Who Were The Two Male Singers In The 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show?
The 2020 Super Bowl halftime show was huge, and as part of the NFL's 100th anniversary, the league decided to break new ground with a show paying homage to the Latino culture that is prevalent in Miami, where the game was held, and growing in influence nationwide. The game's featured entertainers were Shakira, who is Columbian, and Jennifer Lopez, a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent who has not forgotten her Latina roots. While both Shakira and Lopez have had major English language hits, they also perform in Spanish.
Shakira told World News Tonight (via CBS Sports): "I'm so honored to be taking on one of the world's biggest stages in the company of a fellow female artist to represent Latinos and Latinas from the U.S. and all over the world." She called the opportunity "a true American dream." J. Lo also enthused over "performing with a fellow Latina," saying "I can't wait to show what us girls can do on the world's biggest stage."
What the ladies did not mention at the time, however, was that they would also be joined by some cool guys who are also Latin pop icons. Entertainment Tonight revealed that the mystery guests who joined Shakira and Lopez were reggaeton superstars Bad Bunny and J. Balvin.
Bad Bunny hopped onto the world stage
Shakira kicked off her set with hits "She Wolf," "Empire," and "Whenever, Wherever," and then all of a sudden it was more like: "Whoever," as in, whoever could that stranger be on the stage? It was none other than Bad Bunny, who joined Shakira on "I Like It Like That" and "Chantaje."
Who is Bad Bunny? NJ.com reveals that he's a 25-year-old Puerto Rican performer named Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. After starting out on SoundCloud, he first charted on Billboard in 2018 with his debut album X 100pre. He was also featured on Cardi B's "I Like It," a No. 1 hit on which he raps in Spanish and English. Bad Bunny's other hit collaborations include "MIA" featuring Drake and "Te Guste" with Jennifer Lopez. In 2019, he performed at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Bad Bunny recently released a song called "6 Rings," a touching tribute to the late Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash just one week prior to Super Bowl Sunday.
J. Balvin brings the heat with J.Lo
Jennifer Lopez got loud with "Jenny from the Block," "Get Right," "Waiting for the Night," and "Love Don't Cost a Thing." (Apparently, neither did Lopez's and Shakira's performances because they weren't compensated by the NFL.) Anyway, during J.Lo's performance, Colombian rapper J Balvin strutted out, cool and casual in black sweats, to deliver a commanding collaboration on "Que Calor" and "Mi Gente."
Balvin reportedly moved to the United States at age 17. His first reggaeton single, "Panas," came out in 2004, but his first big hit was "Ella me cautivó," released in Colombia in 2009 and in the States the following year. Balvin's popularity has been growing steadily since then, and he's won two Grammy Awards — one for best urban song, "Ay vamos," in 2015; and another for best urban album, "Energía," in 2016. Like Bad Bunny, Balvin also collaborated with Cardi B on her chart-topping "I Like It." Balvin also holds a Guinness World Record for longest-lasting No. 1 Latin song in the United States for his 2017 hit "Ginza," (via Guinness World Records.)
Bad Bunny and J. Balvin are longtime friends
Before hitting the Super Bowl LIV halftime stage, J. Balvin took to Instagram to post a picture with fellow performer, Bad Bunny, with the caption: "Llamando al equipo oasis para el Súper bowl !!!! Legoooooo LATINO GANG." That translates to "calling team oasis for the Super Bowl (via Entertainment Tonight.)
While it was both artists' first time performing during America's Game, it wasn't the first time these two had shared the same stage. In fact, Balvin and Bad Bunny are actually longtime friends who met for the first time in 2016, when they were introduced at one of Balvin's concerts in Puerto Rico, per Complex. Since then, the two have performed together several times and collaborated on numerous projects.
In March 2017, the two teamed up and dropped their first track together, "Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola." The same year, Balvin and Bad Bunny performed their song for the first time at the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards. On the red carpet ahead of the performance, Bad Bunny talked to Billboard about what it meant to him to be able to work with Balvin, "He respects and admires what I do, he likes my work, and for me, it's an honor to work with an artist of that caliber," he said.
In recent years, Balvin and Bad Bunny have performed together at Coachella (twice), the American Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. Now, with the Super Bowl halftime show under their belt, it's clear that this dynamic duo is just getting started.