Shakira Ready to Perform at Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show Despite ongoing community efforts replace the Puerto Rican singer with another artist.
In an interview with DiversityThe Colombian superstar showed his support for Bad Bunny, who is scheduled to perform on February 8th at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
“It's time!” she said.
In 2020, Bad Bunny joined Shakira and Jennifer Lopez on stage during their halftime performance, marking the first all-latino show in Super Bowl history – J Balvin was also featured.
“I remember when we recorded our set, even releasing part of our set in Spanish was a bold move… The acceptance of Spanish-language music as part of the mainstream has come so far since I started,” said Shakira, who during the interview reflected on the recent anniversaries of her critically acclaimed Spanish album Pies Descalzos (released in 1995 year), as well as “Oral Fixation (Vol 1 and 2)” (both released in 2005).
“I hope and I like to think that all the times my music was met with resistance or confusion from the English-speaking world before it was accepted helped pave the way to where we are now,” Shakira added.
The news that Bad Bunny would headline America's premier sporting event was met with some criticism from conservative figures, including President Trumpwho called this decision “crazy” and “absolutely ridiculous” in an interview with the publication Newsmax earlier this month.
One floating petition per Change.orgwith more than 54,000 signatures, called for Bad Bunny to be replaced by Texas singer George Strait to “honor American culture.”
The late Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA also announced an alternative halftime show called: “All-American Halftime Show“, although the conservative organization has yet to announce the artists.
Claims that Bad Bunny is not an American artist are factually incorrect: Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, and therefore Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Past Super Bowl halftime shows have also featured non-American performers, including the Rolling Stones, U2, Rihanna, Shania Twain and Coldplay, to name a few.
Despite the “Bad Bunny” hype, Shakira has doubled down on her support for the singer.
“And I'm so proud that Bad Bunny, who represents not only Latin culture, but how important Spanish-language music has become globally and how universal it has become, is getting the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in the world,” she said.
“This is the perfect time for a performance like this. I can't wait to watch it.”
