Five months after Bad Bunny took the stage at Levi's Stadium for Super Bowl LX, the halftime show is still making waves. The NFL's decision to feature the Puerto Rican superstar paid off in a big way—not just in ratings, but in Emmy nominations.
Bad Bunny's halftime show received nine Emmy nominations, making it the most-nominated Super Bowl halftime show in Emmys history. The nods cover production design, directing, choreography, technical direction, and camerawork, among other categories. It's a historic achievement for a performance that some critics called controversial but fans embraced with record-breaking enthusiasm.
The show averaged 128.2 million viewers on NBC, and on Telemundo, it pulled in 4.8 million viewers—the most-watched Super Bowl halftime in the Spanish-language network's history. It also broke Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's record for most-watched Super Bowl halftime show on YouTube in a 24-hour span.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised Bad Bunny's ability to unite people through his art. "Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world and that's one of the reasons we chose him," Goodell said. "But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on and this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents and to be able to use this moment to do that and I think artists in the past have done that."
Bad Bunny's success raises the bar for future halftime performers. According to Polymarket, the current favorite to headline next February's Super Bowl is Miley Cyrus. However, Cyrus has expressed hesitation about the pressure. "I always think the Super Bowl feels like too much pressure," she told Variety. "I would have to do the mental work of making it not about the Super Bowl, because then you can't help but go, 'It's millions of people, and it's the most-watched thing in the world.'"
There are also rumblings that the NFL might go with a trio of Latin artists—Karol G, Camila Cabello, and Becky G—for Super Bowl 61 at SoFi Stadium. That would continue the league's embrace of Latin music, which Bad Bunny's show helped cement.
The Emmys recognition is just the latest chapter in Bad Bunny's historic run. He doesn't need validation, but the nine nominations are a clear sign that the industry—and the audience—appreciate what he brought to the Super Bowl stage.
For more on how Bad Bunny's show compares to other legendary halftime performances, check out Tom Brady's take on the greatest halftime moments. And if you're worried about the future of the Super Bowl broadcast, read about Michael Irvin's concerns over streaming.
