Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime show sparks global streaming boom

Bad Bunny delivered on his promise that “the world will dance” during the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, leading a high-energy, unity-themed performance that blended spectacle, celebrity cameos and cultural homage before an audience of more than 125 million viewers.

Performing a medley of his biggest hits, the Puerto Rican singer was joined by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and other surprise guests in a production that celebrated Latin American traditions, particularly those of his native Puerto Rico. 

The elaborate set transformed the stadium into a mock sugar-cane field that opened into a Puerto Rican neighbourhood, complete with a barber shop, liquor store and a casita which his fans will recognise from past performances. Karol G, Cardi B, Young Miko, Jessica Alba and Pedro Pascal were spotted dancing beneath the casita’s roof, while the performance featured a real onstage wedding.

In the closing moments, Bad Bunny offered a blessing to the nation before naming every country across the Americas, from Canada and the United States to his “motherland,” Puerto Rico. Behind him, a billboard lit up with the message: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

The halftime show has had a noticeable impact on streaming numbers on Apple Music already, according to real-time listening data on Apple Music. The number of simultaneous Bad Bunny listeners spiked immediately after halftime.

Immediately after the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, Bad Bunny listens on Apple Music were up by seven times. His songs, DtMF, BAILE INoLVIDABLE, and Tití Me Preguntó were the most-streamed songs immediately after the show.

Following the release of the official Halftime Show trailer on January 16, plays of Bad Bunny tracks surged on Apple Music. Streams of Baile Inolvidable surged by 54 per cent in the United States and 36 per cent worldwide following the performance on February 8th, while the song also saw significant growth in non-Spanish-speaking markets, with plays rising by 60 per cent in Canada, 54 per cent in the UK and 43 per cent in Brazil.

Interest extended beyond streaming, as lyrics views for Baile Inolvidable jumped by 119 per cent in the US and 79 per cent globally. The track climbed to number one on the US Latin chart and became a top-10 song in nine American cities. It leapt 50 chart positions in Chicago and 71 in Houston, both cities with large NFL audiences.

The most-streamed songs during the surge were Baile Inolvidable, DtMF, Tití Me Preguntó, Moscow Mule and Vete. Meanwhile, the cities with the highest listener activity were Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles, Lima, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Santiago and Ecatepec de Morelos.

In the lead-up to Super Bowl LX, Bad Bunny fans increasingly turned to Shazam, with recognition volume for the artist’s tracks rising month on month since November. In the United States, average daily Shazam activity in January was eight per cent higher than in December, reflecting growing anticipation ahead of the halftime show.

Bad Bunny’s presence on US radio also surged, with monthly spins in January reaching their highest level since June 2025, a 13 per cent increase compared with the previous six months.

Since his announcement as the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show headliner, Bad Bunny’s lyrics have been viewed more frequently on Shazam than those of any other non-English-language artist, with the United States accounting for the largest share of views.

Momentum peaked following the release of the official trailer on 16 January, when Shazam activity for Baile Inolvidable jumped by 130 per cent compared with the average of the previous week. The song recorded its highest global Shazam activity in the US on 17 and 18 January and later climbed to number 30 on the US Shazam chart on 22 January – its strongest position since February 2025.

Image credits: Apple