Bad Bunny. (Todd Owyoung/Peacock via Getty Images)Bad Bunny has been announced as the headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.

The NFL revealed on Sunday that the 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper will perform at the game, which will be held in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2026.

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, confirmed that he had nabbed the coveted slot in an Instagram reel. It opens with Martínez up close, before eventually zooming out to see him sitting casually on a goal post.

AdvertisementAdvertisement"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," Martínez said in a statement. "This is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL."Much like last year's headliner, Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar, Martínez has been dubbed by some as a controversial choice because of his criticism of President Trump and U.S. immigration policies. It also won't be the first time Martínez has performed at the Super Bowl. In 2020, he joined fellow Latin music superstars and headliners Shakira and Jennifer Lopez during the halftime show.

Fresh off the heels of a two-month Puerto Rican residency, No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí, Martínez is also set to take the stage as host of Saturday Night Live's Season 51 premiere on Oct. 4.

Here's what you need to know about Bad Bunny.

He's a trailblazer for Spanish-language rapMartínez has been credited with helping Spanish-language rap achieve widespread popularity. He gained traction as a rapper in 2016 with the release of his song "Soy Peor," before being featured on Cardi B's Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, "I Like It," in 2018. Martínez's third solo album, 2020's El Último Tour Del Mundo, made history as the first all-Spanish language record to top the Billboard 200 chart.

AdvertisementAdvertisementMartínez has continued to push Spanish-language rap into the mainstream. Un Verano Sin Ti, his fourth solo album, was the bestselling record of 2022 and made history as the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. (It was also the first album by a Latin artist to have 10 billion streams on Spotify.) Martínez's follow-up albums, 2023's Que Va a Pasar Mañana and 2025's Debí Tirar Más Fotos, have each taken the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 as well.

That Martínez performs primarily in Spanish is among the reasons why some conservative public figures are criticizing the NFL's decision to have him headline the Super Bowl halftime show next year.

But the rapper-singer, who was Spotify's most-streamed artist from 2020 to 2022, remains unbothered by the criticism."It's just that I feel more comfortable in my own language. ... I think in Spanish, I feel in Spanish, I eat in Spanish, I sing in Spanish," Martínez told Vanity Fair in 2023, before addressing whether he'd ever sing in English, "I am never going to do it just because someone says I need to do it to reach a certain audience."He's proud of his Puerto Rican heritageMartínez's Puerto Rican pride runs deep. The "Alambre Púa" rapper was born in Bayamón and raised in the northern part of Puerto Rico, specifically in Vega Baja. His latest LP, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, released in January, serves as a love letter to his Puerto Rican upbringing and the culture as a whole. He recorded the album entirely on the island and collaborated exclusively with local musicians.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAs he told Vogue in May, Debí Tirar Más Fotos is "an album where you're going to miss a love but also a place." And the album's 14th track, "LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii," which references the colonial history of Hawaii, is Martínez's way of warning Puerto Ricans of the negative consequences of U.S. colonization - and the push to preserve their culture and identity.

Bad Bunny performing in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 11. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)Martínez's recently concluded 31-date Puerto Rico residency was yet another way he has given back to the place he calls home. In addition to breaking records in sales and attendance, No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí generated an estimated $733 million for Puerto Rico, according to the Associated Press via data from Gaither International."I have always had the same passion [and] love for what I'm doing," Martínez said on stage during his Sept. 20 show. "I promise I will never change. I love you, Puerto Rico. ... It doesn't matter what your issue or problem is, love will always be the solution."He's an actor, tooWhen he's not lighting up the stage, Martínez is appearing on the big and small screens. In the last four years, the "NUEVAYoL" rapper has maintained a steady presence in Hollywood, nabbing roles in blockbuster flicks like 2021's F9, 2022's Bullet Train and 2023's Cassandro, and even appearing as himself at a handful of WWE events.

Bad Bunny in the film Caught Stealing, released earlier this year. (Sony Pic