Name: Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show: BBC Learning English from the News
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From BBC Learning English this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines in this program Bad Bunny Super Bowl performance and what people are saying about it.

In this program we look at one big story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode as well as a worksheet on our website bbclearningenglish.com so let's hear more about this story.

Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, who is the singer known as Bad Bunny, gave a controversial performance at the Super Bowl halftime show last weekend.

His performance was like no other scene in Super Bowl history because it was entirely in Spanish.

Yes, the 14 minute set which invited celebrities to dance alongside, had only one line in English which was God Bless America.

This line was said just before naming multiple countries and territories, including his home country, Puerto Rico, with dancers carrying their flags in celebration.

The BBC described it as one big love letter to his native Puerto Rico.

A billboard message was shown towards the end that read, the only thing more powerful than hate is love.

Bad Bunny then held an American football with the slogan in English together we, we are America.

But US President Donald Trump called the performance an affront to the greatness of America, meaning he thought it was offensive.

Other American Republicans were also critical.

Bad Bunny makes History as Trump Criticizes Terrible Super Bowl Show.

Bad Bunny Makes History as Trump Criticizes Terrible Super Bowl Show.

This headline mentions how Bad Bunny's performance made history.

Well, this phrase makes history is a common expression which means to do something that hasn't been done before.

Bad Bunny's performance made history because it was the first ever Super Bowl performance in Spanish.

It is likely to be remembered for a long time.

And the performance also made history because a young couple got married in the crowd around the stage as part of the show.

Yes, the first of its kind at the Super Bowl.

We've had make history do something that hasn't been done before.

For example, Ada Lovelace made history when she produced the first computer program.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about Bad Bunny's historic Super Bowl performance.

Bad Bunny has recently made history by winning a Grammy for the Album of the Year with his Spanish album Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

And he was also the most streamed artist globally on Spotify in 2025.

During his performance at the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny has an entire community around him.

You can see people playing dominoes, street vendors selling traditional Latin American food, and

even a casita or little house like the ones you might see in Puerto Rico.

Our next headline is a review of his performance.

This is from the Guardian, a British newspaper.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show Review A Thrilling Ode to Boricua Joy that headline again from the Guardian.

Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show Review A Thrilling Ode to Boricua Joy.

This headline is about how Bad Bunny's performance shows his pride and joy for Puerto Rico.

We're looking at this expression ode to now, an ode is literally a poem that celebrates or expresses love for something.

But we use the expression ode to something to refer to anything that celebrates or expresses love.

For example, a song, a speech or a letter, exactly as expressed in the headline.

Bad Bunny's performance was an ode to Puerto Rican life and culture.

We've had ode to something, such as a work of art or performance that expresses celebration or for something.

For example, the CEO's retirement speech was an ode to her company.

This is Learning English from the news from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about Bad Bunny Super Bowl performance.

Bad Bunny appeared previously as a guest singer for the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show.

This year's show featured a maze of sugar cane where Bad Bunny encountered symbols of Puerto Rican life, such as salsa dancing, coconut water sellers and a nail salon.

In the past, Bad Bunny has been critical of President Trump, but

he did not use his performance at the Super Bowl to directly criticise the US Government.

Yes, as we mentioned, Bad Bunny's performance was a celebration of Puerto Rico, but

was described by President Trump as absolutely ridiculous.

This headline is from the Financial Times, a British business newspaper.

Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime show puts Pizazz before Politics but still Irks Trump that headline again from the Financial Times.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime show puts pizazz before politics but still irks Trump.

This headline includes President Trump's reaction to Bad Bunny's performance.

It says the performance irks him, which means annoys him.

Pizzazz means an energetic or excitable quality.

We use pizzazz to refer to things like performances or things that are glamorous or noticeable.

And let's look at how it's used in the headline.

It says that Bad Bunny's halftime show put Pizzazz before politics.

To put something before another thing is to give it greater priority or importance.

So, for example, I could say that I often put work before family, right?

So Bad Bunny put pizzazz before politics.

He put on an exciting show rather than focusing on politics.

We had pizzazz, an energetic or excitable quality.

The performances always have so much pizzazz.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you like music, you might enjoy our series My Song, My Home, where we learn English from songs around the UK.

You can find episodes at bbclearningenglish.com and don't forget to follow us on social media.

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