Bad Bunny Is An American, But These 11 Past Super Bowl Halftime Show Performers Were Not
Tinseltown | Shutterstock There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding Bad Bunny as the NFL’s pick for halftime performer from the very beginning.
The Athletic anonymously surveyed NFL players on a variety of topics relevant to them, and asked the players how they felt about this year’s Super Bowl halftime show performer. 58.6% said they were in favor of Bad Bunny headlining the show, while 41.4% said they were not. One anonymous offensive player admitted that he thinks the NFL is "trying too hard with this international stuff," and believes this year's performer "should be an American."
Despite the fact that a lot of people have decried the choice of Bad Bunny as un-American, the Spanish-language artist is from Puerto Rico, meaning he is an American citizen. However, there have been plenty of other halftime performers in past years who were definitely not from the U.S., and who definitely didn’t get this much backlash. A fan named Shay Ibanez compiled a useful list for anyone who may have forgotten.
Past Super Bowl halftime show performers who were not American:
1. Rihanna
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Rihanna played the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII, which took place in 2023. Despite residing in the U.S. for many years now, Rihanna was actually born and raised in Barbados.
She has some very devoted fans who greeted her halftime show performance with excitement rather than disdain. In fact, The Big Lead ranked hers as the third-best halftime show of the past 15 years.
2. Shakira
Shakira and Jennifer Lopez served as co-headliners for the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. While J. Lo is an American, Shakira was born in Colombia. This halftime show was meant to be a celebration of Latin culture. Notably, it actually included a special appearance by Bad Bunny six years before he would headline.
There were a few whispers of backlash at the time for the NFL staging a halftime show dedicated to two Latina artists. Country singer Riley Green even took some heat on X for asking if someone could “translate … so I know what they are singing about.” However, the biggest controversy from the night actually came from the entertainers’ suggestive style of performing. CNN reported that the FCC received 1,312 complaints from viewers, with one even calling the show “X-rated.”
3. Paul McCartney
Just over 20 years ago, Paul McCartney took to the Super Bowl XXXIX halftime show stage. McCartney is perhaps most famous for being a member of the band The Beatles, which began the “British invasion” in American popular music.
Rather than drawing ire for performing on the halftime show as a non-American, McCartney was praised. The NFL even said of his performance, “Following the Super Bowl halftime show controversy from the previous year, Paul McCartney comes to the rescue and blows away audiences all over the world.”
4. The Rolling Stones
One year later, The Rolling Stones headlined the Super Bowl XL halftime show. The legendary rock band is, of course, originally from the U.K., but no one seemed to care. In fact, NBC’s local affiliate in the Tri-State/Yakima area of Washington recently included the performance in its list of the “six most iconic Super Bowl halftime shows.”
5. U2
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Super Bowl XXXVI featured a halftime show from Irish band U2 in February 2002. Just months after one of the greatest tragedies in American history on 9/11, one of America’s most iconic stages was left in the hands of a group of Irishmen. Still, it didn’t seem to bother anyone, even during a time when pro-American sentiment was high.
Scott Meslow, a culture critic at GQ, actually declared U2’s halftime show was the best of all time. While GQ’s entertainment editor, Ashley Fetters, felt like she couldn’t go quite that far, she did admit that it was “the best-ever example of a Super Bowl halftime show transcending the fact that it was a Super Bowl halftime show to become a genuinely poignant pop-culture artifact.”
6. Shania Twain and Sting
Twain performed at the Super Bowl XXXVII halftime show in 2003. Although some people may think she is American, Twain is actually from Ontario, Canada. She was joined by special guests No Doubt and Sting. Although Sting was a guest at the Twain-led show, it should be noted that he is from the U.K. himself.
Of course, no one questioned a Canadian playing the Super Bowl halftime show. In an interview with People Magazine, Twain shared just how much the halftime show meant to her. “I was part of a much bigger thing than a Shania performance,” she said. “It was massive.”
7. Coldplay
10 years ago, British band Coldplay owned the Super Bowl 50 halftime show stage in what might have become one of the most talked-about halftime shows of all time. Unfortunately for Coldplay, much of that hype was due to their special guests, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars. While it’s not entirely clear why the two American performers were a part of the show, many people felt like they upstaged the headliner.
8. The Weeknd
In 2021, Canadian superstar The Weeknd headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show. No one took issue with the Ontario native playing the show, although The Big Lead did admit it was a bit underwhelming, as it took place during COVID restrictions and there was no live audience.
9. Phil Collins
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The British singer-songwriter took over the Super Bowl XXIV halftime show stage at the turn of the century in 2000. And, of course, no one came close to hating on the legend that is Phil Collins. Even the NFL dubbed his show one of “the best.”
10. The Who
The Who took over the Super Bowl XLIV halftime show in 2010. The group is made up of rockers Peter Townshend and Roger Daltrey, both of whom were born in London. While it wasn’t necessarily the most iconic Super Bowl halftime show of all time, no one had anything bad to say about the duo taking it on.
11. Gloria Estefan
Estefan, one of the queens of Latin music, has actually been on the halftime show stage twice. In 1992, she was part of the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show, which was part of a salute to that year’s Winter Olympics. She was back in 1999 for Super Bowl XXXIII with Stevie Wonder. There were no concerns about Estefan headlining the halftime show twice, even though she is Cuban. Instead, everybody was probably just really excited to hear “Conga.”
The NFL has a long history of booking international talent for Super Bowl halftime shows, and it really hasn’t caused a problem. It’s interesting that it only seems to be an issue now for Bad Bunny because his music is exclusively in Spanish.
Even though he is American, people just assume he isn’t. But even if he were from another country, why would it matter? The Super Bowl is an international phenomenon, and limiting it to only Americans would be wrong.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
