God Bless America” — And Then He Named the Countries: How Bad Bunny Redefined America at the Super Bowl

February 9, 2026: When Bad Bunny stepped onto the world’s biggest stage during the Super Bowl LX halftime show, he didn’t just perform music — he delivered a cultural moment that instantly divided, inspired, and ignited debate.

After a Spanish-language performance rooted deeply in Puerto Rican culture, Bad Bunny ended his set with just three English words: “God bless America.” What followed was unexpected, deliberate, and impossible to ignore. Instead of stopping there, he began naming countries across the Americas, turning a phrase traditionally associated with U.S. nationalism into a continental declaration of identity.

For some viewers, it was powerful.
For others, it was controversial.
For millions of Latino Americans, it felt deeply personal.

Image Credit: CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock

A Halftime Show That Refused to Translate Itself

From the very beginning, Bad Bunny made one thing clear: this performance would not be watered down, translated, or adjusted for comfort. Nearly every song, transition, and spoken word moment was delivered in Puerto Rican Spanish, complete with regional slang, cadence, and cultural references.

This choice was not accidental.

In the context of the Super Bowl — an event historically centered on English-language performances and mainstream American aesthetics — Bad Bunny’s refusal to switch languages was a bold assertion of cultural ownership. He didn’t ask for space. He took it.

That decision alone sparked backlash before he even stepped on stage.

Image Credit: USA Today

The Pre-Show Backlash: “Too Spanish for the Super Bowl?”

In the days leading up to the game, criticism emerged from conservative commentators who questioned why the NFL would book an artist who doesn’t primarily perform in English. Some labeled the decision “divisive,” while others framed it as a rejection of “traditional American values.”

Counterprogramming events were organized. Political rhetoric crept into sports commentary. Even security presence at the game became part of the larger narrative surrounding immigration, identity, and nationalism.

Against that backdrop, Bad Bunny’s final message landed with even more force.

Image Credit: Forbes

Redefining “America” — Not as a Country, but a Continent

In U.S. culture, the word America is often used interchangeably with the United States. Bad Bunny challenged that assumption in real time, on live television, in front of millions.

By naming countries across the hemisphere, he reclaimed the word America in its broader, original sense — a collection of nations, cultures, and peoples connected by shared history, migration, and struggle.

To some viewers, this felt like a correction.
To others, it felt like a provocation.

Why the Countries Matter More Than the Phrase

Plenty of artists have said “God bless America” at sporting events. What made this moment different was what came next.

Bad Bunny didn’t sing the patriotic anthem. He spoke the phrase plainly, almost casually — after performing almost entirely in Spanish — and then immediately expanded it beyond U.S. borders.

That sequencing mattered.

It reframed the blessing not as a nationalist slogan, but as a shared hope for all the Americas. In doing so, he shifted the emotional ownership of the phrase.

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For Latino Americans, a Rare Moment of Recognition

For millions of Latino Americans watching — many of whom move fluidly between languages, cultures, and national identities — the moment resonated on a deeply emotional level.

It acknowledged a lived reality:

• Being American without being monolingual
• Loving the U.S. while honoring ancestral homelands
• Existing in multiple cultures at once

By naming countries, Bad Bunny publicly recognized identities that are often marginalized or politicized in mainstream American discourse.

Image Credit: CBS News

A Cultural Line in the Sand

This wasn’t just about music. It was about who gets to define America on one of its most visible stages.

Bad Bunny’s roll call of countries drew a clear line:

• America is multilingual
• America is multicultural
• America includes people whose roots stretch far beyond one flag

Whether viewers applauded or protested, they were forced to confront that reality.

The message on the screen — “The only thing stronger than hate is love” — reframed the entire performance, transforming what some saw as defiance into an offering: not a rejection of America, but a call for a more inclusive vision of what the country can be at its best, one that makes room for everyone.

Image Credit: Business Insider

Why This Halftime Show Will Be Remembered

Long after the scores fade and the season ends, this Super Bowl halftime show will be remembered for one reason: it changed the conversation.

By naming countries, Bad Bunny didn’t divide America — he exposed how divided the definition already was.

Some saw pride.
Some saw protest.
Some saw themselves for the first time.

Bad Bunny’s Historic Super Bowl Wedding Moment

Bad Bunny didn’t just headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show — he delivered a moment that instantly entered pop-culture history. Mid-performance, the stadium transformed into a wedding venue as Thomas Wolter and Eleisa Aparico were married on the field in a real, legally binding ceremony, later confirmed as official. Dressed in white and surrounded by dancers, Bad Bunny framed the moment as both an intimate milestone and a broader tribute to Puerto Rican culture, broadcast live to millions. The surprise continued when Lady Gaga joined Bad Bunny for an emotional performance of “Die With a Smile,” turning the halftime show into something never seen before — part concert, part cultural tribute, and part real-life love story.

 

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A Career Built for Moments Like This

Watching @badbunnypr name every nation in the Americas at the Super Bowl halftime show — from henceforth known as the Benito Bowl ✊🏿 — felt like the culmination of years of relentless work, cultural pride, and boundary-breaking performances. From sold-out global tours to genre-defining albums and headline-making festival sets, Bad Bunny has spent his career proving that authenticity scales — that staying rooted in language, heritage, and identity can reach the biggest stages without compromise. This moment didn’t come out of nowhere; it was earned through years of pushing Latin music forward, refusing to dilute his sound, and consistently showing up with intention, vision, and discipline. The Super Bowl wasn’t a pivot for Bad Bunny — it was the natural result of an artist who has been building toward history all along.

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Final Thoughts: More Than a Performance

Bad Bunny didn’t just perform at the Super Bowl — he claimed space.

By ending his set with “God bless America” and then naming the countries of the Americas, he transformed a familiar phrase into a radical act of inclusion. It was uncomfortable for some, affirming for others, and unforgettable for everyone watching.

The Moment That Changed Everything: Naming the Countries

After saying “God bless America,” Bad Bunny expanded the moment by referencing countries across the Americas — spanning Latin America, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and North America — including Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Belize, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the United States of America, and Canada — turning a traditionally U.S.-centric phrase into a pan-American statement of identity and inclusion.

Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

As each country was named, flags appeared, dancers moved in unison, and the visual language reinforced the message: America is bigger than one border.

This was not a geography lesson. It was a statement.

Love it or hate it, the message was clear:

America isn’t one story — it’s many. And every one of them deserves to be named.

I describes the moment as unforgettable. Watching Bad Bunny command the Super Bowl stage with such confidence and cultural pride felt less like a performance and more like a statement of belonging. What unfolded wasn’t protest, but affirmation — a celebration of immigrant stories, shared roots, and the power of showing up fully as yourself. The emotion came from witnessing an artist refuse to shrink his identity for mass approval, choosing instead to elevate culture, unity, and representation on the world’s biggest platform. For me, it was a reminder that when culture is honored openly and fearlessly, it has the power to bring people together in ways nothing else can.