Bad Bunny, Shakira, and the Year Latin Music Took Over the World's Biggest Stages

In 2026, the two biggest stages in sports both handed the mic to Latin music. In February, Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl halftime show. In June, and again in July, Shakira took over the World Cup, first at the opening ceremony, then at the first halftime show FIFA has ever put on for a World Cup final. Same year, two different sports, and the same message: Latin music isn't just invited to the biggest shows in the world anymore. It's running them.

Bad Bunny Takes Over the Super Bowl

Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl LX halftime show on February 9, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, right after the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots in front of 70,823 fans. He opened with "Tití Me Preguntó" and "Yo Perreo Sola," then moved through songs from his Grammy-winning album Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Lady Gaga joined him for a Spanish-tinged version of "Die With a Smile," her third time performing at a Super Bowl halftime show.

The Numbers Behind Bad Bunny's Show

Shakira's Big World Cup Summer

Shakira showed up twice during the 2026 World Cup. First, she opened the tournament on June 11 at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, in front of 80,824 fans, singing "Dai Dai" with Nigerian singer Burna Boy. The song is the official anthem of the 2026 World Cup. Other performers that day included Burna Boy, J Balvin, Belinda, Maná, and Tyla.

Then, on July 19, Shakira came back for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, this time for something FIFA had never done before: an actual halftime show, built the same way the Super Bowl does it. It was the first one in World Cup history.

What Happened at the First-Ever World Cup Halftime Show

The show lasted eleven minutes and packed in a lot. Madonna opened it, riding onto the field on a dune buggy and singing her 2000 hit "Music" alongside soccer legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Conductor Gustavo Dudamel led the New York Philharmonic and Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra through a dramatic cover of "Seven Nation Army." BTS performed "Dynamite" in matching red outfits. Justin Bieber sang a quiet, acoustic version of "Everything Hallelujah," introduced by Jason Sudeikis in character as Ted Lasso. Then Shakira and Burna Boy brought the energy back up with "Dai Dai" one more time, joined by dancers, including a group of kids. The whole thing closed out with Coldplay's Chris Martin, who put the show together, plus a children's choir from Staten Island and a cast of Muppets and Sesame Street characters.

The Numbers Behind Shakira's Show

The World Cup final, Argentina against Spain, drew 80,663 fans to MetLife Stadium, the biggest crowd at a World Cup final on U.S. soil since 1994. In the U.S. alone, 62.8 million people watched the final on TV, the most-watched World Cup final and the most-watched soccer game of any kind in American history. FIFA hadn't released an exact global number as of this writing, but the 2022 World Cup final pulled in an estimated 1.5 billion viewers around the world, and this one is expected to beat that.

The New Era For Latin Music

Put next to each other, these two shows say something bigger than either one on its own. The Super Bowl and the World Cup are the two biggest events in sports, and in the same year, both put a Latin artist at the center of their biggest non-game moment. Bad Bunny sang almost entirely in Spanish to the biggest TV audience in the U.S. all year. Shakira did the same in front of a stadium crowd and a broadcast that reached almost every country on earth.