Who's Bad Bunny?

Previous Thread Next Thread
G

geezerbuter

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2025
329
346
63
mandrill said:
Turning Point USA’s “All-American” Super Bowl show might have been held for “underserved” Americans – but the majority opted to watch Bad Bunny’s half-time performance instead.

The Maga-friendly show streamed live at the same time the Puerto Rican artist stunned viewers with a star-studded set featuring special appearances from Lady Gaga and Pedro Pascal.


Turning Point USA’s stream, meanwhile, featured performances from Kid Rock, who appeared to mime his way through, and country musicians Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.

Frank Luntz, a veteran political consultant and pollster, said that Turning Point USA’s halftime show drew “more than five million” viewers, but The New York Times reports that 6.1 million people opted to watch the event, which was streamed on YouTube.

At the time of writing, the Trump-endorsed concert has been viewed 19 million times, with many noting on social media that they clicked on the video once the Super Bowl ended out of curiosity.

This is a far cry from the figures amassed by the Super Bowl. Official numbers are yet to roll in for Bad Bunny’s performance, but they’re being projected to be around the 128 million mark, which would make it one of the most-watched half-time shows in history.


The record was achieved by Kendrick Lamar, whose set in 2025 reached highs of 133.5 million viewers.

Turning Point USA, founded by late far-right commentator Charlie Kirk, announced its alternative halftime show last October amid mounting conservative criticism over the selection of Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer. The award-winning rapper has been a vocal critic of US president Donald Trump.


Musician Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of the president, went on to say that the Turning Point show was engineered for conservative Americans to celebrate their patriotism, adding that right-wing views are not represented in mainstream media.

“There’s a big portion of this country, like it or not, that’s underserved entertainment-wise,” Kid Rock said. “We’re just [going to] go play for our base. You know, people who love America, love football, love Jesus.”

The White House expressed support for Turning Point’s show, reposting a video of it on social media. Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth wrote on X that his family had tuned in.


More than 120 million tuned in to watch Bad Bunny perform (AP)

More than 120 million tuned in to watch Bad Bunny perform (AP)
President Trump also bashed the official Super Bowl mid-game show in a post on Truth Social, labelling it “absolutely terrible” and “one of the worst, EVER!”

But, despite harsh criticism from Trump and his allies, more Americans were interested in watching Bad Bunny perform in Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show than Turning Point USA’s Maga fest.


A YouGov America survey released Friday found that 35 per cent of respondents prefer Bad Bunny’s show compared to 28 per cent who said they were more interested in the Kid Rock-headlined event.

This year’s Super Bowl saw the Seattle Seahawks triumph over the New England Patriots by 29 points to 13 to claim their second-ever victory.
Click to expand...
So by trumos count the shitty MAGA show much have had at least 100 billion viewers 🙄
 
  • Like
Reactions: mandrill
G

geezerbuter

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2025
329
346
63
WyattEarp said:
This is kind of a silly, predisposed article.

Of course a shit load of people "watched" Bad Bunny. It's because 130 million people already had the game already on their television. As I noted, people are also heading to the bathroom and the food table. Halftime shows have a large share of uncommitted viewers.
Click to expand...
That's completely false. Many people who do not watch any football throughout the year tune in solely for thr halftime show and might moderately watch a few plays of the game - just like swifties
 
  • Like
Reactions: squeezer and mandrill
mandrill

mandrill

monkey
Aug 23, 2001
90,327
146,548
113
geezerbuter said:
True. A couple friends of mine were hard-core kid Rick fans and went to his shows for years before finally admitting he is now pathetic and unwatchable. Guess that's why he's a MAGA darling 😉
Click to expand...
The first couple of songs he released were listen-able in a 'crude but fun" way. But that was 20 or 30 years ago.

Commercially, he was never close to Bunny's level apparently.
 
S

squeezer

Well-known member
Jan 8, 2010
26,976
22,653
113

Conservatives Want To INVESTIGATE Bad Bunny

"Rep. Mark Alford dumbass: "On the Bad Bunny bad performance at the Super Bowl -- we're still investigating this. There's a lot of information that has come out about the lyrics. I saw the halftime show -- we were switching back and forth with the TPUSA halftime show. The lyrics from what we've seen from Bad Bunny are very disturbing. And if it holds true -- I don't speak fluent Spanish, okay, I know how to ask where the bathroom is -- but if it's true what was said on national television, we have a lot of questions for the entities that broadcast this and we'll be talking with Brendan Carr from the FCC. This could be much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction."


 
  • Like
Reactions: mandrill
W

wigglee

Well-known member
Oct 13, 2010
11,269
3,572
113
WyattEarp said:
Yes, it was for sure. Very theatric presentation that told a story. It was entertaining to some degree, but yeah as some others said subtitles would have been nice. Or maybe some songs in English for the espagnolly-impaired.



Kid Rock and Turning Point did just fine and they weren't on network television. People seemed determined to declare a winner. Perhaps Bad Bunny and Kid Rock both won.
Click to expand...
Maybe if you consider 1/20th of the viewership a win-win.
 
  • Like
Reactions: squeezer
WyattEarp

WyattEarp

Well-known member
May 17, 2017
9,601
3,433
113
geezerbuter said:
That's completely false. Many people who do not watch any football throughout the year tune in solely for thr halftime show and might moderately watch a few plays of the game - just like swifties
Click to expand...
Or you could just look things up. The Super Bowl's audience is extremely large from the coin toss through the expensive commercials all the way to the trophy presentation. I don't know what happens in Canada, but a great deal of Americans get together in front of a giant screen TV. In fact, the gathering I was at had TVs in multiple rooms.

Just by this dynamic, there are lots of casual watchers tuned in. Like I said, they're also hitting the food table. Chatting with Cousin Rick about his elderly mother. Planning their next group vacation. There are young kids running around the house oblivious to the game. Get the picture.

What you are actually saying is that people didn't get up and change the channel or turn the TV off during the halftime show. I assure you changing the channel during the halftime show rarely happens. (There was the famous In Living Color halftime show over thirty years ago, but this was in the era of lame Super Bowl halftime shows equipped with marching bands and a lot of silly hoopla. There was even a figure skating exhibition that year. No offense if that appealed to some Canadians.)

Per Google AI:
"Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, averaged
124.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, and digital platforms, making it the second most-watched U.S. broadcast in history. The Seahawks' 29-13 victory over the Patriots fell just 2.2% short of the 2025 record, while the Bad Bunny halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers.
Key 2026 Super Bowl Ratings & Data:
  • Total Viewership: 124.9 million average viewers.
  • Peak Viewership: 137.8 million viewers (during the second quarter).
  • Household Rating/Share: 39.4 rating, 79 share.
  • Halftime Show: 128.2 million viewers for Bad Bunny.
  • Milestone: It was the most-watched program in NBC history.
The 2026 game, played at Levi's Stadium, was the first Super Bowl to use Nielsen's new Big Data + Panel measurement system."
 
Last edited:
WyattEarp

WyattEarp

Well-known member
May 17, 2017
9,601
3,433
113
wigglee said:
Maybe if you consider 1/20th of the viewership a win-win.
Click to expand...
You're really going to try to beat this point, huh?

1/20th of the Super Bowl audience over an internet broadcast concurrent with the game is pretty damn good.
Your number doesn't count the millions who watched it later.
The numbers who watched Kid Rock was objectively large.
I didn't watch it, but I can understand it drew an audience.

Again as noted above, people rarely change the channel during the Super Bowl. You can call it some type of inertia.
In fact, I think the Super Bowl halftime show for the last thirty years has always had a huge audience regardless of who performs.
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: wigglee
WyattEarp

WyattEarp

Well-known member
May 17, 2017
9,601
3,433
113
mandrill said:
The first couple of songs he released were listen-able in a 'crude but fun" way. But that was 20 or 30 years ago.

Commercially, he was never close to Bunny's level apparently.
Click to expand...
Kid Rock made bank as they would say. His namesake club in Nashville is always packed. There's no need to try to diminish a successful career.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: piglicker6969
Dutch Oven

Dutch Oven

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2019
7,086
2,586
113
I am a frequent concert-goer and I go to see both classic bands and newly emerged bands. I still purchase new music, and I am always interested in exploring the latest thing. I don't care for Bad Bunny. I also don't care for many other artists, of different ethnicities and/or different cultures, who produce superficial and often vulgar art (especially when it is performed to a large audience of children). I watched the entire Bad Bunny performance. I saw no point in changing the channel, and some people watching with me definitely were curious to see Bad Bunny. I thought the performance was visually creative, although there were moments of messaging that I thought were too "on the nose" and lacked any subtlety. I'm also not a fan of Kid Rock's music, so I'm unlikely to check out that performance. However, the viewership that the Kid Rock performance received as an internet only broadcast is truly impressive.

Because I don't speak Spanish, I checked the lyrical translations of the Bad Bunny performance after the game. I was shocked at what the censors let through, considering that 40 million Americans DO speak Spanish. Surely, there will be FCC consequences and many questions about the lack of censorship, and whether the spanish performance played a role in that failure.

The bottom line is this was a business gamble by the NFL, whose only guiding principle is profit. They are gambling that they can attract more new paying latino customers than the number of average middle class white American citizen fans (their loyal customer base since the inception of the league) they will lose in the attempt. I understand the gamble in theory, but I have yet to see a business succeed which abandoned its most loyal customers for potential customers. We'll see, but I think the NFL is a business on the cusp of its decline. I have already voted with my wallet (albeit before the Bad Bunny gambit).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: squeezer, LTO_3, WyattEarp and 1 other person
WyattEarp

WyattEarp

Well-known member
May 17, 2017
9,601
3,433
113
Dutch Oven said:
The bottom line is this was a business gamble by the NFL, whose only guiding principle is profit. They are gambling that they can attract more new paying latino customers than the number of average middle class white American citizen fans (their loyal customer base since the inception of the league) they will lose in the attempt. I understand the gamble in theory, but I have yet to see a business succeed which abandoned its most loyal customers for potential customers. We'll see, but I think the NFL is a business is on the cusp of its decline. I have already voted with my wallet (albeit before the Bad Bunny gambit).
Click to expand...
Interesting take.

I don't know what the future of the NFL looks like. Given that its clearly the most popular sport in the U.S. I doubt it will lose that position in our lifetime.

Of course if you are Roger Goodell and the NFL, you want to make your billionaire owners more billions. So you get all these international games and you get Bad Bunny. In fact, the NFL is going to play in Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro this year among other international locations.

The NFL is looking at the global success of the NBA. I don't know if they can duplicate that. Basketball has been played around the world for some time. Is anyone really adopting American football? It would seem playing the sport is a good precursor for drawing international audiences. We could go on about Michael Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, etc. but the fact remains people abroad were playing the game and also understood the game. Think of Japanese baseball.

As I read your post Dutch, I was thinking does having a Hispanic music artist at halftime really create popularity for American football? Does any popular performer translate to more NFL fans? I don't think so.

If I had to guess, soccer will gain popularity in the U.S. at its continued slow, steady pace. The NFL will hold its position in the U.S.
Migration patterns aside, there will always be cultural assimilation that will produce non-white & non-black NFL fans in the U.S. (and Canada).
 
mandrill

mandrill

monkey
Aug 23, 2001
90,327
146,548
113
WyattEarp said:
Kid Rock made bank as they would say. His namesake club in Nashville is always packed. There's no need to try to diminish a successful career.
Click to expand...
Success is relative. KR had 2 or 3 hits back in the 90's or 00's and has a still recognizable persona and I'm sure his club does very well.
 
mandrill

mandrill

monkey
Aug 23, 2001
90,327
146,548
113
WyattEarp said:
Interesting take.

I don't know what the future of the NFL looks like. Given that its clearly the most popular sport in the U.S. I doubt it will lose that position in our lifetime.

Of course if you are Roger Goodell and the NFL, you want to make your billionaire owners more billions. So you get all these international games and you get Bad Bunny. In fact, the NFL is going to play in Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro this year among other international locations.

The NFL is looking at the global success of the NBA. I don't know if they can duplicate that. Basketball has been played around the world for some time. Is anyone really adopting American football? It would seem playing the sport is a good precursor for drawing international audiences. We could go on about Michael Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, etc. but the fact remains people abroad were playing the game and also understood the game. Think of Japanese baseball.

As I read your post Dutch, I was thinking does having a Hispanic music artist at halftime really create popularity for American football? Does any popular performer translate to more NFL fans? I don't think so.

If I had to guess, soccer will gain popularity in the U.S. at its continued slow, steady pace. The NFL will hold its position in the U.S.
Migration patterns aside, there will always be cultural assimilation that will produce non-white & non-black NFL fans in the U.S. (and Canada).
Click to expand...
I understand that NFL is actually now massive in Germany, of all places and is challenging the Bundesliga for views. It's not financially viable to include European teams in the NFL per se. But there may well be a day when there is a European near peer league with its own large fan base.
 
  • Like
Reactions: squeezer
mandrill

mandrill

monkey
Aug 23, 2001
90,327
146,548
113
squeezer said:
Conservatives Want To INVESTIGATE Bad Bunny

"Rep. Mark Alford dumbass: "On the Bad Bunny bad performance at the Super Bowl -- we're still investigating this. There's a lot of information that has come out about the lyrics. I saw the halftime show -- we were switching back and forth with the TPUSA halftime show. The lyrics from what we've seen from Bad Bunny are very disturbing. And if it holds true -- I don't speak fluent Spanish, okay, I know how to ask where the bathroom is -- but if it's true what was said on national television, we have a lot of questions for the entities that broadcast this and we'll be talking with Brendan Carr from the FCC. This could be much worse than the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction."


Click to expand...
Maybe MAGA can charge the Bunny with "sedition" like they tried to charge Mark Kelly.... 😹 😹 😹 😹 😹 🐇🐇🐇
 
  • Haha
Reactions: squeezer
Dutch Oven

Dutch Oven

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2019
7,086
2,586
113
mandrill said:
Maybe MAGA can charge the Bunny with "sedition" like they tried to charge Mark Kelly.... 😹 😹 😹 😹 😹 🐇🐇🐇
Click to expand...
Nothing will happen to Bad Bunny if he didn't go off script. If you book Andrew Dice Clay, you get Andrew Dice Clay! However, the NFL and its broadcasting affiliates stand to be slapped around by the FCC.
 
  • Haha
  • Wow
Reactions: mandrill and squeezer
WyattEarp

WyattEarp

Well-known member
May 17, 2017
9,601
3,433
113
mandrill said:
Success is relative. KR had 2 or 3 hits back in the 90's or 00's and has a still recognizable persona and I'm sure his club does very well.
Click to expand...
Kid Rock sold approximately 30 million albums. I know he has done well touring.

Success in popular music can be measured. That's a sizeable amount of units. I try to resist criticizing musical artists who appeal to a sizeable audience even if I'm not the audience. Your M.O. is different.
 
Last edited:
WyattEarp

WyattEarp

Well-known member
May 17, 2017
9,601
3,433
113
piglicker6969 said:
I stopped caring for Kid Rock after Rock & Roll Jesus. That was the last of his albums I owned. All his music since that album I haven't listened to but came across that one political track he did dissing Biden. He still amuses me at times, but I can't stand picking sides in politics. It's no different than men fighting between tits are better than pussy or vice versa minus the whole abortion debate of course.
Click to expand...
All artists age out and lose creative steam. Sure, some acts like the Stones, Paul McCartney and Elton John sell concert tickets essentially playing their greatest hits.

Many artists try to stay relevant. I sort of think going political was always a part of Kid Rock's thing.
Jane Fonda has always had lots of political opinions I don't agree with, but I still like her movies.

PS- Please don't anyone come here and respond that so and so is still releasing great music.
 
Insidious Von

Insidious Von

My head is my home
Sep 12, 2007
43,936
10,189
113
mandrill said:
I understand that NFL is actually now massive in Germany, of all places and is challenging the Bundesliga for views. It's not financially viable to include European teams in the NFL per se. But there may well be a day when there is a European near peer league with its own large fan base.
Click to expand...
In Italy, they reject the NFL for rugby. And ICE Agents in Milano are taking a beating.


The USA has become the Axis of Evil.

 
  • Love
Reactions: mandrill
You must log in or register to reply here.
Ashley Madison
Previous Thread Next Thread
Toronto Escorts
Top Bottom