Bad Bunny thrives after halftime show as GOP fumes
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Bad Bunny performs at Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif. Photo: Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images
Bad Bunny's streaming catalogue soared after his multicultural halftime show on Sunday, jumping 175% Monday when compared to the previous Monday, according to multiple outlets.
Why it matters: The Puerto Rican artist's surge comes despite backlash from some MAGA figures who call him anti-American and anti-ICE.
Context: Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, delivered a high-energy celebration of Latin American culture Sunday that featured a real wedding and surprise appearances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.
By the numbers: Bad Bunny hit 99.6 million streams in the U.S. Monday, up from 36.2 million streams on Feb. 2, per an AP review of Luminate data.
- His global streams rose 132% in the same period, from 117 million to 271 million.
The intrigue: Those numbers are particularly notable given that Bad Bunny also won album of the year at the 2026 Grammys on Feb. 1 — which had already upped his streams from the previous Monday by 117%.
Driving the news: The gains came as multiple House Republicans urged the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the show's content and lyrics, which some labeled "illegal."
- But most of the lyrics Republicans criticized were not performed during Sunday's show.
- "Had he said these lyrics — and all of the other disgusting and pornographic filth in English on live TV, the broadcast would have been pulled down and the fines would have been enormous," Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) said on X.
- Bad Bunny does have some sexually suggestive songs, but they were not part of the performance, and snippets of those that were included bleeped out profanity and didn't include inappropriate language.
Catch up quick: Criticism follows earlier claims from MAGA loyalists after the halftime announcement that Americans would not watch a show performed mostly in Spanish.
- Some accused the performer of being anti-American and anti-ICE for declining to tour in the U.S. Bad Bunny has said he avoided U.S. dates over concerns that an ICE presence could lead to fans being arrested.
- The backlash prompted Turning Point USA — the conservative advocacy group once led by Charlie Kirk — to launch its own "All American" halftime show.
- TPUSA said the event celebrated "faith, family and freedom" and garnered roughly over 6.17 million viewers at its peak.
Zoom in: Bad Bunny's 15-minute halftime show drew 128.2 million viewers, down slightly from the roughly 133.5 million who watched rapper Kendrick Lamar's performance last year.
- Super Bowl ratings fell for the first time since 2021, according to Nielsen data reviewed by Axios' Kerry Flynn and Sara Fischer.
Worth noting: Halftime performers typically see a jump in ratings right after the show.
- Lamar also saw a 175% increase after his racially conscious and star-studded performance in 2025.
Go deeper: How the walking grass stole Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show — Axios San Francisco
