Bad Bunny Makes History at the Emmys: His Controversial Super Bowl Performance Earns Him a New Record
Posted on 09/07/26 at 11:15
- Bad Bunny wins an Emmy
- Super Bowl wins seven awards
- Latin show breaks another record
Bad Bunny has just added an unprecedented award to his career: the Puerto Rican artist won his first Emmy thanks to the halftime show he starred in at Super Bowl LX.
Held this Saturday, September 5, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the first night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards brought recognition to the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny. The production emerged as the most awarded of the day, taking home seven Emmys, according to the Television Academy.
With nine nominations going into the ceremony, the show, filled with Latin references and messages about America, became one of the night’s biggest winners in American television.
Bad Bunny Wins His First Emmy with the Super Bowl
Among its seven victories, the award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) stands out, a category that presents statuettes to the program’s producers and allowed Bad Bunny to win his first Emmy personally.
The production also won awards for direction, music direction, choreography, sound mixing, lighting, and technical direction and camera work, according to the official count by the Television Academy.
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Brazilian Miguel Gandelman won the award for music direction, while Charm La’Donna and Karina Ortiz triumphed in choreography for several of the sequences presented during the show.
Hamish Hamilton, who directed the broadcast, was also recognized for his work on an event that reached approximately 125 million viewers during the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
A Latin Show that Sparked Conversation in the US
The performance went beyond music, as Bad Bunny used one of the largest television platforms in the United States to promote a vision of America that includes the entire continent.
That message was reinforced during the closing, which featured flags and the names of countries across the Americas, along with a ball bearing the phrase «Together we’re America.» The imagery quickly sparked conversation following the performance.
The show also featured guests with major international profiles. Lady Gaga joined Bad Bunny for a salsa version of Die With A Smile, sharing the stage with the Puerto Rican singer.
Ricky Martin performed an acoustic version of Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawái, a song in which Bad Bunny addresses issues related to Puerto Rico, gentrification, and its historical relationship with the United States.
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From Record Nominations to Seven Emmy Awards
Before the ceremony, the show had already set a precedent by becoming the Super Bowl halftime show with the most Emmy nominations, surpassing the record previously associated with Lady Gaga.
Securing seven statuettes underscored the television impact of the performance, as no other program received as many awards during the first day of this year’s Creative Arts Emmys.
Bad Bunny has also maintained a presence elsewhere on American television. An episode of Saturday Night Live that he hosted in October 2025 won an Emmy for makeup.
Attention now turns to the main ceremony of the 78th Emmy Awards, scheduled for Monday, September 14. NBC and Peacock will broadcast the ceremony live from Los Angeles, according to ‘EFE’ and CNN.