For the second straight February, our Greatest Pop Star from the year before went right from a dominant night at the Grammys into a triumphant headlining set at the Super Bowl halftime show. After Kendrick Lamar last year, this time it was Bad Bunny‘s turn to take a victory lap — which he did with a stunning 13-minute performance that felt both historically rich and unmistakably timely. And while the reviews were strong, so was the backlash, which started well before the performance itself and ultimately led to an alternative halftime show being aired elsewhere. But it all ended with Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio being at the center at every major discussion surrounding Super Bowl LX — arguably moreso than the underwhelming game surrounding it — and likely swarming the Billboard charts as a result in the weeks to come.
On this bonus episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard‘s Emily Fuentes to give our morning-after reactions to the performance — what about it worked for us, what about it felt like a potential missed opportunity, and whether it all added up to the kind of statement we were hoping he might make during such a spotlight moment. Did we feel like it had the right balance of old and new stuff? Did the Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin performances — or the apparently the IRL couple getting married — fit into the larger performance? Was there a moment on par with the “Say Drake” moment from Kendrick Lamar’s show last year? Was there any justification for the artists who played at the Turning Point alternate halftime performance? And who do we think will emerge triumphant in the Billboard Hot 100 race between Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift next week?
Check it out above, along with YouTube video of the halftime performance — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org.