What can you expect from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show? Dance, culture and the political side

There are four days until Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny hits one of music’s biggest stages — the NFL Super Bowl halftime show.

Bad Bunny, the “King of Latin Trap” and one of the biggest music artists in the world, did not speak on Thursday about what fans can expect during the upcoming performances, avoiding the question about whether or not he might bring out musical guests.

But he promised a good time.

“I know that the world will be happy this Sunday. And they will be happy, and they will dance,” said the 31-year-old singer, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.

He urged viewers at a pre-Super Bowl press conference not to worry about anything but practicing their dance moves before the big day.

“I don’t want to give away spoilers. It’s going to be fun,” he said.

But beyond the music and dancing, commentary on the culture war has surrounded the decision to give Bad Bunny a halftime show since the announcement was made in September.

That rhetoric has escalated since last weekend’s Grammy Awards, where the singer used the stage to criticize the Trump administration’s crackdown on the US, led in part by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

After accepting the Grammy for best urbana album on Sunday DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – which later made history as the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year – Bad Bunny began his speech with these words: “Before I thank God, I will say ICE.”

After thunderous applause, the singer added: “We are not cruel people, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are people and we are Americans.”

Increased immigration enforcement in the US resulted in the deaths of two US citizens – Renee Good again Alex Pretti – in Minnesota last month.

While other stars including Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean have also used their stage time to criticize the abuse of immigrants or protect immigrants, Bad Bunny’s comments were some of the most direct.

When asked if politics might play a role during Sunday’s halftime, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he expects Bad Bunny to use the big stage to unite the country.

“Bad Bunny … is one of the most famous artists in the world and that is one of the reasons why we chose him. But another reason is that he understood the platform he was in, and that this platform is used to bring people together,” Goodell said at Monday’s news conference.

“I think Bad Bunny understands that and I think he’s going to have a great performance.”

Benjamin Tausig, a professor at Stony Brook University who studies protest music, says he expects any political statements at the big show to be more subtle than those found at the Grammys.

He says the open awards ceremony, where celebrities have a few minutes to say whatever they like in front of an audience of their peers, naturally attracts political statements.

The NFL strictly books and regulates the performance of the halftime show to prevent potentially divisive comments, Tausig said.

“At the Super Bowl, [artists] they can’t be public, but they can be public,” he said. “And I bet the Bad Rabbit will find ways to do that.”

Last year’s performance by Kendrick Lamar he is a perfect role modelyou prune. Pulitzer Prize winning rapper he was “sly and clever” in his comments about America’s treatment of its black citizens, Tausig said, which allowed him to release it.

Politics is already playing

Regardless of what happens this weekend, Bad Bunny’s performance has already been replaced by politics.

Those who have the political right he chose to choose to make the bad rabbit sing, the others following his lack of English songs. Some say he’s a “Trump hater” and an “anti-ICE activist,” while the US president himself said the choice “completely ridiculous.”

Bad Bunny previously criticized Trump’s response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, and obviously shot the president e music video for his song NUEVAYoLwhen a Trump-esque voice is heard on the radio apologizing to immigrants.

The artist also chose to stay in Puerto Rico for 30 shows instead of touring the US state, partly out of fear that “ICE can be outside” his concerts trying to arrest the followers.

Since Bad Bunny has accepted a gig at the Super Bowl, which will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Right-wing podcast host Benny Johnson says ICE will be in the game playing a role in law enforcement.

NFL officials said this week that ICE will not, in fact, be one of the federal agencies responsible for security on the day of the game, but local residents it is reported that they are not sure and always worry.

In protest, the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA will hold its own “All-American Half-time Show” on Sunday. Headlined by Kid Rock and featuring several country artists, the show is billed as a celebration of “faith, family and freedom.”

“[Bad Bunny] you said you’re having a dance party, you’re wearing a dress, and you’re singing in spanish? Good. We plan to play good songs for people who love America,” Kid Rock said.

‘Everything he does’ is political: music critic

Beyond the culture war, Independent music critic Reanna Cruz says Bad Rabbit taking the Super Bowl stage is sending a message because of what the singer is saying to the Latino community.

This star will make history if he sings entirely in Spanish as expected. He’s sung exclusively in Spanish (with a few English words or phrases here and there) on all six of his studio albums — a rarity, Cruz says, as many other Spanish artists have switched to English to appeal to a wider, mainstream audience.

(If you want to improve your Spanish before Sunday, Duolingo has recorded the superstar’s hits “Bad Bunny 101.”)

Bad Bunny also incorporates sounds from lesser-known Puerto Rican folk genres and sings about issues plaguing his home island, making him an icon of the Latino community, and making his music inherently political, Cruz argues.

“All of this – who he is as a person and the character he has with celebrities and supporting his community – makes everything he does political,” Cruz said. “The fact that you have that platform in the first place is important and so is the message itself.”