NEED TO KNOW
- Bad Bunny reveals exactly what he was doing when he found out he’d be the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show performer
- Jay-Z personally called the 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper to deliver the good news
- Super Bowl LX will air on Sunday, Feb. 8
Bad Bunny remembers exactly what he was doing when he got the call from Jay-Z confirming that he’d be headlining the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
On Monday, Sept. 29, just one day after Apple Music, the NFL, Roc Nation and the 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper (whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) shared a joint social media post announcing he would serve as the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer, the “Monaco” artist opened up about his initial reaction.
“I was in the middle of a workout,” Bad Bunny told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe of where he was when he got the career-changing news.
DON'T MISS
“I remember that after the call, I just did like a hundred pull-ups,” the “I Like It” rapper said. “I didn’t need more pre-workout s— or whatever. It was so special.”
Bad Bunny first performed at the Super Bowl in 2020 when he surprised fans as a guest during Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s co-headlining halftime show, but come February 2026 he’ll be the main event.
“Now it’s your turn !!!!! bori gang lets gooooo @sanbenito,” the “Waiting for Tonight” singer, 56, said of the news on Sunday, Sept. 28. Lopez also shared a picture of herself and Bad Bunny on X along with the caption.
Jay-Z, who owns Roc Nation, is heavily involved in the selection process for Super Bowl halftime show. In 2019, the “Big Pimpin’” rapper became the NFL’s “live music entertainment strategist” in partnership with his music label.
Bad Bunny performs during his Most Wanted Tour, May 2024 in Miami.
John Parra/Getty
“What Benito has done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage,” Jay-Z, 55, said in a statement.
Bad Bunny shared in a statement, “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
The show will take place in the middle of Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour.
Around the same time as the Super Bowl announcement, the “Me porto bonito” rapper also hinted at the American performance after previously leaving the United States off the list of his tour stops due to ongoing ICE raids.
“I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after talking with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States,” Bad Bunny wrote on X on Sunday.
Bad Bunny, 2025 Met Gala.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Earlier this month for an i-D cover story, he said, “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times.”
Bad Bunny clarified, “But there was the issue of — like, f—ing ICE could be outside [my concert].” “And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he said, appearing to refer to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Super Bowl LX will air on Sunday, Feb. 8.
