Bad Bunny invited some friends to join him on stage during his 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performance — but Lady Gaga made the biggest splash.
Gaga, 39, sang a new version of “Die With a Smile” (her collaboration with Bruno Mars) while taking the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, February 8, as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots competed in the big game. After her surprise performance, Gaga stuck around for a quick dance routine with Bad Bunny, 31.
Gaga’s appearance comes after she and Bad Bunny had a sweet moment at the 2026 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 1.
“She said, ‘I love you!’ And that’s it,” Bad Bunny told Access Hollywood about crossing paths with Gaga at the awards show. “And I was like, ‘I love you too!’”
But that wasn’t the only trick he had up his sleeve. The Puerto Rico native included Pedro Pascal, Karol G, Alix Earle, Cardi B, Jessica Alba and Ricky Martin in his performance as well.
News broke in September 2025 that Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” he said in a statement at the time. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
Before taking the reins himself, Bad Bunny made a surprise appearance during Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Super Bowl halftime show in 2020. At the time, he and Shakira, 49, performed his hit “I Like It” before singing a mash-up of her song “Chantaje” and his track “Callaítia.”
Lopez, 56, and Shakira both showed their support for Bad Bunny after he was announced as the 2026 halftime show headliner.
“I think he’s about to blow everybody’s mind,” Lopez raved on the Today show in October 2025. “It’s an introduction to some people.”
Lopez went on to say that she didn’t “understand” the backlash to Bad Bunny’s involvement in the halftime show, noting, “He’s one of the top artists in the world right now, probably the top.”
“It could be a lot of different people. That’s the thing,” she explained. “I’m super excited for people to see him. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised because his music transcends language. It’s amazing what he’s done. He’s done something that a lot of people have never done in their life.”
Lopez also reflected on her own Super Bowl performance with Bad Bunny and Shakira.
“Me, Shakira, Bad Bunny, J Balvin — and we had an amazing time,” she recalled. “It was a really cultural moment.”
Later that month, Shakira shared her enthusiasm over Bad Bunny helming the halftime show.
“It’s about time!” she told Variety. “I remember when we did ours that even having part of our set in Spanish was a bold move. … Acceptance of Spanish-language music as part of the mainstream has come so far from when I started. I hope and like to think that all the times my music was met with resistance or puzzlement from the English-speaking world before it was embraced helped forge the path to where we are now.”
As for Bad Bunny’s performance, Shakira felt the timing was right for him to bring his talents to the Super Bowl.
“I’m so proud that Bad Bunny, who represents not only Latin culture but also how important Spanish language music has become on a global scale and how universal it has become, is getting to perform on the biggest stage in the world,” she continued. “It’s the perfect moment for a performance like this. I can’t wait to watch it.”
