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Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show has set an Emmy record with nine nominations
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show was debatably one of the most divisive in recent memory. But it is undeniably the most acclaimed, as the performance was nominated for a record nine Emmy awards.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny received nine Primetime Emmy nominations, more than any previous halftime show in history. The nominees at the 2026 Emmy Awards were announced on Wednesday, July 8.
The previous record holder was Lady Gaga’s 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, which received six nominations. Lady Gaga was one of Bad Bunny’s surprise guests during his own halftime show at Super Bowl LX, which saw the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 8.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show has set an Emmy record with nine nominations — the most ever for any Super Bowl halftime performance
The nine nominations Bad Bunny’s halftime show received include: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special, Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming, Outstanding Hairstyling for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special, Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.
Bad Bunny is credited twice in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) nomination — once under his stage name as lead performer and once under his legal name, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, as a supervising producer. Jay-Z, Desiree Perez, Jesse Collins, and Noah Assad join Bad Bunny as executive producers also nominated in that category.
The halftime show drew right-wing criticism ahead of the Super Bowl given that Bad Bunny performs primarily in Spanish, often wears dresses, and has been vocal in his criticism of Trump administration policies. Conservative nonprofit organization Turning Point USA counter-programmed a Kid Rock-led halftime show in response that wound up being widely mocked.
Back in May, the Federal Communications Commission released the 2,155 complaints the agency received about the Super Bowl, most of which were about Bad Bunny’s halftime show.
Should Bad Bunny’s halftime show ultimately take home the prize for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), it would join the 2022 halftime show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent as the only Super Bowl performances to win in that category.
A win at the Emmys would also give Bad Bunny half of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), as he won three Grammy Awards earlier this year, including Album of the Year, for Debí Tirar Más Fotos — the first non-English album ever to win in that category.
The most nominated series at this year’s Emmy Awards is The Pitt, which racked up 25 nominations. Rounding out the top five are Hacks with 24, Widow’s Bay with 19, Pluribus with 18, and Beef with 16.
The 78th Emmy Awards will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles on September 14 on NBC and Peacock.