How Bad Bunny Went From Guest Star to Main Attraction at Super Bowl Halftime Show

When Bad Bunny performed on the Super Bowl halftime stage in 2020, he was a guest of headliners Jennifer Lopez and Shakira — joining Shak on his 2018 “I Like It” hit with Cardi B and J Balvin, as well as a mash-up of their songs “Chantaje” and “Callaita.” Next year, it will be his stage.

On Sunday night, Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, and on the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about the global superstar’s status as one of the most popular musicians in the world and why he makes sense for TV’s biggest stage. Oh, and we also address all those (completely false) rumors that Taylor Swift would be headlining the show and whether that was ever a possibility.

Listen below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Cardi B’s Am I the Drama? debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, how Nine Inch Nails gets its highest charting album in over a decade with the top five debut of its TRON: Ares soundtrack, and how “Golden” from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack spends a seventh week atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the 10 longest-leading No. 1s from a movie in the chart’s history.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)