it deserves to be talked about, regardless of the genre. Music is music, and I love to talk about it, always.
I’m a metalhead and a Latina, yet I won’t even try to discuss reggaeton, trap, or urban music because I don’t know much about it, and I’m not a fan. I know songs. Even about Bad Bunny, I knew about him, but I couldn’t recognize any of his songs before the Super Bowl.
I also don’t like American football. I don’t know what teams played and who won. I like soccer, though, as most Latinos do.
I do know that the American pop punk band Green Day opened the pre-game with a medley of some of their big hits that lasted 5 minutes, and it was great. Yet the main course came in the halftime show with Bad Bunny.
The Show
When Bad Bunny’s show started, it was like watching a movie in real time, with insane production values. The camera work, transitions, choreography, and perfect coordination to make it all look good were crazy. The dancers were on another level. I’ve seen some halftime shows, loved Beyoncé’s, but this? This was a different beast.
While Bad Bunny was singing, some celebrity cameos danced, including Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, and Jessica Alba. Yet the thing that I liked the most was the amount of details that showed up in every corner, like two boxers fighting, old men playing dominoes, girls getting their nails done, and a barbershop. Even a kid sleeping on chairs like at a Latino party! It was filled with symbolism.
After a small tribute to the OGs of reggaeton like Don Omar and Daddy Yankee, Benito, aka Bad Bunny, introduced himself by his full name and gave a little speech about believing in yourself (all in Spanish). Violins started sounding, and a real wedding was taking place. Lady Gaga shows up to sing a salsa version of her song with Bruno Mars, Die With A Smile.
It wasn’t just reggaeton or trap. There was so much salsa, too.
Just a few days before his presentation, Benito had won a Grammy for Album of the Year with a 100% Spanish album (that was the first time anyone did that). So, another beautiful moment was when he handed a Grammy to a young boy, basically his younger self. It felt like he was passing the torch to younger generations and also validating his dream.
Next, the mood shifts. An acoustic guitar starts, and Ricky Martin performs in a very moving way, Lo que le pasó a Hawaii (What Happened to Hawaii), which talks about colonization and gentrification—people being pushed out of their homes because things got too expensive. It continued with El Apagón (The Blackout). Bad Bunny and the dancers climbed light poles to represent the blackouts in Puerto Rico after the hurricanes. It was powerful.
He ended the show by saying, “Everyone wants to be Latino, but they lack the sazón (spice)” and, God Bless America: Chile, Argentina…. The US, Canada, and his motherland, Puerto Rico, naming all American countries as the flags were being raised. He reminded us that from the south to the north, we are all Americans. In a time of division, seeing the stadium screen say, The only thing more powerful than hate is love, made me emotional and proud. It was a great way to end his presentation.
In the show, Benito mixed these political statements with dance tracks, so it never felt dense. It felt like a celebration. An homage to Latin and Puerto Rican culture and identity with a massive message of unity that’s critical in these divisive times we’re living in.
Lady Gaga was the only one who sang in English. And I saw people criticizing the presentation on social media because they didn’t understand the language, but no one gets upset when they hear Pavarotti, K-pop bands, or Rammstein for not singing in English. Music is universal, and the message was loud and clear.
I will always go back to my heavy music and distorted guitars, but I have to give credit where it’s due: Bad Bunny didn’t just play a show. He made history. And he did it all in under 15 minutes.